REFLECTIONS TODAY Whenever God conveyed a message to the Israelites, such message began with the word “Hear” or “Listen” (Shema), as is the case in our First Reading. This means that the first responsibility of the Israelites was to listen and understand the Lord’s words or...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Mary is human like all of us. But unlike us, she was completely open to God’s will. God did not impose his will on her. She was asked, and she consented. She was free to say No to God, but she saw herself as a humble maidservant open to obey the Lord’s bidding. She must...
REFLECTIONS TODAY In today’s Gospel, the intention of Jesus’ detractors is made clear—to get rid of him by killing him. Our First Reading seems to fit Jesus’ situation to a tee. He is the righteous one (v 12) that his enemies want to test. They want to see if he will remain steadfast to his...
Last January, Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) issued a landmark Administrative Order establishing an institutional mechanism for Natural Capital Accounting (NCA) within the department. This initiative aims to systematize the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Gospel • [of John 4:5-42] Some people who were present told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. Jesus said to them in reply, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than...
REFLECTIONS TODAY When the prodigal son returns home, the father runs to meet him. Older men in the Middle East do not run except in emergency; running causes dishonor. But the father does this, not so much to joyfully welcome the son as to protect him from hostile villagers. By meeting the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Our readings today contain two stories on envy and greed. In the First Reading, the 11 brothers were envious of Joseph being their father’s favorite and so threw him in a cistern and then sold him to the Midianite traders. This caused their father Jacob so much...
REFLECTIONS TODAY That which separates poor Lazarus from the rich man is not so much the door of the latter’s grand house but his indifference to and low regard of the beggar. He sees himself as master who looks at people to do his bidding. Even in the afterlife where he finds himself in...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Joseph is described as a righteous man. His righteousness is not manifested by his strict adherence to the Law of Moses that would make him expose Mary’s pregnancy. Instead, he exercises understanding and mercy despite of a mixture of anger, confusion, and sadness at what...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Chapter 23 of Matthew contains Jesus’ denunciation of the scribes and the Pharisees which reflects Jesus’ conflicts with the Jewish leaders in his time and the tenuous relationship of the Matthean community with the Jews who did not believe in Jesus. The scribes and the...
REFLECTIONS TODAY Our First Reading is an admittance of sins committed by the whole community of Israel. Daniel makes his confession in the name of the people. The essence of this prayer is summed up in the Responsorial Psalm: “Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.” The things...
REFLECTIONS TODAY First Reading • Gn 15:5-12, 17-18 The Lord God took Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so,” he added, “shall your descendants be.” Abram put his faith in the Lord, who credited it to him as an act of...
