REFLECTIONS TODAY Many Jews in Jesus’ time thought that the return of God’s reign would involve the establishment of righteousness and the overthrow of the oppressors. Thus, the awaited Messiah would remove the Roman yoke upon their shoulders. When Jesus — and John the Baptist before him —...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • Matthew 11:28-30 Earlier, Jesus praises the Father who has hidden the mystery of his Kingdom from the wise and the learned and has revealed them to the childlike (Greek mikroi) (Mt 11:25). The “childlike” are not merely children but people who have put their trust...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Today’s readings focus on the comforting presence of the shepherd. The First Reading features the beginning of Isaiah’s “Book of Consolation,” addressed to the Jewish exiles in Babylon. The exile in Babylon, which is the expiation of the sins of the Jews, is...
REFLECTIONS TODAY St. Augustine says that by her fiat to the angel’s message to bear the Son of the Most High, “Mary cooperated through charity in the work of our redemption.” To make her a worthy receptacle of the Redeemer, God granted her the singular grace to be “conceived without...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • Lk 3:1-6 The final book in the Old Testament, the last book in the Hebrew Neviim or Prophets, is the book of Malachi. In Hebrew, the word comes from a word meaning “messenger,” which points to Malachi as a prophet of the Lord tasked to deliver God’s message to the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY David’s reign around 1000 BC was considered the greatest period in Israel’s history. It was not only a time of power and glory, but also of justice and righteousness in the land. David was associated with goodness, power, protection, and righteousness. This ideal time would be...
REFLECTIONS TODAY People rejoice over happy occasions and over victories, be in battle, sports, or some contests. The 72 disciples rejoiced upon returning from their missions, telling Jesus that the demons were subject to them because of his name (Lk 10:17). Jesus would have rejoiced with them,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jews looked down on the Gentiles (pagans) as idolaters and licentious people. In the words of Paul, idolaters exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortal man or of birds or animals, and God has abandoned them over to degrading passion (Rom 1:23-...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Words are often seen as inferior to actions. “Actions speak louder than words,” we are always being reminded of. Indeed, words can be uttered gratuitously, that is, without any grounding, weight, or basis, just like big but often empty promises at elections. But this is not...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Awaiting the Lord’s return and taking seriously our following of Jesus may lead us into persecution and hardships. Our Lord’s life attested to this: He was always challenged and harassed by His opponents who either doubted or altogether refused to accept Him. Even in our...
REFLECTIONS TODAY What is to be our attitude as we await the second coming of the Lord? Certainly, we cannot worry about it every day; otherwise, we cannot go on with our daily lives. On the other hand, we also cannot simply dismiss it from our consciousness; otherwise, we fall into...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Offerings at Mass are opportunities to share in the realization of programs and projects of the parish/diocese. There is no pressure or obligation to do it, but certainly they are necessary for the growth of our Christian communities. God continually endows us with his...
