BREAD FOR YOUTH

  1st August 2024 17 th Week Ordinary Time Thursday Jer 18:1-6 Meditation I am clay in the Hand of God! The Lord is the potter, and we are the clay. We are just a lump of mud in the hand of God. We may be handsome, beautiful and wonderful people but everything will turn to dust and we cease to be nothing except for the soul. We are immaterial and we are momentary in this world. We do not know what will happen to us next moment. In the world, we see a lot of disasters and accidents. We have no choice but to accept ourselves as a lump of clay in the hand of God. God in his goodness designs us the way he wants. Our God is creative and faithful. He loves us. Though we are just clay, we are precious to him. He will not be unjust to us. He does wonders with us. He let us enjoy the wonder and beauty of life. He is God of glory and shares his glory with us. Do I realize that we are just clay in the hand of God? St Alphonsus Liguori Fr Putti Anthaiah Sdb

  31 July 2024 Wednesday Jer 15:10, 16-21 Meditation The Lord Assures his Protection Human life involves pain. Yet times like prophet Jeremiah, one may feel it would be better that he/she was not born. Life offers pain and agony in accomplishing one’s life goal. The way to glory is narrow. Life is not only a bed of roses but on the bed of roses one has to meet the thorns. The way to life is smooth and hard. One has to go, grow and glow in the hardships. Prophet Jeremiah had a hard time with the people of Israel. He was called by God to lead people in the right path. He was rejected and he was not considered. He was sidelined and worthless. The Lord assures him of his care and protection. The Lord gives guidance and grace to all his servants to do his mission. We need to remember and genuine to ourselves and others that the work we do does not belong to us but to God. Are you aware that each one has a mission given by the Lord?   St Ignatius of Loyola Fr Putti A...

  30 July 2024 17 th Week Ordinary Time Tuesday Jer 14:17-22 Meditation Remember Your Covenant with Us. The situation of the people in the time of Jeremiah and now are the same. The people are killed in war, starved due to famine and there is illness everywhere. People suffer and their pain cannot be explained. Some people are enjoying life, but some people suffer for basic needs. Some people work in inhuman conditions. They are made to do overwork for little pay. Human beings are exploited. The exploitation has no end. Human beings forget that they are not the master of the world. There is God who knows everything and who is in control of everything. Human beings behave irresponsibly towards others and unto themselves. Let everyone be aware that the Lord is the master of the universe. He can cause the rain and the star of the universe in the sky to move. Let us not for God there is God who is better than us. So let us place ourselves in the hands of good and be...

  29 July 2024 17 th Week Ordinary Time Monday 1 Jn 4:7-16 Meditation Love one Another! Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.   Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.   This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.   This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.     Dear friends, since God loved us so much, we should also love one another.     No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us ( 1 Jn 4:7-12). Love has different grades, levels, degrees, outlooks, attitudes and different ways of looking at it. In actuality, genuine love is the same as that which wishes the complete good of the other. God’s lo...

  28 July 2024 16 th Week Ordinary Time Saturday Jer 7:1-11 Meditation Change Your Ways God is one and he is love. Jesus is the Son of God, who manifested to us the Father and the Spirit. In Jesus, we have the fullness of revelation. Jesus is the way, the truth and life. The one who believes will not die but lives. Jesus has come to proclaim the kingdom of God. The call of Jesus was to repent and believe in the Good News. The Good News is preached to us by Jesus. The prophet Jeremiah is inviting us to change our ways and transform our lives for the better.   The practice of religion will not save us but the change of heart and right to living with the trust and grace of Jesus will save us. A true religion enables one to live right and do right with the help of God. A religion that leads to evil ways is a dead religion. Needless to say, many of us practice false religion to our advantage. Do know that the way to God is a change of heart? Fr Putti Anthaiah Sdb...

  26 July 2024 16 th Week Ordinary Time Friday Jer 3:14-17 Meditation Return to the Lord Return to the Lord O, faithless people. The Lord is best known and loved as a spouse. The spousal relationship is said to be strongest in all ups and downs of life. The Lord loves us and we in return love him. The love of the creator is so great that it makes us love him in return. How blessed are we to be loved by the Lord? How sweet is the love of the Lord? Blessed are those who experience the love of the Lord. The love of the Lord is like a honey. Lord gives shepherd after his own heart to lead us on the green pastures and enjoy the land flowing with milk and honey. The holy land Jerusalem will be the place of God’s center of gathering his people. The Lord will transform stubborn hearts from evil. The Lord will bring us salvation. His mercy will have no end. Do we love and give due respect to the elderly? Sts Anne and Joachim (Mem) Fr Putti Anthaiah Sdb

  25 July 2024 16 th Week Ordinary Time Thursday 2 Cor 4:7-15 s Meditation We are Precious to the Lord! Human beings are treasures in the clay jars. We know well the body is matter and it gets destroyed at death. In the human body, there is treasure. The treasure is God’s love and soul which is everlasting. Through the death of Jesus, the treasure is preserved from corruption. Human beings because of their sin are to be destroyed like clay jars. But the treasure of the human person as a whole is given precious value by the Lord through his passion, death and resurrection. If we die with Christ we will live with him. Everyone who believes in Jesus and participates in his life has eternal life. Eternal life is a gift that is given by Jesus to the human bodies which are just like earthen jars. The value that Jesus treasures in us is like a treasure in the earthen pots. Let us realise that we are precious and wonderful for the Lord. God loves us immensely. Let us not forge...

  24 July 2024 16 th Week Ordinary Time Wednesday Jer 1:1, 4-10 Meditation I am with You The Lord calls Jeremiah. Jeremiah was a young man. He touches his mouth and puts his word in his mouth. The call is from God. The call of God is for a purpose. It does not matter where you are.    What you are? What matters is the call, commission and mission. The Lord certainly needs human yes to God. To say yes to God’s call, one needs humanity. Letting go of one's ego and will. Allowing one to be guided by the Lord. As it was said of Jesus that he is going to be for rise and fall of many. So also every prophet and minister is going to be for the rise and fall of many. The ministry has to build and destroy for the good of the Kingdom of God. Let the prophet be the prophet and let everyone who has fear of the Lord follow the prophet's words. God’s prophets are not away in the desert but they are among us. God speaks to us to the Word of God. Do like to be a prophet? ...

  23 July 2024 16 th Week Ordinary Time Tuesday Mic 7:14-15, 18-20 Meditation God Delight in Showing Mercy The Lord rejoices over in forgiving. His mercy has no end. His anger will not last long. He loves us. His mercy lasts from age to age. He has forgiven our ancestors and brought them back to God. He will bring back the generations and us to the right fold. God’s other name is Mercy. The Lord tells us to cast our sins into the deep sea. Do not go in search of your sins. Do not recall your sins. Confess your sins and they are forgiven forever. Do not regret the past and do not entertain guilty feelings. Trust in yourself and trust in the forgiveness of God. Worry and guilt will do no good. They only have to help to be good and do right. Are you kind to yourself? St Bridget Fr Putti Anthaiah Sdb

  22 July 2024 16 th Week Ordinary Time Monday Songs 3:1-4 Meditation Human Heart Longs for God The love of the beloved for the love is like thirst and hunger. The beloved searches for love during the night, asking everyone for her love. At last, when she finds her love, she takes him to her mother’s house. It shows the certainty of the love of the beloved for the love. Love longs, searches and finds. Every love involves sacrifice and selflessness. Today we keep the feast of Mary Magdalene the woman who loved Jesus. The love we speak and understand in terms of beloved and the love. The love expressed in the book of Song of Song is the love between the human heart and the Divine. Human beings long for God. St Augustine says our hearts are restless until they rest in you. Mary Magdalene longed for Jesus the true master. Do we long for Jesus? St Mary Magdalene Fr Putti Anthaiah Sdb

  20 July 2024 15 th Week Ordinary Time Saturday Mic 2:1-5 Meditation   Dream and Plan Plan and dream that make things happen. It is good to ask ourselves what plans and dreams we have. Some plan and dream about good things on their bed. Some overthink, worry, and brood over their bed. Some people plan and dream evil things against other people. Let us know what we plan and dream. Some things are not in our control. One should learn to plan and dream well.   Those who plan and dream evil things from their bed to bed. God will not bless them. They will have to pay for it. They will have disasters in their life. The Lord will be harsh with them. The anger and wrath of God will be on them. The only way is to follow the way of the Lord. One has to plan and dream good things for themselves and others. The Lord who sees the goodwill of the persons will bless them.   Do we plan evil or good? Fr Putti Anthaiah Sdb

  19 July 2024 15 th Week Ordinary Time Friday Isa 38:1-6, 21-22 God Gives a Second Chance Hezekiah was told by Isaiah that his illness would take him to death. God ordered him to put his household in order. God warns us to keep our household in order from impending danger and death. One has to act accordingly to keep order in his/her life. The life warnings are there before every dangerous situation. The Lord is good enough to show us a way to set things right. Let us see things right as early as possible and live well. Hezekiah prayed and cried to the Lord and the Lord heard his prayer and gave him another fifteen years to live. The Lord is kind enough to give us time and possibilities to amend our ways. The Lord has given us time and we have to make use of it well to come back to the Lord. Blessed are the people who consider that they are given a second life or second choice to live and make an effort to live well for the love of the Lord. Do we consider that God ha...

  18 July 2024 15 th Week Ordinary Time Thursday Isa 26:7-9, 12, 16-19 Meditation The Human Heart Yearns for God The Lord is righteous. His ways are just and right. One has to learn to walk in the way of the Lord. The one who knows about the goodness and greatness of God falls in line with God and his ways. The deeds of the Lord are mighty and wonderful. One has to learn to love the Lord and his doings. The mind of humans marvels at the works of the Lord. The heart of human beings yearns and longs for the Lord. The heart is a wonderful organ of the human being. It can feel the love of the Lord in our lives. The longing that we have for God is the ultimate desire that every human being should note and go on in search of that longing for the Lord. Blessed are those who long for the Lord and rest in his love. A human has no goal in life other than to yearn for the love of the Lord. Do we Long for the Love of the Lord? Fr Putti Anthaiah Sdb

  17 July 2024 15 th Week Ordinary Time Wednesday Isa 10:5-7, 13-16 Mediation The Lord is Almighty! The arrow is in the hand of the person who uses it. The axe is the person who uses it to cut. To certain extent the things that a person uses to cut, break and shoot are in his/her control. They are made used the way the person concerned uses them. The use of these things depends to a great extent on the capability of the person. They are utilized for the purpose the person wishes. They are subjected to the person's use. God is the Lord, the Lord Almighty. He is Supreme and he is in control of everything. Human beings wish to control things inside and outside of them. The failure to do so makes them suffer. No day human beings can entirely be in control of everything in life. He/she has to submit and depend upon God. God has complete control over everything of the past, present and future. We need to trust that the Lord is the Almighty who does great things. Do you ...

  16 July 2024 15 th Week Ordinary Time Tuesday Isa 7:1-9 Meditation Be Firm in Faith Faith is God’s gift. Some people do question their faith. Some others doubt their faith. Some people test their faith and yet others give up their faith. Though faith is taught and learned from others; it grows strong in one's life as one experiences life and its hardships. One who goes through all trials and comes out in trust with God is the one who has deep faith. The gold has to be tested with fire to prove its purity and value. In the same way, one’s faith has to grow through tough times. People of faith live by the Word of God. Their lives are transformed. They stand as witnesses to the Kingdom of God and its values. One has to stand firm in the faith of the Lord. The Kings and rulers of this earth fight battles and govern their kingdoms but every kingdom and people belong to the supreme Lord. It is in God that we should trust and place our hope in him.   Our Lady of ...

  15 July 2024 15 th Week Ordinary Time Monday Is 1:10-17 Meditation Learn to do right; seek justice Human beings offer to God different things, including animals, precious things, food, fruits and flowers. God does not want all these things. They do not please or satisfy him. God does not need any material things and they do not satisfy him. He needs us to be right and just. God loves us and he needs our transformed lives.   The offerings we make are the fruit of our work or the produce of our hands. They are of value and precious. The offerings that we give to God are signs of our sacrifice. It should involve the transformation of the heart and mind of the one who offers. As a sign, one should live a just life and take care of the disadvantaged and those in need. Such an offering is acceptable to God. What is the fruit of our offerings to God? St Bonaventure (Mem) Fr Putti Anthaiah Sdb

  13 July 2024 14 th Week Ordinary Time Saturday Isa 6:1-8 Meditation “Here am I. Send me!” “We know that the Lord is holy no one can become as holy as God. We remain human and sinful. At the sight and thought of holiness of God Isaiah says: “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”   Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” We are unworthy of God’s blessings and God’s goodness. We have sinned in word and deed. We have no hope to be holy and to do the service to the Lord....

  12 July 2024 14 th Week Ordinary Time Friday Hos 14:1-9 Meditation The downfall is due to sin The downfall is due to sin. It is the sin that is the cause of sickness and death. God created humans for life and eternity in a state of grace. Humanity failed and sinned and brought about their death. To get rid of this mortal death and enter into eternal life one has to purify oneself. Let us purify ourselves from our sins and sinful nature. Let us pray to the Lord for his mercy and forgiveness.   The way of the Lord is righteous and let us walk by the Lord. The Lord came to save us and give us eternal life through his passion, death and resurrection. Let us be humble like Jesus, accept redemption, and not rebel against God and his ways. A rebellion will make us stumble. Let us obey and submit to the Lord and his care. Do we rebel against God and others? Fr Putti Anthaiah Sdb

  11 July 2024 14 th Week Ordinary Time Thursday Hos 11:1-4, 8-9 Meditation For I am God, and not a Human Israel was a little child that God loved. As the child grew he nurtured for good. The child is unfaithful and ungrateful by going after other gods. The love of God was put test and the Love of God was wounded. God cares for us as a mother and cares for her child. Children and yet time those who receive love are ungrateful. So were the people of Israel. Though we speak of God and his love in terms of human love of beloved and mother. God is not just that love. He is beyond and loves humans with unconditional love. ‘For I am God and not a man-the Holy One among you’. Can we comprehend the Divine Love? It is impossible only to some extent we can come to know it from the love of the parents and dear ones. Let us learn from the love of the elders and love in return to make God’s love real. Do we express love for someone and for their wellbeing? St Benedict (m...

  10 July 2024 14 th Week Ordinary Time Wednesday Hos 10:1-3, 7-8,12 Meditation We are the Vine Planted by the Lord Israel is like a vine it is growing. It is a vine that was shown by God and planted. It is bound to grow and spread and give fruit. The vine grows wild and it needs pruning. So too the people of Israel have grown wicked and they have gone away from their God. They are guilty of their evil life and sinful life. The Lord did not abandon them in their sinful life. To experience the unfailing love of God one has to be merciful to oneself. Love of the self and willingness to amend one’s wrongdoing are the ways to help oneself. The Lord with his grace will break through the impossible and make us holy and acceptable to the Lord. As a person to pleasing God, one will be pleasing to others to live in peace. Do we take a chance to set things right in our life? Fr Putti Anthaiah Sdb

  8 July 2024 14 th Week Ordinary Time Monday Hos 2:14, 15-16, 19-20 Meditation God's Love is Lasting A bond between the love and beloved, wife and husband is deep and lasting. So is the love of God for Israel. God loves humanity as his spouse. His love is expressed in terms of conjugal terms as to understand that God’s love is not one fancy show for name sake but it is full of commitment and responsibility. Keeping aside the love bond between the spouses, one can note how committed they are to each other, to their posterity and to their household. A responsibility which needs a lot of sacrifices; even at the cost of losing their love for each other for the good and well-being of the other members who are in their care. Do you know that God feels for you/me? Fr Putti Anthaiah Sdb

  6 July 2024 13 th Week Ordinary Time Saturday Amos 9:11-15 Meditation A Failure Can be a Way to Do Right The Lord is harsh and just as a father does with his child.   The hardships and trials that come in the way of humans are God send some way or the other. They come not to destroy but to make us prosper in the world and as well in the sight of God. Storms in life are signs that we have the strength to face them and to rebuild ourselves after the destruction or harm. Only those who have gone through life trials and ups and downs of life can be able to find meaning in the Lord. Life offers variety of opportunities to return to the Lord and to know the truth. The realisation of evil, wrong and sin itself is the grace to give up the wrong path and choose the right path and grow in virtue and holiness. Each one has to purify himself/herself to be acceptable to the Lord. Are we aware of the awareness that sin creates for the love of virtue? St Maria Goretti Fr P...

  5 July 2024 13 th Week Ordinary Time Friday Amos 8:4-6, 9-12 Meditation Share and Care In the time of Amos and as well now in the age of AI human beings are on the move to exploit the poor and innocent. Needless to note and say humans are waiting for every opportunity and a good time to exploit the poor and those on the fringes of society. Those who are able and well-to-do can’t be mugged but those who are disadvantaged and weak. Yet time human mind works to exploit the poor, weak and vulnerable. The Lord will come down heavy on such people. They may prosper in their business and their life. They may even have a so-called comfortable life. There is a limit to human evil actions. If one goes beyond one’s limits one way or the other, he/she has to face the consequences. Nature reacts and when it does it causes havoc in the lives of the trespassers. Live and let live. Good things in life are to be shared and not to be hoarded up. Are we aware that the injustice caus...

  4 July 2024 13 th Week Ordinary Time Thursday Amos 7:10-17 Meditation Grow in Your Charism Amaziah the priest tells Amos to escape from Juda and not prophesy against the king and kingdom. Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also cared for sycamore-fig trees.   But the  Lord  took me from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’     Now then, hear the word of the  Lord . You say, “‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’   “Therefore, this is what the  Lord  says: “‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and  your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be measured and divided up, and you will die in a pagan country. Let the leaders lead, let the workmen be at their work, let the ministers be at the service of the Wo...

  3 July 2024 13 th Week Ordinary Time Wednesday Acts 10:24-35 Trust in the Lord and Others Anyone who fears God and does what is pleasing to God is accepted in the sight of God. We are fortunate that we are Christians in India. God loves us so he gave us human vocation and then Christian vocation. So, we are indebted to him. It does not matter to which nationality one belongs but the blessed are who belongs to Jesus. Jesus is the Saviour of the world. Peter was sent by God to Cornelius to speak of Jesus. Cornelius was a Roman centurion of the Italian cohort stationed in Caesarea. He and his household believe in Jesus and receive the Spirit of God. Today we keep the solemnity of St Thomas the Apostle of India. He was known as doubting Thomas. We do mistrust people. Mistrust is the way to trust or grow in trust. St Thomas did not believe in the risen Jesus but when Jesus showed him his wounds, he believed and came out with a great saying ‘My Lord and my God’. We need to l...

  13 th Week Ordinary Time 2 July 2024 Tuesday Amos 3:1-8; 4:11-12 Meditation Return to the Lord The Lord will take action against those who do not live by His Word. God created us in freedom and instead of making use of liberty well, they misuse freedom beyond their limits. The Lord repeatedly warns to take care not sin and do evil to others. The tendency and weakness of humans fail and they go astray. Blessed are those who returned to the Lord after a failure. The Lord invites us to return to him. Return to him would be to leave our old ways and come back to him to serve him and one another in love. A transformed person is stronger than a lion in his character and witness to Christ. Such people make tangible contributions to the well-being of the community and the people in need. Are we transformed people? Fr Putti Anthaiah Sdb