Arulvakku

19.03.2024 — Priority to God’s Vocation before Career

Posted under Reflections on March 19th, 2024 by

Solemnity of St. Joseph, Tuesday – 19th March 2024 – Matthew 1, 16.18-21

Priority to God’s Vocation before Career

Today we celebrate the solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He seems to be a strong and silent type. He was the one in the background who did what was asked of him and supported the family. When Joseph was warned by an angel in a dream to flee to Egypt with Mary and child Jesus, his reaction was quick. When the ‘Will of God’ or ‘God’s promises’ were revealed to him, he did not allow his perplexity or confusion to take over his faith. He surrendered himself to co-operate with the will of God. Because he realized that a new era had dawned in the history of God’s dealings with the human race. Joseph being a carpenter had to risk his job, business, livelihood and a comfortable life. But Joseph was a father and a husband before he was a businessman. When his child was threatened, his first obligation was to Jesus and Mary. His vocation outweighed his career. In a culture like ours, where too many parents make their careers and livelihood paramount and their children are too easily left behind, Joseph displays a different priority: A man whose vocation is more important than his career.

18.03.2024 — Sinner Wins Total Forgiveness

Posted under Reflections on March 18th, 2024 by

5th Week in Lent, Monday – 18th March 2024 – Daniel 13,1-62; Jn 8,1-11

Sinner Wins Total Forgiveness

Today’s first reading and the Gospel have a few similarities, focusing on a woman accused of adultery. In the Old Testament, Susanna is accused falsely of adultery by two elders of the people. In the New Testament, a woman is accused of adultery by the scribes and Pharisees, the elders of people of Israel. The old men are wicked because they are slaves to lust and men of deceit. The scribes and Pharisees boast of their self-righteousness and try to deceive Jesus into a trap. In the first reading, Daniel, stirred by the Holy Spirit, uncovers the lie of the wicked men, and Susanna’s innocent blood is spared. According to the law, the old men end by receiving the punishment originally intended for the women. In the Gospel, Jesus uncovers the false intentions of the scribes and Pharisees, and the woman is forgiven and spared, even though she is guilty. Here the woman wins Jesus’ total forgiveness. The hearts of the old, wicked men were corrupt and had no place for God. The heart of the adulteress, though wounded by sin, was open to God’s mercy. The old men remained in their sin; the woman caught in adultery was released from sin.

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