REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus tells a parable that contrasts two figures: a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisee’s prayer is not so much a prayer for himself, but more of a prayer about himself. The tax collector’s words are simple: “O God, be merciful to me a sinner” (v 13). He sees his...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The work of salvation, other than the work of Christ, is first of all “Trinitarian.” It begins with the Father who loved the world that he gave his only Son that the world might be saved through him (Jn 3:16-17). And with Jesus’ return to the Father, the Paraclete, the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Jesus alludes to this incident when he uses the phrase “finger of God.” He has just driven out the demon from a mute person. While the crowds are awed, some people attribute the miracle to the power of Beelzebul. Jesus replies by pointing to the absurdity of Satan...
REFLECTIONS TODAY At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a lot of talk on the “new normal.” The important question that people were asking was not anymore the lamenting, “How can this be?” but the anxious, “How will it be?” Like the past world wars, the effects of this...
REFLECTIONS TODAY What does it take to forgive? In the Gospel, Peter asks how many times he must forgive his brother who sins against him. He thinks he is being generous when he proposes his answer: seven times. After all, that is the perfect number. Jesus suggests something...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In many instances, the prophets acted as the conscience of God in the midst of the people; they called to mind that allegiance belongs to God alone, and all must abide according to the will of God. But the Lord is the God of all, so all are entitled to know about him. This is...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • John 2:13-25 Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers seated there. He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY This parable jolts us from our expectations. The father, filled with compassion, becomes prodigal — profuse in his love and kindness. All the logic that could have led to anger, grievance, and hatred has disappeared. What follows is human tenderness: a gratuitous...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The Father is the landowner who sent prophets to Israel, and its leaders maltreated these servants. Then he sends his Son who suffers the same fate as the prophets. The parable’s narration is timely: at the time Jesus was in Jerusalem, a few days before his passion and...
REFLECTIONS TODAY The name Lazarus is an abbreviation of Eleazar (‘God helps’) and appears, aside from the Lucan parable of the rich man and Lazarus, in the Johannine Gospel. In John’s Gospel, there is a Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, the “beloved” of Jesus whom he raises from...
REFLECTIONS TODAY This is the response of Jesus to the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, when she asks a favor on their behalf. Jesus has just predicted for the third time what will happen to him in Jerusalem. What registers in her mind is his happy ending. As a mother, she...
REFLECTIONS TODAY After denouncing the scribes and the Pharisees in Jerusalem for their inconsistencies, like not practicing what they preach, but requiring others to do without extending a helping hand, and having penchant for undue recognition wherever they go—they just want to be acknowledged...
