Daily Reflection (Monday 27th November, 2017)

MONDAY OF THE THIRTY FOURTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME (Year I)
First Reading: Dan 1:1-6. 8-20
Psalm: Dan 3. R. v.29b
Gospel: Lk 21:1-4
As Jesus was teaching in the Women's Court of the Temple, he observed a poor widow putting two mites (lepta, the smallest coins in circulation) into the treasury box. The widow gave every penny she had to live on, and placed her hope and trust in God. The charity of this lowly woman stood in sharp contrast to the prideful religious leaders who loved to be honoured and respected for their generosity, yet failed to carry out the law that required them to care for God's poor (Lk 20:45-47). Jesus said that the woman's gift was worth more than the large offerings of those who gave from their surplus wealth.

The spirit behind offering is not determined by the abundance of resources. It is not marked by a sheer display of our magnanimity. The religious leaders who gave from their abundance may have done well but the poor widow did better than them because she gave all she had. And unlike the religious leaders, she gave her offering seeking no attention.
So in giving, we need not wait until we have in abundance. We can give to God even from the very little we have. And while we give to God or even help others with our resources, it should be between us and our God and not trumpeted about. We need to also understand that the generosity of this widow does not encourage us to submit all our earnings and resources to God but that we should trust and depend on God who can provide all our needs even as we give to him.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Lord God, help us to give with a pure motive and to solely trust in you in our giving. Amen.
FR VALENTINE EGBUONU, MSP

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DAILY REFLECTION: SATURDAY, 16TH DECEMBER, 2017

SATURDAY OF THE SECOND WEEK OFADVENT TIME (Year II) First Reading: Sir 48:1-4. 9-11b Psalm: 80. R. v. 4 Gospel: Mt 17:9a. 10-13 The first reading of today reminds us of the great prophetic power of Elijah. He was a prophet feared by the people of his time. His deeds were wonderful and frightful. He called down fire from heaven, brought famine upon the land, and shut the heavens. The Jews feared and respected the prophet Elijah. According to the prophet Malachi (4:5-6), Elijah was to come before the Messiah. This was the reason why the disciples of Jesus while coming down from the mountain of transfiguration asked him of the coming of Elijah who was to come before him as prophesied by the Prophet.

DEATH IS A CERTAINTY.

"It is appointed unto men once to die."(Hebr: 9:27 The sentence of death has been written against all men: you are a man; you must die. “Our other goods and evils,” says St. Augustine, “are uncertain; death alone is certain” (Serm.97, E.H.). It is uncertain whether the infant that is just born will be poor or rich, whether he will have good or bad health, whether he will die in youth or in old age.

UNDERSTANDING THE HOLY EUCHARIST: The Real Presence of Christ.

The sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, is a sacrament instituted by Christ at the Last Supper when he told his Apostles: " This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19) While the other sacraments (Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders, Holy Matrimony, Anointing of the Sick, Penance) give us grace, the Holy Eucharist gives us not just but grace, but also the author of grace, Jesus, God and Man. It is the center of all else the Church has and does.

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