SPRINGS OF LIVING WATER

November 13, 2026November 13, 2026

15 NOVEMBER 2026

Commentary on the Gospel of the day: September 1, 2018 – How many talents do we have?

SUNDAY, THIRTY THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Prv 31:10-13,19-20,30-31; Ps 128: 1-5; 1 Thes 5: 1-6; Mt 25: 14-30

THE RISK OF LIVING THE PASCHAL MYSTERY

In today’s Gospel pericope, God is the giver of gifts and there are no limits to what He would like to share with us, his children. God has invited us to share in His divine life. This is a central point related to the Kingdom. God lavishes on us His divine Life and Grace. How often do we ask God for his grace to help us? The life that God offers us can’t be measured in terms of quantity. Very often many of us make the mistake of trying to count our blessings. God offers us His love and life to have an intimate relationship with Him for eternity.

Talents may be one of the aspects of His life he offers us. Only talents at some time will leave us empty and void. The more deeply we enter the relationship God offers us, the richer we become. The more faithful we are in small matters, the more we grow in Christ. The way we handle situations in life, should flow from the blessings we have already received in Christ. The readings invite us to pause and reflect on our life and actions: Am I really sharing in my master’s joy? The master in the parable is portrayed as hard-hearted, miserly and even dominating. Yet, the servant who has only one talent is also in possession of a gift given by the master. He constantly lavishes his gifts freely and generously on us. Each one of us is precious in God’s eyes. He invites us to be faithful in small matters, until His return. What am I doing with the gifts God has placed in my hands? The real surprise in the gospel is when the talent is taken away from the wicked and lazy servant and is given to the servant who already had ten talents. This act speaks of God’s generosity and has an eschatological dimension.

Today’s Gospel invites us to live the Paschal Mystery. We are invited to go out of ourselves in the service of others and creation. We are happy to go for Mass, reconciliation during Advent and Lent, and say a few novena prayers along with our daily prayers. We are not used to taking risks. Christian maturity/growth comes, when we respond positively in living the Paschal Mystery of Christ. Are we ready to die to ourselves, go out of our way to help each other or the poor in need? Do we risk dying to ourselves and sharing our talents in the service of the community. Do I use the blessings that I have abundantly received from God in the service of God and his community? Do I exercise the know-it-all attitude and place others in servitude? We are invited to be faithful to God.

The first reading and the psalm together offers us a balanced perspective of the image of a woman and a man who in their own way are faithful to God in the different roles that they play in life. We are invited to ask God for grace to live our lives to the fullest. We are called to fear the Lord and be faithful in living covenant life with him. As we sing the Psalm, let us confidently acknowledge that the talents given to us helps us to experience the blessedness that comes with it. Today we are invited to reflect on how the demands of discipleship can be brough to fulfilment in our daily living.

In biblical times, to bury a talent may have been the prudent way to avert the risk of the talent getting lost. He would not have to be responsible or accountable in case something went wrong. Our immediate instinct is to play it safe and show ourselves as prudent by not taking any risk. The greatest risk we take is to live the Paschal Mystery in our daily life. Pope Francis in his Apostolic letter, Desiderio Desideravi no. 49, affirms that “…the Paschal Mystery is made present so that the baptized, through their participation, can experience it in their own lives.” May we therefore, never bury our gifts out of fear, but use them generously, so that when the Lord comes, we too may hear those longed-for words: “Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of your Master.”

Response: Blessed are all who fear the Lord.

November 13, 2026November 13, 2026

14 NOVEMBER 2026

Thoughts from Another Home ©: The Person Who Prays - Unceasing Prayer (part 5)

SATURDAY, THIRTY SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

3 Jn 5-8; Ps 112: 1-6; Lk 18: 1-8, 55

UNCEASING PRAYER INCREASES OUR HOPE

The reading from the third Letter of St John and Psalm 112 talk about the Loyalty, Justice, Truth and Perseverance. The Gospel aims to bring out the same theme but does it in a very different way. The Judge in the gospel is neither just nor loyal to God or his people. He also seems to not care about the poor and needy in the land, even the widows who usually did not have protectors or providers during those days. The two themes that the parable aims to bring out are to pray unceasingly and to not lose heart (Lk 18:1).

We usually struggle with both in our lives. To pray unceasingly pre-supposes that we have a disposition and a firm faith that God is in control and I am not going to strive to take that control into my own hands. When we trust ourselves more than God, we create a dynamic of trying to do things ourselves before going to God. Bringing something to God in prayer becomes our last resort when it should be the first thing we do. To pray unceasingly means to start with prayer in thanksgiving, move to supplication and culminate at intercession. This teaches us an important attitude of always turning to the Lord and building a discipline of unceasing prayer.

The theme of not losing heart means a deep reliance and trust in the Lord who is the creator and saviour of all. For ‘We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him’ (Rom 8:28). We are called to rely deeply on him and place our hope in the salvation he has gratuitously offered us. Unceasing prayer is deeply reliant on this hope and as hope increases, even in difficult circumstances, so does our prayer. The object of our hope is a God who is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-good. Therefore, our hope ought to be as strong as the man who built his house on rock (Matt 7:24-27), not shaken or shattered by winds or storms.

Response: Blessed the man who fears the Lord.

November 12, 2026November 12, 2026

13 NOVEMBER 2026

Let Go and Let God - Revival Focus

FRIDAY, THIRTY SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

2 Jn 4-9; Ps 119: 1,2,10-11,17-18; Lk 17: 26-37

THE GRACE OF LETTING GO… AND LETTING GOD

A few weeks ago, while clearing out a cupboard, Sara found an old handbag untouched for years. The receipts had gone soft alongside an expired card, a few coins, a note whose meaning she could no longer place. She sat there wondering why she’d kept it all. It was not because it was worth keeping, it is just that she had never truly desired to let it go. It struck Sara later that this is not so different from how we carry a life. We do not hold on to the past for the mere purpose of holding. An old hurt outlives the one who caused it. A need to be understood outlives the conversation that was long over. A particular image of how things should look outlives its usefulness, and still we sometimes defend it.

The Gospel offers a strange, spare line: Remember Lot’s wife. Her turning back may not even have been defiance. It perhaps was only love, or grief, reluctant to leave a life still burning behind her. That is what makes it unsettling. Her focus was on what she was leaving, and not whom she was running toward. Jeremiah 13:29 says “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Perhaps the real question is not what to abandon, but what we are refusing to let go. Her heart was in what the Lord was asking her to ‘Let go’. She would not find God, because her attention was elsewhere.

The First Reading’s “that we love one another” points the same way. Loyalty asks for the smaller discipline of continuing to love while life alters and evolves. Some intentional choices, sometimes internally tough and hard, yet necessary. St Teresa of Ávila’s words hold both comfort and challenge: All things pass; God never changes. People change and will grow past needing us as before. Faith, perhaps, is unlearning the instinct to grip. It means that trusting that the future is not something you must catch up to, but Someone who loves you, who is already there.

Response: Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!

November 11, 2026November 11, 2026

12 NOVEMBER 2026

Luke 17: 20-25 (2020) | CHRISTIAN ART | Gospel Reading & Art Reflection

THURSDAY, THIRTY SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Memorial of Saint Josaphat, Bishop & Martyr

Phlm 7-20; Ps 146: 7-10; Lk 17: 20-25

TRUE CHRISTIAN WAY IN SIMPLE LIFE TACTS
AND NOT IN MEGA SHOWS

Sensationalism makes impact, and everyone is easily carried along by the crowd. The ads are so attractive we fall to them easily and our reasoning and freedom are mortgaged. It is because we are frightened of every pain and want to get rid of it as easily as possible, without change of life attitudes.

Today’s readings show us another way for true and happy life as disciples of Jesus. In the Gospel today Jesus himself admonishes us not to rush to magical and superstitious markets of religion where preachers compete to attract crowds by using aggressive marketing skills. We are easily misled by bigger crowds. Jesus declares very clearly that there are no magic solutions for entering the newness brought by Jesus except by a willing modification of our lifestyle. That is the only way we realize the inner freedom from greed for possessions, ambitions for immediate success and slavery to passions; and experience the joy of being God’s free children. It’s the new mindset new value system; we receive in our vicinity to the crucified Christ. That’s the meaning when Jesus says the kingdom of God is right in your midst.

Paul in his beautiful letter to Philemon, a well to do Christian, speaks about Onesimus, also a fellow Christian; He was a bonded labour, who stealthily walked out and came to Paul. Now Paul writes a letter to Philemon with utmost tact and fine blend of human and Christian values to change his attitude towards Onesimus and grant him liberty. Paul succeeds.

This is the effect of our true belongingness to Jesus. Gospel values give us a new mindset to regard all as my brothers and sisters irrespective of their social or economic conditions. We Christians have to manifest the presence of Jesus by radiating Gospel values around us. That is our mission in our families and in our workplaces. May we be rooted in Jesus, follow him closely on the path of Gospel values and be his true instruments of peace and reconciliation in our society.

Response: Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.

November 10, 2026November 10, 2026

11 NOVEMBER 2026

🌿 SUNDAY REFLECTION: THE CLEANSING OF THE TEN LEPERS (LUKE 17:11–19) 🌿 As Jesus traveled toward Jerusalem, ten lepers called out from a distance, pleading for mercy. Jesus told them to go

WEDNESDAY, THIRTY SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Memorial of St Martin of Tours

Tit 3: 1-7; Ps 23: 1-6; Lk 17: 11-19

FROM DISTANCE TO CLOSENESS

Our whole spiritual life is a journey towards union with God. The Gospel of today, in a nutshell captures this journey. We have the ten lepers who meet Jesus, but stand at a distance, away from Him. They are aware of their sickness, the social stigma and the feeling of being outcasts. But they are even more aware that Jesus has the power to heal them. And so, they cry out to Him for mercy. We may not be physically infected by leprosy, but each of us has some spiritual leprous wound which disfigures the image and likeness of God in us, makes us spiritually numb and gradually disintegrate. The Old Testament is replete with examples of such lepers whose physical condition was but an expression of spiritual malaise. We have Miriam (Num 12:1-10) who developed a certain subtle envy, resentment and rebellion against her brother Moses’ spiritual leadership. Namaan (2 Kgs 5: 1-15) was guilty of pride, while Gehazi the servant of Prophet Elisha (2 Kgs 5: 20-27) was an avaricious man. King Uzziah was arrogant and defiant to the Lord (2 Chron: 16-19).

Like the ten lepers, sin distances us from God. But there is an opportunity to grow closer. God’s mercy is always available and we do desire it. However, the motivation for seeking this mercy varies. Nine of the lepers who received healing went their own way. They are like the older brother in the parable of the Prodigal son who seek gifts to enjoy with their friends (Lk 15: 29b) and do not care for a relationship with the giver of the gift. The Samaritan however, returned to thank Jesus thereby receiving not just physical healing but spiritual wholeness and closeness with Jesus. Both these tendencies are present within us. We plead for some blessings and favours and do indeed receive them. We thank God sometimes but also often take God for granted. The gifts do not lead us to deeper intimacy with God. Gratitude opens our hearts to wholeness and intimacy. May we deepen this attitude of wholehearted gratitude.

Response: The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

November 9, 2026November 9, 2026

10 NOVEMBER 2026

Antique brass wash basin and folded linen towel beneath the words “Following Christ in Humble Service: The Way of the Servant King” on a deep charcoal background.

TUESDAY, THIRTY SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Memorial of St Leo the Great

Tit 2: 1-8, 11-14; Ps 37: 3-4, 18, 23, 27, 29; Lk 17: 7-10

FAITH IN THROUGH HUMBLE SERVICE

Today, we celebrate the memorial of St. Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church. His life reminds us that true greatness does not come from power or position but from humble service, faithfulness and love for God’s people. In the first reading, St. Paul instructs us on how Christians ought to live. They are called to be self-controlled, loving, patient and to be good examples to others. Our faith should not remain only in words; it must rather be visible in our daily actions. God’s grace has appeared to bring salvation, teaching us to reject sin and live upright and faithful lives.

This teaching becomes meaningful when we look at the life of St. Leo the Great. As the Pope, he guided the Church with wisdom, courage and responsibility. He understood his leadership not as a privilege for personal glory, but instead as a service entrusted to him by Christ. His life shows us how God’s grace can work through a person who sincerely serves the Church. He stood firm in difficult moments, defended the faith courageously, and remained committed to the people entrusted to his care. His example reminds us that authentic leadership is measured not by how many people serve us, but by how generously we are willing to serve others. This call to faithful living and humble service reaches its fullness in today’s Gospel. Jesus reminds us that after fulfilling our duties, we should not seek praise or consider ourselves greater than others. We are servants who are called to do what is expected of us. Our service is not a reason for pride, because everything we accomplish is possible through God’s grace.

Therefore, today’s liturgy invites us to correlate faithful living with humble service. The first reading teaches us how to live as Christians, while the Gospel teaches us the attitude with which we should serve. As we celebrate the memory of this great saint today, let us ask God for the grace to live our faith sincerely, serve others humbly, and remain faithful to our Christian responsibilities without seeking recognition.

Response: The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.

November 8, 2026November 8, 2026

9 NOVEMBER 2026

Today's the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, the cathedral of Rome. Built around 324 by Emperor Constantine the Great it is the where the throne of the Pope is --

MONDAY, THIRTY SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN BASILICA IN ROME

Ez 47:1-2,8-9,12 / 1 Cor 3:9-11,16-17; Ps 46:2-3,5-6,8-9; Jn 2:13-22

MAKE MY HEART YOUR DWELLING PLACE

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, the cathedral church of Rome and the mother church of the churches of the world. The Gospel takes us to the Gospel account where Jesus cleanses the Temple. At first, his action may seem like an expression of anger. But it reveals something deeper: Jesus’ great love for his Father and his desire to restore the true meaning of worship. The Temple was meant to be a holy place where people could pray and encounter God. People came from distant places to offer sacrifices, so buying animals and exchanging money were necessary services. But gradually, what had begun as a service became a business. The problem was even greater because the buying and selling took place in the Court of the Gentiles. This was the place where people from other nations could come and seek the true God. Instead of finding a peaceful place for prayer, they found a marketplace. Jesus reminds them of Isaiah’s words: “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations” (Is 56:7). By driving away the merchants from the temple Jesus reminds the people that God must always remain at the centre of their lives.

The Gospel also invites us to look into our own hearts. St Paul says, “You are God’s temple” (1 Cor 3:16). Our hearts can also become crowded with worries, ambition, money, anger, pride, distractions and the desire for recognition. Sometimes God has not left us; rather, we have filled his space with too many other things. Jesus wants to cleanse our hearts, not to condemn us, but to renew us. His zeal comes from love. He wants our hearts to become places of prayer, peace and communion with God.

On this feast, let us not only admire the beauty of our churches. Let us also ask: What needs to be removed from my heart so that God can have the first place? May Christ cleanse and renew us, so that our lives truly become a dwelling place for God.

Response: The waters of a river give joy to God’s city,
the holy place, the dwelling of the Most High.

November 6, 2026November 6, 2026

8 NOVEMBER 2026

Illustration of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) | Life of Jesus

SUNDAY, THIRTY SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Wis 6: 12-16; Ps 63: 2-8; 1 Thes 4: 13-18; Mt 25: 1-13

WISDOM, READINESS AND FAITHFUL LOVE

Wisdom does not usually force itself upon us. It is discovered by those who genuinely seek it, by those who are willing to pause, listen and recognize the presence of God amid ordinary life. The first reading reminds us that wisdom is not something distant or inaccessible. She makes herself known to those who love her and allows them to be guided by her. The real question, therefore, is not whether God gives us wisdom, but whether we are attentive enough to recognize and receive it. This is beautifully seen in the prayer of Solomon. When entrusted with the responsibility of leading God’s people, he does not ask for wealth, power or a life free from difficulties. He asks for an understanding heart, so that he may discern what is right and govern wisely. His prayer reveals something important about genuine wisdom: it is not merely knowledge or intelligence. It is the grace to see life from God’s perspective and to use what has been entrusted to us for the good of others. Each of us has been entrusted with something. We have received time, abilities, relationships, opportunities, responsibilities and, above all, the gift of faith. None of these gifts is given merely for ourselves. God’s grace always carries a mission within it. The question is whether we are allowing these gifts to bear fruit.

This is where the Gospel’s image of the lamps becomes deeply meaningful. The ten young women are all waiting for the bridegroom. All have lamps. All have received the same invitation. From the outside, there appears to be little difference between them. Yet the difference becomes visible when the waiting is prolonged. Some have prepared themselves for the unexpected delay; others have assumed that what they have will be enough. The Gospel invites us to look honestly at our own lives. Faith cannot simply be something we possess; it must be something we nurture. Our relationship with God cannot survive merely on yesterday’s prayer, yesterday’s generosity or yesterday’s encounter with grace. Love needs to be renewed. Faith needs to be nourished. The inner lamp needs oil.

This oil can be understood as the life of grace expressed through prayer, love, fidelity and good works. Spiritual readiness is not anxiety about the future. It is living the present faithfully. It means cultivating an intimate relationship with God, allowing our conscience to be formed by truth, and becoming available to the needs of others. It means being prepared not simply to meet Christ at the end of our journey, but to recognize Him whenever He comes to us: in the people entrusted to our care, in unexpected demands, in moments of suffering, and in opportunities to love.

There is also something sobering in the Gospel. The foolishness of the unprepared is not necessarily found in some great act of rebellion. Sometimes it is simply neglect. A small failure to pay attention, a little postponement, a habit of taking grace for granted, an opportunity to love that we repeatedly ignore, such things can slowly make the heart inattentive to God. What we repeatedly postpone today may eventually become a way of life, and what we fail to nurture can quietly lose its place within our hearts. This is why St Paul’s words to the Thessalonians are so consoling. Christian hope is not founded on the denial of death or suffering, but on the conviction that our lives are held within God’s promise of communion with Him. Because our destiny is ultimately union with Christ, the way we live now matters. Our present choices are not disconnected from our eternal hope.

We are therefore called to live awake: not frightened, but attentive; not anxious, but faithful. God has entrusted each of us with gifts that can create, heal, encourage and give life. Love that is never offered gradually becomes stagnant, whereas love expressed in service grows stronger. The more generously we give ourselves, the more capable we become of loving. Perhaps, then, the prayer we need today is not simply, “Lord, give me more,” but “Lord, teach me to recognize what You have already given me, and give me the wisdom to use it faithfully.” The bridegroom comes. The invitation has already been given. The lamp is in our hands. What remains is to keep the flame alive.

Response: For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord, my God.

November 6, 2026November 6, 2026

7 NOVEMBER 2026

Luke 16 9 You Will Be Welcomed Into Eternal Powerpoint Church Sermon | PowerPoint Presentation Designs | Slide PPT Graphics | Presentation Template Designs

SATURDAY, THIRTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Phil 4: 10-19; Ps 112: 1-2, 5-6, 8-9; Lk 16: 9-15

THE JOY OF GIVING

Phil. 4:10–19 is a canticle of a person fully satisfied. This passage of Paul resonates with the truth that one lacks nothing when we have Christ and when we experience the joy that comes from sharing what we possess. St. Thérèse writes in her autobiography: “From the day I forgot myself, I lived the happiest life on earth” — referring to the profound experience of her Christmas night. Another quote might help us from another author, “I make myself rich by making my needs less. We too could embrace this view towards life.

Perhaps true contentment does not come from possessing more, but from learning to desire less and to give more. The moment we begin to look beyond ourselves, our hearts become freer and our lives become richer. We discover that there is a deep joy in making another person happy, in sharing what we have, and in being available to those who are in need. Thus, whenever we interact with someone, may we view ourselves as the least among all and, from the very depths of our hearts, respectfully hold others as superior to ourselves. Such an attitude of humility does not diminish us; rather, it opens our hearts to recognise the goodness of God present in others. Then we will embark on a beautiful journey of self-discovery and discover that the less we cling to ourselves, the more room we create for God and for others.

The Gospel passage from Luke today speaks directly to the interior life, and God, who sees the heart, knows our intentions. When we truly love Jesus, little things matter very much to us. “Whoever can be trusted in little things can also be trusted in great,” teaches Jesus. It is indeed something to ponder and introspect. Faithfulness is not demonstrated only through great deeds or extraordinary sacrifices; it is revealed in the small choices we make each day — in our words, our relationships, our responsibilities and our willingness to serve. God looks not merely at what we do, but at the love and sincerity with which we do it.

Response: Blessed the man who fears the Lord.

November 5, 2026November 12, 2026

16 NOVEMBER 2026

MONDAY, THIRTY THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Rv 1: 1-4; 2: 1-5; Ps 1: 1-4, 6; Lk 18: 35-43

WHEN DARKNESS SEEMS TO WIN

Have you ever asked, “Lord, where are You?” There are moments when everything seems to go wrong. We pray, but the answer seems delayed. We see suffering and wonder: does goodness really have a future? It is into such moments that the Book of Revelation speaks. Revelation may appear frightening, filled with visions, symbols and battles. Yet this is a message: Do not be afraid. God is still in control. Evil may appear powerful, but it will never have the last word. Christ has won the victory.

The first Christians were persecuted and rejected, yet Revelation reminded them: Hold on. Your suffering is not the end of the story. Is that not the message needed today? We face other pressures. A student may feel that marks decide his worth. A family may struggle with money. Many silently carry wounds nobody sees. Revelation asks us to see the world with the eyes of faith. God is working even when we cannot see His work. But Jesus gives the Church at Ephesus warning: “You have lost the love you had at first.” What a painful possibility! We can pray, attend Mass, say the Rosary and perform our duties, yet slowly lose the love that once made everything beautiful.

Then comes Bartimaeus. He could not see Jesus, but he believed Jesus could see him. When others told him to be quiet, he cried louder. Perhaps this is the faith, Revelation asks of us: to keep believing when we cannot yet see. When life becomes difficult, let us not ask only, “Why is this happening to me?” Let us also ask, “Lord, what are You trying to show me?” Perhaps my darkness teaches me trust. Perhaps my waiting teaches me patience. Perhaps my struggle brings me closer to God. The world may look dark, but the story is not over. Christ is still our Lord, always. And today, let us ask: If Jesus looked into my heart today, would He find the same love He found when I first began to follow Him? If not, perhaps this is the moment to begin again.

Response: Those who are victorious I will feed from the tree of life.