Daughters of St Paul | Daily Gospel Reflections

 :  Acts 6:1-7 Gospel  Jn 6:16-21 When it was evening, the disciples of Jesus went down to the sea, embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid. But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.” They wanted to take him into the boat, but the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading. Reflections: "And immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going". These words bring great comfort and consolation to our troubled hearts. The problems we face every day are endless, the journey seems very hard. We have our dreams and plans - long term and short term - and we try our best. Often we meet with failure. When all our human efforts seem to be in vain and we have nothing to hold on t

 Reading 1 2 Sm 24:2, 9-17 Gospel  Mk 6:1-6 Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. Reflections: In this passage, Jesus returns to his hometown and faces rejection from the people who knew him. They questioned his authority and took offense at his teachings and miracles. Jesus a

 Gospel Mt 21:33-43 Looking for a deeper relationship with God? Gospel Text: Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: "Hear another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey. When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce. But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat, another they killed, and a third they stoned. Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones, but they treated them in the same way. Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, 'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.' They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?" They answered

 Gospel Lk 9:51-56 Worrrying over rejection? When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?" Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village. Reflections: Jesus met rejection but he did not strike back nor did he permit his disciples to do so. He is gently telling us that true honour comes not from the opinions of others about us, but from the fact that we are loved and accepted by God. In our journey with Jesus through painful moments, we will find the strength in Jesus, to face the difficulties.  The disciples wanted to destroy the village that did not welcome them.  Jesus

 Gospel Lk 9:43b-45 Trying to Understand Jesus better? (click here) Gospel Text: While they were all amazed at his every deed, Jesus said to his disciples, "Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men." But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying. Reflections: Effective communication is of utmost importance in our present time. A multitude of problems can arise due to inadequate communication. Jesus felt sorrowful because his disciples were entirely unfamiliar with his language. It stands true that understanding one another deeply is possible when we know someone personally. In today's context, Jesus emphasizes that a genuine disciple will make an effort to know their master. By knowing Jesus profoundly, one can comprehend the language of Jesus Christ. Following the example of St Jerome, let us be willing to devot

 Gospel Mt 13:44-46 Looking for Jesus? Gospel Text: Jesus said to his disciples: "The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it." Reflections:  We live in a materialistic world, where humans prioritize the seeking of material things. Jesus challenges his followers to look out and work hard to find the pearl. The kingdom of God is the pearl. Jesus explains the kingdom of God as a pearl of great price and actually he himself is that pearl. Our desire and longing for God need to surpass the desire and longing for   wealth, power and fame. Though material wealth in itself is good, when it takes priority over other values, we could drift away from God. Let our search be for the things of   heaven.

 Gospel Mt 7:15-20 Jesus said to his disciples: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them." Reflections Perhaps we have never needed the warning about false prophets as much as we do today, when the internet and social media so often presents us with many untruths.  Our world sometimes can be so confusing, making so many promises of happiness and well-being, yet so full of suffering and loneliness. We need to discern, to realize there are not only false prophets, who bear fruit that is not good, but also good prophets whose message is true because i

 Gospel Mk 12:35-37 As Jesus was teaching in the temple area he said, "How do the scribes claim that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said: The Lord said to my lord, 'Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies under your feet.' David himself calls him 'lord'; so how is he his son?" The great crowd heard this with delight. Reflections Jesus points out to the scribes that they have a deficient view of the Messiah. The scribes correctly understood that the Messiah was going to be a descendant of David.   This left the Jews focused on the external, political oppression from Rome instead of their internal, spiritual oppression from sin. He is both the root and offspring of David. With this question Jesus challenged the religious leaders, asking them “do you understand this truth about the Messiah? He wanted them to understand just who he was; that they may come to the saving knowledge of the truth. Once and for all Je