Saturday, 28th Week in Ordinary Time                        “The Holy Spirit will teach you…”             Jesus, in today’s gospel reading, is telling us that to refuse our inner vision, our spiritual insight, is a blasphemy, a sin, against the Holy Spirit. His strong words remind us that the Holy Spirit has been given to each of … Continue reading THE LIGHT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Friday, 28th Week in Ordinary Time                            “Do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”             In Scriptures, birds symbolize many things. Sacred authors invoke their trust in the Divine Providence who supplies them with daily bread. The Lord presents himself thus to Job: “Who provides nourishment for the ravens when their … Continue reading MORE THAN MANY SPARROWS

Thursday, 28th Week in Ordinary Time                       Loving and devoted couples who really want children look forward to the birth of a child with great eagerness. They pray that the child will be born safely and that he will be healthy and sound. Actually, they have no idea of what the child will be like, … Continue reading GOD CHOSE US IN CHRIST

Wednesday, 28th Week in Ordinary Time                   “These you should have done, without overlooking the others.”             In the first woe against the Pharisee, Jesus accuses them of neglecting justice and love of God while offering tithes of small herbs (mint, rue, and the like). Strikto sila sa pagtupad at pagpapatupad sa tamang halaga, bahagi … Continue reading HELPING OTHERS CARRY THEIR LOADS

Tuesday, 28th Week in Ordinary Time                        “Give alms, and behold, everything we be clean for you.”             Jesus concluded today’s gospel passage by prescribing giving alms as a key to holiness. Almsgiving is an effective antidote to greed and selfishness. Giving to the poor cleanses everything.             Pope Leo XIII says that once the … Continue reading ALMSGIVING

Monday, 28th Week in Ordinary Time                         “Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man to this generation.”             Jonah is called by God to preach to Nineveh, which is described as an enormously large city. It takes, they say, three days to walk through it. I cannot … Continue reading OUR OWN NINEVEH

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time                       Isidor Rabi was a Nobel prize winner in physics. Once a friend asked him how he became a scientist. Rabi replied that every day after school his mother would talk to him about his school day. She was not so much interested in what he had heard and learned … Continue reading GOOD QUESTION

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time                       Mark, in his entire Gospel, never explicitly says that Jesus loved Peter, James, John, or any disciple – or others for that matter. But Mark tells us, in today’s gospel passage, that Jesus loved the rich man. The man sought the kingdom of God and he did what God … Continue reading GOOD NEWS OR BAD NEWS

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time                       We can see in today’s first reading and gospel reading the play between worldly riches and wisdom. We hear these words in today’s first reading: “I pleaded and wisdom came to me.”  “I preferred her to scepter and throne, and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her, nor did … Continue reading WORLDLY RICHES AND WISDOM

Saturday, 27th Week in Ordinary Time                        “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”             The power of the Polish Communist state, and behind that the power of the Soviet Union, is what Pope John Paul II faced at the beginning of the 1980s.  But he was practiced in the … Continue reading THE POWER OF GOD’ WORD