REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus’ true disciple exhibits, like St. Bartholomew, no guile. Bartholomew is one of the Twelve Apostles (Mt 10:2-4; Mk 3:16-19; Lk 6:14-16). In John’s Gospel, he is presented as Nathanael. When Philip tells him that they have found the one whom Moses and the prophets...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In response to the angel Gabriel’s message from God, Mary gives her fiat (agreement) because she considers herself “the handmaid” (v 38) of the Lord. The Greek doule means female slave or servant, and in the cultural world of the time a female slave is a commodity of the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Working in the Lord’s vineyard is already a great blessing in itself. Today’s Gospel narrates a parable about a landowner who goes out to hire laborers for his vineyard at various hours in the day. At the end of the day, all who worked in the same vineyard receive the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY It is not easy to live up to the challenge of detachment. The values of the world make us believe that to accumulate things without let up is the way to go. Often this attitude of accumulation is exercised at the expense of others. But the Gospel values tell us otherwise. Wealth...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Self-fulfillment does not consist in having material possessions. At times, we might think that we can find fulfillment in material possessions while tending to self-appropriate them selfishly. The fact is, we cannot possess eternal life; we may enter into it. We do not own...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • John 6:51-58 Jesus said to the crowds: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this...
REFLECTIONS TODAY There could be times when we become a stumbling block through which others are prevented to grow in faith. We are challenged to help each other in getting closer to the Lord. The true disciples of Jesus bring others closer to him. Today’s Gospel narrates how some people...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Christians from all walks of life are called to holiness. A holy life is a life of commitment. Married people, for example, are called to holiness. In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees come to Jesus, wanting to test him if he would concur with the idea of divorce. The Pharisees cite...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Today we celebrate the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Events in the life of the Blessed Mother, from her immaculate conception to her being assumed into heaven, all indicate God’s goodness. Today’s Gospel features Mary’s song called the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Peter’s authority of binding and losing was given to him in the context of his profession of faith (Mt 16:19). In the context of the Ecclesial Discourse, this same authority is given to the rest of the Apostles (Mt 18:18). Thus, the power to bind and to loosen has become part of...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Gospel of Matthew is designed through the so-called five discourses: the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5–7), the Missionary Discourse (Mt 10) and the Parabolic Discourse (Mt 13), the Ecclesial Discourse (Mt 18) and the Eschatological Discourse (Mt 24–25). Today, we start...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In today’s Gospel, Jesus asks Peter of the latter’s opinion as to who must pay the tax: the sons (hoi huioi) or the foreigners (hoi allotrioi)? Peter responds that the foreigners must pay the tax. In Jesus’ time, every male Jew above 19 years old was obliged to give his...
