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Either for or against Christ

Gospel Luke 11:14-23 Know that the kingdom of God has overtaken you Jesus was casting out a devil and it was dumb; but when the devil had gone out the dumb man spoke, and the people were amazed. But some of them said, ‘It is through Beelzebul, the prince of devils, that he casts out devils.’ Others asked him, as a test, for a sign from heaven; but, knowing what they were thinking, he said to them, ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is heading for ruin, and a household divided against itself collapses. So too with Satan: if he is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? – since you assert that it is through Beelzebul that I cast out devils. Now if it is through Beelzebul that I cast out devils, through whom do your own experts cast them out? Let them be your judges then. But if it is through the finger of God that I cast out devils, then know that the kingdom of God has overtaken you. So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own palace, his goods are undi...
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Christ came to complete the law

Gospel Matthew 5:17-19 I have not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to complete them Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.’ Reflection God’s law is not a relic to be discarded but a living guide that points toward love in action. Jesus names obedience, not as a burden, but as a path to fullness—fulfilling what the Law and the Prophets promised by embodying mercy, justice, and faithfulness. When we pause to listen, we are invited to align our habits, cho...
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To be forgiven you must forgive

Gospel Matthew 18:21-35 To be forgiven, you must forgive Peter went up to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times.     ‘And so the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; but he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at his master’s feet. “Give me time” he said “and I will pay the whole sum.” And the servant’s master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt. Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him. “Pay what you owe...
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No Prophet welcome in own country

Gospel Luke 4:24-30 No prophet is ever accepted in his own country Jesus came to Nazara and spoke to the people in the synagogue: ‘I tell you solemnly, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.     ‘There were many widows in Israel, I can assure you, in Elijah’s day, when heaven remained shut for three years and six months and a great famine raged throughout the land, but Elijah was not sent to any one of these: he was sent to a widow at Zarephath, a Sidonian town. And in the prophet Elisha’s time there were many lepers in Israel, but none of these was cured, except the Syrian, Naaman.’     When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They sprang to their feet and hustled him out of the town; and they took him up to the brow of the hill their town was built on, intending to throw him down the cliff, but he slipped through the crowd and walked away. Reflection Jesus challenges the crowd to see beyond familiarity and to recognize the un...
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The Samaritan Woman

Gospel of John 4:5–16, 19–26, 39–42: Jesus came to the Samaritan town of Sychar, near the land Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Tired from his journey, he sat by Jacob’s well at about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said, “Give me a drink.” His disciples had gone into town to buy food. Surprised, the woman said, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan, for a drink?” For Jews did not associate with Samaritans. Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God and who is asking you, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” She said, “Sir, you have no bucket and the well is deep. Are you greater than our father Jacob who gave us this well?” Jesus replied, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst. The water I give will become a spring within, welling up to eternal life.” The woman said, “Sir, give me this water.” Then she added, “I see you are a prophet. Our anc...
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The Prodigal Son

The Gospel of Luke (15:1–3, 11–32) Tax collectors and sinners gathered to listen to Jesus, while the Pharisees and scribes complained that he welcomed sinners. In response, Jesus told this parable: A man had two sons. The younger asked for his share of the inheritance, and the father divided his property between them. Soon after, the younger son left for a distant country where he wasted everything in reckless living. When a famine struck and he had nothing left, he found work feeding pigs and was so hungry he longed to eat their food. Coming to his senses, he decided to return home and say, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your servants.” While he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to embrace and kiss him. Though the son began his confession, the father called for the best robe, a ring, and sandals, and ordered a feast. “For this son of mine was dea...
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The owner of the vineyard

Gospel Matthew 21:33-43,45-46 This is the landlord's heir: come, let us kill him Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people, ‘Listen to another parable. There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third. Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way. Finally he sent his son to them. “They will respect my son” he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, “This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance.” So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?’ They answered, ‘He will br...
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