Weekly Reflections (Page 5)

A website devoted to the discipline of psychology reminds that when we lose something, we should embrace a three-prong approach: first, calm down and don’t panic; second, carefully look around; and third, if necessary, trace our steps. After considering these, many Catholics have long recommended a fourth option; that is, a quick shoutout to St. Anthony of Padua. For Anthony, the twelfth-century Doctor of the Church and patron of the poor, is also known for his assistance in finding missing…

The Gospel passage for the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Mark 3:20-35) mentions what is needed, in Jesus’ eyes, to turn a house into a home.  Jesus came home with his disciples. Mark 3:20 Jesus and his disciples had been on a mission to preach the good news of God’s Kingdom in many villages and towns. At home, in Capernaum, they were in urgent need of recovering and re-energizing themselves before the next mission. However, the crowds had even more pressing…

It is patently clear that the word “blood” is the most revealing word in all three readings of this liturgy. We immediately associate blood with life; while we recoil from the sight of spilled blood as, right away, it conjures up the specter of a violent death. The significance and the message conveyed by blood are evident in the sealing of the covenant between the community (the twelve tribes of Israel represented by the twelve pillars) and Yahweh God (Exodus…

One day a girl brought home her report card. Most of the grades were all right, and a few were even very good—but there was one glaring exception that stood out like a sore thumb, no doubt due to a lack of effort on the girl’s part in that particular subject. When her mother saw this grade, she demanded in an angry tone, “Young lady, I want you to explain to me why you got an ‘F’ in spelling!” The girl shrugged her…

The feast of the Most Holy Trinity is providential in more ways than one. The statement I am about to make about it might sound outlandish and preposterous: this feast is providential because a good number of believers tend to reduce God to a manageable size which would make our brand of religiosity convenient and God somewhat “controllable.” Let us put this unwise thought to rest right away: Our God is in heaven; whatever God wills is done. (Psalm 115:3) Already in…

Fierce attacks have been, and are, directed mostly against the Catholic Church by those who are hellbent on replacing reality, nature, truth, decency, and common sense with crazy ideologies inspired by the prince of darkness. Satan’s minions know that the Catholic Church might be the last standing bulwark of morality based on natural law and on the Gospel. Hence, it should not be surprising that often we get upset, deeply concerned, and even become apprehensive and frightened just watching the…

 And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and…

The Ascension of the Lord Jesus is a Solemnity because for Jesus, as Head of the Body, it marks the crowning of his complete triumph over all our enemies, death included, and his full glorification by the Father. As far as we, members of the Body are concerned, this Solemnity comprises all that the Risen Lord said and did after his Resurrection to prepare all his disciples, across the millennia, to abide in him, to relate to him and to…

As I prepared this homily, I realized that all three readings are building on last Sunday’s readings by insisting on the vital importance of loving. I became thoroughly scared, with an awful knot in my stomach, because it was difficult for me to come up with verifiable evidence of loving not in word or speech but in deed and truth. (cf. 1 John 3: 18) You might want to check your love level and see if you get the same feeling I got.…

Here is an official invitation to get a spiritual tune-up. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. John 15:4 It is about daily life lived while being supernaturally grafted to Christ, the way a branch is naturally attached to its vine. Hence, we shall assess our spiritual condition in relation to Jesus as the…

In 1898, the British painter, Francis Barraud, created a portrait known as His Master’s Voice that became the symbol for a powerful, upstart company of the 1920s—Radio Corporation of America (RCA).  The painting is of his dog, Nipper, who enjoyed “nipping at the back of patrons’ legs.” When asked about the inspiration for the painting, he said: It is difficult to say how the idea came to me beyond the fact that it suddenly occurred to me that to have my dog listening to…

“I am the Good Shepherd.” This simple, yet most powerful statement, reveals the uniqueness of Jesus’ shepherding. Compelled by the realism imposed by life itself, we do not want to dwell on the fact that in countries where there are real shepherds, they raise sheep for profit. The most benevolent aspect of such profit is usually wool and milk. But eventually, sheep would have to be sold and butchered for human consumption. From what Jesus tells us about himself, we…