Posts by Arlene Braganza
Stay Awake!
How many of you remember this children’s song? Stay awake, (clap, clap) be ready. (clap, clap) You do not know the hour when the Lord is coming. Stay awake, (clap, clap) be ready. (clap, clap) The Lord is coming soon! This children’s song for Advent was written by English born and raised, now USA resident,…
Read MoreA Paradox in Faith and Belief: Nothing is Impossible
Two Amazing Scenes Scene 1 – Abraham and Sarah are in their tent in the desert living their normal, monotonous lives. Abraham looks up and sees three strangers. In the Bedouin tradition of hospitality, he is quick to greet them and offer them rest and sustenance. He provides them with water for drinking as well…
Read MoreHelp Wanted and Needed
Today’s responsorial Psalm is resonating in my heart: “Show us, O Lord, the light of your kindness.” And the verses are true cries from the heart: – “Remember not against us the iniquities of the past” – “May your compassion come quickly to us” – “Help us, O God our savior” – “Deliver us and…
Read MoreThe Sheep and the Good Shepherd
Today’s Gospel reading gives us a beautiful visual of Jesus as the Good Shepherd as He tells us. “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep.” And again “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved” I don’t mind being considered a “sheep” as long as I’m…
Read MoreStrength Against the Opposition
Have you ever felt that people were out to get you? I’m sure political figures feel that way. Whichever party you belong to, the other side is gunning for you; looking for any slip you might make. Seems like this is the habit of humanity. I’m sure Jesus felt this way. Despite all the many…
Read MoreStay on the Straight and Narrow
In today’s first reading, Prophet Ezekiel exhorts us to stay on the straight and narrow path, following the Lord. Even if we fail and fall into temptation and sin, we can rise up, beg for forgiveness through the sacrament of Reconciliation, and be in God’s graces again. The thought of being separated from God due…
Read MoreFeast of Saints Timothy and Titus
Happy Feast to any of you named Timothy (Tim) or Titus !! What a beautiful reading we have today, of St. Paul writing a tender letter to his beloved co-disciple Timothy, who he thinks of as a son. Timothy had a Greek father, and a Jewish mother named Eunice. Being the product of a “mixed”…
Read MoreGive and Receive
Happy Boxing Day everyone!! At least to those living in Canada, the UK, Australia and other Commonwealth countries. Though not celebrated in the US, Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated the day after Christmas day and originated in the United Kingdom. Some people think it’s called Boxing Day because you take unwanted presents back to…
Read MoreThanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving Day to everyone in the USA! What an honor to write my first reflection on Thanksgiving Day. The fourth Thursday of every November is a day when America pauses to give thanks to God for all the blessings received. Our forefathers, in their great wisdom, deemed that a day be set apart from…
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