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...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • John 6:41-51 It is a human tendency to look for God in extraordinary events, unmindful that God can also be found in the ordinariness of our everyday life. If we are attentive enough, he reveals himself to us every day. In the Gospel of John, Jesus Christ is...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Today’s Gospel accentuates Jesus’ self-giving act. The Gospel depicts Jesus’ selfless sacrifice conveyed through the imagery of a grain of wheat (kokkos tou sitou) falling to the ground in order to produce more grains. Jesus is referring to himself and to the selfless...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Paradoxes are part of life. Paradoxes may also characterize our faith. We may feel God’s closeness even when facing serious problems. At times, it is in difficult situations that we can hear God’s message so clearly. Paradoxically, it is when we are confronted with our human...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Without Jesus, we will surely be lost in our journey. Trying to get ahead of Jesus, we will become an obstacle to God’s divine plan. We are called to stay behind Jesus. If we do, then we shall realize that any authority we now have is only given to us. Thus, it is not by our own...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus is aware of his mission intended to the house of Israel. However, today’s Gospel presents Jesus as going to the region of Tyre and Sidon where a Canaanite woman asks him for the healing of her daughter who is tormented by a demon. The reaction of Jesus’ disciples is to...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Today’s Gospel narrates the feeding of the multitude. The disciples come to Jesus, suggesting that the crowds be dismissed so that they may look for their own provisions. Jesus tells the disciples not to send the people away. The disciples themselves must give people something...
REFLECTIONS TODAY First Reading • Ex 16:2-4, 12-15 The whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “Would that we had died at the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread! But you had to lead us...
