REFLECTIONS TODAY To “scandalize” is to put a stumbling block in the way of others so that they fall down or sin. This is what we do when we give bad examples to others, especially the children and the vulnerable ones. When we encourage others to do evil because of our bad example, St. Paul...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The two accounts involving two widows in our First Reading and the Gospel show us that if we trust in God and are generous with even the little that we have, God will be pleased with us and will not allow us to go without. For sure, in the First Reading, the widow of Zarephath...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Buildings do not have meanings apart from the meanings and experiences that happen there. Church structures, like the Lateran Basilica, are a symbol of the people of God that gather and worship there, the leader and the people under him. The Lateran Basilica whose...
These two parables are presented in the form of rhetorical questions which presuppose an obvious answer. Accordingly, Jesus takes it as given that anyone who would lose one sheep among a hundred would leave the 99 to look for that one sheep; or that someone who would lose a coin will do everything...
REFLECTIONS TODAY What Jesus demands in today’s Gospel is radical following of him by placing him at the top of our priorities. Thus, the surprising injunction to “hate” one’s family members when following Jesus has to be understood in this light. Surely, it is not actual hating them...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Exclusion and marginalization of certain peoples are ever increasing in our time, for various reasons: creed, gender, color, appearance, etc. Many of us only give attention and importance to our friends, or to people who have credentials. Our circle of friends does not go beyond...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Unlike that of the others, the scribe’s attitude in today’s Gospel inspires us to imitate him. He comes to Jesus with an open mind and heart, observing with docility what Jesus is doing and teaching. In the end, both he and Jesus concur on the point that to love God and...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Church of Dominus Flevit (“the Lord wept”) overlooks the old city of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. It offers a splendid view of the city’s mighty walls and the modern golden Dome of the Rock. It is a monument to Jesus’ weeping over the imminent destruction of the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Greek word agōnizomai, used to describe the “striving” to enter the narrow door, evokes a sense of a competition, an image of a crowd pushing against each other in order to make it through a narrow entrance within a short period of time. It is an existential challenge:...
REFLECTIONS TODAY A seed can easily be eaten by birds, but if it grows to a bush or tree, birds can seek shelter on its boughs. As an image of the Kingdom of God, we are reminded of how great things begin from the smallest beginnings. Would we not feel small when we encounter the lives of...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Among the beloved Christian hymns is Amazing Grace, the lyrics of which include the lines, “I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.” We cannot help but connect these lyrics to the story of Bartimaeus who shouts loudly to Jesus and confesses his faith in...
REFLECTIONS TODAY It is shocking to hear Jesus describe himself as source of division. After all, isn’t he the Prince of Peace? (Is 9:5). What division is he talking about? The experience of Christ’s early followers testifies to this external conflict that can arise in following the way...
