REFLECTIONS TODAY Doing the will of God is central to the Jewish and Christian faith. God does not want sacrifices (Hos 6:6) but an open and obedient attitude, which makes a person say, “Behold, I come to do your will, O God” (Heb 10:5-7; see Ps 40:9). Jesus himself has taught us to say,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY John dramatizes the encounter between the risen Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Even though Jesus stands plainly in sight, Mary does not recognize him. He asks her, “Whom are you looking for?” (v 15)—a question that probes discipleship (Jn 1:38-41, where the early disciples stay...
BETTER DAYS By the end of this month, a new school year will officially start. Using the numbers recorded last year for SY 2023 - 2024, we can reasonably expect that more or less 27 million learners will be enrolling in the basic education system this time around—23.2 million in public schools,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY First Reading • Jer 23:1-6 Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture, says the Lord. Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In the world that seeks much publicity, including the use of misinformation and disinformation, Matthew has a lesson for us. He points out that Jesus seeks to avoid publicity in his care of the sick, unlike most miracle workers. Matthew also applies the Servant figure to Jesus by...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In their zeal to safeguard the Sabbath rest, the Jewish rabbis have forbidden the performance of 39 tasks, among which is reaping, here equated with picking of the heads of grain. Jesus defends the disciples by reminding the rabbis that David and his men, out of hunger, had...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Greek word nepioi, here rendered as childlike, has two levels of meaning. In one level, nepioi refers to the little ones and the poor who are objects of Jesus’ Good News (Mt 11:5). Jesus calls them blessed because to them belongs the Kingdom of heaven (Mt 5:3). The nepioi,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus is not asking his disciples to junk the fourth commandment: that of honoring one’s father and mother (Dt 5:16). In fact, Jesus expressly commands his disciples to honor and support their parents and condemns those who use the law to escape from this responsibility, as in...
BETTER DAYS 2024 marks the 50th year Nutrition Month is being celebrated in the Philippines. It was in 1974, during the administration of then President Ferdinand Marcos that the celebration of Nutrition Month started by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 491, s. 1974, which also paved the way for...
REFLECTIONS TODAY First Reading • Amos 7:12-15 Amaziah, priest of Bethel, said to Amos, “Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah! There earn your bread by prophesying, but never again prophesy in Bethel; for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.” Amos...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The sparrow (Hebrew tsippor) is one of the cheapest articles sold for food, yet Jesus says that even this trifling creature is under the heavenly Father’s care. And while the strands of hair are too numerous to be counted, God has counted them all. These Semitic hyperbolic...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • Matthew 10:16-23 The Bible refers to sheep more than 500 times, with specific terms indicating types on the basis of age, sex, and breed; in the Hebrew Scriptures most references are literal, while most in the New Testament are metaphorical. Domestic sheep...
