At first reading of this Sunday’s Gospel, we might be seriously wondering what Jesus is talking about. We all thought that Jesus came to this world as a “Prince of Peace”.

Today, all the three readings are well linked and invite us to trust in God, who in fact cares for us day and night. And the Gospel text for this 19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time speaks of the importance of living without fear and always trusting in God.

A contractor needed one more man to chop down trees for export. One day, two men appeared willing to do the job but only one could be employed so what the contractor did was to put the two men to a test, they were to chop down as many trees as they could in an eight-hour shift and the man who chopped down more trees got the job.

To borrow a story from a good friend of mine, Fr Bel San Luis, SVD, there was a man who wanted to have a lot of money so badly that he promised the devil to do his work in exchange for a copy of the newspaper a day ahead before it was published so that he could get the winning Lotto number in advance.

This Sunday’s Gospel is surely at the heart of Jesus’ teaching. It begins with Jesus instructing his followers how to pray. He says those words that Christians cherish, the Our Father, and then he talks about asking for things and receiving what we need.

A good master teaches his apprentice how a work is done so that if ever the master goes, he knows that at any time the apprentice could take over and continue the work.

Love is a word that we always hear. Every time we hear the word love our eyes lit up and somehow our heart beats just a little bit faster. However, the word love is one of the most misunderstood and one of the most abused words, in my opinion.

With the arrival of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, our Lenten journey is almost over. The concept of Lent as a journey, rather than a time of denial, has been frequently suggested and promoted by Pope Francis.

The SVD Australia Province celebrated Word of God Sunday recently in a variety of different ways, honouring St Arnold Janssen’s devotion to the Word, as expressed in the naming of his missionary order The Society of the Divine Word.

Biblical Apostolate coordinator for the Province, Fr Elmer Ibarra SVD, said the Sunday of the Word of God was celebrated in Australia on February 9, the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

“Blessed are you who are poor…blessed are you who are hungry…blessed are you who are weeping…blessed are you when people hate you…Familiar words that we might have heard several times already.