November 8, 2020
Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

The prospect of the Judgment while living the “present”

Today, immersed in the month of November, during which the Church reminds us of the eternal truths, the “Parable of the wise and foolish virgins” introduces the theme of “The Judgment”. At the conclusion of the central section of the Church’s great “Credo” —the part that recounts the mystery of Christ— we find the phrase: “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead”.

From the earliest times, the prospect of the Judgment has influenced Christians in their daily living as a criterion by which to order their present life, as a summons to their conscience, and at the same time, as hope in God’s justice. Faith in Christ has never looked merely backwards or merely upwards, but always also forwards to the hour of justice that the Lord repeatedly proclaimed. This looking ahead has given Christianity its importance for the “present” moment.

We are invited to mull over the purpose of our existence; it is a word of caution from the Good God concerning our final destination; let us not, therefore, play with our life. «The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom» (Mt 25:1). The eventual end of each person will be contingent on the path he picks out; death is a consequence of the life -sensible or imprudent- that we have carried on in this world. Foolish girls are those who having heard Jesus’ message have not put it into practice. Sensible girls, instead, are those that have applied it to their lives and, therefore, are now able to be present at the wedding feast in the Kingdom.

The parable is a very serious forewarning. «Stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour» (Mt 25:13). Do not ever let the lamps of faith go out, for any moment could be your last. The Kingdom is already here. Kindle the lamps with the oil of faith, of fraternity and of mutual charity. Our hearts, full of light, will allow us to enjoy the true fulfillment here and now. Those who live around us every day will also be enlightened and will experience the delight of the company of the long-awaited Bridegroom. Jesus requests us to never be short of this oil in our lamps.

This is why, the Second Vatican Council, that selects from the Bible the images of the Church, brings up this comparison of the bridegroom and the bride, by proclaiming it with these words: «The Church is also described as the spotless spouse of the spotless Lamb, whom Christ “loved and for whom he delivered Himself up that He might sanctify her”, whom He united to Himself by an unbreakable covenant, and whom He unceasingly “nourishes and cherishes” and whom, once purified, He willed to be cleansed and joined to Himself, subject to Him in love and fidelity».

False Images of Ourselves

November 7, 2020
Saturday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him. And Jesus said to them, “You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.” Luke 16:14-15

“God knows the heart!” What a great truth to be deeply aware of. So often in life there are misconceptions we have of others and misconceptions that others have about us. This passage goes to the heart of this tendency of the Pharisees to create a false image of themselves for others to see and to care little about the inner truth that only God is aware of.

So what is more important to you? What do you prefer? Are you more concerned about the opinions of others or the truth of your life in the mind of God?

This struggle can go two ways. On one hand, like the Pharisees, we can strive to present a false persona of ourselves to others while, at the same time, God is fully aware of the truth and is aware of the false image we are trying to portray. On the other hand, we may find that others have a false image of who we are, which can cause us much hurt. When this happens, we can be led into anger towards others and tend to irrationally and excessively defend ourselves.

But what is important? What should concern us? The truth is what matters and we should care little about that which God is not concerned. We should care only about that which is in the mind of God and what He thinks about us and our lives.

Reflect, today, upon your tendency to worry about what others think about you. Know that God wants you to live an honest life by which you present yourself in the truth. Do not be like the Pharisees who were obsessed with the flattering and false images others had of them. Worry only about living in the truth and what is in the heart of God and leave the rest to Him. In the end, that’s all that matters.

November 6, 2020
Friday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time

Worldly or Heavenly Success?

For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light.” Luke 16:8b

This line comes at the conclusion of the parable of the Dishonest Steward. Jesus told this parable as a way of highlighting the fact that the “children of the world” are indeed successful in their manipulation of worldly things, whereas the “children of light” are not as shrewd when it comes to worldly things. So what does this tell us?

It certainly does not tell us that we should enter into a worldly life striving to live by worldly standards and working toward worldly goals. In fact, by acknowledging this fact about the worldly, Jesus is presenting us with a strong contrast as to how we should think and act. We are called to be the children of light. Therefore, we should not be surprised at all if we are not as successful in worldly things as others are who are immersed in the secular culture.

This is especially true when we look at the numerous “successes” of those who are fully immersed in the world and the values of the world. Some are successful in obtaining great wealth, power or prestige by being shrewd in things of this age. We see this in pop culture especially. Take, for example, the entertainment industry. There are many who are quite successful and popular in the eyes of the world and we can tend to have a certain envy of them. Compare that to those who are filled with virtue, humility and goodness. We often find that they go unnoticed.

So what should we do? We should use this parable to remind ourselves that all that matters, in the end, is what God thinks. How does God see us and the effort we give in living a holy life? As children of the light, we must work only for that which is eternal, not for that which is worldly and passing. God will provide for our worldly needs if we put our trust in Him. We may not become huge successes in accord with worldly standards, but we will obtain greatness in regard to all that truly matters and all that is eternal.

Reflect, today, upon your priorities in life. Are you focused on building up riches that are eternal? Or do you continually find yourself caught up in the manipulations and shrewdness that has as a goal only worldly success? Strive for that which is eternal and you will be eternally grateful.

November 5, 2020
Thursday of the Thirty-First Week in Ordinary Time

“The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Luke 15:1-2

How do you treat the sinners you encounter? Do you shun them, talk about them, ridicule them, pity them, or ignore them? Hopefully not! How should you treat the sinner? Jesus allowed them to draw near to Him and He was attentive to them. In fact, He was so merciful and kind to the sinner that He was harshly criticized by the Pharisees and scribes. How about you? Are you willing to associate with the sinner to the point that you open yourself up to criticism?

It’s quite easy to be harsh and critical toward those who “deserve it.” When we see someone clearly going astray, we can almost feel justified in pointing the finger and putting them down as if we were better than they or as if they were dirt. What an easy thing to do and what a mistake!

If we want to be like Jesus we must have a very different attitude toward them. We must act differently toward them than how we may feel like acting. Sin is ugly and dirty. It’s easy to be critical toward one who is caught in a cycle of sin. Yet if we do so, we are no different than the Pharisees and scribes of Jesus’ time. And we will most likely receive the same harsh treatment right back from Jesus for our lack of mercy.

It’s interesting that one of the only sins that Jesus consistently rebukes is that of judgmentalness and criticalness. It’s almost as if this sin shuts the door on God’s mercy in our lives.

Reflect, today, upon how you look at and treat those whose sins are somewhat manifest. Do you treat them with mercy? Or do you react with disdain and act with a judgmental heart? Recommit yourself to mercy and a complete lack of judgment. Judgment is Christ’s to give, not yours. You are called to mercy and compassion. If you can offer just that, you will be much more like our merciful Lord.

Tuesday 3rd November 2020,
31st Week in Ordinary Time

St Martin de Poress (1579 – 1639).

He was born in Lima in Peru, the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a black ex-slave. His mother gave him a Christian education and he became a pharmacist and a nurse. Despite his father’s opposition he entered the Dominican Order as a lay brother in 1603 and spent his life working for the sick and the poor. Many people of all ranks would come to him for advice. He had a great devotion to the Holy Eucharist. He has been named as a patron saint of those of mixed race.

The “principle of participation” in the Social Doctrine of the Church

Today, the parable presents an overview of inhibition and excuses for the invitation to the “dinner”. This leads towards the “principle of participation” that defends the social Doctrine of the Church. God has left man in the hands of men and this implies, socially, that people have the right and duty to assume responsibilities in their community and take an active part in the social life decisions.

This requirement is based on moral freedom and human dignity. The free and responsible participation in society is a necessity for human development. Hence, the demand that anyone, whether a person, a family or a village and country, be relegated to its active role in coexistence and configuration of socio-political environment.

-The Church does not specify the manner and extent of such participation, but states that everyone should take part in promoting the common good as a responsible person and not just as a passive collaborator.

All Saints Day!

Sunday, November 1, 2020

Solemnity of All Saints

Today we honor those holy men and women who have gone before us in faith and have done so in a glorious way. As we honor these great champions of faith, let’s reflect upon who they are and what role they continue to play in the life of the Church.

The Church Triumphant: Those who have gone before us and now share in the glories of Heaven, in the Beatific Vision, are not gone. Sure, we do not see them and we cannot necessarily hear them speak to us in the physical way they did while on Earth. But they are not gone at all. St. Thérèse of Lisieux said it best when she said, “I want to spend my Heaven doing good on Earth.”

The saints in Heaven are in full union with God and make up the Communion of Saints in Heaven, the Church Triumphant! What’s important to note, however, is that even though they are enjoying their eternal reward, they are still very much concerned about us.

The saints in Heaven are entrusted with the important task of intercession. Sure, God already knows all our needs and He could ask us to go directly to Him in our prayers. But the truth is that God wants to use the intercession, and therefore, the mediation of the saints in our lives. He uses them to bring our prayers to Him and, in return, to bring His grace to us. They become powerful intercessors for us and participators in God’s divine action in the world.

Why is this the case? Again, why doesn’t God just choose to deal with us directly rather than go through intermediaries? Because God wants all of us to share in His good work and to participate in His divine plan. It would be like a dad who buys a nice necklace for his wife. He shows it to his young children and they are excited about this gift. The mom comes in and the dad asks the children to bring the gift to her. Now the gift is from her husband but she will most likely thank her children first for their participation in giving this gift to her. The father wanted the children to be part of this giving and the mother wanted to make the children a part of her receiving and gratitude. So it is with God! God wants the saints to share in the distribution of His manifold gifts. And this act fills His heart with joy!

The saints also give us a model of holiness. The charity they lived on Earth lives on. The witness of their love and sacrifice was not just a one time act in history. Rather, charity is living and continues to have an effect for the good. Therefore, the charity and witness of the saints lives on and affects our lives. This charity in their lives creates a bond with us, a communion. It enables us to love them, admire them and want to follow their example. It is this, coupled with their continuing intercession, that establishes a powerful bond of love and union with us.

HAPPY FEAST DAY. !!

October 31, 2020
Saturday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

Political action: a commitment to justice

Today, Jesus deplores our desire to prevail before the others, particularly among those who are called to government responsibilities. It is proper to recall what King Solomon —in his enthronement— asked God: he did not ask for long life, riches or the elimination of his enemies…, instead he told the Lord: “Give your servant an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish between good and evil”.

The motivation for his work of a politician should not be his own success, and certainly not, his own material gain, but their commitment to justice, so he can create the basic conditions for peace. Naturally, any politician seeks success, without which they would never have the possibility of effective political action. But success is subordinated to the criterion of Justice, to the will to apply the law and to the understanding of the law.

—To serve right and to fight against the dominion of wrong remains the fundamental task of the politician. God-Sovereign, at a moment in history, when man has acquired previously inconceivable power, this task takes on a particular urgency.

Friday 30th October 2020, 30th week in Ordinary Time.

“On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. Luke 14:1”

This line, from the beginning of today’s Gospel, reveals two things worth pondering.

First, Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. This was no small thing. In fact, it was most likely the source of much discussion among the people and the other Pharisees. It shows us that Jesus does not play favorites. He did not only come for the poor and weak. He also came for the conversion of the wealthy and powerful. Too often we forget that simple fact. Jesus came for all people, loves all people and responds to invitations from all who want to have Him in their lives. Of course this passage also reveals that Jesus was not afraid to come to the home of this leading Pharisee and challenge him and his guests so as to move them to a change of heart.

Second, this passage states that people were “observing Him carefully.” Perhaps some were just curious and were looking for something to talk about later with their friends. But others were most likely observing Him carefully because they truly wanted to understand Him. They could tell there was something unique about Jesus and they wanted to know more about Him.

These two lessons should encourage us to realize that Jesus does love us and will respond to our openness to His presence in our lives. All we have to do is ask and be open to Him coming to “dine” with us. We should also learn from the witness of those who were observing Him carefully. They reveal to us the good desire we should have to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Though some who observed Him carefully turned against Him and mocked Him, there were others who observed Him carefully and embraced Jesus and His message.

Reflect, today, upon your willingness to invite Jesus into the home of your heart and life’s situation. Know that He will accept any invitation you offer. And as Jesus comes to you, give Him your full attentiveness. Observe all that He says and does and let His presence and message become the foundation of your life.

Thursday 29th October 2020, 30th Week in Ordinary Time.

  1. SPIRITUAL WARFARE

“Stand firm against the tactics of the devil.” —Ephesians 6:11

“Stay sober and alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Pt 5:8). The devil hates us. He wants to use us to show his hatred of Jesus. His plan is to deceive, enslave, use, abuse, degrade, kill, and damn us. Therefore, “our battle is not against human forces but against the principalities and powers, the rulers of this world of darkness, the evil spirits in regions above” (Eph 6:12).

We are in extreme danger, but we need not be afraid because in Christ the Church has authority over all demons (see Mt 10:1). We will have victory if we:

-draw our “strength from the Lord and His mighty power” (Eph 6:10),
-“put on the armor of God” (Eph 6:11),
-“stand firm against the tactics of the devil” (Eph 6:11),
-“do all that [our] duty requires” (Eph 6:13),
-by faith “extinguish the fiery darts of the evil one” (Eph 6:16),
-resist the devil with the two-edged sword of the Spirit using the Word of God and prayer (Eph 6:17-18),
-pray and fast (Mt 17:21), and
obey the Lord and His Church (see 2 Cor 10:6).
-Obey the Lord and His Church, and you will see the Lord quickly crush Satan under your feet (Rm 16:20).

  1. POLITICS AT THE SERVICE OF MAN

Today, Jesus Christ blames the “king” from whom the promotion of peace linked to justice should be expected. Politics is the sphere of reason: not a purely technical, calculating reason, but a “moral” reasoning, since the end of the State and thus, the ultimate purpose of all politics is, by its very nature, moral (peace, justice…). Restoration of the “moral reason” (what is reasonably good for man) requires debugging the “non-reasonable”.

After the fall of the grand Ideologies,Judas, Nero, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin etc..These are the high priests of Satan. The power of darkness is everywhere. it becomes urgent to demystify those values which have been distorted by oversimplifying them in a way that can be described as mythical: progress, science, freedom… The “majority” also! None of this constitutes, in itself, an ultimate criterion regarding the goodness of man. There are values that not even majorities can dispute. But, which ones? A first response is offered to us by the “Decalogue”, considering it not to be the private property of Christians or Jews.

—The “Decalogue” is an exalted expression of moral reason that, as such, is also found in the wisdom of the other great cultures. Faith does not substitute reason, but it may help to highlight essential values.

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles

Praying All Night

Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. Luke 6:12

It’s a fascinating thing to think about Jesus praying all night. This act on His part teaches us many things just as it would have taught His Apostles. Here are a few things we can take from His action.

First, it may be thought that Jesus did not “need” to pray. After all, He is God. So did He need to pray? Well, this is actually not the right question to ask. It’s not a matter of Him needing to pray, rather, it’s a matter of Him praying because His prayer goes to the heart of who He is.

Prayer is first and foremost an act of deep communion with God. In Jesus’ case, it’s an act of deep communion with the Father in Heaven and with the Holy Spirit. Jesus was continually in perfect communion (unity) with the Father and the Spirit and, thus, His prayer was nothing more than an earthly expression of this communion. His prayer is a living out of His love of the Father and the Spirit. So it’s not so much that He needed to pray so that He could stay close to them. Instead, it was that He prayed because He was perfectly united to them. And this perfect communion demanded an earthly expression of prayer. In this instance, it was prayer all night long.

Second, the fact that it was all night long reveals that Jesus’ “rest” was nothing other than being in the presence of the Father. Just as rest restores us and rejuvenates us, so the all night vigil of Jesus reveals that His human rest was that of resting in the presence of the Father.

Third, what we should take from this for our own lives is that prayer should never be underestimated. Too often we speak a few prayerful thoughts to God and let it go at that. But if Jesus chose to spend the entire night in prayer, we should not be surprised if God wants much more from our quiet time of prayer than we are now giving Him. Don’t be surprised if God is calling you to spend much more time every day in prayer. Do not hesitate to establish a set pattern of prayer. And if you find that you cannot sleep some night, do not hesitate to get up, get on your knees, and seek the presence of God living within your soul. Seek Him, listen to Him, be with Him and let Him consume you in prayer. Jesus gave us the perfect example. It is now our responsibility to follow that example.

As we honor the Apostles Simon and Jude, reflect, today, upon your own calling to follow Christ and act as His apostle to the world. The only way you can fulfill this mission is through a life of prayer. Reflect upon your prayer life and do not hesitate to deepen your resolve to imitate the depth and intensity of our Lord’s perfect example of prayer.

Lord Jesus, help me to pray. Help me to follow Your example of prayer and to seek the presence of the Father in a deep and continuous way. Help me to enter into a deep communion with You and to be consumed by the Holy Spirit. Jesus, I trust in You.