Homilies and Lectio Divina

Christ the King!           The liturgical year comes to an end today with the celebration of Christ the King. As we celebrate the solemnity of Chris the King, we acknowledge our faith in the universal kingship of JC and our longing for the full realization of God’s kingdom. ***** What does it mean to believe…

33rd Sunday (Ordinary Time) Today is the last Sunday of our Liturgical year. Next Sunday will be the feast of Christ the King and that will officially end our liturgical year. Then comes the season of advent- a season of preparation for Christmas. As the liturgical season comes to a close, the readings deal with…

32nd  Sunday C Luke 20:27-38 Let us take note of some details:   The Sadducees were quite different from the Pharisees. Small in number, but very wealthy, they were the governing class. To protect their wealth, they collaborated with the Romans.   The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead; they did…

31st Sunday Pointers        ***** Today the story of Zacchaeus is presented to us. Zacchaeus was a tax collector who was so short that he had to climb up a sycamore tree to get a better view of Jesus as he was passing by—somehow this small man climbs up the tree because of his great desire…

  Luke 18:9-14 ***** A biblical commentator points out that the parable Jesus proclaims is essential in at least three aspects: 1.  The Parable tells us that God knows us as we really are. 2.  The Parable tells us that God accepts us as we are. 3.  Although God accepts us as we are, He…

Readings: Exodus 17: 8-13  Psalm 121:1-8 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2 Luke 18:1-8   *****   The parable is short but conveys an important lesson. From the way the widow pleaded her case before the judge, Jesus wanted his listeners to learn how to plead their cases before God—they must pray without ceasing… without becoming drained.  …

28th Sunday C ***** In the biblical world, no disease arouses more dread and fear in people’s hearts than leprosy and no individual is as tragic as the leper. Forced to abandon all contact with family and friends, he must camp outside towns and cities alone or with other lepers. When he encounters people on…

27th Sunday C (Luke 17: 5-10)   The point that Jesus is making in the parable is that faith demands that we serve God unconditionally.  Jesus insists that God owes us nothing and we do not conduct our business with God on a contractual basis. We are mere creatures and creatures as we are; we…

2 October,  2016 Reflection: How do we respond to the difficult situations and questions that life offers us? Our readings this Sunday offer us only one thing, faith. But we might think that it is just a mere “spiritualizing” of concrete problems and difficulties. No, faith is beyond saying “bahala na,” faith is having the…

26th Sunday C The parable in today’s gospel is about a rich man and Lazarus. When these two died, the rich man went to hell; Lazarus to heaven. ****** The rich man does nothing intrinsically evil. He lives like a rich man that he is, wears fine clothes, and throws a sumptuous feast each day.…