REFLECTIONS TODAY In the time of Jesus, the scribes and the Pharisees enjoyed the respect of the people for their knowledge and observance of the Law of Moses. The teacher of the Law was addressed as “Rabbi” ('my master,') from the Hebrew rab which means “great” or “distinguished.”...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Pharisees question Jesus to probe his authority as a “rabbi” to interpret rightly the Mosaic Law. As to the greatest commandment, Jesus cites two scriptural passages binding the double commandment of love — the love of God from the Shema prayer (Dt 6:4-5) and the love of...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Israel, chosen from among the nations of the earth, was the first to be invited by God to the banquet, but the people ignored the invitation brought by the prophets. In the First Reading, Ezekiel laments Israel’s profanation of God’s name by the people’s evil ways while...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The rule of the game in the secular marketplace is: “Grab as much as you can and as fast as you can before the others arrive.” Competition is the driving force to gain as much profit for oneself, without much regard for those who come later or last. The evil eye of envy can...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In the prior episode leading to today’s Gospel, a rich young man approaches Jesus and asks him, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” (Mt 19:16). This is the same as asking, “What good must I do to enter the Kingdom of heaven?” or “How can I be saved?”...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In his Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus (Nov. 1, 1950), Pope Pius XII declared as a divinely revealed dogma “that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory” (n...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Lk 12:49-53 Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY After his defense of marriage, Jesus places his concern on the children; he lays his hands on them and prays for them. The children contrast especially with adults who are “hard of heart”: they are open to be taught and to be guided. Thus, they symbolize those who belong to...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • Mt 19:3-12 Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?” He said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said, For this reason a...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus’ hyperbolic answer to Peter’s question reveals God’s attitude towards sinners. To forgive “seventy-seven times” connotes unlimited number. It runs contrary to the unlimited blood-feud retaliation in the case of Lamech who said, “If Cain is avenged seven times,...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The “hour” of Jesus’ impending death would also be the “hour” of his glorification; it is the ultimate manifestation of Jesus’ selfsacrificing love that would bear the fruit of redemption. For his life-giving death, Jesus uses the imagery of a single “seed” (his...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14 In posing the disciples’ question, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” Matthew invites the readers to pay attention to community relations, where everyone is deemed equal to others in the eyes of God. The child is presented as...
