Martin Jumbam

Catholic Meditation - All Saints Day - Year A

Martin Jumbam 

The Universal Church invites us to celebrate Saturday, November 01,2014, as the Solemnity of All Saints.  In the Entrance Antiphon we pray: “Let us rejoice in the Lord and keep festival in honor of all the saints. Let us join with the angels in joyful praise of the Son of God.  Amen.”  All Saints Day is the day on which we, Catholics, celebrate all the saints, known and unknown. It is a surprisingly old feast. It arose out of the Christian tradition of celebrating the martyrdom of saints on the anniversary of their martyrdom. When martyrdoms increased during the persecutions of the late Roman Empire, local dioceses instituted a common feast day in order to ensure that all martyrs, known and unknown, were properly honored.

By the late fourth century, this common feast was celebrated in Antioch, and Saint Ephrem, the Syrian, mentioned it in a sermon in 373. In the early centuries, this feast was celebrated in the Easter season, and the Eastern Churches, both Catholic and Orthodox, still celebrate it then.

The current date of November 1 was instituted by Pope Gregory III (731-741), when he consecrated a chapel to all the martyrs in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and ordered an annual celebration. This celebration was originally confined to the Diocese of Rome, but Pope Gregory IV (827-844) extended the feast to the entire Church and ordered it to be celebrated on November 1.

Catholic Meditation - 30th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year A

Martin Jumbam

Mother Church invites us to celebrate Sunday, October 26, 2014, as the thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A.  In the Entrance Antiphon we pray: “Let hearts rejoice who search for the Lord. Seek the Lord and his strength, and seek always the face of the Lord. Amen.” This day’s liturgy centers on the love of God and the love of neighbour. In the first reading, from the Book of Exodus, God appears as the defender of the widow and the orphan, biblical symbols of the weak, the poor and the oppressed. Saint Paul, in the second reading, reminds his harassed converts of Thessalonica how they broke with the worship of idolatrous practices to serve the real, living God and believed that Jesus his Son had saved them and would return to gather them to himself. In Matthew’s Gospel, the leaders of Israel are still trying to trap Jesus with tricky questions: today they want him to tell them which is the greatest commandment of all.  In the course of this Eucharist, let us pray for the grace to follow Christ more closely so he can lead us to eternal salvation.

Catholic Meditation: 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A

Martin Jumbam

The Universal Church celebrates Sunday, October 19, 2014, as the twenty ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A.  In the Entrance Antiphon we pray:  “I call upon you, God, for you will answer me; bend your ear and hear my prayer. Guard me as the pupil of your eye; hide me in the shade of your wings.  Amen.” This day’s liturgy tells us that God ways are not our ways as even goes as far as to use a pagan king, Cyrus, in the first reading, as an instrument of the liberation of his people. In the second reading, Saint Paul is thankful to God for the Christian community of Thessalonica, which is succeeding despite the difficulties of persecution that it is subjected to. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus baffles the Scribes and Pharisees, who have been trying to trap him, by telling them that if they take advantage of Caesar’s money, they must pay a price for it, but that ultimate glory must be given to God alone, who is their Lord and Creator. In the course of this Eucharist, let us pray for the grace to shun the material things of this world and keep our gaze fixed on Christ, the risen Lord, who alone has the key to the kingdom of heaven.

Catholic Meditation: 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year A.

Martin Jumbam 

Mother Church invites us to celebrate Sunday, October 12, 2014, as the twenty eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A.  In the Entrance Antiphon we pray: “If you, O Lord, laid bare our guilt, who could endure it? But you are forgiving, God of Israel. Amen.”  This day’s liturgy speaks to us of God’s boundless generosity. He gives us all we need from his goodness. This comes out clearly in the first reading where the prophet Isaiah tells us about God’s banquet where he receives the righteous. “The Lord will prepare a banquet for all people and will wipe away tears from every cheek,” he tells us. This beautiful message is carried over to Matthew’s Gospel of the wedding feast, which reminds the Israelites, and us, that God invites everyone, good and bad, to His heavenly banquet. He is our God and so wishes the best for all of us. But the question is, do we accept his invitation? And if we do, are we wearing the wedding garment. In other words, are we worthy of his call through a life of permanent conversion? In his Letter to the Philippians, in the second reading, Saint Paul expresses his appreciation for the material assistance given to him by his Christians of Philippi. He then exhorts them to continue to imitate him as he, in turn, imitates Christ Jesus, the Saviour. Let us pray for the grace to be always ready for our Lord’s call through a life free from sin.

Catholic Meditation: Twenty Seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A

Martin Jumbam 

The Universal Church invites us to celebrate Sunday, October 05, 2014 as the twenty seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A.  In the Entrance Antiphon we pray: “O Lord, you have given everything its place in the world, and no one can make it otherwise. For it is your creation, the heavens and the earth and the stars: you are the Lord of all. Amen.”  This day’s liturgy speaks to us in very beautiful terms of God’s love for his vineyard, that is, his chosen people, who, unfortunately, fail to respond to that love in kind. This comes out in Prophet Isaiah’s love song of the vineyard in the first reading. Israel is symbolized by God’s plantation, which is full of promise with God being the loving owner who does everything to ensure that it brings forth a good harvest. Unfortunately, all it yields are sour grapes. It is this same vineyard that our Lord refers to in Matthew’s Gospel message of this Eucharist. God does, however, demand in return that the vines produce good fruit. Saint Paul, in the second reading, continues to urge his converts of Philippi to remain faithful to the norms and traditions of the Church. No matter the worries of our everyday lives, our thoughts and actions should be focused on that which is good and true so that the Church can remain united in love and harmony. Let us pray for the grace to be good workers in the Lord’s vineyard so that our Lord will reward us by giving us a place in his kingdom.