Reflections

1st Reading      Genesis 2:18-242nd Reading     Hebrews 2:9-11Gospel             Mark 10:2-16 Our readings this Sunday invite us to take a deeper look on the Sacrament of Marriage. Today, many have lost the sense of what this Sacrament is all about. We can see at times that this has become a fashion show, a show of wealth, a…

1st Reading        Isaiah 50:4c-9a2nd Reading       James 2:14-18Gospel              Mark 8:27-35 When hardship, pain, and suffering surround us, how do we deal with them? Our 1st Reading this Sunday from the Prophet Isaiah reminds us of the reality of suffering and pain. The suffering-servant of God endures through all the pains that come from those who…

1st Reading      Isaiah 35:4-7a2nd Reading     James 2:1-5Gospel             Mark 7:31-37 Reflection: One of the greatest tests of life is when we find ourselves in want and there seems to be no one to help, even God seems to be silent to our pleadings. Human suffering seems to be meaningless to us, they are seen as punishment…

Is 35:4-7; Jas 2:1-5.Mk. 7:31-37.             Some 700 years before Christ was born, the prophet Isaiah already said, “Here is your God … He comes to save you.” And the signs of his coming are: “The eyes of the blind will be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared, the lame shall leap like…

1st Reading      Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-82nd Reading     James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27Gospel             Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 How do we see the Commandments of God in our lives? How do we live them out in our daily lives? These are the questions that make us look back on how we have lived the Commandments of God. Oftentimes,…

1st Reading      Joshua 24:1-2a, 15-17, 18b 2nd Reading     Ephesians 5:21-32 Gospel             John 6:60-69 One of the difficult parts of life is decision making. This makes many of us rethink of many things that it leads us to a situation that will make us either a hero or a villain in our own story or in…

1st Reading: Rev 12:1-6a, 10abResponsorial Psalm: Ps 45:10, 11, 12, 162nd Reading: 1 Cor 15:20-27Gospel: Lk. 1:39-58 This Sunday we celebrate the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This Solemnity invites us to see the fulfillment of God’s plan for humanity with the Blessed Virgin as the first to receive it after the Lord Jesus…

The Immaculate Conception of Mary was decreed by Pius IX on Dec. 8, 1854. The feast, however, had been celebrated since the 8th century. Christ chose his Mother and applied to her beforehand the merits of his redemption to keep her free from sin, so that when she would conceive him in her womb, no…

1st Reading      1 Kings 19:4-82nd Reading     Ephesians 4:30-5:2Gospel             John 6:41-51 When things in life becomes difficult, our tendency is to put these things in our control or to put them to stop. We often look for an instant relief to our predicaments. We frequently search for a short cut. In our 1st Reading, the…

1st Reading      Exodus 16:2-4, 12-152nd Reading     Ephesians 4:17, 20-24Gospel             John 6:24-35 Where is does our experience of God bring us to? The people of Israel in the Old Testament, grumbled against Moses for lack of food. This grumbling is not directed to Moses alone, but ultimately to God who called them through Moses. Their bodily…