REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today At work or in similar contexts, we are given tasks or positions with power or authority that come with them. Our being “designated” or chosen gives us a sense of privilege, honor, but also of responsibility and accountability. There are sets of rules or...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today The Gospels are in harmony in portraying how Jesus reaches out to sinners and tax collectors, so much so that He actually calls one of them, Matthew. But equally amazing is the fact that Matthew does not even say a word – of surprise, objection, or outright...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today One of our main tasks in this world is to discover what gifts or talents God has given us. Some talents are right away discernible from childhood; but others seem to need some “plowing” or “cultivating” so they could develop, bloom, and bear fruit. These...
REFLECTIONS TODAY MARK 9:30-37 Jesus and His disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but He did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill Him, and three days after His...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today The parable is meant to teach about farming or sowing. Jesus tells it to show that God’s word (the seed) can only grow and bear fruit in the measure that our hearts (the soil) are ready or prepared to receive it. This is very easy to see in day-to-day life....
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today Perhaps we could rightly ask: “How would the Church be without women? How would family life be without mothers?” Despite the fact that Jesus’ twelve apostles were all men, it was also a fact that women collaborated in Jesus’ ministry and provided for his...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Sometimes when we think we are a good person — we do not harm others, we follow all God’s commandments, etc. — we can begin to judge others easily. We forget that no matter how good we think we are, we are never perfect. Simon, the Pharisee, represents this sort of person....
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today The cross in itself is a sign of ignominy; no one wants to die hanging on a cross. And yet this was the symbol and the locus that our Lord chose by which to save us. Now, the symbol becomes more dramatic when it is exalted; as a matter of fact, it becomes a...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today Before a humble person, one senses the holy. And when one is humble, most likely he/she is also simple, graceful, and grateful. The experience is even made more dramatic when one senses humility from an unexpected person, like the centurion in today’s Gospel....
REFLECTIONS TODAY Reflections today Mark 8:27-35 Jesus and his disciples set out for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. Along the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.” And he asked...
REFLECTIONS TODAY 31453 The point of the metaphors in this Gospel passage is to avoid hypocrisy, to avoid pretending to help others when you yourself need help. As the first metaphor has it, to be a hypocrite is to be blind, to fail to see that “charity begins at home.” And many, if not, most...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus’ commands in this part of the Gospel are perhaps the most difficult to fulfill. But they are also the core of what it means to be a Christian. What He asks His followers is the very opposite of what human beings would “naturally” do in response to what was done to...
