1/11 Sunday XXXIth OT All Saints
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Blessed are those who show mercy, mercy shall be shown to them! Matthew 5,7
A constant characteristic in the lives of the saints is their mercy! Does it come as a surprise? Mercy is God and the Son of God is full of mercy. Jesus says those who adopt this aspect of the Father and the Son are blessed!

2/11 Monday XXXIth OT
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Christ died for us. Romans 5,8
The only consolation to death, of which we are often very afraid, comes from our faith. Jesus Christ died so death cannot be as bad as we think. Jesus died for us, so we should not worry. Let us renew our trust in him and commit our souls and those of our dear ones to him.

3/11 Tuesday XXXIth OT
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A man was giving a big dinner party and was giving out many invitations. Luke 14,16
The man who was giving a big dinner party is our heavenly Father. He wants to see us happy and contented. We refuse his invitation because we think we can find bigger, better, more long lasting joys! What an illusion! The things of this world pass and leave us in sadness. It would be better to accept God's invitations!

4/11 Wednesday XXXIth OT
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Love cannot wrong a neighbour. Romans 13,10
These words come to mind when I hear of a husband who goes off with another woman. He obviously thinks he has found true love, but this "love" of his is very hurtful and makes many others suffer terribly, his children, his parents, his brothers and sisters, his friends and of course his wife who was entrusted to him by God. Not even God can be happy!

5/11 Thursday XXXIth OT
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Join in celebration! Luke 15,10
The shepherd who finds his sheep again wants to share his joy! And the Lord too, wants to share with all his children the joy of a sinner who returns to him. Just think, your conversion will also bring joy in heaven and on earth!

6/11 Friday XXXIth OT
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Produce your accounts! Luke 16,2
Good and holy Father, I too, will one day produce my accounts. I will tell you what I did with your gifts, how I lived the faith you gave me, how I treated my brothers, my house, my car, my tools, my clothes and also the town facilities. I know that nothing is mine and that you must ask me to give you a report on everything.

7/11 Saturday XXXIth OT
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God sees through you. Luke 16,15
Jesus is answering the Pharisees who are deriding him. He does not condemn them, but he warns them. There is one who can see through them and will judge their attachment to money though they try to hide it. I am pleased that God sees through to my heart and tells me what is not good.

8/11 Sunday XXXIIth OT
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There came a poor widow who dropped in two tiny coins! Mark 12,42
Jesus saw great things but he was also aware of the small things and appreciated them! He was not drawn into the trap of appearances. What is important is the heart, the love from which various actions stem. God does not love those who give a lot, he loves those who give everything, because this means giving oneself.

9/11 Monday XXXIIth OT
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For you who have faith, it has great worth. I Peter 2,7
Today is the celebration of the dedication of the first church. We are one with the Pope in our belief in the Lord Jesus and in our love for him. We are proud of this faith, which makes us useful to the entire world, and because it nourishes that love which is an example for all people and all religions.

10/11 Wednesday XXXIIth OT
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God tested them and found them worthy. Wisdom 2,5
The author of the book of Wisdom is talking about the death of the righteous. They suffered during life, not as a punishment, but to test their loyalty and love. Their death is the moment of their reward!

11/11 Wednesday XXXIIth OT
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Jesus, master, take pity on us! Luke 17,13
Ten lepers, together, presented themselves to Jesus. They knew that he could intervene for their health. And Jesus does: he asks them to obey the laws of the people. How often have we turned to Jesus in our need, how often have we been helped! Have we thanked him publicly without a sense of shame?

12/11 Thursday XXXIIth OT
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The Kingdom of God is among you! Luke 17,21
Jesus, you reply to those who ask you when will the Kingdom of God come. Now we know: you are the king sent by the Father to reign, to regulate our lives so that we can help one another like a big family, so that there is only love, peace and joy amongst us. We love you and praise you, Jesus!

13/11 Friday XXXIIth OT
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Remember Lot's wife! Luke 17,32
If we remember Lot's wife we will not turn back to repent of having left the vanity of the world to follow Jesus! If we are not determined to stay with him, we will not go far towards the Father and we will be drawn back into futility, deceived by "weak thought" which produces neither love nor gives us eternal life!

14/11 Saturday XXXIIth OT
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Keep on praying and never lose heart! Luke 1,1
Keep on praying? Not always saying prayers, but keeping our hearts in God's heart, our hand in his hand, our eyes looking in the same direction as his. To keep praying does not mean to keep asking questions, but to be appreciative of the Father, to wish to be by his side all the time, in the company of his Son and his saints.

15/11 Sunday XXXIIIth OT
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Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away! Mark 13,31
Lord Jesus, you want to see us firmly at your side, confident of your teaching. For this reason, you remind us that even the most beautiful things pass and also those things we do to please man. Your words are always valid, while all the rest is a fashion which passes.

16/11 Monday XXXIIIth OT
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What do you want me to do for you? Luke 18,41
The man who was speaking to Jesus was blind. The Lord understood what the man meant, but he wanted him to express it in front of everyone. This too is a gift: to be able to express oneself is a grace, the first gift we need: to open our hearts and to be listened to!

17/11 Tuesday XXXIIIth OT
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I must stay at your house today! Luke 19,5
Zacchaeus is told this by Jesus who understood his great desire to meet him. Jesus in his house! What an unexpected gift! Zacchaeus is overcome with joy and manifests his decision to change and follow God's desires!

18/11 Wednesday XXXIIIth OT
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He has gone to be the guest of a sinner! Luke 19,7
Every diocese celebrates the Dedication of the church where the Bishop teaches: it is an occasion to pray for him, for his ministry and to renew any commitments with the ministers of the Church in announcing the Gospels and fulfilling them. First, but not only, commitment is prayer.

19/11 Thursday XXXIIIth OT
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Heaven forbid we should ever abandon the law! I Maccabees 2,21
Mattathias expresses this in his exhortation of the people in a moment of persecution. Everyone was made to deny their faith and disobey the rules of Hebrew tradition. He intervened to defend the faithful from apostasy. He then had to flee. This example is true in many situations today!

20/11 Friday XXXIIIth OT
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My house shall be a house of prayer! Luke 19,46
This definition which Jesus gives of the temple in Jerusalem is very particular. From it we understand how important our prayer is to God. It is our reaching towards him, it manifests our desire to be with him, to do what he desires and to love in unison with him!

21/11 Saturday XXXIIIth OT Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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But now I recall the wrong I did in Jerusalem! I Maccabees 6,12
The King of Antioch who had become very depressed, remembered how cruelly he had behaved towards the people of God. Now, for love of his life, he was willing to repent. It reminds me of a doctor who had performed many abortions. Moved by the grace of God, he repented. Nothing is impossible for God.

22/11 Sunday XXXIVth Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
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All who are not deaf to truth listen to my voice. John 18,37
Jesus was talking to Pilate. He tried to make himself seen not as someone who did miracles, but as someone whom the people could follow to fulfil their lives! Whoever knows the true God, the Truth, listens to Jesus, who comes from the Father! Pilate did not understand, but we do!

23/11 Monday XXXIVth OT
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Jesus saw rich people dropping their gifts into the chest of the temple treasury. Luke 21,1
The rich often make their donations in order to be admired. I must not judge anyone, because I, too, do the same thing when I am generous, in order to say to myself that I have been good. Jesus sees this and is silent.

24/11 Tuesday XXXIVth OT
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Take care that you are not misled. Luke 21,8
It is easy to be misled! Just distance yourself a little from Jesus. Just start thinking that the gospels exaggerate or that the Church is a centre of power. And you have been misled: you no longer feel you are a member of the Church nor even a member of the Body of Christ. You will have no defences against the many other deceptions that the world continues to prepare for the children of God.

25/11 Wednesday XXXIVth OT
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Everyone will hate you for your allegiance to me! Luke 21,17
Jesus does not promote himself with beautiful promises. He says the truth, and he knows that many will decide to stand by him, despite the cross that they have to bear.

26/11 Thursday XXXIVth OT
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Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by gentiles. Luke 21,24
This was the worst possible news for a Jew: the holy city conquered by gentiles! Christians need not be discouraged, for wherever they live with Jesus, that is the holy city! It is Jesus who makes holy a country, a city, a place, but above all a heart, a family, a community.

27/11 Friday XXXIVth OT
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The present generation will live to see it all! Luke 21,32
The Lord Jesus assures us that while everything passes, everything comes to an end, we don't. Whoever lives in your heart, Jesus, need not fear. I am reminded of some Christians who fled Iraq. They were smiling, free, despite having left everything. Those who belong to Jesus, are present in God's heart and will never be abandoned.

28/11 Saturday XXXIVth OT
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Be on the alert, praying at all times! Luke 21,36
Have the desire of God in your heart in every moment and the will to be his, the choices that are his will and the awareness to activate his kingdom! Pray at all times in your heart and then you will be alert and discerning. Those who pray continually are never taken by surprise.

29/11 Sunday 1st AT Year C
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Your liberation is near! Luke 21,28
"Stand upright and hold your heads high, because your liberation is near!" says Jesus. We are awaiting liberation from slavery. Who has made slaves of us? The fear of death. And this makes us run after many masters who take advantage of our energy and deceive us: ambition in the world, vanity, pleasure, fashion, lotteries, frivolous shows and many other things. Jesus frees us!

30/11 Monday 1st AT St Andrew
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No-one who has faith in him, shall be put to shame. Romans 10,11
We hear these reassuring words during St Andrew's mass. Faith in Jesus is a source of eternal life! St Andrew is the patron of the Eastern Church: let us pray today that this Church stands strong in the midst of the many, serious difficulties it faces and be reassured by the closeness of our Western Church.

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