Friday 10th of November
“You are Peter and on this rock, I will build my Church.”
Matthew 16:13-19
Just like the people in Jesus’ time, we have our own individual thoughts and knowledge of Jesus. We have come to know Him from preachers and teachers or from friends. We may have read about Him in various media but the real question is, “Do we really know who Jesus is in our life?” It is easy to claim that Jesus is our saviour, Lord, King, Son of God. Yet our answer may be just knowledge or hearsay, not unlike the answers of the apostles who was with Him for quite some time already. It is only when we work on having a personal relationship with Jesus that we can truly know who He is in our lives. It is only when we experience His presence in us that we can understand His role in our daily existence.
Indeed, blessed are those who enter into a relationship with the Father and the Son because the Holy Spirit will reveal to them the divine truth. The first call in Peter’s following of Jesus was to grow in the faith that would sustain his life. May our faith do the same for us.
In these words of Matthew, we have the opportunity to learn of the ways in which we can love God by lovingthosearoundus. Sometimesitmaynotfeellike we are doing much, but Jesus tells us that whatever we do for one another, we are doing for him and that he notices it all. Every action we take (and do not take) is taken into account on our last day.
7. Monday 13th of Nov Luke 17:1-6 “If your brother does wrong, reprove
him.”
Jesus reminds us today of the responsibility that we have as Christians to be a witness of faith for others. We are called to guide and accompany others in faith and to teach them how to love and serve the Lord. Sometimes, we need only to look around our circles of family and friends to see the need for God’s word of love and mercy.
The first way we guide others is through our testimony of life. The way we imitate Jesus’ love, kindness, compassion, respect, and forgiveness in our lives. True faith is demonstrated through concrete acts. How aware are we of putting our faith into practice each day? How do we put our faith into action?
Jesus also reminds us in this passage about the effect that faith can have in our lives. He says, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” Even when our faith can seem small and insignificant, like a mustard seed, with God’s help, we can do great things.
We are invited today to ask Jesus how we can cultivate our faith and share it with others so that they, too, can live a life of faith, a life full of love, hope and mercy. Let us be a witness of faith to those around us today.
6. Sunday 12th of Nov Matthew 25:1-13 “The wise and foolish virgins.”
As we move closer to Advent, our readings are inviting us to prepare ourselves for the coming of the bridegroom and stay awake at all times so that we will not miss Jesus when he comes. As followers of Jesus, we must always seek to have a faith that is alive, nurtured and replenished. How are we nurturing our life of faith? How do we replenish our spiritual lives? Talk to Jesus about this in your prayer.