“FORTUNATE ARE YOU WHO ARE POOR.”

The situation might include a deep feeling of emptiness, uncertainty and hopelessness.

One is invited to open up to the power of God and to receive his generosity.

He/she could find comfort in the encounter with God,

which could subsequently lead to the unfolding of a new world of hope and opportunities.

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1 Corinthians 7:25-31

With regard to those who remain virgins,

 All is made new by God who meets us where we are.

The old wineskins of the old Testament did not manage to accommodate the new wine of Jesus’s message.

"But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast." 

Sometimes, it is getting rid of someone, especially the poor,

Jesus wants us to feast with Him through the needy – not get rid of Him.

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1 Corinthians 4:1-5

Let everyone, then,

Before He makes an important decision, Jesus goes up the mountain to pray. He communes with His Father.

Everything he does is in perfect accord with the Father's will.

We are reminded, with a decision especially if it is a hard one, we need to pray and ask for guidance. Sometimes.

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

1 Corinthians 6:1-11

When you have a complaint

 Saint Teresa of Calcutta
Born in 1995,
Died September 5, 1997, Calcutta, India;

Beatified 19 October 2003, by Pope John Paul II
Canonized 4 September 2016, by Pope Francis.

In 1946 Sister Teresa experienced her “call within a call,”

which she considered divine inspiration to devote herself to caring for the sick and poor.

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊    

1 Corinthians 3:18-23

Do not deceive yourselves.

 There are many people who cannot hear God's voice, or do not have the capacity to pray to God for what they need most.

Jesus always gives strength of mind, body or soul when we place ourselves in God's loving presence.

All power in heaven and on earth was entrusted to his hands.

He was doing the will of the Father, and accomplishing the work with which he had been commissioned.

"The Father," he said, "worketh hitherto, and I work;"

St. Peter Claver, priest

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

1 Corinthians 5:1-8

You have become news,

The Mother-in-law of Simon, We can only imagine the love that goes with her serving the Lord and his companions.

It comes from a grateful heart. And the best way to show our gratitude for all that God has done for us is by serving others.

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1 Corinthians 3:1-9

I could not, friends,

 After Jesus cured the man's deafness.

Jesus uttered, "Ephphata!"

Which is "Be open." 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Isaiah 35:4-7a

Say to those who are afraid:

Gregory was born around 540 A.D.

At the age of thirty he was appointed prefect of Rome, In this office, which he filled capably,

Gregory had abandoned his career to devote himself to the service of God.

Returning to Rome, where he founded six monasteries; then he made his own home into a Benedictine monastery.

By this time his father was dead, After giving the remainder of his extensive property to charity.

The custom of offering Thirty Day Masses or Gregorian Masses for the Dead is said to have originated at this time.

St. Gregory the Great, pope & doctor

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

1 Corinthians 2:10b-16

The Spirit probes everything,

 The Pharisees their heads are totally buried in the Law, by focusing on the minutiae, they missed the larger picture.

The Pharisees obsessive in following the letter of the law without regard for human welfare.

Jesus insists God is far greater than all these regulations and rituals.

Blessed Virgin Mar

  ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊    

1 Corinthians 4:6b-15

Learn by this example,

 Jesus could speak nice words to his town mates to win them to his side.

But he does not. He prefers to tell them the truth.

Jesus chooses the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me” is the very definition of “messiah.”

He will preach Good New to the poor. The anointing is on Messiah to preach and teach God’s Word in a way that will lift up the lowly.

He will emancipate the prisoners. He will grant recovery of sight to the blind. The bullied and oppressed will be liberated.

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

When I came to reveal to you