Jesus was getting a taste of success. The seventy whom he had sent out with no resources, “like lambs among wolves” (Lk 10:3), had just returned full of excitement, telling of their success. His way of powerlessness was working. The things that were hidden from “the wise and the intelligent of this world” – hidden by their very wisdom and intelligence – were being made visible through these simple men, these “little ones.” Every disciple needs to learn again to see like a child; we must be like children, Jesus said, if we are to enter the Kingdom of God – which means the presence of God. For the children everything in the world is wonder, not for the adults.
Everyone has eyes and ears, but not everyone can see or hear. The sight is the same, the sound is the same, but the perception is different for each person.
Every Sunday Mass, the word of God is proclaimed. Everyone hears the same proclamation; everyone sees the same liturgy celebrated. But the effect is not the same for everyone. There are some who come out from the Mass the same way as they entered. But there are others who, after hearing the same readings, seeing the same liturgy, go home at peace with God, receiving enlightenment from God.
The Holy Spirit plays a big role in helping a person experience the revelation of God through seemingly ordinary events. But for the Holy Spirit to work, it needs openness from our part, a willingness to listen and make available our hearts for the Holy Spirit to start working and reveal what is hidden. The danger for some of us is that we don't think God can surprise us with anything. In the first reading today Isaiah was trying to instill hope, painting a vision of an ideal world that awaited the Israelites. Critics might say he is nuts…. A wolf the guest of the lamb? Wild animals led by a child? Never happen.” They remind us that the One we call “God” is beyond anything we can imagine!
When we control our lives too much, we don't allow the Lord to use the Holy Spirit to enter our lives giving us new perspective on how we can look at things. Let us trust in the Holy Spirit and take a chance!
I post my Sunday homilies in this blog for my parishioners and those who follow this blog. You are welcome to make your comments to help me improve my homilies.Thanks.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Feast of St.Andrew., MATTHEW 4:18-22
Today, is St. Andrew's Day, a festivity celebrated in a solemn way amongst Eastern Orthodox Christians. In the first three gospels Andrew is not mentioned except in lists of the Twelve. But in John’s gospel he appears three times, and in each case he is introducing other people to Jesus! First of all, his brother, Simon Peter. Then in John 6:8 he is bringing forward a boy with five loaves and two fish. And in Jn 12:20-22 he is bringing some Greeks to Jesus.
In John’s gospel, Jesus first called this same Andrew, and Andrew introduced his brother Simon (Peter) to Jesus (1:40). And when Jesus invited them to follow him they leave everything and follow him “at once. When Jesus calls we cannot tell Jesus: “afterwards”, “later on”, “I'm busy now”... To be a follower of Christ entails "leaving our nets" — liberating ourselves from material attachments, comfort zones, anything that hinders us from following Jesus completely and unconditionally.
Apostleship means being sent forth to do whatever God calls us to do. Jesus called the Apostles to take his message to all the world. Today's first reading describes the need to take the message out! It starts in the home. Jesus first told his disciples to go to the lost sheep of Israel. We could be the best evangelizers in the world or the best at what we're gifted to do, but if we can't bring Jesus to our families, something's wrong. Being good apostles and terrific evangelizers does not mean that we're going to be successful at changing the hearts and minds of family members. "Not everyone has heeded the good news." But it's at home where we learn to love others unconditionally. It's at home where we become good at forgiving. And it's at home where we're tested and strengthened in serving others with joy. Fulfilling our vocation of joy in the home is more about what we do than what we say. How well do we imitate Jesus when we're with family?
Ask the Lord to be effective evangelizers at home and outside on this feast of St.Andrew.
In John’s gospel, Jesus first called this same Andrew, and Andrew introduced his brother Simon (Peter) to Jesus (1:40). And when Jesus invited them to follow him they leave everything and follow him “at once. When Jesus calls we cannot tell Jesus: “afterwards”, “later on”, “I'm busy now”... To be a follower of Christ entails "leaving our nets" — liberating ourselves from material attachments, comfort zones, anything that hinders us from following Jesus completely and unconditionally.
Apostleship means being sent forth to do whatever God calls us to do. Jesus called the Apostles to take his message to all the world. Today's first reading describes the need to take the message out! It starts in the home. Jesus first told his disciples to go to the lost sheep of Israel. We could be the best evangelizers in the world or the best at what we're gifted to do, but if we can't bring Jesus to our families, something's wrong. Being good apostles and terrific evangelizers does not mean that we're going to be successful at changing the hearts and minds of family members. "Not everyone has heeded the good news." But it's at home where we learn to love others unconditionally. It's at home where we become good at forgiving. And it's at home where we're tested and strengthened in serving others with joy. Fulfilling our vocation of joy in the home is more about what we do than what we say. How well do we imitate Jesus when we're with family?
Ask the Lord to be effective evangelizers at home and outside on this feast of St.Andrew.
Saturday,LUKE 21:34-36
First reading from Daniel expresses God's victory over those attacking His people. The fourth beast mentioned is said, to be the Greek king Antiochus. Here he rails against the God of the Israelites, pressuring them to change their laws and cease celebrating feast days. This same king and his army were earlier shown to have suffered a massive defeat from the people of the "Most High," the Israelites, who won their freedom from this oppressor and established self-rule.
Today's gospel, taken in fuller context, appears to combine two widely scattered events. Jesus predicts that the Jerusalem temple will be destroyed by the Romans, an event that did take place in 70AD after Christ's death. He also speaks of the wars and massive tribulations in the cosmos that will precede His second coming at the end-times. Christ's theme is our need to always be prepared, for we know not the day or the hour of the assaults coming our way.
Being vigilant is far more than being prepared by making material preparations to protect our homes and sustain our lives. Our spiritual condition, our not growing "drowsy," will determine our ability to deal with any extreme situations. Prayer gives us insights, makes us watchful, yet quiets our anxieties and provides the strength to continue living in God's Word. In the end our faithfulness will enable us to stand with Christ and be presented to the Father as His children.
Work as if everything depends on us, but pray as everything depends on God."( St. Ignatius).Prayer and vigilance lead to each other. If we do not make prayer a habit,like the air that we breathe, we will suffocate in a polluted world. How much importance are we giving to our habits and life of prayer?
If there is any lethargy and spiritual carelessness in our lives, let us wake up from it. Let us keep focus on the real meaning of our life and the limited time that we have to conquer and grow in love. Let us react promptly and firmly to all the inspirations that God sends us.
Today's gospel, taken in fuller context, appears to combine two widely scattered events. Jesus predicts that the Jerusalem temple will be destroyed by the Romans, an event that did take place in 70AD after Christ's death. He also speaks of the wars and massive tribulations in the cosmos that will precede His second coming at the end-times. Christ's theme is our need to always be prepared, for we know not the day or the hour of the assaults coming our way.
Being vigilant is far more than being prepared by making material preparations to protect our homes and sustain our lives. Our spiritual condition, our not growing "drowsy," will determine our ability to deal with any extreme situations. Prayer gives us insights, makes us watchful, yet quiets our anxieties and provides the strength to continue living in God's Word. In the end our faithfulness will enable us to stand with Christ and be presented to the Father as His children.
Work as if everything depends on us, but pray as everything depends on God."( St. Ignatius).Prayer and vigilance lead to each other. If we do not make prayer a habit,like the air that we breathe, we will suffocate in a polluted world. How much importance are we giving to our habits and life of prayer?
If there is any lethargy and spiritual carelessness in our lives, let us wake up from it. Let us keep focus on the real meaning of our life and the limited time that we have to conquer and grow in love. Let us react promptly and firmly to all the inspirations that God sends us.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Wednesday,LUKE 21:12-19
The creepy image of God’s hand writing on the wall may terrify anyone. But the image of Daniel, an alien, risking everything to speak truth to a tyrant is even more haunting.
The movie, “A Man for All Seasons” shows the moral courage of St. Thomas More like Daniel. Because they were sane people with a lot to lose, they didn’t want to be heroes. They took a stand even though they knew the potential cost. Today’s saint Catherine of Alexandria is another model for courage.
Catherine lived in early Christian times. She was the daughter of a wealthy pagan couple of Alexandria, Egypt. She was a very beautiful girl whose great interest was in learning. Catherine loved to study deep questions of philosophy and religion. One day she began to read about Christianity. Soon she became a Christian.
St. Catherine was only eighteen when Emperor Maxentius began persecuting the Christians. Fearlessly, the lovely young Christian woman went to tell him what she thought of his cruelty. When he spoke of the pagan gods, she very plainly showed him that they were false. Maxentius could not answer her arguments. Therefore, he sent for fifty of his best pagan philosophers. Once again, it was Catherine who proved the truth of her religion. All fifty philosophers were convinced that she was right. In great fury, Maxentius had every one of them killed. Next, he tried to win her by offering her a queen's crown. When Catherine absolutely refused it, he had her beaten and thrown into prison.
While Maxentius was away at camp, his wife and an officer were very curious to hear this amazing Christian girl speak. They went to her cell. The result was that they and two hundred soldiers of the guard were converted. For this, they were all put to death. Catherine herself was placed on a wheel full of spikes to be tortured to death. When the wheel began to spin, it mysteriously snapped in two and fell apart. Finally, St. Catherine was beheaded.
In today’s Gospel from Luke, Jesus suggests that this is what every Christian must be prepared to do.
“They will seize and persecute you. They will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name.”
We may wonder, Is this what we signed on for when our parents had us baptized? Most of us just want to stumble through life as painlessly as possible.
However if we take our faith seriously, we will face times when we will be called to take a stand or to speak truth to power. But the closing words of today’s Gospel should give us the strength to do so:
“You will be hated by all because of my name but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
Ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of perseverance and the courage to witness our faith like Daniel, Thomas More and Catherine.
The movie, “A Man for All Seasons” shows the moral courage of St. Thomas More like Daniel. Because they were sane people with a lot to lose, they didn’t want to be heroes. They took a stand even though they knew the potential cost. Today’s saint Catherine of Alexandria is another model for courage.
Catherine lived in early Christian times. She was the daughter of a wealthy pagan couple of Alexandria, Egypt. She was a very beautiful girl whose great interest was in learning. Catherine loved to study deep questions of philosophy and religion. One day she began to read about Christianity. Soon she became a Christian.
St. Catherine was only eighteen when Emperor Maxentius began persecuting the Christians. Fearlessly, the lovely young Christian woman went to tell him what she thought of his cruelty. When he spoke of the pagan gods, she very plainly showed him that they were false. Maxentius could not answer her arguments. Therefore, he sent for fifty of his best pagan philosophers. Once again, it was Catherine who proved the truth of her religion. All fifty philosophers were convinced that she was right. In great fury, Maxentius had every one of them killed. Next, he tried to win her by offering her a queen's crown. When Catherine absolutely refused it, he had her beaten and thrown into prison.
While Maxentius was away at camp, his wife and an officer were very curious to hear this amazing Christian girl speak. They went to her cell. The result was that they and two hundred soldiers of the guard were converted. For this, they were all put to death. Catherine herself was placed on a wheel full of spikes to be tortured to death. When the wheel began to spin, it mysteriously snapped in two and fell apart. Finally, St. Catherine was beheaded.
In today’s Gospel from Luke, Jesus suggests that this is what every Christian must be prepared to do.
“They will seize and persecute you. They will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name.”
We may wonder, Is this what we signed on for when our parents had us baptized? Most of us just want to stumble through life as painlessly as possible.
However if we take our faith seriously, we will face times when we will be called to take a stand or to speak truth to power. But the closing words of today’s Gospel should give us the strength to do so:
“You will be hated by all because of my name but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
Ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of perseverance and the courage to witness our faith like Daniel, Thomas More and Catherine.
Tuesday,LUKE 21:5-11
This is the final week of the liturgical year, that's why we have such strange readings every day. Anything coming to an end reminds us of our mortality. This is a week for meditating on the impermanence of all things. Because we do it with the Liturgy it’s not a dreary or terrible subject; it’s about life and death together – the inseparable mystery.
In the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas the disciples said to Jesus: “Tell us how our end shall be.” Jesus said: “Have you then discovered the beginning, that you seek after the end? For where the beginning is, there shall the end be. Blessed are they who shall stand in the beginning, and they shall know the end and shall not taste death.’ The beginning and the end are the same question, and it is a question that we can't think out fully, because it takes us beyond ourselves. Death is unthinkable. We can say we are thinking about ‘it’, but that’s not the real thing. That's why we tend to see others as mortal, but not ourselves really.
The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem was not like the destruction of a church building. There are countless churches but there was only one Temple. To destroy that Temple was to destroy the identity of the Jewish people. So when Jesus said, “The days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down,” he was saying the unthinkable.
Jesus wasn't being a soothsayer when he warned that the holy temple would get torn down. He was talking about the here and now of his interaction with the disciples: The Messiah had come and therefore the stone temple was no longer needed.
His words can also apply to our own here and now: Our bodies, which are temples of the Holy Spirit, will die and decay, but our Messiah has come. If we follow him, we'll reach heaven. Our flesh and blood temples cannot save us; we need the Messiah. Living in him and through him today will secure our future in the kingdom of God, even if the Second Coming of Christ does not occur in our lifetimes.
This temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. This prophecy continues to
be fulfilled in history. It is the destruction of the kingdoms we have founded within ourselves which is founded on our plans and ambitions. They can be destroyed any time by carelessness, by the indifference of the other or even by natural disasters. They are precarious. Our house is built on sand as Jesus mentioned in Matthew. "Rain came down, the floods rose, gales blew and struck that house and it fell." But anyone who listens to the Word of God and acts upon it, that house is built on rock and nothing can destroy it. What are the “costly stones” that we placed in our temple or in our lives that we think should not fall.?
In the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas the disciples said to Jesus: “Tell us how our end shall be.” Jesus said: “Have you then discovered the beginning, that you seek after the end? For where the beginning is, there shall the end be. Blessed are they who shall stand in the beginning, and they shall know the end and shall not taste death.’ The beginning and the end are the same question, and it is a question that we can't think out fully, because it takes us beyond ourselves. Death is unthinkable. We can say we are thinking about ‘it’, but that’s not the real thing. That's why we tend to see others as mortal, but not ourselves really.
The destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem was not like the destruction of a church building. There are countless churches but there was only one Temple. To destroy that Temple was to destroy the identity of the Jewish people. So when Jesus said, “The days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down,” he was saying the unthinkable.
Jesus wasn't being a soothsayer when he warned that the holy temple would get torn down. He was talking about the here and now of his interaction with the disciples: The Messiah had come and therefore the stone temple was no longer needed.
His words can also apply to our own here and now: Our bodies, which are temples of the Holy Spirit, will die and decay, but our Messiah has come. If we follow him, we'll reach heaven. Our flesh and blood temples cannot save us; we need the Messiah. Living in him and through him today will secure our future in the kingdom of God, even if the Second Coming of Christ does not occur in our lifetimes.
This temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. This prophecy continues to
be fulfilled in history. It is the destruction of the kingdoms we have founded within ourselves which is founded on our plans and ambitions. They can be destroyed any time by carelessness, by the indifference of the other or even by natural disasters. They are precarious. Our house is built on sand as Jesus mentioned in Matthew. "Rain came down, the floods rose, gales blew and struck that house and it fell." But anyone who listens to the Word of God and acts upon it, that house is built on rock and nothing can destroy it. What are the “costly stones” that we placed in our temple or in our lives that we think should not fall.?
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Monday,34th week-LUKE 21:1-4
Today, as it happens so often, small things go by unnoticed: small alms, small sacrifices, small prayers; but what, at times, may look small and unimportant, may turn out to be the culmination or the center of everything. Only God will discover them in our heart, in the same way as only Jesus could see the poor widow's generosity. It is more than certain that poor woman did not play trumpets to announce what she was doing, and it is even possible she was ashamed and felt ridiculous before the eyes of the wealthy, who, while offering splendid gifts into the treasure box, were making others feel admired at their liberality. Yet, that woman's unselfishness, that caused her to drop the two small coins despite her poverty, deserved the Lord's praise.
The widow's generosity is a good lesson for us. We can be extremely generous, as the wealthy people that were «putting their gifts into the treasure box» (Lk 21:1). But, none of this will be worth the while if we only give “from our plenty”, without any loving or generous spirit, without offering ourselves along. She gave whatever she had, for she had God in her heart. It is better to have God in our soul than gold in the safe.
Perhaps many of us give to charity from our surplus and think we are making a sacrifice! Jesus is not asking us to give away our entire livelihood. He is seeking a willing heart that gladly makes sacrifices for the sake of his kingdom. He wants our trust. He wants us to rely on his generosity and his ability to protect us from financial ruin when we care enough to disregard the cost of helping others.
What do we think, happened to the widow in the Gospel story after she went home? Did she starve? Is that what we are afraid will happen to us if we are sacrificially generous? Do we believe that Jesus would praise those who make huge acts of love and then crush them as if their good deeds had been foolish?
Let us put our faith into action. We are called to be like the widow, give God our hearts and all that is in.
The widow's generosity is a good lesson for us. We can be extremely generous, as the wealthy people that were «putting their gifts into the treasure box» (Lk 21:1). But, none of this will be worth the while if we only give “from our plenty”, without any loving or generous spirit, without offering ourselves along. She gave whatever she had, for she had God in her heart. It is better to have God in our soul than gold in the safe.
Perhaps many of us give to charity from our surplus and think we are making a sacrifice! Jesus is not asking us to give away our entire livelihood. He is seeking a willing heart that gladly makes sacrifices for the sake of his kingdom. He wants our trust. He wants us to rely on his generosity and his ability to protect us from financial ruin when we care enough to disregard the cost of helping others.
What do we think, happened to the widow in the Gospel story after she went home? Did she starve? Is that what we are afraid will happen to us if we are sacrificially generous? Do we believe that Jesus would praise those who make huge acts of love and then crush them as if their good deeds had been foolish?
Let us put our faith into action. We are called to be like the widow, give God our hearts and all that is in.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
CHRIST THE KING. , XXXIV Sunday
First Reading: Daniel 7:13-14,: Revelation 1:5-8,: John 18:33-37
Many years ago, when Hitler's forces occupied Denmark, the order came that all Jews in Denmark were to identify themselves by wearing armbands with yellow stars of David. The Danes had seen the extermination of Jews in other countries and guessed that this was the first step in that process in their countries. The King did not defy the orders. He had every Jew wear the star and he himself wore the Star of David. He told his people that he expected every loyal Dane to do the same. The King said, "We are all Danes. One Danish person is the same as the next." He wore his yellow star when going into Copenhagen every day in order to encourage his people. The King of Denmark identified with his people, even to the point of putting his own life on the line.
Today is the feast of Christ the King. The king who shed his last drop of blood from his throne, the cross, to save his people. This is actually a pretty new festival in the church year. Its roots go back only to the late 1800's, when the world's great empires--British, American, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Japanese--were all at war or about to go to war somewhere.
After World War I, another pope designated the last Sunday in October as Christ the King Sunday, a day to remember that Christ received power and honor from God and was thereby made ruler of the universe. Eventually, Catholics moved Christ the King Sunday to the last Sunday of the church year, when they were already accustomed to reflecting on Christ's return at the end of time to rule over all creation, a theme which echoes throughout Revelation, the last book of the Bible.
Jesus is king, but he doesn’t force his kingship on anyone, but one has to accept his dominion by one’s own free will.
"Are you the king of the Jews?" Pilate asked. "Is that your idea," Jesus said to him, "or did others talk to you about me?"
Again later Pilate asked “So you are a king” .Then Jesus said: "You are saying that I am a king." With that statement Jesus is again putting Pilate on trial: "You have said it, but is it what you believe?"
Here is a story that illustrates what is going on in this dialogue between Jesus and Pilate: An Amish man was once asked by an enthusiastic young evangelist whether he had been saved, and whether he had accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior?
The gentleman replied, "Why do you ask me such a thing? I could tell you anything. Here are the names of my banker, my grocer, and my farm hands. Ask them if I've been saved."
Jesus could tell Pilate anything. What is important is what Pilate believes.
In his conversation with Pilate, Jesus finally does imply that he is a king. "My kingdom," he explains, "is not of this world." Not of this world. That's what it takes. That's what it takes to find a King who identifies with his people. A King of heaven, a King of kings from some place other than this world. Here is the twist. This world is His Kingdom, but it does not belong, or is owned or dominated by the ways of this world.
So Jesus is a king of a different order. Servant-leadership is the model that Christ the King has given us.
The story is told about the baptism of King Angus by St. Patrick in the middle of the fifth century. Sometime during the rite, St. Patrick leaned on his sharp-pointed staff and inadvertently stabbed the king's foot. After the baptism was over, St. Patrick looked down at all the blood, realized what he had done, and begged the king's forgiveness. Why did you suffer this pain in silence, the Saint wanted to know. The king replied, "I thought it was part of the ritual."
Our king Jesus was stabbed in the foot . . . and the hand, and the side and the head and that WAS part of the ritual. And, you and I are the ones who held the staff.
We need to allow Jesus to be the Servant King, the life-giving Master Who gave His life so that we might live more freely His life. The tension of course is that there are so many little personal tyrants within us urging for their places of power. Ego, fear, revenge, pleasure, AND many others struggle for supremacy and control.
In thousands of human hearts all over the world, Jesus still reigns as King. The Cross is his throne and the Sermon on the Mount, his rule of law. His citizens need obey only one major law: “Love God with all your being, and love others as I have loved you.”
The kingdom of God is already here in the sense that Jesus lives within and among us now. But we know also that his presence is obscured by the continued presence of evil in the world. In every moral decision we face, there’s a choice between Christ the King and Barabbas, and the one who seeks to live in his kingdom is the one who says, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It can be so much easier to acknowledge the Kingship of Christ in our daily lives more on our lips than deep in our hearts.
As we celebrate the kingship of Christ today, let us remember the truth that he is not our King if we do not listen to him, love him, serve him, and follow him. If Christ is really King of my life, he must be King of every part of my life and I must let him reign in all parts of my life. We become Christ the King’s subjects when we sincerely respond to his loving invitation: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart.
On this great Feast of Christ the King, let us resolve to give him the central place in our lives and promise to obey his commandment of love.
Many years ago, when Hitler's forces occupied Denmark, the order came that all Jews in Denmark were to identify themselves by wearing armbands with yellow stars of David. The Danes had seen the extermination of Jews in other countries and guessed that this was the first step in that process in their countries. The King did not defy the orders. He had every Jew wear the star and he himself wore the Star of David. He told his people that he expected every loyal Dane to do the same. The King said, "We are all Danes. One Danish person is the same as the next." He wore his yellow star when going into Copenhagen every day in order to encourage his people. The King of Denmark identified with his people, even to the point of putting his own life on the line.
Today is the feast of Christ the King. The king who shed his last drop of blood from his throne, the cross, to save his people. This is actually a pretty new festival in the church year. Its roots go back only to the late 1800's, when the world's great empires--British, American, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Japanese--were all at war or about to go to war somewhere.
After World War I, another pope designated the last Sunday in October as Christ the King Sunday, a day to remember that Christ received power and honor from God and was thereby made ruler of the universe. Eventually, Catholics moved Christ the King Sunday to the last Sunday of the church year, when they were already accustomed to reflecting on Christ's return at the end of time to rule over all creation, a theme which echoes throughout Revelation, the last book of the Bible.
Jesus is king, but he doesn’t force his kingship on anyone, but one has to accept his dominion by one’s own free will.
"Are you the king of the Jews?" Pilate asked. "Is that your idea," Jesus said to him, "or did others talk to you about me?"
Again later Pilate asked “So you are a king” .Then Jesus said: "You are saying that I am a king." With that statement Jesus is again putting Pilate on trial: "You have said it, but is it what you believe?"
Here is a story that illustrates what is going on in this dialogue between Jesus and Pilate: An Amish man was once asked by an enthusiastic young evangelist whether he had been saved, and whether he had accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior?
The gentleman replied, "Why do you ask me such a thing? I could tell you anything. Here are the names of my banker, my grocer, and my farm hands. Ask them if I've been saved."
Jesus could tell Pilate anything. What is important is what Pilate believes.
In his conversation with Pilate, Jesus finally does imply that he is a king. "My kingdom," he explains, "is not of this world." Not of this world. That's what it takes. That's what it takes to find a King who identifies with his people. A King of heaven, a King of kings from some place other than this world. Here is the twist. This world is His Kingdom, but it does not belong, or is owned or dominated by the ways of this world.
So Jesus is a king of a different order. Servant-leadership is the model that Christ the King has given us.
The story is told about the baptism of King Angus by St. Patrick in the middle of the fifth century. Sometime during the rite, St. Patrick leaned on his sharp-pointed staff and inadvertently stabbed the king's foot. After the baptism was over, St. Patrick looked down at all the blood, realized what he had done, and begged the king's forgiveness. Why did you suffer this pain in silence, the Saint wanted to know. The king replied, "I thought it was part of the ritual."
Our king Jesus was stabbed in the foot . . . and the hand, and the side and the head and that WAS part of the ritual. And, you and I are the ones who held the staff.
We need to allow Jesus to be the Servant King, the life-giving Master Who gave His life so that we might live more freely His life. The tension of course is that there are so many little personal tyrants within us urging for their places of power. Ego, fear, revenge, pleasure, AND many others struggle for supremacy and control.
In thousands of human hearts all over the world, Jesus still reigns as King. The Cross is his throne and the Sermon on the Mount, his rule of law. His citizens need obey only one major law: “Love God with all your being, and love others as I have loved you.”
The kingdom of God is already here in the sense that Jesus lives within and among us now. But we know also that his presence is obscured by the continued presence of evil in the world. In every moral decision we face, there’s a choice between Christ the King and Barabbas, and the one who seeks to live in his kingdom is the one who says, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It can be so much easier to acknowledge the Kingship of Christ in our daily lives more on our lips than deep in our hearts.
As we celebrate the kingship of Christ today, let us remember the truth that he is not our King if we do not listen to him, love him, serve him, and follow him. If Christ is really King of my life, he must be King of every part of my life and I must let him reign in all parts of my life. We become Christ the King’s subjects when we sincerely respond to his loving invitation: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart.
On this great Feast of Christ the King, let us resolve to give him the central place in our lives and promise to obey his commandment of love.
Friday,LUKE 19:45-48
Jesus went to Jerusalem, knowing he would meet certain death on the cross, as well as victory for our sake. His act of judgment in the temple is meant to be a warning to the people that God takes worship seriously. Jesus was angry, and even violent on this occasion. St Augustine wrote, Jesus did nothing by force but everything by persuasion and admonition,’ but he threw out the sellers and buyers from the temple by flogging them.” Augustine says further that Jesus also cast out demons against their will, so why not money-changers?
The custom Jesus attacks is the selling of various items necessary for sacrifice: animals, doves, wine, oil, and salt. Money changers also collected Roman and Greek coins and exchanged them for the half-shekel temple tax required by the Law (Ex. 30:11-14). The exchange had a built-in surcharge. This suggests that Jesus intended to change the whole temple worship and sacrifices. As he suggested to the Samaritan woman “ The true worshipper will worship God in Spirit and Truth. Eckhart says :The temple is now the human soul. For this reason God wants this temple cleared, that He may dwell there.”
In the first reading we Judas and his brothers had the Temple purified and rededicated.
The rededication of the Temple is the feast of Hanukkah. One Christian writer compared the desecrated Temple to a soul, desecrated by sin. He also compared the rededication of the Temple to the reconciliation of the soul with God. As the rededication of the Temple erased the disgrace incurred at the hands of the Gentiles, so the reconciliation of the soul erased the disgrace incurred at the hands of sin.
God’s act of judgment aims to purify God's people and to discipline them. The Lord chastises us, in order to lead us from the error of our ways to his love, truth and justice.?
Lord, help us to draw near to you with gratitude and joy for your great mercy. May we always worship you and give you praise with our thoughts, words and actions. Amen.
The custom Jesus attacks is the selling of various items necessary for sacrifice: animals, doves, wine, oil, and salt. Money changers also collected Roman and Greek coins and exchanged them for the half-shekel temple tax required by the Law (Ex. 30:11-14). The exchange had a built-in surcharge. This suggests that Jesus intended to change the whole temple worship and sacrifices. As he suggested to the Samaritan woman “ The true worshipper will worship God in Spirit and Truth. Eckhart says :The temple is now the human soul. For this reason God wants this temple cleared, that He may dwell there.”
In the first reading we Judas and his brothers had the Temple purified and rededicated.
The rededication of the Temple is the feast of Hanukkah. One Christian writer compared the desecrated Temple to a soul, desecrated by sin. He also compared the rededication of the Temple to the reconciliation of the soul with God. As the rededication of the Temple erased the disgrace incurred at the hands of the Gentiles, so the reconciliation of the soul erased the disgrace incurred at the hands of sin.
God’s act of judgment aims to purify God's people and to discipline them. The Lord chastises us, in order to lead us from the error of our ways to his love, truth and justice.?
Lord, help us to draw near to you with gratitude and joy for your great mercy. May we always worship you and give you praise with our thoughts, words and actions. Amen.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Wednesday, 2 MACCABEES 7:1, 20-31,
The first reading from Maccabees is the touching account of a mother who gives up her seven sons in death to a ruler forcing them to break God's Law. The graphic details of torture the mother witnesses, for each son, would have been enough to break her resolve, but, she and her sons saw righteousness only in death rather than offending God by breaking His law. She advised them "He will give you back life and breath again, because you love his laws more than you love yourself." 2 Mac 7:1, 23
Generally speaking, we are not willing to do what is difficult and opt instead for quick fixes and instant gratification. We have lost sight, it seems, of the temporal nature of our earthly existence, forgetting that we are made for eternity. To have and maintain the proper perspective about heaven and earth requires God's grace and our habitual cooperation with it. Learning and exercising right judgment aren't things we do just once and don't have to revisit, but things that require perseverance lest we get lulled and careless about what really matters.
In our own life, how many times have we bent or broken the law? Perhaps we have committed nothing quite as serious as murder, robbery, plunder, or domestic abuse. Yet cutting ourselves slack for minor offenses soon make us immune to increasingly bigger transgressions. Whenever we are tempted to take shortcuts by bending the Law, let us think of this mother and her sons who were faithful unto death. Let us
remain faithful to God in small things in order to practice faithfulness to Him in big things. What we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. Rom 8:18 We must keep in mind that those who disregard themselves for the sake of the Kingdom, like the seven sons in today's Scripture, will inherit it.
Generally speaking, we are not willing to do what is difficult and opt instead for quick fixes and instant gratification. We have lost sight, it seems, of the temporal nature of our earthly existence, forgetting that we are made for eternity. To have and maintain the proper perspective about heaven and earth requires God's grace and our habitual cooperation with it. Learning and exercising right judgment aren't things we do just once and don't have to revisit, but things that require perseverance lest we get lulled and careless about what really matters.
In our own life, how many times have we bent or broken the law? Perhaps we have committed nothing quite as serious as murder, robbery, plunder, or domestic abuse. Yet cutting ourselves slack for minor offenses soon make us immune to increasingly bigger transgressions. Whenever we are tempted to take shortcuts by bending the Law, let us think of this mother and her sons who were faithful unto death. Let us
remain faithful to God in small things in order to practice faithfulness to Him in big things. What we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us. Rom 8:18 We must keep in mind that those who disregard themselves for the sake of the Kingdom, like the seven sons in today's Scripture, will inherit it.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Tuesday, 2Mac.6:18-31
Ninety-year-old Eleasar, was tortured to death for his faith, giving the young people a good example. 2 Mac 6:31
A mother was praying for several years for the return of her two sons to Church. One Sunday she looked up and saw them sitting across the aisle from her. Later, she asked her sons what brought them back to Church. They said while vacationing in Colorado, they picked up an old man one Sunday. It was pouring rain and he was limping along in the rain. He told them he was on his way to Mass three miles from his mountain home. It was the courageous example of this old man that brought them back.
Albert Scweitzer says “Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.
The worst danger that confronts the younger generation is the example set by the older generation.( E. C. McKenzie). We worry a lot about the younger generation. What will become of their generation ? In fact what we need to worry about is about the elders who fail to set example for the younger generation. Who fail to see the right thing and are running out of time.
How aware am I of the impact that example can have. What example do I give?
Unlike what most of us would do, the ninety year-old Eleazar prefers to die at the hands of men for his faith. Today, he is a hero in our faith tradition, a hero who died in the name of virtue. Although we live in a different century, the question remains: What are we ready to endure to defend our faith, our values or virtues? How many of us would be ready to die for these values? Let’s pray for the grace to be strong in our faith and be ideal for the coming generation.
A mother was praying for several years for the return of her two sons to Church. One Sunday she looked up and saw them sitting across the aisle from her. Later, she asked her sons what brought them back to Church. They said while vacationing in Colorado, they picked up an old man one Sunday. It was pouring rain and he was limping along in the rain. He told them he was on his way to Mass three miles from his mountain home. It was the courageous example of this old man that brought them back.
Albert Scweitzer says “Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.
The worst danger that confronts the younger generation is the example set by the older generation.( E. C. McKenzie). We worry a lot about the younger generation. What will become of their generation ? In fact what we need to worry about is about the elders who fail to set example for the younger generation. Who fail to see the right thing and are running out of time.
How aware am I of the impact that example can have. What example do I give?
Unlike what most of us would do, the ninety year-old Eleazar prefers to die at the hands of men for his faith. Today, he is a hero in our faith tradition, a hero who died in the name of virtue. Although we live in a different century, the question remains: What are we ready to endure to defend our faith, our values or virtues? How many of us would be ready to die for these values? Let’s pray for the grace to be strong in our faith and be ideal for the coming generation.
Monday , LUKE 18:35-43
King Antiochus Ephiphanus thought himself to be the reincarnation of Gk god Zeus. The title Ephiphanus means revelation of god. Faithful Jews called him “Ephimanus” means mad man. He persecuted the Jews for not worshiping his idol. “But many in Israel were determined and resolved in their hearts…[and] preferred to die rather than…to profane the holy covenant.” And they kept up their faith. Scripture tells us that unbelievers live in darkness -- in essence they are blind. Jesus meets a blind beggar whose faith shines brightly. The beggar is physically blind but spiritually sighted. He sees Jesus as the Son of David, the messiah and calls out for help. He refuse to be shouted down by the crowd.
Faith is a gift of inestimable value. Sometimes we profess our faith in Jesus with our lips, yet our words and actions express something completely different. When we do not act consistently with what Jesus expects of his followers, perhaps we need to ask ourselves why. Jesus said that not everyone that says "Lord, Lord" will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do the will of the Father. The will of the Father is that we follow his Son, Jesus Christ, not just occasionally when it suits us, but in everything that we do especially when it is difficult for us to do so. This requires that we accept Jesus as our savior and act in accordance with all that is implied when we follow him. It would be good for us to regularly take time to examine ourselves: in what ways are we living our Christian faith? Have we been consistent? What do we need to do?
Let us ask Jesus to bless us continually with the grace to grow in faith, so that we will see all things in his light and will do only the Father's will.
Faith is a gift of inestimable value. Sometimes we profess our faith in Jesus with our lips, yet our words and actions express something completely different. When we do not act consistently with what Jesus expects of his followers, perhaps we need to ask ourselves why. Jesus said that not everyone that says "Lord, Lord" will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only those who do the will of the Father. The will of the Father is that we follow his Son, Jesus Christ, not just occasionally when it suits us, but in everything that we do especially when it is difficult for us to do so. This requires that we accept Jesus as our savior and act in accordance with all that is implied when we follow him. It would be good for us to regularly take time to examine ourselves: in what ways are we living our Christian faith? Have we been consistent? What do we need to do?
Let us ask Jesus to bless us continually with the grace to grow in faith, so that we will see all things in his light and will do only the Father's will.
Friday, November 13, 2009
XXXIII Sunday,DAN. 12:1-3; HEBR 10:11-14, 18; MARK 13:24-32
There is a movie out 2012 which projects the theme of the end of the world in 2012. Numerology tells: according to Mayan calendar the world is going to end on August 13th,2012 at sharp 11:11 am. There have been many instances in the past when people predicted the end of the world at a particular time in history and came to naught. French prophet and astrologer Nostradamus (1503-1566) foretold that the world would end when Easter fell on April 25. This happened 4 time after his predictions; it will occur again in 2038. The Jehovah’s Witnesses frightened gullible followers at least 3 times during the last century with their “end of the world” predictions in 1914, 1918 and 1974. It is this paranoid fear that led people to die in the mass suicides organized by Heaven’s Gate and Jim Jones.
Today’s readings are full of gloom and doom. It is more of a prophetic presentation of a time of distress where all that is usual, predictable and reliable will be shaken. The stars, sun, moon as symbols of order will be replaced by the “Son of Man” coming upon the earth to reestablish the original creational harmony. This readings remind us that we should be well prepared and always ready to meet Jesus at any time, whether at the end of our lives or at the end of the world, whichever comes first. Jesus finishes the discourse by saying: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.” We do not know, because we do not need to know. As he said it is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority." (Mk 13:32.)
God has seen fit to assure us that history has a purpose, and that it will come to an end, and that we should always keep this in mind. It is enough for us to know that we are part of a story that has meaning and that it will come to a definitive end. At that time, we will receive just recompense for how we carried out our role in the story.
Jesus doesn’t speak about these events in order to scare us, but in order to motivate us. This predictions of the end of the world, are a reminder of his endless love. God loves us all and wants us all to be saved and to live together with him in heaven. It is Good News for us all and we look forward to that Day of Days when God’s purpose is finally achieved. Telling us about it gives us a chance to organize our lives accordingly, to build our lives on the everlasting rock of Christ our Savior.
Jesus says to be watchful. What does it mean to be watchful ? It means three things. First, it means making our personal relationship with God a true priority through daily prayer, ongoing study of our faith, and frequent reception of the sacraments.
Second, it means sharing with others the news that Jesus has shared with us. Jesus died not only for those of us who are here today, but also for those who aren’t. If we don’t tell them the message of Christ, who will?
Third, it means following Christ’s example in our daily lives. Every single day he gives us opportunities to learn to follow his example, getting our souls ready for the great adventure of heaven.
The Second Coming, the New Age, the New Epoch, can and should be happening throughout this day and week. But the Last Judgement is not something we should fear. In a real sense it is something we should rejoice in for it marks the culmination and finalisation of God’s plan for the world. We have all to face death. It is the most significant moment of our lives. It is the moment for which everything else is but a preparation.
In 1999, in the month of July, Pope John Paul II shocked the Christian world when he made these statements in his Wednesday audience:
Heaven, or the happiness in which we will find ourselves, is neither an abstraction nor a physical place in the clouds, but a personal relation [with God]. .. This final condition can be anticipated in a certain sense now on earth.... Moreover, the pictures of Hell given to us in Sacred Scripture must be correctly interpreted. They express the total frustration and emptiness of a life without God. More than a place, Hell is the state of the one who freely and finally removes himself from God, the source of life and joy.
Christ is more interested in the way we conduct our lives this moment rather than tomorrow. He is more eager to see us improve life for others today than He is to remove us from it.
Let us recognize the “second coming” of Jesus in our daily lives through everyday occurrences, always remembering that Jesus comes without warning. But let us not get frightened at the thought of Christ’s Second Coming because he is with us every day in the Holy Eucharist, in the Holy Bible and in our worshipping communities. We will be able to welcome him in his Second Coming as long as we faithfully do the will of God daily and get reconciled with God and with our brothers and sisters every day.
Today’s readings are full of gloom and doom. It is more of a prophetic presentation of a time of distress where all that is usual, predictable and reliable will be shaken. The stars, sun, moon as symbols of order will be replaced by the “Son of Man” coming upon the earth to reestablish the original creational harmony. This readings remind us that we should be well prepared and always ready to meet Jesus at any time, whether at the end of our lives or at the end of the world, whichever comes first. Jesus finishes the discourse by saying: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come.” We do not know, because we do not need to know. As he said it is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority." (Mk 13:32.)
God has seen fit to assure us that history has a purpose, and that it will come to an end, and that we should always keep this in mind. It is enough for us to know that we are part of a story that has meaning and that it will come to a definitive end. At that time, we will receive just recompense for how we carried out our role in the story.
Jesus doesn’t speak about these events in order to scare us, but in order to motivate us. This predictions of the end of the world, are a reminder of his endless love. God loves us all and wants us all to be saved and to live together with him in heaven. It is Good News for us all and we look forward to that Day of Days when God’s purpose is finally achieved. Telling us about it gives us a chance to organize our lives accordingly, to build our lives on the everlasting rock of Christ our Savior.
Jesus says to be watchful. What does it mean to be watchful ? It means three things. First, it means making our personal relationship with God a true priority through daily prayer, ongoing study of our faith, and frequent reception of the sacraments.
Second, it means sharing with others the news that Jesus has shared with us. Jesus died not only for those of us who are here today, but also for those who aren’t. If we don’t tell them the message of Christ, who will?
Third, it means following Christ’s example in our daily lives. Every single day he gives us opportunities to learn to follow his example, getting our souls ready for the great adventure of heaven.
The Second Coming, the New Age, the New Epoch, can and should be happening throughout this day and week. But the Last Judgement is not something we should fear. In a real sense it is something we should rejoice in for it marks the culmination and finalisation of God’s plan for the world. We have all to face death. It is the most significant moment of our lives. It is the moment for which everything else is but a preparation.
In 1999, in the month of July, Pope John Paul II shocked the Christian world when he made these statements in his Wednesday audience:
Heaven, or the happiness in which we will find ourselves, is neither an abstraction nor a physical place in the clouds, but a personal relation [with God]. .. This final condition can be anticipated in a certain sense now on earth.... Moreover, the pictures of Hell given to us in Sacred Scripture must be correctly interpreted. They express the total frustration and emptiness of a life without God. More than a place, Hell is the state of the one who freely and finally removes himself from God, the source of life and joy.
Christ is more interested in the way we conduct our lives this moment rather than tomorrow. He is more eager to see us improve life for others today than He is to remove us from it.
Let us recognize the “second coming” of Jesus in our daily lives through everyday occurrences, always remembering that Jesus comes without warning. But let us not get frightened at the thought of Christ’s Second Coming because he is with us every day in the Holy Eucharist, in the Holy Bible and in our worshipping communities. We will be able to welcome him in his Second Coming as long as we faithfully do the will of God daily and get reconciled with God and with our brothers and sisters every day.
Saturday, LUKE 18:1-8
Scripture and life have taught us that God listens to perseverant people, to those who wholeheartedly and persistently pray, to those whose actions are aligned with and in support of their prayers. Jesus sets this parable before us as a model of how we are to pursue the life of prayer. St Augustine says that The Lord taught us not to pray with much speaking, as if we were more likely to be heard by the more words we used. He said, ‘The Father knows what you need before you ask him.’ It may seem strange, then, that though he cautions us against much speaking, and the Father knows what we need before we ask for it, Jesus still urges us to pray: “to pray always and not lose heart.”
Augustine was quite clear that the unjust judge in the story was not an image of God. “By no means does that unjust judge furnish an allegorical representation of God.” Jesus is not comparing them, but contrasting them. If an unjust judge can respond to persistent requests, how much more will the good God? “The Lord wishes us to infer how much care God bestows on those who beseech him, for God is both just and good.”
It is for our own sakes that we have to be persistent, and not because God is reluctant to give us what we need. It is ourselves we have to convince. Much of the time we hardly know what we want, let alone what we need. By concentrating our prayer we are making ourselves ready to receive what God is going to give – or to be without what God is going to withhold. We are co-operating with God's work in us.
Furthermore, Jesus tells us that God will be quick in His replies. Nonetheless, most of us are deficient in our prayer life. Few of us follow a solid and demanding prayer schedule. Perhaps we pray now and then. Or we pray when we feel a particular need for extra help, but especially when we are in trouble, in fear, in danger, or when we are worried and anxious. Sometimes we even use prayers to give God marching orders — along the lines of "my will be done" rather than "your will be done", the original version taught by Jesus. When God does not seem to comply with our wishes; that becomes the moment to test our purity of intention.
Unlike the persistent widow, we have all had responses other than what we expected from God. How we accept them reveals a lot about how much we want God's will and how much we are attached to our own will. We might think that the injunction to "pray always" is exaggerated, along the lines of "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." But Jesus is the Truth, and he is not given to cheap words and slogans.
When Jesus says something, he means it: Be perfect, pray always. These
are more than suggestions. Ask the Lord for the grace to be constant in our prayer.
Augustine was quite clear that the unjust judge in the story was not an image of God. “By no means does that unjust judge furnish an allegorical representation of God.” Jesus is not comparing them, but contrasting them. If an unjust judge can respond to persistent requests, how much more will the good God? “The Lord wishes us to infer how much care God bestows on those who beseech him, for God is both just and good.”
It is for our own sakes that we have to be persistent, and not because God is reluctant to give us what we need. It is ourselves we have to convince. Much of the time we hardly know what we want, let alone what we need. By concentrating our prayer we are making ourselves ready to receive what God is going to give – or to be without what God is going to withhold. We are co-operating with God's work in us.
Furthermore, Jesus tells us that God will be quick in His replies. Nonetheless, most of us are deficient in our prayer life. Few of us follow a solid and demanding prayer schedule. Perhaps we pray now and then. Or we pray when we feel a particular need for extra help, but especially when we are in trouble, in fear, in danger, or when we are worried and anxious. Sometimes we even use prayers to give God marching orders — along the lines of "my will be done" rather than "your will be done", the original version taught by Jesus. When God does not seem to comply with our wishes; that becomes the moment to test our purity of intention.
Unlike the persistent widow, we have all had responses other than what we expected from God. How we accept them reveals a lot about how much we want God's will and how much we are attached to our own will. We might think that the injunction to "pray always" is exaggerated, along the lines of "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." But Jesus is the Truth, and he is not given to cheap words and slogans.
When Jesus says something, he means it: Be perfect, pray always. These
are more than suggestions. Ask the Lord for the grace to be constant in our prayer.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Thursday, Wis.7:22-8:1
In the Old Testament, "Wisdom" is a name for the Holy Spirit. Today's first reading lists the qualities of a soul that's guided by wisdom, i.e., guided by the Holy Spirit of God.
This is a good checklist to use while waiting in line for Confession or facing a difficult decision. Or when you feel insecure or inadequate, use this list to discover who you really are, according to God and how he designed you to be. Are you uncertain about the Lord's calling for a vocation or career path? Use this list to examine how well you're using the gifts that he has given you.
And by the way, if you need assurance that God is not just a "he" but has a feminine side, notice that Wisdom is called a "she". How very wise to view wisdom this way! Women are usually more intuitive than men (it's not our fault, our brains are made that way; we have more neural connections between the brain's two hemispheres).
What makes wisdom different from knowledge? Wisdom is the divine intuition that understands the right use of the facts that knowledge has provided. But let's get back to the main point.
Read the description of the Spirit of Wisdom – slowly. Because we are made in the image of God, this scripture is describing you and me when we let the Holy Spirit work through us. Read it again to see what you're really like! Look at the gifts of the Holy Spirit that you have access to. You received this Spirit of Wisdom during your baptism. Do not underestimate the wisdom that dwells within you!
We don't fully experience this wise nature of ours because sin closes us off to it. When our relationship with the Holy Spirit is active and healthy and growing, we share in God's holiness.
This is a good checklist to use while waiting in line for Confession or facing a difficult decision. Or when you feel insecure or inadequate, use this list to discover who you really are, according to God and how he designed you to be. Are you uncertain about the Lord's calling for a vocation or career path? Use this list to examine how well you're using the gifts that he has given you.
And by the way, if you need assurance that God is not just a "he" but has a feminine side, notice that Wisdom is called a "she". How very wise to view wisdom this way! Women are usually more intuitive than men (it's not our fault, our brains are made that way; we have more neural connections between the brain's two hemispheres).
What makes wisdom different from knowledge? Wisdom is the divine intuition that understands the right use of the facts that knowledge has provided. But let's get back to the main point.
Read the description of the Spirit of Wisdom – slowly. Because we are made in the image of God, this scripture is describing you and me when we let the Holy Spirit work through us. Read it again to see what you're really like! Look at the gifts of the Holy Spirit that you have access to. You received this Spirit of Wisdom during your baptism. Do not underestimate the wisdom that dwells within you!
We don't fully experience this wise nature of ours because sin closes us off to it. When our relationship with the Holy Spirit is active and healthy and growing, we share in God's holiness.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Wednesday, LUKE 17:11-19
In the days of the Lord, lepers were totally marginalized. In fact, those ten lepers met Jesus as He entered a village (Lk 17:12), as they were not allowed in the villages, nor could they get any close to people (keeping their distance, they called to him). Today, so many people are relegated to an outer edge by our society, and who look at us Christians as their only possibility to find Jesus' love and goodness.
Lepers were outcasts, required by the law to stand at a distance from people (Lev.13:45f). But in the story of the Ten Lepers, shared misery had brought Jewish and Samaritan lepers together! Had they not been lepers, they would never have been found in one another's company! There was deep religious hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans. The Samaritans were heretics and foreigners in the eyes of the Jews, and their region a melting-pot of different cults and customs, and Jews despised it as a blot on their country.
It was a very inconveniently situated blot: right in the middle. So when Jews wanted to travel between Galilee in the north and Judea in the south, they had either to pass through Samaritan country or to skirt it. Things could be unpleasant for them if they passed through, but the journey was twice as long if they went around.
There may be Samaritan territory in the middle of our life. It is the part of our life that is a mess, which we don’t want to face: where we are at our very weakest and worst, where our thoughts and motives are all mixed up and unclear, where we have never had peace and hardly dare to hope for it. Instead of skirting around it if we invite Jesus into it we will find the mess cleaned up. Many of the heroes and heroines of Jesus' stories were Samaritans! – the one leper, the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan woman at the well. And so there’s hope for us all!
The Indian poet and philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore, wrote, “We are beginning to discover that our problem is worldwide, and no one people of the earth can work out its salvation by detaching itself from others. Either we shall be saved together or drown together into destruction.” If love doesn’t bring us together, adversity will. Martin of Tours is one who reached out to share the adversity of others. His famous legend of cutting his coat in half to cover a beggar who was freezing, and later realizing that it was Christ himself who received it and returned his half cloak when he reached home shows our sharing in others misery will be rewarded.
Lepers were outcasts, required by the law to stand at a distance from people (Lev.13:45f). But in the story of the Ten Lepers, shared misery had brought Jewish and Samaritan lepers together! Had they not been lepers, they would never have been found in one another's company! There was deep religious hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans. The Samaritans were heretics and foreigners in the eyes of the Jews, and their region a melting-pot of different cults and customs, and Jews despised it as a blot on their country.
It was a very inconveniently situated blot: right in the middle. So when Jews wanted to travel between Galilee in the north and Judea in the south, they had either to pass through Samaritan country or to skirt it. Things could be unpleasant for them if they passed through, but the journey was twice as long if they went around.
There may be Samaritan territory in the middle of our life. It is the part of our life that is a mess, which we don’t want to face: where we are at our very weakest and worst, where our thoughts and motives are all mixed up and unclear, where we have never had peace and hardly dare to hope for it. Instead of skirting around it if we invite Jesus into it we will find the mess cleaned up. Many of the heroes and heroines of Jesus' stories were Samaritans! – the one leper, the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan woman at the well. And so there’s hope for us all!
The Indian poet and philosopher, Rabindranath Tagore, wrote, “We are beginning to discover that our problem is worldwide, and no one people of the earth can work out its salvation by detaching itself from others. Either we shall be saved together or drown together into destruction.” If love doesn’t bring us together, adversity will. Martin of Tours is one who reached out to share the adversity of others. His famous legend of cutting his coat in half to cover a beggar who was freezing, and later realizing that it was Christ himself who received it and returned his half cloak when he reached home shows our sharing in others misery will be rewarded.
Tuesday, LUKE 17:7-10
Jesus, with the example of a parable, invites his apostles to consider the stance of service: the servant should fulfill his duties without expecting any reward: «Do you thank this servant for doing what you commanded?» (Lk 17:9).
Jesus says we should not expect thanks. This may seem harsh, but in fact it is what sets us free. If I expect gratitude I am automatically a beggar. I can only sit and wait in hope that someone will give it to me. Like any beggar I could ask for it, but asking ruins this particular commodity. Thanks that I have to ask for, is not really thanks.
Expect nothing and you won't be disappointed: that is what we have often been told. If you are taken for granted, that is a kind of compliment. We take most real things for granted: we don't thank the walls of our house for holding up the roof and keeping the weather out; we don't thank the trees or the birds of the air; we don't thank the well for the water: we turn our backs on it when we have satisfied our thirst.
Should children thank their parents? We are always saying they should, but that ‘should’ makes beggars of their parents. Let them learn to say the polite thing to strangers, but don't imagine that they should pay you with that kind of small change. If their gratitude isn’t spontaneous it is not gratitude at all.
There is tremendous freedom when we expect nothing. Because we expect nothing, we do what we do for the right motive: which is simply that it is the right thing to do. And when we finish doing it, we don't hang around like beggars waiting for the chance of a few coins. A rabbi said that the perfect kind of generosity was when the giver didn’t know who was receiving and the receiver didn’t know who was giving. Then the giver is not burdening the receiver with a debt of gratitude, and the receiver can see right through the giver (who is invisible) to God, the ultimate giver.
For all those who believe, everything is a sign, for all those who love, everything is a gift. Working for God's Kingdom is already a great reward. So let’s seek the reward – only Jesus himself who washed his disciples feet and got renounced by them.
Jesus says we should not expect thanks. This may seem harsh, but in fact it is what sets us free. If I expect gratitude I am automatically a beggar. I can only sit and wait in hope that someone will give it to me. Like any beggar I could ask for it, but asking ruins this particular commodity. Thanks that I have to ask for, is not really thanks.
Expect nothing and you won't be disappointed: that is what we have often been told. If you are taken for granted, that is a kind of compliment. We take most real things for granted: we don't thank the walls of our house for holding up the roof and keeping the weather out; we don't thank the trees or the birds of the air; we don't thank the well for the water: we turn our backs on it when we have satisfied our thirst.
Should children thank their parents? We are always saying they should, but that ‘should’ makes beggars of their parents. Let them learn to say the polite thing to strangers, but don't imagine that they should pay you with that kind of small change. If their gratitude isn’t spontaneous it is not gratitude at all.
There is tremendous freedom when we expect nothing. Because we expect nothing, we do what we do for the right motive: which is simply that it is the right thing to do. And when we finish doing it, we don't hang around like beggars waiting for the chance of a few coins. A rabbi said that the perfect kind of generosity was when the giver didn’t know who was receiving and the receiver didn’t know who was giving. Then the giver is not burdening the receiver with a debt of gratitude, and the receiver can see right through the giver (who is invisible) to God, the ultimate giver.
For all those who believe, everything is a sign, for all those who love, everything is a gift. Working for God's Kingdom is already a great reward. So let’s seek the reward – only Jesus himself who washed his disciples feet and got renounced by them.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Monday, Nov.9, -Dedication of The Lateran Basilica, Jn.2:13-22
Today we celebrate the dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica, the oldest and one of the most important Christian basilicas in Rome. But it has always been recognized as the cathedral church of the bishop of Rome. It was first called the Most Holy Savior, then 2 centuries later called St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist. It was the first Christian church building. The ground for it was donated by the Emperor Constantine in the early 4th century. It was rebuilt four or five times! The Vandals wrecked it in the 5th century, an earthquake did the same in the 9th, two fires destroyed it at different times in the 14th, and there was little left of the original when the interior was redone in the 17th.
Even though no building in this world is big enough to contain God's immensity, since very long, long time ago, human beings have felt the need to reserve certain locations for their personal and collective meetings with God. At the beginning, the gathering places for Christians were their private homes, where communities congregated for prayer and the breaking of the Eucharistic Bread. The gathered community was —and still is today— God's Holy Temple. As time went by, these communities have been building edifices devoted to their liturgical celebrations. One of the most striking features of the St. John Lateran Basilica is an inscription found in the basilica's baptistery which says: "This is the fountain of life, which cleanses the whole world, taking its course from the wounds of Christ." It is a powerful reminder that the
Church exists to carry on the work of Christ in the world.
St. John Lateran is the symbol of the unity of all the Churches in the world with the Roman Church, and this is why this basilica proudly displays in its main portico the title of Mother and head of all the churches in the city and in the world. It is even more important than St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, the latter not being actually a cathedral, but a shrine built over St. Peter's tomb. It stands as a temple of stones as a symbol of the living Church, the Christian community, of which Christ is the cornerstone.
A church is a symbol of a believing community, just as a house is a symbol of the self. We search for God there, and God searches for us. This is not usually a peaceful process: “God ransacks the house,” Tauler said, “throwing aside one thing after another.” God comes searching for us, in our human stature and in all our ragged imperfection.
In the first reading, the prophet Ezekiel saw healing water flowing from the Temple and going out in all directions. In one sense, that is us. We are the temples of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus wants to fill us to over flowing. In order to bring Christ to the world, however, we must plunge deeply into the fountain of life ourselves. Personal
prayer, the gift of the sacraments, the wisdom of Scripture, the love of our brothers and sisters in Christ, all of these are their own founts of life for us. If we immerse ourselves in Christ, we really can change the world.
We should never lose sight of the fact that the true meeting point between man and God, his actual temple, is Jesus Christ. This is why, He was empowered to tidy up his Father's home and to say these words: Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up (Jn 2:19). Thanks to the sacrifice of his life for us, Jesus Christ has made out of believers God's living temple. This is why, the Christian message reminds us that all human beings are a sacred reality, where God dwells, and that it cannot be profaned by using it as material means. Let us go forth today remembering our call to be temples of the Holy Spirit whenever we go.
Even though no building in this world is big enough to contain God's immensity, since very long, long time ago, human beings have felt the need to reserve certain locations for their personal and collective meetings with God. At the beginning, the gathering places for Christians were their private homes, where communities congregated for prayer and the breaking of the Eucharistic Bread. The gathered community was —and still is today— God's Holy Temple. As time went by, these communities have been building edifices devoted to their liturgical celebrations. One of the most striking features of the St. John Lateran Basilica is an inscription found in the basilica's baptistery which says: "This is the fountain of life, which cleanses the whole world, taking its course from the wounds of Christ." It is a powerful reminder that the
Church exists to carry on the work of Christ in the world.
St. John Lateran is the symbol of the unity of all the Churches in the world with the Roman Church, and this is why this basilica proudly displays in its main portico the title of Mother and head of all the churches in the city and in the world. It is even more important than St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, the latter not being actually a cathedral, but a shrine built over St. Peter's tomb. It stands as a temple of stones as a symbol of the living Church, the Christian community, of which Christ is the cornerstone.
A church is a symbol of a believing community, just as a house is a symbol of the self. We search for God there, and God searches for us. This is not usually a peaceful process: “God ransacks the house,” Tauler said, “throwing aside one thing after another.” God comes searching for us, in our human stature and in all our ragged imperfection.
In the first reading, the prophet Ezekiel saw healing water flowing from the Temple and going out in all directions. In one sense, that is us. We are the temples of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus wants to fill us to over flowing. In order to bring Christ to the world, however, we must plunge deeply into the fountain of life ourselves. Personal
prayer, the gift of the sacraments, the wisdom of Scripture, the love of our brothers and sisters in Christ, all of these are their own founts of life for us. If we immerse ourselves in Christ, we really can change the world.
We should never lose sight of the fact that the true meeting point between man and God, his actual temple, is Jesus Christ. This is why, He was empowered to tidy up his Father's home and to say these words: Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up (Jn 2:19). Thanks to the sacrifice of his life for us, Jesus Christ has made out of believers God's living temple. This is why, the Christian message reminds us that all human beings are a sacred reality, where God dwells, and that it cannot be profaned by using it as material means. Let us go forth today remembering our call to be temples of the Holy Spirit whenever we go.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
XXXII Sunday in Ordinary Time.
O. T. XXXII (B) I KINGS 17:10-16; HEB 9:24-28; MARK 12:38-44
You might know the story of Oseola McCarty. She died just a few years ago at the age of 91. She was an African-American woman from Mississippi, who earned a living by washing and ironing other people's clothes. McCarty, who never married, was in the 6th grade when she had to leave school and take over her mother's laundry business while she cared for a sick aunt. She never had a car. Only recently at the urging of bank personnel, did she buy a window air conditioner for her home. McCarty's arthritis forced her to retire in December of 1994 at the age of 86.
McCarty scrimped and saved, however, until she was able to leave $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi to set up scholarships for other needy African Americans. Contributions from more than 600 donors have added some $330,000 to the original scholarship fund of $150,000. After hearing of Miss McCarty's gift, Ted Turner, a multi-billionaire, gave away a billion dollars. He said, “If that little woman can give away everything she has, then I can give a billion.” McCarty just said, “I want to help somebody's child go to college.” “I can't do everything,” she said, “but I can do something to help somebody. I wish I could do more. But what I can do I will do."
Today’s readings invite us to make a total commitment to God’s service with a humble and generous heart free from pride and prejudice. The first reading and the gospel today present poor widows who sacrificially gave their whole lives and means of livelihood to God, symbolizing the supreme sacrifice Jesus would offer by giving his life for others.
Jesus was sitting opposite the place where the offerings were put, and he was observing the people make their donations as they come into the temple. Remember that as there is no paper money, all of the offerings make a terrible noise as they roll down this long horn shaped object and fall into the pool of coins. And here comes this little old lady and she has two small coins worth nothing and drops them in. They barely make a noise. You can almost see the Temple leaders as they roll their eyes and hope for better results with the next person who walks in the door. Jesus then calls his Disciples over and says, “This poor widow has put more in to the treasury than all the others.” To the Sadducees this woman is a waste of time, but to Jesus she is the stuff by which Kingdoms are erected. It was not the woman's poverty that made her gift significant for Jesus. For him, it was the fact that this widow alone, among all the contributors lined up to give their offerings, gave her all. She gave herself totally into God’s hands with the sure conviction that He would give her the support she needed.
God prefers generosity from the Heart. The gospel shows that there are two ways of being generous: the way of the scribes, and the way of the widow. The Scribes gave to stoke their vanity, increase their comfort, and enhance their reputation. They considered themselves superior because they gave more time, talent, and treasure to the Temple than anyone else. But this was a one-dimensional view of generosity. They considered that they were doing God a favor by serving him; the widow understood that God was the one doing the favors. The scribes were forgetting that all those external things were actually gifts God had given them in the first place. What God truly wants from us is something more, something deeper: he wants our love; he wants us to trust in him. This is what the poor widow gave to him. The offering God wants from us is not just our stuff, but our hearts and lives.
We need to remember that God doesn’t need any money from us. If He is God, he should not be in any want. Why then should we give to Church and to God ? Can’t God take care of His church and its ministry ? One thing we need to remember that God doesn’t ask any donations from us. He is not begging anything from us. He doesn’t want anything that really belongs to us. Why should we give to him that belongs to us ? The reason why we need to give is” He gave us everything and so he is asking us to show our gratitude by giving back a small amount of what he gave to us. He knows human heart, once it is in human hands it is very hard for him to give back even to God who gave them all to him. So by giving back to God/Church what God gave to us we acknowledge our dependence on God and show our gratitude to him. Scripture says I desire obedience and not sacrifice. So God wants to see how obedient we are to him. I need to give to God because I love him. We can give without loving, but we cannot love without giving. In every love we give something to the loved. In ideal marriage a husband gives himself unconditionally to his wife and vice versa. But in loving God we give not only ourselves, but also the things or persons we love- to God. There should not be anything outside of that love. That is why Jesus says, if anyone should come after me he should renounce/hate his father, mother, wife, children and even himself. By our giving to God or to church we are practicing that kind of renunciation.
Once a pastor gave a talk on the need to renovate their church. At the end of the talk baskets were passed around for collection. One man took $50 dollars to put in the basket and just then a small piece of plaster fell right on his head. So he put the $50 bill back in his pocket and took $500 in the basket. The man next to him was watching all this. Fisting his hand he wished and prayed “ Lord hit him again ”.
People donate to particular need because they love and cherish that cause. If we give to God and church it should not be for any particular need. When I see no worthy cause , I would stop giving. So I should give to church not because that there is a need there for money or my service, but because I feel I need to give as a gratitude to God. When I feel that way I would give what I can afford to give, not less nor more. If I give to a need, then if the cause does not merit my proper attention I would not give. If I am not convinced of the urgency of the need I wouldn’t give. God does not give us blessings because we need it more because he loves us. So we also need to give him out of love.
He evaluates us on the basis of the sacrifices we make for others and on the degree of our surrender to God’s holy will. The offering God wants from us is not our material possessions, but our hearts and lives. What is hardest to give is ourselves in love and concern, because that gift costs us more than reaching for our wallets. Today you are required to fill in the offertory program forms. The criterion for our decision should be “ How much did I receive from the Lord, and “ is what I promise now a enough return to thank the Lord.
Health care reform bill is hot these days. There is a bulletin insert this week from the US bishops calling the Catholics to prevent heath care reform from being derailed by the abortion lobby. This insert has gone over to all the 19000 parishes all over the country. I request you to take a closer look at that.
You might know the story of Oseola McCarty. She died just a few years ago at the age of 91. She was an African-American woman from Mississippi, who earned a living by washing and ironing other people's clothes. McCarty, who never married, was in the 6th grade when she had to leave school and take over her mother's laundry business while she cared for a sick aunt. She never had a car. Only recently at the urging of bank personnel, did she buy a window air conditioner for her home. McCarty's arthritis forced her to retire in December of 1994 at the age of 86.
McCarty scrimped and saved, however, until she was able to leave $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi to set up scholarships for other needy African Americans. Contributions from more than 600 donors have added some $330,000 to the original scholarship fund of $150,000. After hearing of Miss McCarty's gift, Ted Turner, a multi-billionaire, gave away a billion dollars. He said, “If that little woman can give away everything she has, then I can give a billion.” McCarty just said, “I want to help somebody's child go to college.” “I can't do everything,” she said, “but I can do something to help somebody. I wish I could do more. But what I can do I will do."
Today’s readings invite us to make a total commitment to God’s service with a humble and generous heart free from pride and prejudice. The first reading and the gospel today present poor widows who sacrificially gave their whole lives and means of livelihood to God, symbolizing the supreme sacrifice Jesus would offer by giving his life for others.
Jesus was sitting opposite the place where the offerings were put, and he was observing the people make their donations as they come into the temple. Remember that as there is no paper money, all of the offerings make a terrible noise as they roll down this long horn shaped object and fall into the pool of coins. And here comes this little old lady and she has two small coins worth nothing and drops them in. They barely make a noise. You can almost see the Temple leaders as they roll their eyes and hope for better results with the next person who walks in the door. Jesus then calls his Disciples over and says, “This poor widow has put more in to the treasury than all the others.” To the Sadducees this woman is a waste of time, but to Jesus she is the stuff by which Kingdoms are erected. It was not the woman's poverty that made her gift significant for Jesus. For him, it was the fact that this widow alone, among all the contributors lined up to give their offerings, gave her all. She gave herself totally into God’s hands with the sure conviction that He would give her the support she needed.
God prefers generosity from the Heart. The gospel shows that there are two ways of being generous: the way of the scribes, and the way of the widow. The Scribes gave to stoke their vanity, increase their comfort, and enhance their reputation. They considered themselves superior because they gave more time, talent, and treasure to the Temple than anyone else. But this was a one-dimensional view of generosity. They considered that they were doing God a favor by serving him; the widow understood that God was the one doing the favors. The scribes were forgetting that all those external things were actually gifts God had given them in the first place. What God truly wants from us is something more, something deeper: he wants our love; he wants us to trust in him. This is what the poor widow gave to him. The offering God wants from us is not just our stuff, but our hearts and lives.
We need to remember that God doesn’t need any money from us. If He is God, he should not be in any want. Why then should we give to Church and to God ? Can’t God take care of His church and its ministry ? One thing we need to remember that God doesn’t ask any donations from us. He is not begging anything from us. He doesn’t want anything that really belongs to us. Why should we give to him that belongs to us ? The reason why we need to give is” He gave us everything and so he is asking us to show our gratitude by giving back a small amount of what he gave to us. He knows human heart, once it is in human hands it is very hard for him to give back even to God who gave them all to him. So by giving back to God/Church what God gave to us we acknowledge our dependence on God and show our gratitude to him. Scripture says I desire obedience and not sacrifice. So God wants to see how obedient we are to him. I need to give to God because I love him. We can give without loving, but we cannot love without giving. In every love we give something to the loved. In ideal marriage a husband gives himself unconditionally to his wife and vice versa. But in loving God we give not only ourselves, but also the things or persons we love- to God. There should not be anything outside of that love. That is why Jesus says, if anyone should come after me he should renounce/hate his father, mother, wife, children and even himself. By our giving to God or to church we are practicing that kind of renunciation.
Once a pastor gave a talk on the need to renovate their church. At the end of the talk baskets were passed around for collection. One man took $50 dollars to put in the basket and just then a small piece of plaster fell right on his head. So he put the $50 bill back in his pocket and took $500 in the basket. The man next to him was watching all this. Fisting his hand he wished and prayed “ Lord hit him again ”.
People donate to particular need because they love and cherish that cause. If we give to God and church it should not be for any particular need. When I see no worthy cause , I would stop giving. So I should give to church not because that there is a need there for money or my service, but because I feel I need to give as a gratitude to God. When I feel that way I would give what I can afford to give, not less nor more. If I give to a need, then if the cause does not merit my proper attention I would not give. If I am not convinced of the urgency of the need I wouldn’t give. God does not give us blessings because we need it more because he loves us. So we also need to give him out of love.
He evaluates us on the basis of the sacrifices we make for others and on the degree of our surrender to God’s holy will. The offering God wants from us is not our material possessions, but our hearts and lives. What is hardest to give is ourselves in love and concern, because that gift costs us more than reaching for our wallets. Today you are required to fill in the offertory program forms. The criterion for our decision should be “ How much did I receive from the Lord, and “ is what I promise now a enough return to thank the Lord.
Health care reform bill is hot these days. There is a bulletin insert this week from the US bishops calling the Catholics to prevent heath care reform from being derailed by the abortion lobby. This insert has gone over to all the 19000 parishes all over the country. I request you to take a closer look at that.
Friday, November 6, 2009
November 7 Saturday: Luke 16: 9-15:
Jesus concludes his parable with a lesson on what controls or rules our lives. Our "master" is that which governs our thought-life, shapes our ideals, controls the desires of the heart and the values we choose to live by. We can be ruled by many different things – the love of money or possessions, the power of position, the glamour of wealth and prestige, the driving force of unruly passions and addictions. Ultimately the choice boils down to two: God and "mammon". "Mammon" stands for "material wealth or possessions" or whatever tends to "control our appetites and desires". There is one Master alone who has the power to set us free from the slavery of sin and addiction. That Master is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus makes clear that our heart must either be possessed by God's love or our heart will be possessed by the love of something else.
Just as a slave is the exclusive property of his master, God is the most exclusive of masters. So serving Him cannot be a part-time or spare-time job; it is full-time job. Finally, Jesus warns the Pharisees that material prosperity is not a sure sign of one’s goodness and God’s blessing, but a sign of God’s mercy and generosity. Since God owns us totally we are expected to be at His service doing His holy will all the time. Hence there is no such thing as a part-time Christian. But only full time , committed Christians. Let’s be every ready to be at his service, serving others for the Lord.
"Lord Jesus, Free me from greed and attachment to material things that I may be generous in using the gifts and resources you give me for your glory and for the good of my neighbor."
Just as a slave is the exclusive property of his master, God is the most exclusive of masters. So serving Him cannot be a part-time or spare-time job; it is full-time job. Finally, Jesus warns the Pharisees that material prosperity is not a sure sign of one’s goodness and God’s blessing, but a sign of God’s mercy and generosity. Since God owns us totally we are expected to be at His service doing His holy will all the time. Hence there is no such thing as a part-time Christian. But only full time , committed Christians. Let’s be every ready to be at his service, serving others for the Lord.
"Lord Jesus, Free me from greed and attachment to material things that I may be generous in using the gifts and resources you give me for your glory and for the good of my neighbor."
Thursday, November 5, 2009
November 6: Friday: Luke 16: 1-8:.
Today, the Gospel proposes a question, which, at first sight, is rather extraordinary. Luke's text, indeed, says: And the master commended the dishonest steward for his astuteness (Lk 16:8). It goes without saying we are not being told here to be deceitful in our relationship amongst ourselves, much less, with our Lord. It is not therefore a praise to which would simply be a dishonest steward.
“Why did the Lord present this parable to us?” asked St Augustine. “He surely did not approve of that cheating servant who cheated his master, stole from him and did not make it up from his own pocket. On top of that, he also did some extra pilfering. He caused his master further loss, in order to prepare a little nest of quiet and security for himself after he lost his job. Why did the Lord set this before us?” With instinctive accuracy he hit the point: “It is not because that servant cheated but because he exercised foresight for the future.” It is not an allegory, but a parable. An allegory has many points of application, a parable has only one.
What Jesus actually manifests in this example is a grievance for the shrewdness in dealing with the matters of this world and the lack of true wit of the sons of light in building God's Kingdom: «The people of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the people of light» (Lk 16:8).
A shrewd person is one who grasps a critical situation with resolution and foresight. Perhaps Jesus was trying to tell his listeners that there was something more critical in the steward's situation than a simple financial crisis. Perhaps Jesus has been reminding us that we can avert spiritual crisis through the exercise of faith and foresight. If Christians would only expend as much foresight and energy in spiritual matters as much as they do to earthly matters, then perhaps the world would indeed be a better place. As God’s stewards we need to be prepared to give an account of our lives at any time.
Let’s ask the Lord to help us to be a good steward of our time, finances, and possessions and free us from greed and possessiveness, and fill us with generosity towards others. Amen.
“Why did the Lord present this parable to us?” asked St Augustine. “He surely did not approve of that cheating servant who cheated his master, stole from him and did not make it up from his own pocket. On top of that, he also did some extra pilfering. He caused his master further loss, in order to prepare a little nest of quiet and security for himself after he lost his job. Why did the Lord set this before us?” With instinctive accuracy he hit the point: “It is not because that servant cheated but because he exercised foresight for the future.” It is not an allegory, but a parable. An allegory has many points of application, a parable has only one.
What Jesus actually manifests in this example is a grievance for the shrewdness in dealing with the matters of this world and the lack of true wit of the sons of light in building God's Kingdom: «The people of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the people of light» (Lk 16:8).
A shrewd person is one who grasps a critical situation with resolution and foresight. Perhaps Jesus was trying to tell his listeners that there was something more critical in the steward's situation than a simple financial crisis. Perhaps Jesus has been reminding us that we can avert spiritual crisis through the exercise of faith and foresight. If Christians would only expend as much foresight and energy in spiritual matters as much as they do to earthly matters, then perhaps the world would indeed be a better place. As God’s stewards we need to be prepared to give an account of our lives at any time.
Let’s ask the Lord to help us to be a good steward of our time, finances, and possessions and free us from greed and possessiveness, and fill us with generosity towards others. Amen.
November 5: Thursday: Luke 15: 1-10:
Today’s gospel passage, from chapter 15 of Luke’s gospel, is known as the “gospel in the gospels” or the “distilled essence of Christ’s good news.” In this chapter, using three parables, Jesus answers two accusations leveled against him by the Scribes and Pharisees, that he is mingling with the sinners and sharing their meals. These parables teach us that our God is a loving, patient, merciful, and forgiving God. He is eager to be merciful toward us, not vengeful and punishing. He is always in search of His lost and straying children.
The parables: Since the self-righteous Pharisees who accused Jesus of befriending publicans and sinners could not believe that God would be delighted at the conversion of sinners, Jesus told them the parable of the lost sheep and the shepherd's joy on its discovery, the parable of the lost coin and the woman’s joy when she found it, and the parable of the lost and returned son and his Father’s joy. Besides presenting a God who is patiently waiting for the return of sinners, ready to pardon them, these parables teach us God’s infinite love and mercy. These three parables defend Jesus’ alliance with sinners and respond to the criticism leveled by certain Pharisees and scribes at Jesus’ frequent practice of eating with and welcoming tax collectors and sinners.
Life messages: 1) We need to accept the challenge for self-evaluation and a return to God’s mercy: If we have been in sin, God's mercy is seeking us, searching for our souls with a love that is wild beyond all imagining. God is ready to receive and welcome us back as Jesus welcomed sinners in his time. Let us pray today that we will allow God’s love and forgiveness into our lives. 2) We also need to ask God for the courage to extend this forgiveness to others who have offended us. As we continue with the celebration of the Holy Mass, let us pray also for God's divine mercy on those who have fallen away from grace.
The parables: Since the self-righteous Pharisees who accused Jesus of befriending publicans and sinners could not believe that God would be delighted at the conversion of sinners, Jesus told them the parable of the lost sheep and the shepherd's joy on its discovery, the parable of the lost coin and the woman’s joy when she found it, and the parable of the lost and returned son and his Father’s joy. Besides presenting a God who is patiently waiting for the return of sinners, ready to pardon them, these parables teach us God’s infinite love and mercy. These three parables defend Jesus’ alliance with sinners and respond to the criticism leveled by certain Pharisees and scribes at Jesus’ frequent practice of eating with and welcoming tax collectors and sinners.
Life messages: 1) We need to accept the challenge for self-evaluation and a return to God’s mercy: If we have been in sin, God's mercy is seeking us, searching for our souls with a love that is wild beyond all imagining. God is ready to receive and welcome us back as Jesus welcomed sinners in his time. Let us pray today that we will allow God’s love and forgiveness into our lives. 2) We also need to ask God for the courage to extend this forgiveness to others who have offended us. As we continue with the celebration of the Holy Mass, let us pray also for God's divine mercy on those who have fallen away from grace.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
November 4: Wednesday: Luke 14:25-33
Today, the Lord speaks to us in clear-cut terms. Jesus Christ must be loved by the true disciple with all his heart, well over all kind of ties, even the closest ones: Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. (Lk 14:26-27). The strange verse is not telling us to hate our fathers and mothers, but not to give them precedence over the Lord. Here he's not talking about being unloving to anyone nor being unkind to ourselves. Following Christ means being so loving that we hate it when someone or something interferes with that love. In the follower's life, He is always the first one. St. Augustine says: Let us reply to our father and to our mother: ‘I love you in Christ, not instead of Christ’. In following Jesus even our love for life must rank as a second priority. To follow Jesus, after all, entails to embrace the Cross. Without the Cross there is no disciple. A follower must be ready to follow Jesus in the way of the cross, "counting the cost", if he wants to share in his glory and victory.
A disciple must expect opposition and persecution by unbelievers, be ready to be branded a subversive, and perhaps even imprisoned or executed because of his faith. He must let go of his old self and carry not only his own cross but also that which God gives him. He must be unattached to his family, his way of life, his possessions, his needs, pleasure, and comforts, so that he focuses his attention on God alone. Jesus calls us to put God before anything else. Nothing must stand in the way of sharing God's word with others.
Jesus’ challenge of true Christian discipleship can be accepted only if we practice the spirit of detachment and renunciation in our daily lives. Let’s pray for the strength to denounce everything and place Jesus always first in our thoughts and intentions, and in our words and actions."
A disciple must expect opposition and persecution by unbelievers, be ready to be branded a subversive, and perhaps even imprisoned or executed because of his faith. He must let go of his old self and carry not only his own cross but also that which God gives him. He must be unattached to his family, his way of life, his possessions, his needs, pleasure, and comforts, so that he focuses his attention on God alone. Jesus calls us to put God before anything else. Nothing must stand in the way of sharing God's word with others.
Jesus’ challenge of true Christian discipleship can be accepted only if we practice the spirit of detachment and renunciation in our daily lives. Let’s pray for the strength to denounce everything and place Jesus always first in our thoughts and intentions, and in our words and actions."
Monday, November 2, 2009
November 3 Tuesday: Luke 14: 15-24: 15
Today Jesus highlights the cost of refusing God’s invitation for the heavenly banquet with lame excuses by telling a parable of a banquet hosted by a very rich and influential landowner. Jesus directed this parable to the Jewish religious and civic leaders who refused to accept his invitation for God’s salvation and boycotted his preaching and healing ministry. Jesus explained through this parable why he was befriending tax collectors and sinners, promising them eternal salvation and participation in the heavenly banquet.
People began to make excuses for not coming to the party. They were not the most convincing excuses in the world. If you really want to do something, you always find time and opportunity to do it. If you don't want to do it, one excuse is as good as another. Unfortunately, we are capable of swapping God for practically anything. Some for a piece of land; others, for some yoke of oxen. And what are we willing to trade him and his invitation, for? There are those that out of laziness, sloppiness, convenience, refrain from fulfilling their duties of love towards God: is God so unworthy we can replace Him with anything?
Let us examine ourselves to see if we, too, are refusing God’s invitation, giving lame excuses to show how busy we are because of our business or career duties, our addictions to games, entertainments and hobbies or our preoccupation with family matters. We may not get a better chance or more opportunities to accept God’s invitation to prayer, to Eucharistic celebration, to the serious study of and refection on the word of God or to service in the community.
People began to make excuses for not coming to the party. They were not the most convincing excuses in the world. If you really want to do something, you always find time and opportunity to do it. If you don't want to do it, one excuse is as good as another. Unfortunately, we are capable of swapping God for practically anything. Some for a piece of land; others, for some yoke of oxen. And what are we willing to trade him and his invitation, for? There are those that out of laziness, sloppiness, convenience, refrain from fulfilling their duties of love towards God: is God so unworthy we can replace Him with anything?
Let us examine ourselves to see if we, too, are refusing God’s invitation, giving lame excuses to show how busy we are because of our business or career duties, our addictions to games, entertainments and hobbies or our preoccupation with family matters. We may not get a better chance or more opportunities to accept God’s invitation to prayer, to Eucharistic celebration, to the serious study of and refection on the word of God or to service in the community.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
ALL SOULS' DAY
November 2 Monday: (All Souls day): John 6: 37-40:
All Souls’ Day is a day specially set apart that we may remember and pray for our dear ones who have gone to their eternal reward, and who are currently in a state of ongoing purification.
Ancient belief: 1) People of all religions have believed in the immortality of the soul, and have prayed for the dead.
2) The Jews, for example, believed that there was a place of temporary bondage from which the souls of the dead would receive their final release. The Jewish Talmud states that prayers for the dead will help to bring greater rewards and blessings to them. Prayer for the souls of the departed is retained by Orthodox Jews today, who recite a prayer known as the Mourner’s Kaddish for eleven months after the death of a loved one so that the loved one may be purified.
3) Jesus and the apostles shared this belief and passed it on to the early Church. “Remember us who have gone before you, in your prayers,” is a petition often found inscribed on the walls of the Roman catacombs (Lumen Gentium-50).
4) The liturgies of the Mass in various rites dating from the early centuries of the Church include “Prayers for the Dead.”
5) The early Fathers of the Church encouraged this practice. Tertullian (A.D. 160-240) wrote about the anniversary Masses for the dead, advising widows to pray for their husbands. St. Augustine remarked that he used to pray for his deceased mother, remembering her request: "When I die, bury me anywhere you like, but remember to pray for me at the altar.”
6) The synods of Nicea, Florence and Trent encouraged the offering of prayers for the dead, citing scriptural evidences to prove that there is a place or state of purification for those who die with venial sins on their souls.
8) Theological reason: According to Revelation: 21:27: “nothing unclean shall enter heaven.” Holy Scripture also teaches that even "the just sin seven times a day.” Since it would be contrary to the mercy of God to punish such souls with venial sins in hell, they are seen as entering a place or state of purification, called Purgatory, which combines God’s justice with His mercy. This teaching is also contained in the doctrine of the Communion of Saints.
Biblical evidences: 1) II Maccabees, 12:46 is the main biblical text incorporating the Jewish belief in the necessity of prayer and sacrifice for the dead. The passage (II Maccabees 12: 39-46), describes how Judas, the military commander, “took up a collection from all his men, totaling about four pounds of silver and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering” (II Macc. 12: 43). The narrator continues, ”If he had not believed that the dead would be raised, it would have been foolish and useless to pray for them.”
2) St. Paul seems to have shared this traditional Jewish belief. At the death of his supporter Onesiphorus, he prayed: “May the Lord grant him mercy on that Day” (II Timothy: 1:18). Other pertinent bible texts: Matthew 12:32, I Corinthians, 3:15, Zechariah 13:19, Sirach 7:33.
The Church’s teaching: The Church's official teaching on purgatory is plain and simple. There is a place or state of purification called Purgatory, where souls undergoing purification can be helped by the prayers of the faithful (Council of Trent). Some modern theologians suggest that purgatory may be an "instant” purification immediately after death, varying in intensity from soul to soul, depending on the state of each individual.
How do we help the “holy souls”? The Catechism of the Catholic Church (No. 1032) recommends prayer for the dead in conjunction with the offering of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The CCC also encourages "almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead." Let us not forget to pray for our dear departed, have Masses offered for them, visit their graves, and make daily sacrifices for them.
All Souls’ Day is a day specially set apart that we may remember and pray for our dear ones who have gone to their eternal reward, and who are currently in a state of ongoing purification.
Ancient belief: 1) People of all religions have believed in the immortality of the soul, and have prayed for the dead.
2) The Jews, for example, believed that there was a place of temporary bondage from which the souls of the dead would receive their final release. The Jewish Talmud states that prayers for the dead will help to bring greater rewards and blessings to them. Prayer for the souls of the departed is retained by Orthodox Jews today, who recite a prayer known as the Mourner’s Kaddish for eleven months after the death of a loved one so that the loved one may be purified.
3) Jesus and the apostles shared this belief and passed it on to the early Church. “Remember us who have gone before you, in your prayers,” is a petition often found inscribed on the walls of the Roman catacombs (Lumen Gentium-50).
4) The liturgies of the Mass in various rites dating from the early centuries of the Church include “Prayers for the Dead.”
5) The early Fathers of the Church encouraged this practice. Tertullian (A.D. 160-240) wrote about the anniversary Masses for the dead, advising widows to pray for their husbands. St. Augustine remarked that he used to pray for his deceased mother, remembering her request: "When I die, bury me anywhere you like, but remember to pray for me at the altar.”
6) The synods of Nicea, Florence and Trent encouraged the offering of prayers for the dead, citing scriptural evidences to prove that there is a place or state of purification for those who die with venial sins on their souls.
8) Theological reason: According to Revelation: 21:27: “nothing unclean shall enter heaven.” Holy Scripture also teaches that even "the just sin seven times a day.” Since it would be contrary to the mercy of God to punish such souls with venial sins in hell, they are seen as entering a place or state of purification, called Purgatory, which combines God’s justice with His mercy. This teaching is also contained in the doctrine of the Communion of Saints.
Biblical evidences: 1) II Maccabees, 12:46 is the main biblical text incorporating the Jewish belief in the necessity of prayer and sacrifice for the dead. The passage (II Maccabees 12: 39-46), describes how Judas, the military commander, “took up a collection from all his men, totaling about four pounds of silver and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering” (II Macc. 12: 43). The narrator continues, ”If he had not believed that the dead would be raised, it would have been foolish and useless to pray for them.”
2) St. Paul seems to have shared this traditional Jewish belief. At the death of his supporter Onesiphorus, he prayed: “May the Lord grant him mercy on that Day” (II Timothy: 1:18). Other pertinent bible texts: Matthew 12:32, I Corinthians, 3:15, Zechariah 13:19, Sirach 7:33.
The Church’s teaching: The Church's official teaching on purgatory is plain and simple. There is a place or state of purification called Purgatory, where souls undergoing purification can be helped by the prayers of the faithful (Council of Trent). Some modern theologians suggest that purgatory may be an "instant” purification immediately after death, varying in intensity from soul to soul, depending on the state of each individual.
How do we help the “holy souls”? The Catechism of the Catholic Church (No. 1032) recommends prayer for the dead in conjunction with the offering of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. The CCC also encourages "almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead." Let us not forget to pray for our dear departed, have Masses offered for them, visit their graves, and make daily sacrifices for them.