REFLECTIONS TODAY I heard from a father how he trained his daughter to trust him when she was young. He would put the little child atop the tall refrigerator and tell her to jump. She hesitated at first, but her father coaxed her to push through. The father caught her every time, and after a...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Some beginners in prayer life are afraid to start because they do not know what to say. They do not know what to speak to God or how to approach him. A simple mnemonic device is often taught to the incipient: ACTS, which stands for Adoration, Contrition, Thanksgiving, and...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Who does not recognize Martha and Mary as the personifications of the active and the contemplative life, respectively? In saying that “Mary has chosen the better part” (v 42), the Lord does not mean to trivialize the importance of working for the Kingdom of God. He only wishes...
REFLECTIONS TODAY First Reading • Gal 1:6-12 Brothers and sisters: I am amazed that you are so quickly forsaking the one who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel (not that there is another). But there are some who are disturbing you and wish to pervert the Gospel...
REFLECTIONS TODAY I was doing a walking pilgrimage when I met an elderly lady. We had the same goal and destination, since she was also doing the same pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. When she learned that I am a priest, she poured out her difficulty in living the faith. She narrated how she...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Apostles’ experience of the new power they possess after being commissioned by Jesus definitely must have filled them with amazement. The powers described are simply beyond the ordinary: treading on serpents and scorpions, vanquishing demons or unclean spirits. It is all too...
REFLECTIONS TODAY There are many places in the world, especially where Catholics are the majority, where the clergy and the religious are held in high esteem. People treat Church people with extraordinary kindness. This comes with our association with Jesus. Nevertheless, there is also always...
REFLECTIONS TODAY A leader who warns his servants of a dangerous road ahead arms them with weapons. He does not instruct them to divest themselves of their belongings. When Jesus warns the disciples that they will be sent “among wolves” (v 3), is it not foolhardy that they are to leave behind...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Whenever we profess the Nicene Creed and say, “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible…” we are reminded that God created not only the material world, but also the spiritual world, that is, the invisible, the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Spiritual masters often repeat that humility is the mother of all virtues. It is only when we recognize our true diminutive stature before God that we realize our dependence on him. When we perceive ourselves as we are, as human beings made out of dust, we come to terms of our own...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Luke takes pains to recount that the important moments in Jesus’ life are preceded by prayer. In this episode, before he sets his face towards Jerusalem (9:51), Jesus talks to his Father in earnest, after which he makes some kind of evaluation of his ministry and asks his...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The enigma of Jesus continues to haunt people. This time it is Herod who is intrigued by Jesus, and in his curiosity he tries to “label him,” comparing him to John the Baptist or to one of the prophets of old. But is his desire to see and understand Jesus a sincere one? ...
