BREAD FOR YOUTH

  30th Week Friday in Ordinary Time First Reading Rev 7:2-14 Meditation Do You Know for Certain Someone You Know is a Saint? Happy Feast of All Saints. It is a great feast indeed. A feast of all declared and non-declared saints. The ultimate aim and purpose of life is to be happy in the present life and life after. All the religions tell us the way to be happy is to attain salvation. To attain salvation in Christian terms means to be in heaven. Those who lived well and lived according to the will of God will be allowed in heaven. All those who are in heaven are saints for us. Saints pray for us before the Father in heaven. They are model to us. During the liturgical year we have celebrated many feasts of declared stains days but today in particular we think of many who reached heaven but were not declared saints. They may be many of our known people who lived holy lives and died certainly in heaven. They have set an example of a good Christian life, and we need to think o...

  30th Week Friday in Ordinary Time Year One Rom 15:14-21 Humility in Ministry! St Paul’s words reveal a deep sense of humility and purpose in ministry. He acknowledges the faith and maturity of the Roman Christians but also reminds them, and us, that ministry is not about personal achievement. Everything he has accomplished among the Gentiles, he attributes to the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. This passage challenges believers to reflect on the motivation behind their service. St Paul’s example shows that the work of sharing the gospel is a sacred offering to God, not a platform for self-recognition. When we serve, teach, or encourage others, we are presenting our lives and our efforts as worship. Do we encourage others? Year Two Phil 3:17-4:1 We are Citizens of Heaven! St Paul’s words are both a challenge and a comfort. He calls believers to live in a way that reflects heavenly values rather than earthly ones. In a world obsessed with self-gra...

  30th Week Thursday in Ordinary Time Year One Rom 8:31-39 Meditation We are not Alone in the Struggle! St. Paul is not saying that life will be free of opposition or pain. Rather, he reminds us that no opposition can overpower the one who stands in God’s love. If the Creator of the universe is for us, no created power can ultimately defeat us. “He who did not spare His own Son” shows that God’s generosity has no limit. If He gave His very Son for our salvation, we can trust Him with every other part of our lives. This truth silences doubt and fear. St Paul shows a stunning picture of Jesus, not only risen, but interceding for us at the right hand of the Father. We are not alone in our struggles. Every prayer, every sigh, every act of faith is joined to Christ’s ongoing prayer for us. Hardship, persecution, suffering, all these are real. Yet none of them can sever the bond between us and Christ. St Paul lists every imaginable power, death, life, angels, rulers, time, ...

  30th Week Wednesday in Ordinary Time Rom 8:26-30 Meditation God Gives Hope in Dark Time! There are moments when words fail, when our hearts are heavy, our prayers uncertain, and we simply don’t know what to say. Paul tells us that even in those moments, the Holy Spirit prays within us, expressing our deepest needs in a language beyond words. God understands the silent cries of our hearts. “All things work together for good for those who love God.” This doesn’t mean everything that happens is good. Pain, loss, and suffering are real. But God can weave even those painful threads into something that leads to growth, faith, and redemption. Trusting this truth gives us hope even in dark times. St Paul shows the grand arc of salvation: foreknown, predestined, called, justified, glorified. This reminds us that God’s love is not accidental; it is intentional and enduring. From the beginning, God’s plan has been to shape us into the image of Christ, so that we may share in His g...

  30th Week Tuesday in Ordinary Time Eph 2: 19-22 Meditation Christians are One in Christ! The study of philosophy and theology debates over the existence of God, over the need of religion, need of prayer, need of church and Jesus as the Son of God, who came to save the world.   To all these questions and problems, the word of God today gives us a clear answer that our faith, beliefs and tradition of the church in Jesus is not baseless but has its foundation in prophets, apostles and Jesus as the cornerstone. Christians are not strangers, aliens but are part of the saints and belong to the household of God.   The church is built on the foundation of Christ body and his apostles, and their followers are built together as dwelling place of God; so, church and the mystical body of Christ is real and not a philosophy and theology which has no foundation. At times there is doubt in the faithful the foundation of the church and church as a sacrament of salvation; as Jes...

  30th Week Monday in Ordinary Time Year One Rom 8:12-17 Meditation Humans belong to God! The foundation is laid strongly for a community of believers or people of God in the church. Humans are weak in body and human body is mortal. In the spirit of God, humans live for eternity. By the spirit of God which is in the body; the body and spirit make us children of God. God has made us his children, and we are not slaves of body and evil, but we are adopted children of God. Humans could cry to God as Abba! Father. How fortunate are the humans to call God as Abba! Father. As humans Call God Abba! Father: humans are children of God and as they are children of God they belong to the family of God and so they are heirs of God and his Son Jesus Christ. As belong to Jesus, humans do suffer to take part in the glory of Jesus. Humans belong to God, and they are heirs of the kingdom of Jesus? Year Two Eph 4:32-5:8 Forgive Each Other! St Paul begins with a simple yet profound...

  29th Week Saturday in Ordinary Time Year One Rom 8:1-11 God’s Grace at Work! The Law could reveal sin but not remove it. It showed what righteousness looked like, yet it couldn’t change the human heart. God did what the Law could not: He sent His Son “in the likeness of sinful flesh” to deal with sin once and for all. Through Jesus’ death, the penalty of sin is broken; through His Spirit, the power of sin is overcome. Now, believers “walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” This new way of life isn’t about self-effort but about living under the guidance and empowerment of the Spirit. The mind set on the flesh leads to death, it focuses on worldly desires, self, and independence from God. The mind set on the Spirit leads to life and peace, it orients itself toward God, seeking His will and presence. This isn’t just about moral behaviour; it’s about orientation of the heart. What we set our minds on shapes who we become. Life in the Spirit brings inne...

  29th Week Friday in Ordinary Time Year One Rom 7:18-25 Meditation Be Holy! The human mind is a slave to the law of God, but human flesh is a slave to the law of sin. Human being wishes and longs to do good and be good, but humans do things that they do not want to do because of the nature of sin in their body. Humans are not able to do the good they want to do. They struggle to live and be good in the sight of God and others, but they are not able to be there is constant war between their desire to do good and their desire to choose evil. Often humans choose evil instead of good because of their weakness and frailty. God sends Jesus his only Son to grace this struggle of humans to overcome not by their merits but by the glorious merit of the passion of Jesus Christ. Humans are saved through the shedding of the blood of our Lord Jesus, as sacrifice once for all for all the sins of humanity for eternity. Are humans aware of their struggle to be holy and g...

  29th Week Thursday in Ordinary Time Year One Rom 6:19-23 Meditation Humans are Destined for Eternity! Humans are destined for death and end but to life and beginning thereafter. This is our hope and belief   in Jesus. Humans’ nature could lead one to sin and evil.   Leaving to humans they can get lost into sin and eternal deamination. God does not want to leave humans in their wretchedness he wants them to have eternal life. He comes down to earth and redeems them through his glorious passion. He has not abandoned humanity but to save them. He took upon himself all the sins of humanity of past, present, future and justified them. Having justified them he leads them to sanctification through ministers of word, church and sacraments. Humans are not lost everything in their sin but in Jesus they have found everything for life eternal. The power of the passion of Our Lord has done immense good to all generations of people. Humans can just trust in the eternal merits...

  29th Week Wednesday in Ordinary Time Year One Rom 6:12-18 Meditation Humans Look for Time of Grace! Human bodies are instruments of sin and grace. Let no one use the human body as a means for sin. Let the human body glorify God. The human body is God’s gift and God’s Marval. Through the human body, humans to some extent comprehend God and his glory. The word of God says humans are made in the image of God. God has free will and he is perfect; God always makes good choices. Instead, humans lack the capacity to make use of the free will well and fall into evil, disobedience and sin. Let us not use human bodies to pride and disobedient losing the grace of God but use   for righteousness’ sake. humans were slaves of disobedience to God but now through the power of the passion of our Lord Jesus we are made slaves of righteousness. One has to offer himself/herself for the mercy and obedience of God through Jesus Christ for fullness of life on earth and in heaven. Are hum...

  29th Week Tuesday in Ordinary Time Year One Rom 5:12, 15b, 17-19, 20b-21-21 Meditation Let us Serve! Obedience brings salvation. Disobedience brings death. In obedience consists life and its joys. One should obey the voice which God has put into humans. This voice could be distorted because of selfishness and human tendency to evil; in such case one should listen to his elders. Who are the elders? Parents, grandparents, authority, those who have responsibility and concern over us. It does not mean that one blindly obeys them but seeks explanation and clarification that is needed. At the end of the dialogue, we submit to God and to our elders. Such an obedience will bear fruit. For a believer obeying God and elders would bring lot of blessings. Many evils are due to disobedience against one another and God our creator. Our first parents disobeyed and fallen into sin; Jusus obeyed Father even to the death on the cross and we have life and life to the full. Obedience invol...

  29th Week Monday in Ordinary Time Year One Rom 4:20-25 Meditation God’s Promises will be True! God keeps his promise. God made humans to be happy forever. Humans disobeyed God. Not only the first parents disobeyed God but each one of us disobey God daily. Humans choose their own ways and means of being happy but they fail to find happiness. God promised to humans that he would bring them back to his kingdom. God made it possible through his Son Jesus Christ. Humans have to trust in the promise of God. God’s promises are not empty. God’s promises will be fulfilled in right time. God’s promises are not just about food and drink but of eternal life. God makes us happy by carrying out his promises in life. Today humans want automatic fulfilment of promises of God. One should realise life is not automatic but it is to be lived in time and space to realise the life and its sorrows and joys. God’s promises are a full package of long journey which is perfectly planned with its ...

  28th Week Saturday in Ordinary Time Year One Rom 4:13, 16-18 Meditation Have Faith in God! The inheritance of God is not given to descendants of Abraham but those who keep and live in faith. Abraham is the father of faith. We belong to a group and so one can enjoy the royalties; it is not the case with regard to God, one has to keep and live the faith. Abraham is known as the father of faith because he hoped against hope and believed in God that he would have son at the old age. The son he bore at the old age was asked offer as sacrifice he went to offer his as sacrifice. The Lord saves Isac and provides a ram in the bush to offer as sacrifice. It is the faith of Abraham that led him all through his life. God promised that his descendants will be like sands on the seashore and as numerous as stars of the sky, he believed in God. Today it is not enough one belong to the descendance of Abraham to be saved but one should have faith. Faith in Jesus will save us. Faith in God ...

  28th Week Friday in Ordinary Time Year One Rom 4:1-8 Meditation Grace does Good! Salvation in Jesus is not the merit of the individuals; all are sinners beyond redemption. humans are called to live moral and virtues life to find joy and meaning in this life and next; they do live virtues life but by human effort alone one will not be saved. Salvation in not our merits and works but the free and gratuitous gift of God. God forgives the sinners. Humans lose hope in their sinful life; no more acts of their own deed and merits can make them contented to earn salvation, unless the Lord enters into their lives through this passion, death and resurrection which the plan of the God the Father for the humanity. God forgave David his sins and blessed his household with the Saviour of the World. Where there is sin grace is in abundance. It is not an encouragement for sinful life but the eternal mercy of God to bring one to the right path of life leading one to eternity. Do you b...

   28th Week Thursday in Ordinary Time Year One Rom 3:21-30 Meditation Unity is Grace! To be precise, law will save the person but faith in Jesus is greater than law; faith in Jesus saves because it includes the law and goes beyond it. We are saved by faith in the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.    Law does its good work but not all that is needed for the salvation; faith in Jesus is complete and it will grace us with salvation.    One is justified not only by the acts of law but by faith in Jesus. Faith in Jesus does not exclude the good deeds and law. Law and good deeds are human effort which are good in themselves but faith in Jesus is the saving act of God which cancels sins those even the law and good deeds cannot do it. God is not only God of Jews; the chosen people of God. God is God of all; every human person is God’s loving child and we belong to him. God loves all humans and he wants to save all people. He has no favourites; God saves ev...

  28th Week Wednesday in Ordinary Time Year One Rom 2:1-11 God’s Judgment is Just! St Paul addresses those who judge others but do the same things. His message is clear: you condemn yourself when you pass judgment while living in sin. This forces self-examination—how often do we focus on the faults of others while ignoring our own? St Paul reminds us that God’s patience and kindness are not signs of indifference to sin, but invitations to repentance. Grace is not permission to continue in sin—it’s space to turn around. St. Paul makes it clear that God’s judgment is based on what each person has done. This doesn’t contradict the message of salvation by grace—rather, it shows that a transformed life bears fruit. Good deeds don’t earn salvation, but they are evidence of a changed heart. Examine yourself before judging others. It’s easy to condemn others for their sins, especially when they’re public or different from our own. But St. Paul urges us to first confront our own h...

  28th Week Thursday in Ordinary Time Year One Rom 3:21-30 Meditation Unity is Grace! To be precise, law will save the person but faith in Jesus is greater than law; faith in Jesus saves because it includes the law and goes beyond it. We are saved by faith in the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.   Law does its good work but not all that is needed for the salvation; faith in Jesus is complete and it will grace us with salvation.   One is justified not only by the acts of law but by faith in Jesus. Faith in Jesus does not exclude the good deeds and law. Law and good deeds are human effort which are good in themselves but faith in Jesus is the saving act of God which cancels sins those even the law and good deeds cannot do it. God is not only God of Jews; the chosen people of God. God is God of all; every human person is God’s loving child and we belong to him. God loves all humans and he wants to save all people. He has no favourites; God saves everyone w...

 28th Week Tuesday in Ordinary Time Year One Rom 1:16-25 The Power of the Gospel! Meditation Beliefs in life are very important in determining fact of life. Faith is what makes one’s life. Faith in God, Son of God and Holy Spirit makes the life of a believer meaningful. In the history of the world there rose many men and women of faith to the extent of working for the gospel their entire life and even dying as martyrs. Faith in Jesus made them cross forests, mountains, rivers, oceans, races and clans to proclaim the message of Jesus. Those who live and preach gospel are people filled with faith in Jesus. This faith filled persons are righteous and they live by faith in Jesus. No one can block them. for they are filled with faith in Jesus. Jesus is their Saviour, Master and Lord, they lack nothing. Those who have no faith in Jesus enter into life of impurity, life of lies, server false gods rather than the Creator. May we bless the Lord Jesus and live righteous life by faith in Jesu...

  28th Week Monday in Ordinary Time Year One Rome 1:1-7 Meditation Mission for All! God chose Jesus to bring salvation to humans. It is accomplished by different people in the history of the world and the mission goes on through the election and actualization of mission command of Jesus. St Paul was chosen by God to be apostle of the gospel of God to all and particularly to those who are not Jews. Everyone is called for the mission of Christ. The one who follows Jesus cannot but be a missionary. Following Jesus is two-fold path one is personal and the other is of community sanctification. The person one who is called to follow Jesus and the others who are in relation to him are immersed not only in the cares of the world but in the mission of Jesus. The mission of Jesus is Salvation of humans. Working out salvation for humans is not one day work but it is life long, enduring work of God and the those who accompany them as persons and community would be in heaven forever wit...

  27th Week Saturday in Ordinary Time Year One Joel 3:12-21 Meditation The Glorious Future of Judah! In the scripture the prosperity and blessing of the Lord are connected to abundance of milk, wine, honey and water.   We believe and teach that these things will be plenty in heaven. These are expensive commodities. These are part of precious food of the human persons. This food is liked by most of the people. God gives us best when he blesses us. The way God blesses us is through giving milk, wine, honey and water. These give life, joy and satisfaction in life. These and many other good things of life will be available in the kingdom of God. We can make the kingdom of God come among us by sharing what we have with one another and thus living in joy and happiness wherever we live. Do we believe that we have God given power to establish the Kingdom of God? Year Two Gal 3:22-29 We are Made One in Christ! There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free...

  27th Week Friday in Ordinary Time Year One Joel 1:13-15; 2:1-2 A Call to Repentance and Prayer! Meditation Prayer of lamentation by priest. Priests are crying to God for help and intervention. There are natural calamities believed to be caused by God for the evil humans have committed. There can be destruction by fire, drought and fests. They destroy crops and life in the land. The Lord only can protect. If the Lord has to protect, the way for humans is to repent and change their ways. In the ages passed humans depended on nature for their sustenance and on God. Humans forget of God and his goodness, when they become self-sufficient. God is in control of nature, humans, world and the universe. Every time we are assailed by calamity, harm, destruction, evil and trouble, let us approach God in heaven, he will save us from impending harm and leads to safe space and time. Do we seek God’s help in time of harm and calamity? Year Two Gal 3:7-14 Meditation Faith Does...