Martin Jumbam

Catholic Meditation – Twenty Second Sunday – Year A.

Martin Jumbam

Mother Church invites us to celebrate Sunday, August 31, 2014 as the twenty second Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A.  In the entrance antiphon we pray: “I call to you all day long, have mercy on me, O Lord. You are good and forgiving, full of love for all who call on you.  Amen.” The readings of this day’s Mass open with a dramatic accusation: the prophet Jeremiah accuses God of seducing him into becoming a prophet and deceiving him about the personal sufferings his mission would involve. In the second reading, Saint Paul reminds the Christians of Rome, and through them all of us listening to this broadcast, to be sincere to our call and not to show ourselves to be stained by worldliness. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus prepares his disciples for his approaching ordeal in Jerusalem.  Like the prophet Jeremiah, Jesus has to face the stark truth that his relationship with God involves personal anguish, suffering and rejection. More than that, it will lead to a violent death in the hands of his enemies.  Let us pray for the grace of being seduced by our Lord so we can carry our cross behind him with joy.

Catholic Meditation - Twenty First Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A.

 Martin Jumbam

Mother Church invites us to celebrate Sunday, August 24, 2014 as the twenty first Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A.  In the entrance antiphon we pray: “Listen, Lord, and answer me. Save your servant who trusts in you. I call to you all day long, and have mercy on me, O Lord.”  The main theme of this day’s Mass is the mission Christ entrusts to Peter and the apostles, that of preaching the Gospel to the four corners of the world. Even though Peter is weak, Christ still makes him the head of his Church – the first Pope ever -- and charges him and his fellow apostles to go out and preach the good news of his salvation to the world.  Their task is to gather together the universal Church. In the first reading, from the prophecy of Isaiah, the prophet condemns the rulers of the southern kingdom of Judah for their disobedience of God’s will when they seek an alliance with Egypt against Assyria, thus contravening Isaiah’s divinely inspired advice. For this, the king’s chief adviser, Shebna, is replaced by Eliakim on whose shoulder the key of the house of David is placed; an act reminiscent of what Jesus does to Peter in the Gospel of this day. Saint Paul, in his letter to the Romans in the second reading, sings a hymn of praise to God, creator of everything, who is compassionate and merciful to everyone. He is grateful to be called the apostle of Christ. Let us pray in the course of this Eucharist for the grace to recognize Christ for who he really is: the Messiah, Son of the living God. 

Catholic Meditation - Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A.

Martin Jumbam

Mother Church invites us to celebrate Sunday, August 17, 2014 as the  twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A. In the entrance antiphon we pray: “God, our protector, keep us in mind; always give strength to your people. For if we can be with you even one day, it is better than a thousand without you. Amen.”   All the readings of this day’s Mass reflect the difficulties of the relationships between the inhabitants of Judea and people from other countries and races.  However, the basic message through all these readings is that our God is a God of compassion, God of love and God of mercy, which he shows to us all, irrespective of our race, colour of the skin, tribal or ethnic affinities.  Isaiah, in the First Reading, says that all of humanity will find a place around the Lord’s banquet table because our God is a generous God.  In the Second Reading, Saint Paul recalls his Jewish birth but adds that all men and women, Jew and Gentile alike, will receive the mercy of the Lord. All they need to do is ask for it and it will be theirs for the taking.  That is what happens to the Canaanite woman in Matthew’s Gospel of this day. She refuses to take “No!” for an answer, persisting in her request until the Lord grants her wish. Let us pray for the grace of persistence in prayer as our Lord always grants our wish when we approach him in humility. 

Catholic Meditation: Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A.

Martin Jumbam

Mother Church invites us to celebrate Sunday, August 10, 2014, as the 19^th Sunday of ordinary time, year A. In the entrance antiphon we pray: “Lord, be true to your covenant, forget not the lives of your poor ones for ever. Rise up, O God, and defend your cause; do not ignore the shouts of your enemies. Amen.” Today’s first reading, from the first Book of Kings, shows the prophet Elijah, the fearless champion of God’s word, standing on the mountain before the Lord and hearing God’s voice, not in storms, earthquakes or fires, but in a gentle breeze, an indication that God appears to us, not in spectacular events, but in the ‘gentle breeze’ of our life.  In the second reading, from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Romans, Paul is distressed at the fact that the Jews have not accepted Christ as Messiah. He discusses the relationship between the Law of Moses and the Gospel of Christ. God gave the Israelites the Law through Moses and eternal covenant through his Son Jesus Christ. In the Gospel from Matthew, Jesus walks on water and calms the raging sea, showing that under his control the wind and the sea bow to his unspoken power. Under his feet, the greatest monster of nature is tamed.  Let us pray for the grace to keep our gaze permanently fixed on Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, who is always there to increase our faith and rescue us from sinking into our own doubts like Peter. 

 

Catholic Meditation: 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year A.

Martin Jumbam

Mother Church celebrates Sunday, August 03, 2014 as the 18^th Sunday of ordinary time, year A.  In this Eucharist, we celebrate the great love of God that not only gives us life, but also sustains that life with the food of the Eucharist, the love of God made visible in Christ our Lord. In the entrance antiphon we pray: “God, come to my help. Lord, quickly give me assistance. You are the one who helps me and sets me free. Lord, do not be long in coming.” In the first reading from the prophecy of Isaiah, the prophet Isaiah asks a soul-searching question.  Why spend your money on food that is not nourishing?  He invites us to come to God and be fed by his word. “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God remains forever.” If you ever find yourself wondering what your religion has to do with your daily living, Saint Paul reassures you, in the second reading from his letter to the Romans, that the two are intimately linked because “nothing can come between us and the love of God, made visible in Christ.”  In Matthew’s Gospel, we have the famous account of Christ feeding five thousand men, not counting the women and children, with five loaves and two fish. This makes real Isaiah’s invitation in the first reading to come to God for eternal food. Let us pray, in the course of this Eucharist, for the grace to follow Christ more closely, he alone gives us his body and blood as food that lasts forever.