Joseph Osho

  Romans 10:9-18 Matthew 4:18-22 Today we celebrate the feast of St. Andrew the brother of Simon Peter, they were both fishermen from Bethsaida. Imagine being a fisherman – your livelihood, your family’s future, everything depends on the catch of the day, and without that, you have no income, no way of feeding and supporting your family. These fishermen were disciples of John the Baptist until, he pointed out Jesus as the Lamb of God. With Christ’s call, Andrew together with his brother Simon Peter gave up everything to follow the call of this man, this Messiah, Jesus Christ and it would change the course of their entire lives.They both had three years of formation under Jesus Himself. After Pentecost, Andrew will go through Syria and Greece and finally lay down his life for Christ as a martyr crucified on an X cross. It was said that he was on this X cross preaching for two days before he died.  Christ chose fishermen so that mankind will know that Christianity is the work of...

  Isaiah 11:1-10 Luke 10:21-24 The season of Advent is a second of hope and expectation. A time of preparation to receive God into our lives in a special way. For his birth, we know but for His coming we do not know..We begin to live in Christ when God the Holy Spirit convinced us of sin, and when by grace we were brought to see the dying Saviour making a propitiation for our guilt.  From the moment of the new and celestial birth we begin to live to Christ. Jesus is to believers the one pearl of great price, for whom we are willing to part with all that we have. He has so completely won our love, that it beats alone for him; to his glory we would live, and in defence of his gospel we would die; he is the pattern of our life, and the model after which we would sculpture our character and joy is a reality we can experience in the presence of God Our first reading from Isaiah is “classic” in the prophetic tradition so fully witnessed by Isaiah himself.  A budding shoot from ...

  Isaiah 4:2-6 Matthew 8:5-11 Happy Advent 2022 once again! The word Advent is derived from the Latin word ‘adventus’ meaning coming.  Christians all around the world celebrate this time of preparation for the coming of the child Jesus into our lives and most importantly into our hearts at Christmastime and forward. In our reflection we also take time to notice the four candles on the advent wreath.  These candles represent the four weeks of Advent symbolizing Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.  The first candle represents Hope. Isaiah gives us that sense of hope in the first reading today as he reminds us of God’s protective care for us as our refuge and strength. Psalm 122 proclaims peace and rejoicing as we journey to the house of the Lord, which is what this season is all about.   In the gospel message from Matthew, we witness the faith and love of the centurion which led to Jesus healing his servant. The centurion said to Jesus; Lord I am not worthy to have y...

  STAY AWAKE! BE READY!! First Sunday of Advent (Year A)   Isa 2.1-5;  Rom 13.11-14;   Mt 24.37-44   We welcome ourselves into a new season; the season of advent. Advent is here once again and we start out on the yearly cycle with the history of our salvation. Each season of the Church's year has its own theme. The theme of the first part of Advent is undoubtedly "arise”, “wake up’, and stay awake".  Today's readings warn us to stop hiding our heads in the sand and to take stock of what is happening; to wake up, and face facts.   Our Lord's words in the gospel stir us from our dreams, and that tendency which can so easily slow down and even stifle our spiritual life: the tendency to bury our heads in the sand. We can all be a prey to the ostrich mentality. In other words, Advent is the time for climbing out of our mental beds and looking out at the wider picture.    What is the wider picture?  It's so easy for us to keep narrowly fo...

  Rev  22:1-7 Luke 21:34-36 Today is the last day of the year of the liturgical year, that is. Tomorrow is the First Sunday of Advent, the start of a new cycle in the Church year. The Church offers us the very last readings of the liturgical year and these readings also usher us into a new year of grace with the Advent season.  The first reading for this week has been taken from the book of Revelation which is known for its imagery of the end time-the parousia, the final hour. The book of revelation is a guarantee of promise; of hope assured and the fulfillment of the ages.   In today’s first reading, John’s vision presents the fulfillment of the ages, the reunion of all people and creation with the God of peace and joy everlasting in the heavenly bliss. God is the source, light and joy of heaven, and His coming to take us, should not frighten us but rather make us eager and ready to meet Him.  The psalm today also leans into the Advent refrain: Come Lord Jesus....

  Rev  20:1-4,11-21:2 Luke 21:29-33 The catecheism of the Catholic Church says that our religion is not that of books but the desire to do the will of God that lies in his word, and this word is not just mere word but the Word Incarnate-Jesus himself. The living Word isJesus upon which God has set his seal. In our Gospel reading for today, while Jesus speaks to the people about the end times,  he also gave them the parable of the fig tree. Nothing last forever. We only acquire the things we have. Heaven and earth will pass away but his words will never pas away.  In the midst of difficulty times, the Holy Spirit can make us appreciate better the word of God. In the hope of eternal life, we have the Word of God as a lamp for our feet and a light for our steps. Through, the word of God,  we can persevere in loving God and loving our neighbor, caring for the “least” of our brothers and sisters, and working for justice. And then, further on, like a keyhole suddenly ...