Martin Jumbam

Catholic Meditation – Third Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A

 By Martin Jumbam

The Universal Church celebrates Sunday, January 26, 2014, as the third Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A. In the entrance antiphon we pray: “O sing a new song to the Lord; sing to the Lord, all the earth. In his presence are majesty and splendour, strength and honour in his holy place. Amen.”

The main theme of this day’s Mass is definitely that of light. In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah consoles the land of Galilee, which is now swallowed up as a gentle province, that she will glow with the light of God’s radiance before the rest of the land receives his redemption. The first reading and the Responsorial Psalm both express the confident hope that the Lord will prove himself to be the light and help of his people. That light comes through Jesus Christ who, in the Gospel message, is seen as God’s light shining on Israel and mankind as a whole from the insignificant region of Galilee. The first members of the lost sheep of the house of Israel to hear and answer our Lord’s call are still from Galilee of the nations. They follow the light of Christ which they will later take to the ends of the earth. In the Second reading, from the First Letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul is greatly troubled by divisions in the Church in Corinth. In the strongest terms, he appeals for unity, the unity among Christians which we have been praying for over the past week. We pray in the course of this Eucharist for the courage to follow the only saving light that there is, Jesus Christ our Lord and Redeemer.

 

Give human and finance-resource management training a chance in STAMS.

By Martin Jumbam

The Saint Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary (STAMS), the major formation house of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda in Cameroon, recently celebrated its 40^th year of existence under the theme: “Called to be Saints and Scholars.” Forty years is indeed a lifetime worth celebrating. We give thanks to God for the existence of this formation house, a nursery for future priests, as one musically-gifted priest, formed in that institution, once sang to honour one of its founding bishops, Archbishop Emeritus Paul Verdzekov, who is today admiring his good work from heaven. 

Catholic Meditation - Second Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A

 

By Martin Jumbam.

Sunday, January 19, 2014, is the Second Sunday of Ordinary Time in the Church’s Year A. In the entrance antiphon we pray: “May all the earth give you worship and praise, and break into song to your name, O God, Most High. Amen.”The main theme of this day’s Mass is Christ, the Lamb of God who provides a light for all the nations. As we recall our Lord’s baptism in John’s Gospel, we pray that his spirit may deepen our awareness of the purpose and value of our lives and of all human life.  In the first reading, from the prophecy of Isaiah, the Suffering Servant tells us that God’s spirit has been given him from his mother’s womb.  In the Second reading, from the First Letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul calls for Christian unity, an appropriate appeal that comes as we pray for Christian unity, that all who recognize Christ as Saviour may become one as Christ is one with his Father. 

Catholic Meditation - The Baptism of our Lord - Year A.

By Martin Jumbam 

The Universal Church celebrates Sunday, January 12, 2014, as the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord. This feast concludes the Christmas cycle and is at the same time the First Sunday of Ordinary Time in Liturgical Year A.  This Sunday begins a series of Sundays that speak of the early ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus, who had no sins, still received baptism as a way of consecrating him for his mission on earth.  In the Gospel, Saint Matthew is the most explicit of all the evangelists in stating that Jesus came to John to be baptized. He shows the heavens opening, the Spirit descending on Christ in the form of a dove, and the Father’s voice from heaven acclaiming him as his beloved Son with whom he is well pleased.  This echoes the first reading, where some 700 years before Christ, Isaiah had announced to the people the coming of the chosen one on whom the Spirit of God would rest.  Fortified by God’s Spirit, this servant of God would bring salvation to the nations. This prophecy was to find fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, son of David, the servant was to bring true peace and justice to all men and women of good will. In the second reading, from Acts of the Apostles, we hear Peter’s last discourse to the Gentile world in which he describes Jesus’ baptism as God’s way of anointing him with the Holy Spirit and with power. In the course of this Eucharist, let us pray for the grace to renew our own baptismal vows so we can follow Christ more closely as he begins his public ministry on earth.

Feast of the Epiphany - Year A

By Martin Jumbam

The Universal Church celebrates Sunday, January 05, 2014, as the Feast of the Epiphany, that is, the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Saviour of the world. The entrance antiphon of this Mass says: “The Lord and ruler is coming; kingship is his, and government and power. Amen.” The great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the Wise Men (Magi), pagan astrologers from the East. 

Today’s readings express the grandeur of this feast. In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah shouts: “Arise, Jerusalem, shine out, for your light has come, the glory of the Lord is rising on you.”  The image of light shining out of Jerusalem reminds God’s people that God led them in their desert wandering with a pillar of fire. In the second reading, Saint Paul praises the majesty of God’s plan, which is that pagans too now share in the same inheritance as Jews. They are now called to have a part with the Jews in God’s new people, the body of Christ. In the Gospel, Matthew tells us the well-known story of the Magi, the three Wise men, who came from the East bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the new born king, Christ the Lord.  Let us pray for a grace to have the courage to follow our own star that will lead us to Christ, our Saviour.