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Oct. 1, 2006 (TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME)
Readings: Nm 11:25-29/Jas 5:1-6/Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48
"If your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off." Jesus is not legitimizing the practice of self-mutilation. He was using what we may call a "hyperbole", an exaggeration in order to emphasize a point. The point Jesus wanted to emphasize was that we must be radical in removing any occasion of sin, thus impressing upon us the evil of sin.
Sometimes we say that we are sorry for having committed a sin. But the true test of our sorrow is our decision not to sin again. One sign that we really do not want to sin again is to get rid of whatever was the cause or the proximate occasion of our sin. For example, if we keep certain pictures or readings that have caused us to sin, then we should get rid of them. Otherwise, they may be a source of temptation and we would not really be determined to avoid the sin.
Oct. 2, 2006 (The Guardian Angels)
Readings: Jb 1:6-22 /Mt 18:1-5, 10
The existence of a guardian angel for each one of us is part of the ordinary teaching of the Church. The word "angel" appears in the Sacred Scripture at least 300 times. When Peter was miraculously released from prison and he knocked at the door of Mark's house (See Acts 12: 13), the occupants of the house could not believe it was Peter himself. They told the excited Roda, "It must be his angel," who was knocking.
It is indeed fitting that God, who is a loving father, should want to protect us by providing us with a powerful guide and companion. Let us be more aware of our guardian angel's presence. We can do so by addressing him or her (the angels have no gender since they are pure spirits) as we would a good and helpful friend who is always by our side.
Oct. 3, 2006 (Tuesday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time)
Readings: Jb 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23/ Lk 9:51-56
"Lord, do you want us to bid fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" These were the words of the brothers James and John, when some towns did not receive them well. They really deserve the nickname Christ gave them of "sons of thunder" because they seem to have had very strong and fiery temperaments. Jesus corrected them, calming their spirit and telling them that "the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."
In apostolic work, we may come across resistance and opposition. The reaction of a good apostle is not to get angry with those people but to be more patient with them. The task of an apostle of Jesus is not to destroy but to build up. We must temper our tendency to return evil for evil.
Oct. 4, 2006 (Wednesday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time)
Readings: Jb 9:1-12, 14-16/ Lk 9:57-62
The gospel today presents the demands of the following of Christ. The first demand, manifested by Christ's answer to the eager person who wanted to follow him, is detachment from material goods and from personal comforts. "The foxes have dens, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."
The surprising thing is that, when a person decides to follow Christ under such demanding conditions, he finds out that he is rewarded with greater joy than if he had remained with his comforts. Happiness does not consist in having an easy life. It is to be found in having a meaningful life, which can only be found in God.
Oct. 5, 2006 (Thursday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time)
The gospel today contains a lesson that could very well be the continuation of the other day's reading, when James and John reacted badly to the towns that did not receive them well. Here, Jesus tells them how to react: "If they do not receive you, go out to its streets and say, 'Even the dust from your town that cleaves to us we shake off against you; yet know this, that the kingdom of God is at hand."
We should not wish evil upon anyone, not even those who may not receive the Gospel well. However, we should not be hindered from preaching the good news and reiterating to those same persons that the kingdom of heaven is indeed at hand. If they do not receive it well, they will be responsible for the consequences of their lack of correspondence. Perhaps that will give them food for thought and help them in their future conversion.
Oct. 6, 2006 (Friday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time)
Readings: Jb 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5/ Lk 10:13-16
"He who hears you, hears me; and he who rejects you, rejects me; and he who rejects me, rejects him who sent me." These words of Christ were applied to the apostles and disciples who had been sent by Christ. Nowadays, we can very well apply them to the Church hierarchy -- successors of the apostles and disciples in the Church.
The successors of the apostles are the legitimate bishops of the Church. In spite of their all too human weaknesses, they rule with the authority of Christ. We should listen to them and follow them in everything that is their proper competence since they have the grace of God coming from their position.
Oct. 7, 2006 (Saturday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time and Our Lady of the Rosary)
Readings: Jb 42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17/ Lk 10:17-24
Today is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. "Rosary" literally means a garland of roses. In the rosary, each rose, each bead, represents a vocal prayer – the Hail Mary, Our Father, the Glory Be or the Creed. But the heart of the rosary is the reflection and prayerful consideration of the "mysteries" of the life of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
Some find the rosary repetitious and boring. But repetition should not necessarily lead to boredom. Just as the refrain of a song is repeated thus highlighting the mood or some aspect of the song, so the repetition of vocal prayers can serve as a backdrop for our contemplation of the mysteries. The rosary is pleasing to God because, through the contemplation of the mysteries, we are led "To Jesus through Mary."
Oct. 8, 2006 (TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME)
The gospel today is about how Jesus Christ revoked the option of divorce and restored marriage to its original condition. "What God has joined together, let no man put asunder." The indissolubility of marriage is not just an ideal. It is a reality that the Church must defend. In doing so, She is also defending the foundations of every human society.
At least in the Philippines, it is not true that majority of marriages are breaking apart, thereby necessitating divorce in order to give the spouses a second try with another partner. In the first place, irretrievably broken marriages are not as widespread as divorce propagandists would like to present. In the second place, instead of helping to strengthen marriages, the possibility of divorce only makes marriages more difficult to work out. Above all, we must follow the clear teaching of Jesus that marriage, by its very nature and by the intention of God, is "till death."
Oct. 9, 2006 (Monday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time)
"What must I do to gain eternal life?" All of us want to know. And Jesus answers us with the so-called "Great Commandment", the commandment to love God "with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
Love of God must be the ruling force in the life of a Christian. "God does not ask for a place in our heart and soul and mind, a slot for him among other loves. He wants the totality of our love: not a little bit of our love; a little of our life; like something rationed. God …must be loved ex toto corde –absolutely." (Ocariz)
Oct. 10, 2006 (Tuesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time)
"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; and yet only one things is needful. Mary has chosen the best part." (Lk 10: 41-42)
People in the service of God, or who are engaged in apostolic or evangelical works, would do well to heed the Lord's advice. The only thing truly necessary is union with God. This does not mean that we should neglect our duties and other concerns. But it means that no matter how pressing a work is, we must always prioritize our prayer life. Otherwise that pressing work will become bereft of true meaning.
Oct. 11, 2006 (Wednesday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time)
Readings: Gal 2:1-2, 7-14/ Lk 11:1-4
"Lord, teach us to pray." (Lk 11:1) When the Pope John Paul II was asked in the book Crossing the Threshold of Hope about how he prayed, he said, "The Pope prays as the Holy Spirit permits him to pray."
While prayer can be described quite simply as having a conversation with God, and as such it should be the most natural thing in the world, we also see in Pope John Paul II's phrase that the initiative must come from God. God wants to talk to us, even more than we want to talk to Him. God is constantly calling us, knocking at the door of our heart. All we need to do is be attentive and recognize, in the things that happen daily to us, that God is addressing us.
Oct. 12, 2006 (Thursday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time)
In the gospel, Jesus gives us several examples to help us to persevere in our prayers of petition to God. He concludes with this reasoning: "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"
We should never get tired of petitioning God for good things. We must be assured that these petitions will be granted. But why does God make us wait, or make us persist in our prayers before granting them? From the words of Jesus, we can presume that the very fact of persevering in prayer is also a "gift" of God to us. The more we petition God, the more we grow in humility and many other virtues. In the end, we get closer to God because of our perseverance in prayer. And union with God is the greatest good we can ever receive.
Oct. 13, 2006 (Friday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time)
"Every kingdom divided against itself is heading for ruin, and a household divided against itself collapses." While Christ said this to show that he was not casting out devils by the power of the devil, as his enemies accused him of, the same idea can be applied to the Church. Hence Christ ardently prayed for the unity of the whole Church – "That all may be one."
The movement for unity within the Church is called "ecumenism". The objective is the unity of all Christians. One of the greatest desires of the Holy Father is that all those Christian communities that have separated from the main trunk of the Church eventually be united, respecting their traditions and sensibilities. But we should also work for the unity within the Catholic Church. We should avoid useless divisions and factions by respecting the individual charisms of the different groups and individuals within the Church, so long as they are in full communion with the source and sign of unity, which is the Holy Father. It is senseless to make derogatory remarks about any recognized institution of Holy Mother Church.
Oct. 14, 2006 (Saturday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time)
A voice was suddenly heard rising above the crowd, "Happy the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked." She must have been a mother herself. But Jesus drew something more from that exclamation. He said, "Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it."
We should not interpret Jesus' words as if he were not in favor of the praise to his mother. Rather, he is pointing out where the merit of Mary primarily lies. Mary is very special not only because she physically conceived, gave birth to and nurtured Jesus. More than that, she was the person most attentive to the word of God and the most faithful in keeping it. We see this in all the gospels. She pondered on God's words and she gave that fateful "Fiat" (Let it be) that brought us the Redeemer.
Oct. 15, 2006 (TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME)
After the rich young man rejected the call of Jesus because of his attachment to riches, the apostles, who had in fact left all their possessions behind, were told by Jesus that they would receive "a hundredfold" as much of what they had given up, "in the present time." Besides, they would receive life everlasting as a future reward.
Indeed, those who have made sacrifices for the sake of Christ receive some kind of reward, even in this life. It may seem paradoxical, but those who have decided to give up everything for God in fact have a much happier life, even on this earth. It is nice to see the peaceful and joyful faces of elderly persons who have spent their lives serving God. They have lived much fuller lives than many worldly people who have only sought to satisfy themselves. Besides, these servants of God can look forward, with hopeful confidence, to the eternal reward reserved for them.
Oct. 16, 2006 (Monday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time)
Readings: Gal 4:22-24, 26-27, 31—5:1/ Lk 11:29-32
The prophet Jonah was a figure of Jesus Christ. Jonah preached repentance to the inhabitants of Nineveh. They listened, believed, and subsequently did penance. The city was then saved from destruction. Besides, Jonah remained three days in the belly of a whale or big fish, just as Jesus remained in the tomb and rose again on the third day.
Jesus Christ preached the coming of the kingdom of heaven and the subsequent need for conversion. Indeed, the good news of Jesus requires a personal effort of turning away from sin. Before Jesus, our conversion did not bring God's forgiveness. Now, our conversion done in union with Jesus' sacrifice, is acceptable to God. Like the Ninevites, let the words of Christ reach our minds in order to bring about the needed change of heart.
Oct. 17, 2006 (Tuesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time)
Christ reproved the Pharisees in these words: "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but within you are full of robbery and wickedness. Foolish ones!" Christian morality gives importance not only to the external observances but, above all, to the internal dispositions and inner attitudes.
This gospel can be an occasion for us to examine our own inner attitudes and dispositions. It is not enough to do what is right. We must do it for the right intention. That intention, in the age-old Christian tradition, is the glory of God and the sincere service to our fellowmen.
Oct. 18, 2006 (Saint Luke, evangelist )
Today is the feast of St. Luke, the author of one of the gospels as well as of the Acts of the Apostles. Both works are preceded by his explanation that he had somehow "researched" what he had written, based on eyewitnesses and reliable written accounts.
We have here an example of the adage, "God helps those who help themselves." We know that, being part of the Sacred Scriptures, the works of St. Luke are inspired, and therefore their principal author is God himself. At the same time, St. Luke is a real author and his personal characteristics, in this case reliability and accuracy of details, are present in those works. God acts through our efforts. We must pray and act at the same time. We must act diligently and know that while we seem to be putting in everything, it is actually God who puts the effectiveness and goodness in our actions.
Oct. 19, 2006 (Thursday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time)
"Woe to you lawyers! Because you have taken away the key of knowledge; you have not entered yourselves and those who were entering you have hindered." Obviously Jesus is not condemning the legal profession. He was rather denouncing those who professed to be assiduous followers of the Mosaic Law during his time, for their hypocrisy. They taught the law, but did not practice it themselves.
The Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici, all about the role of the laity in the Church and in the world, speaks about the need for lay persons to have a "unity of life." This means that they must not have a double standard in their behavior. They must be consistent with their life as a Christian and their life in the world – as a professional, a politician, a housewife or any other situation in the world. Unity of life is necessary if the leaven of Christianity is to influence temporal structures.
Oct. 20, 2006 (Friday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time)
"Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings? And yet not one of them is forgotten by God…. Therefore do not be afraid, you are of more value than many sparrows."
These words of Jesus are an invitation to all of us to trust in divine providence. Everything, even the smallest event, is under the complete control of God. Therefore, if we are trying to do God's will, we should not fear anything. God is a loving father who takes care of all our needs.
Oct. 21, 2006 (Saturday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time)
"He who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven." This phrase found in today's gospel has puzzled many people. In another passage Jesus speaks of the unforgivable "sin against the Holy Spirit."
These words should not lead anyone to discouragement. In ordinary life, we can say that for practical purposes all sins can be forgiven. God wants to forgive our sins -- that is why he redeemed us. We should not be afraid to go to confession thinking that we have unforgivable sins. Some authors say that the sin against the Holy Spirit, which is unforgivable, could be the sin of final impenitence (how can one be forgiven if he/she is obstinate to the very end?); or the sin of attributing the works of the Holy Spirit to the devil. In the latter case, it would be unforgivable because we go against the very source of the grace of repentance and conversion. But in no case should we fall into despair due to our personal miseries.
Oct. 22, 2006 (TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME)
"Whoever wishes to become great shall be your servant; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be the slave of all; for the Son of Man also has not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Positions of authority in the Church are not positions of privilege but of service. This does not mean that those in authority should not exercise their authority. It means, rather, that it should be exercised in a spirit of service.
The episcopal motto of Cardinal Jaime Sin, former Archbishop of Manila, was a single Latin word, "Serviam." It means "I will serve", in contraposition to the motto of the devil when he chose to disobey God with his "Non serviam," – "I will not serve." Those who command should command, but in doing so, they are obeying a higher law. They exercise their authority considering the charge that God has given to them to take care of the common good of their flock.
Oct. 23, 2006 (Monday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time)
Today's gospel contains a beautiful parable. A man had become so successful and rich that he was so absorbed in providing for his security, but he did not realize that he was going to die that very same day.
We must all be aware of the reality of death. Many people plan for their life. How few plan for their death in the right way. A Christian "plans for death" not only by taking out a memorial plan; above all, he must "lay up treasures in heaven" in this life. These treasures are the good works that we do for God and for our neighbor. These are the true riches. So if we are blessed with material riches, we must use it for doing works of faith and charity.
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