Cycle C - Year II:  

7 August 2016: Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical color: Green)

Gospel: Please read  Luke 12:32-48

Stay Vigilant!

There is truth in the wise words that "Today is the first day of the rest of your life!"  But also it may be that today is actually the last day of our earthly journey, and that there is no more tomorrow. How would you spend your last day?

How we deal with the last day spells the difference between believers and non-believers. For those who believe, we know that life is not ended; it is only changed. But for non-believers, there is nothing more after this life. So enjoy and be merry till the end.

Whether believers or non-believers, the sure thing that will happen is the "end time". Everyone and everything will come to pass some day. For the living, "death" is our experience of the end time. For human beings in particular, it may come at any time, at any age, anywhere. In a way, those who know they are dying of terminal illness may even feel blessed, for they can actually prepare for death. But others are put off just with the thought of dying soon, and may rebel against anybody, against the world, and even against God. They are in denial mode and refuse to prepare for death. The majority of us have no idea or don't get any advance warning of the end time.It can come like a thief in the night, at an hour we don't expect, and thus may catch us unprepared.

The sad thing is that we are a society of procrastinators. Whether we just don't want to face difficult challenges in life, or we are afraid to fail, and so we have the tendency to say, "I'll do it later."

This Sunday's liturgy is about our vigilant faith. The theme of readiness for the second coming of the Lord is to be found towards the end of the Gospel account from St. Luke.

The message of the parable in the Gospel reading is that disciple-

servant must be ready for the return of the master, who will come and knock at the door "at an hour we do not expect." So we must be like the faithful servants who stay awake for their master.

Likewise, we don't know when the Master will come and take us to the heavenly banquet of eternal union with God. Will we be ready by that time? But we will not be ready when we are more interested in feeding our worldly desires. So our Lord Jesus warns us not to waste time being lazy about purging our lives of earthly treasurers.

In practical life, how do we prepare for the end time? In other words, since we do not know when death will come, what should we do?

Jesus says that we must stand ready at all times. We don't wait for God to tell us when or where we will die, because He will not tell us. Instead, we must live a life of vigilant faith, putting things right today, here and now. We need to open our hearts and minds so that we shall be aware of the Lord's coming into our lives. There is nothing more urgent today than to cleanse our heart and pray for God's forgiveness. Then we need not worry when the call to final judgment comes.

Because for the good Christians, death will be our graduation day, and not an examination day.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle C - Year II:

31 July 2016: Eighteen Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical color: Green)

Gospel: Please read Luke 12: 13-21

God, our Greatest Treasure!

It is sad to hear of relationship broken because of fight or disputes over properties or wealth. What causes disputes and what's the best way for settling them?

Disputes may arise out of greed. Because he who is greedy is always in want.

During the time of our Lord Jesus, it was customary for people to take their disputes to the rabbis for settlement.

We hear in this Sunday Gospel an episode in the life of Jesus from the Gospel account of St. Luke that deals with disputes on inheritance and material possessions.

A man from the crowd asks Jesus to intervene with a dispute on inheritance with his own brother. But Jesus refuses to get involved in the family dispute, and instead gives the disputants a parable to "mull over".

"There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest." He is a successful businessman who decides to build larger barn to store his plentiful harvests. Because he thinks that in this way he can secure his future.But God says to him, "You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you." Jesus concludes His parable, "Thus will it be for all who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God."

What then is the point of Jesus' story about this wealthy landowner, and why does He calls him a fool?

Jesus does not fault him for his industriousness but for his egoism and selfishness. He has lost his capacity to be concerned for others. His life was consumed with his possessions and his only interests were in himself.

In other words, Jesus gives a lesson on using material possessions as well as a warning to beware of all covetousness While we need to work hard to provide for our basic needs, we must avoid greed in all its forms. That is to say, we must fight the temptation to keep seeking more and more of the world's treasures at the expense of becoming rich in what matters to God. For the greedy have no place in God's kingdom.

So then, what matters to God?

Jesus teaches that a person's life does not consist in the abundance of his material possessions, which certainly will eventually perish with him. Rather, Jesus probes the heart in this parable -- where is your treasure? And treasure has a special connection to the heart, the place of desires and longing, the place of will and focus.

In sum, the thing we must truly set our heart on is on the highest treasure. And that's God Himself. What do you treasure most?

We also celebrate this Sunday Fil-Mission Sunday. Let us practice our missionary vocation by sharing our faith to all peoples and be generous with our support through prayers, sacrifices and material offerings.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle C - Year II:  

24 July 2016: Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical color: Green)

Gospel: Please read  Luke 11:1-13

God, our Father!

Two boys were conversing. One asks the other, "Are you related to anyone famous?"

The other boy replies, "I don't want to brag, but I heard Dad calling God his Father!"

In the Gospel this Sunday, God's true face is revealed to us. He is Creator and Savior, but above all He is Father.  Jesus Himself wants us to call God, our Father.

The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. In response, Jesus gives them the prayer of the "Our Father".

The "Our Father" is a beautiful prayer that comes from Jesus Himself. It contains all the essential elements of a prayer, like adoration of God ("Hallowed be Thy name"), our contrition or repentance for the sins we have committed ("Forgive us our trespasses"), and our supplication, that is, we request God to give us the food we need to sustain our body ("Give us this day our daily bread").

We can approach God our Father with confidence and boldness because Jesus Christ has opened the way to heaven for us through his death and resurrection.

In the words of the "Our Father", Jesus teaches us to call God our

Father and a friend. Jesus explains what "fatherhood" means. It means having the best interest of his children in mind and knowing how to meet them. God as a friend means we can approach Him with any need we have at any time.

Because when we ask God for help, He fortunately does not give us what we truly deserve. Instead, He responds with grace and mercy.

So we can pray with expectant faith because our heavenly Father loves us and  treats us as His children.

Jesus used an illustration from the hospitality custom of His time to show how God is always ready to treat us with the best He has to offer.

God gives us the best He has, He freely pours out the blessing of His Holy Spirit upon us that we may be filled with the abundance  of His provision.

In practical life, we can pray in one of two ways: as a trusting child or a persistent friend. Either way, believe that the God to Whom we are speaking will listen when we continue speaking with Him, and believe that God has our best interest in mind, always.

Do you approach your heavenly Father with confidence in His mercy and kindness towards you?

During this Year of Mercy, let us pray persistently, for ourselves, our families, especially our country, and for the whole world. Let us not get tired knocking until the door of heaven is opened to us.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!