REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 The heart is a “tricky master.” It has “reasons which reason knows nothing of” (Blaise Pascal). This saying comes to mind as we reflect on today’s Gospel where Jesus responds to the criticism put forward by the Pharisees and the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Matthew’s eschatological discourse emphasizes that we have to wait because we do not know the time of the Lord’s return. The good news is that the Lord himself has left us with talents that we can use while we await his return. Today’s parable of the Talents narrates...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The fifth discourse in Matthew’s Gospel is known as the Eschatological Discourse. Matthew 24–25 also constitutes the little apocalypse of Matthew, which speaks not of the end in the terminal sense but as a period that ushers a new period. Today’s Gospel, which narrates...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Today’s celebration is very significant since is a commemoration of St. John the Baptist’s martyrdom which implies his life as a prophet. He unmasked the evil doings of the people, particularly those of Herod (Antipas) and Herodias. He was martyred under the order of a king...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Prophecy and hypocrisy do not go together. The prophets are truth-tellers. The hypocrites hide the truth by fabricating lies, and cover up their lies by making them appear as if they are truthful. Today’s Gospel continues Jesus’ ouai over the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Today’s Gospel narrates Jesus’ confrontation with the scribes and the Pharisees, with the strong Greek word ouai, an interjection of denunciation that is normally translated in English as “Woe!” We need to understand that this interjection is not expressing a mere dislike...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus’ true disciple exhibits, like St. Bartholomew, no guile. Bartholomew is one of the Twelve Apostles (Mt 10:2-4; Mk 3:16-19; Lk 6:14-16). In John’s Gospel, he is presented as Nathanael. When Philip tells him that they have found the one whom Moses and the prophets...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In response to the angel Gabriel’s message from God, Mary gives her fiat (agreement) because she considers herself “the handmaid” (v 38) of the Lord. The Greek doule means female slave or servant, and in the cultural world of the time a female slave is a commodity of the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Working in the Lord’s vineyard is already a great blessing in itself. Today’s Gospel narrates a parable about a landowner who goes out to hire laborers for his vineyard at various hours in the day. At the end of the day, all who worked in the same vineyard receive the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY It is not easy to live up to the challenge of detachment. The values of the world make us believe that to accumulate things without let up is the way to go. Often this attitude of accumulation is exercised at the expense of others. But the Gospel values tell us otherwise. Wealth...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Self-fulfillment does not consist in having material possessions. At times, we might think that we can find fulfillment in material possessions while tending to self-appropriate them selfishly. The fact is, we cannot possess eternal life; we may enter into it. We do not own...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • John 6:51-58 Jesus said to the crowds: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this...
