XXVII Sunday in OT[C]:Hb 1: 2-3--2: 2-4; II Tm 1: 6-8, 13-14; Lk 17: 5-10

XXVII Sunday in OT[C]:Hb 1: 2-3--2: 2-4; II Tm 1: 6-8, 13-14; Lk 17: 5-10

Introduction:  Jesus teaches his Apostles that faith is sharing in God’s power, and, hence, even in small quantities, it enables us to work miracles in our lives and in the lives of others. It is Faith which makes one just, putting him into right relation with God and neighbour.  In the Bible, Faith means reliance on, or confidence in, God, and Hope is the expectation of a better future. While the Apostles ask for an increase in the quantity of their faith Jesus reminds them that the quality of their faith is more important. Using a master-servant parable, Jesus also teaches them that, for faith to be effective, it must be linked with trust, obedience and total commitment.

Joke: A little boy wanted $100.00 very badly and his mother told him to pray to God with faith.  He prayed and prayed for two weeks, but nothing turned up.  Then he decided perhaps he should write God a letter requesting the $100.00. When the postal authorities received the letter addressed to God, they opened it up and decided to send it to the President. The President was so impressed and touched that he instructed his secretary to send the little boy a check for $5.00. He thought that this would appear to be a lot of money to a little boy. The little boy was delighted with the $5.00 and sat down to write a thank-you letter to God, which ran as follows: ”Dear God: Thank you very much for the money.  I noticed that you had to send it through Washington.  Dad said that as usual, they deducted $95.00 for themselves in the name of “Homeland Security” to save our country from terrorists.”

Exegesis: When Jesus demanded of his disciples that they respond with unconditional and unlimited forgiveness to their repentant offenders as we see in verses 3 and 4, the disciples asked Jesus for the Faith required to meet this demand. In addition, the Apostles were asking for greater confidence and trust in God, so that they might work the miracles which they had seen Jesus perform, like the withering of a fig-tree by a simple command. Jesus responded by telling them of the power of Faith, even a very little faith (verses 5 & 6).  He used the parables of the mustard seed and the good servant to help them understand the need for strong faith.

The parable of the mustard seed: “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed." Faith is used here in three senses.  1) First, Faith means "trust."   People "have faith in their banks" because their accounts are insured.  Similarly, we must put our trust in the authority of God and in the truth of His doctrines. St. Paul defines Faith as confidence and certainty (Hebrews 11:1).  2) Second, Faith refers to assent to doctrines about God taught by Jesus and the Church (e.g., our belief in the truths listed in the Nicene Creed and the Apostles’ Creed).   3) Third, Faith   refers to a “bond” or “relationship,” with God.   Jesus tells us that if we have even a small relationship with our heavenly Father, we can do anything.  No matter how weak it seems, Faith is an overwhelming power.  Even a little Faith can direct our lives, comfort us when we are discouraged and challenge us when we are complacent.

Practical Applications: 1) We need to thank God, giving Him the credit for our well- being.  Following the example of the Apostles, we must pray for greater faith and trust in God.  Most of us are inclined to forget God’s providence when our earthly affairs are going well. 

2) We need to increase our faith by becoming dutiful servants of God.   A zealous Christian can speak more convincingly to his or her neighbor about the need for God and an upright life through his or her own daily actions than through explaining religious doctrines. A sincere Christian can find many ways to help to make Christ known to his neighbor. 

3) We must cultivate our Faith through prayer, Bible study, and leading a well-disciplined spiritual life. Faith is the gift of God. So we must pray that God will increase our Faith. Time spent with God in prayer is fundamental to the development of Faith.

Introduction:  (XXVII)Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Message:  Faith is a gracious gift from God.  It can neither be earned nor bought, only responded to with works of love and service.  A vibrant faith can make us strong, loving  and wise, confident that God will guard us from all harm.  God is the Rock of our salvation.

Saints and Events in this week:  7-Seventh-Monday-Our Lady of the Rosary; 9-Nineth-Wednesday-Saints Denis, bishop, and companions, martyrs; Saint John Leonardi, priest;

XXVI Sunday in OT[C]:Amos 6:1,4-7;1Tim6:11-16;Lk16:19-31

XXVI Sunday in OT[C]:Amos 6:1,4-7;1Tim6:11-16;Lk16:19-31

Introduction:  The main theme of this Sunday is the warning that selfish and extravagant use of God’s blessings like wealth without sharing it with the poor and the needy is a serious sin deserving eternal punishment. Today’s readings stress the covenant responsibility of the rich for the poor reminding us the truth that wealth without active mercy for the poor is great wickedness.

Anecdote:  A nine year old child entered an ice-cream shop and asked how much is for a cup of ice-cream.   The waiter said: “fifteen dollars” Then the child took all his money from his pocket and counted.  Then asked again to the waiter: “how much is for a small cup ice-cream?”  The waiter lost patience and got angry and with a loud voice said: “Twelve Dollars.” Child ordered small cup. He sat, ate the ice-cream, paid the bill and left the shop.  As the waiter went to take the empty plate and cup at the child’s seat, his eyes filled with tears as he saw that the child has given 3dollars tip.  This is life.  Make others also happy with what you have.

Exegesis: People in Jesus’ time would dip into stew pots with bread, bite off what they wanted and just throw whatever was left onto the floor. Lazarus longed to eat the scraps that fell from the Rich Man’s table.  Lazarus wasn’t even given these scraps.  The dogs got them.  And then the dogs went outside and licked Lazarus’ sores.  The Rich Man never saw this.  He never saw Lazarus, as a fellow human being. His possessions made him blind to those around him.  The first time that the Rich Man really saw Lazarus as a person, not as an eyesore, was when it was too late.  From Hell the Rich Man looked up and saw Lazarus.

Amos in the first reading issues a powerful warning to those who seek wealth at the expense of the poor and who spend their time and their money on themselves. The angry prophet prophecies that those rich and unsympathetic people in the Southern kingdom of Judah will be punished by God with exile because they don’t care for their poor and suffering brothers in the North.  The Psalm praises Yahweh, who cares for the poor. In the second reading, Paul admonishes us to "pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience and gentleness" – noble goals in an age of disillusionment – rather than riches. In today’s gospel Jesus warns us pointing to the destiny of the rich man who neglected his duty to show mercy to poor Lazarus. The rich man's punishment was not for having riches, but for neglecting the Scriptures and what they taught and thereby the poor.

Joke:  The teacher said; “Take a pencil and paper, and write an essay with the title ‘If I Were a Millionaire.’”

Everyone but Joe, who leaned back with arms folded, began to write feverishly.
“What’s the matter,” the teacher asked. “Why don’t you begin?”

“I’m waiting for my secretary,” Joe replied.

Practical Applications: 1) We are all rich enough to share our blessings with others.  God has blessed each one of us with wealth or health or special talents or social power or political influence or a combination of many blessings. Share it.

2) Remember that sharing is the criterion of Last Judgment: Matthew (25: 31ff) tells us that all the six questions to be asked to each one of us by Jesus who comes in glory as our judge are based on how we have shared our blessings from him  (food, drink, home, mercy and compassion), with others.

3) Do not pretend to be blind to poor and needy. Rich never saw Lazarus, as a fellow human being. His possessions made him blind to those around him.  The first time that the Rich Man really saw Lazarus as a person, not as an eyesore, was when it was too late. 

4) Our choices here determine the kind of eternity we will have. It has been put this way: "Where we go hereafter depends on what we go after, here." Where we will arrive depends on what road we travel. We get what we choose, what we live for. We are shaping our moral character to fit one of two places.

Introduction:  (XXVI)Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Message:  Amos condemns the complacency of the rich who seek only their own comfort.  In his parable about the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus echoes Amos, exhorting those who have to share with those who have not.  Self-sufficiency must never blind us to the needs of others.  Only in this way do we keep God’s commandments in integrity and in truth.

Saints and Events in this week:  30-Monday-Saint Jerome, priest, doctor of the Church; 1-October-Tuesday-Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin, doctor; 2-Wednesday-The Holy Guardian Angels; 4-Friday-Saint Francis of Assisi

XXV Sunday in OT[C]: Am 8: 4-7; I Tm 2: 1-8; Lk 16: 1-13

XXV Sunday in OT[C]: Am 8: 4-7; I Tm 2: 1-8; Lk 16: 1-13

Introduction:  All three readings for today’s liturgy pertain to the subject of faithful stewardship. Condemning the crooked business practices of the 8^th century BC of Jewish merchants of Judea, the prophet Amos, in the first reading, reminds the Israelites to be faithful to their Covenant with Yahweh by practicing justice and mercy as God’s faithful stewards. He warns us against having the making of money by whatever means as the goal of our life. The second reading, from I Timothy, instructs the first-century Judeo-Christians to become true stewards of the gospel of Jesus, the only mediator between God and man, by preaching the “Good News” to the pagans and including them in intercessory prayers. Today’s Gospel challenges us to use our blessings -- time, talents, health and wealth -- wisely and shrewdly, so that they will serve for our good in eternity.  We are on the right road only if we use our earthly wealth to attain our heavenly goal.

Exegsis: The parable of the crooked steward or dishonest manager has shocked good Church people for centuries.   St. Augustine said, “I can’t believe that this story came from the lips of our Lord.” Jesus tells a paradoxical story about the steward (manager), of the estate of a rich absentee landlord. The steward was an out-and-out rascal. But his boss praised him for his rascality because he acted with foresight. Facing the coming return of his master and an audit of his accounts, the steward cleverly converted the debtors of his master into his own debtors.  He bought "friends" with his master’s money, and used these "friends” to secure a means of livelihood for the rapidly and certainly approaching point when he would be dismissed (for his previous embezzlement). In Luke’s account there are four morals drawn from the story to unfold its meaning.  The parable advises us to take inventory of the resources placed in our charge: time, talents, opportunities, health, intelligence, education, and other advantages.  It also challenges us to use these resources wisely so that they will serve for our good in eternity. 

Anecdote: Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, once told about a make-believe country where only ducks lived. On Sunday morning all the ducks came into church, waddled down the aisle, waddled into their pews and squatted. Then the duck minister came in, took his place behind the pulpit, opened the Duck Bible and read, "Ducks! You have wings, and with wings you can fly like eagles. You can soar into the skies! Ducks! You have wings!" All the ducks yelled, "Amen!" and then they all waddled home. [Jim Burns, Radically Committed (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1991).] No one flew or even tried. Friends, there’s just too much truth to that little fable. Using the parable of a rascally manager in today’s Gospel, Jesus challenges us to see that it is time for the children of light to quit waddling. It's time for us to soar by ingeniously using our God-given talents and blessings for the welfare of others, thus glorifying God and becoming eligible for our eternal reward. May we be the people that Jesus praises because we saw something that needed to be done and we did it.

Lessons of the parable as presented by Luke:  1. Let the children of light acquire the prudence of the children of this world (verse 8).  Christians should be as prudent and resourceful in acquiring goodness as the steward was in acquiring money and making his future safe.  2. Invest temporal goods to acquire eternal welfare.  A man can use his wealth not only to make life easier for himself, but also for his fellow-man.  3. Integrity and fidelity are the true yardsticks for promotion and eternal reward (verse 10).  How we treat what belongs to another is a test of our fitness to be entrusted with our own possessions.  4. "No servant can serve two masters" (verse 13).  We cannot serve God on a part-time basis.  Once a man chooses to serve God, every moment of his time and every atom of his energy belong to God.

Joke:  Abraham wanted a new suit, so he bought a nice piece of cloth and then tried to locate a tailor.  The first tailor he visited looked at the cloth and measured Abraham, then told him the cloth was not enough to make a suit. Abraham was unhappy with this opinion and sought another tailor.  This tailor measured Abraham, then measured the cloth, and then smiled and said, "There is enough cloth to make a pair of trousers, a coat and a vest, please come back in a week to take your suit." After a week Abraham came to take his new suit, and saw the tailor's son wearing trousers made of the same cloth.  Perplexed, he asked, "Just how could you make a full suit for me and trousers for your son, when the other tailor could not make a suit only?" "It's very simple," replied the tailor, "The other tailor has two sons."

Practical Applications: 1) We need to be faithful in little things of life: As Blessed Mother Teresa used to recommend, “Do little things with great love.”

2) We need to act shrewdly, trusting in the power and assistance of God.  The manager in Jesus’ story used all his resources to secure his future.  At our disposal we have hope in God’s justice, faith in God’s assistance, and trust in God’s grace. We have the Holy Mass and the seven sacraments as sources of divine grace, the holy Bible as the word of God for daily meditation and practice, and the Spirit-guided Church to direct us. These are the best possible resources; we need to use them in such a way that it will be said of us,"And the master commended them because they acted so shrewdly."

Introduction:  (XXV)Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Message:  Amos cries out against those who exploit the poor for the sake of extortion and greed.  They seek to serve only themselves rather than the Lord.  By giving ourselves to God rather than money, we can truly pray with blameless hands for all those in need, especially the poor whom the Lord will raise up.

Saints and Events in this week:  23-Monday-Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, priest also known as Padre Pio; 26-Thursday-Saints Cosmas and Damian, martyrs; 27-Friday-Saint Vincent de Paul, priest; 28- Saturday-Saint Wenceslaus, martyr; Saint Lawrence Ruiz and companions, martyrs;

XXIV Sunday in OT[C]:Ex 32:7-11,13,14; I Tm1:12-17;Lk 15:1-32

XXIV Sunday in OT[C]:Ex 32:7-11,13,14; I Tm1:12-17;Lk 15:1-32

Introduction:  The Good News Jesus preached was that God is our loving and forgiving heavenly Father Who wants to save everyone through His Son, and not a cruel, judging and punishing God. He is always in search of His lost and straying children as Jesus explains, using three parables, in today’s Gospel.  In today’s first reading, from Exodus, Moses is imploring a forgiving God to have mercy on the sinful people who abandoned Him and turned to idol-worship, reminding God of His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In today’s second reading, Paul tells Timothy that, although   he, Paul, had been the greatest of sinners as the former persecutor of the Church, God has shown great mercy towards him.

Exegsis: In the parable of today, there are clearly three main characters: the elder son, the younger son, and the father. Who do you think is the hero, who is the anti-hero, and who is the supporting character?  Often this story is called the parable of ‘the prodigal son,’ creating the impression that the younger son, who “left for a distant country” (Lk 15:13), is the hero of the story.  Some suggest that this story be called, the parable of “the prodigal father” or “the parable of the good boy and the bad boy”.  These seem meaningful.  Most versions of the Bible entitle this story as “the parable of the lost son” (GNB, NIV) – suggesting that even the elder boy could be the lost son.  To resolve this dilemma, I think, we should look at the whole chapter 15 of the Gospel of Luke.

The chapter begins this way (Luke 15:1-3): “The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and scribes complained, ‘This man’, they said, ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them.”  Though it is not explicit, we can assume that Jesus spoke this parable to the Pharisees and scribes. Jesus is with sinners because they sought his company; now Jesus tries to seek also the company of the Pharisees and scribes, as he tells them this parable.   Actually Jesus tells them three parables: the story of the lost sheep (Lk 15:4-7), the story of the lost coin (Lk 15:8-10), and the story of the lost son (Lk 15:11-32).  In the case of the first two stories the heroes are clear: the man who lost his sheep, and the woman who lost her silver coin.  It follows then that the hero of the third story is the father.

Who is the anti-hero in this story?  It is important not to lose the final twist in Luke’s stories.  We can easily think that it is the younger son, the so-called ‘prodigal son’, who is the anti-hero.  I don’t think so, because he was lost but was found.  He is like the sinners, in the beginning of the chapter, who sought Jesus. On the other hand, the elder son – the dutiful son – is the one who is still outside the home, out of the celebration, unable to respond to the love of the father.

Joke:  Mr. & Mrs. Davis invited their pastor for the dinner hosted in honor of the return of their son after long years of his wandering life. As Mrs. Davis busied herself preparing food she asked her little daughter to set the table. When the pastor started the prayer before the meals, Mrs. Davis noticed that her daughter forgot to place silverware for the pastor. Embarrassed at the oversight, Mrs. Davis asked her little girl why she had not placed silverware for the pastor. “Because, Mom, I have heard Papa saying that our pastor eats like a horse!”

Practical Applications:  1) Have a broad outlook to include everyone in your company, in your effort, in your work like prodigal father in the parable. Never exclude anyone thinking or basing on the color, race, nationality, richness and knowledge level etc.  What we do towards other fellowmen will be what we get in heaven.

2) This can be for us a Sunday of self-reflection, assessment and correction.   If we have been in sin, God, in His mercy, is ready to receive and welcome us back, no less than Jesus welcomed sinners in his time.   Let us pray today that we will allow God’s love and forgiveness into our lives.   Let us also ask God for the courage to extend this forgiveness to others who have offended us.  Let us confess our sins and regain peace and God’s friendship.

Introduction:  (XXIV)Twenty Forth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Message:  Moses intercedes on behalf of the people who had turned away from the covenant.  The Lord delights not in sin, but in turning back to him, for a contrite and humbled heart God will never spurn.  He sent his Son into the world not to condemn but to save sinners.

Saints and Events in this week:  16-Sixteenth-Monday-Saints Cornelius, pope, and Cyprian, bishop, martyrs; 17-Seventeenth-Tuesday-Saint Robert Bellarmine, bishop, doctor; 19-Nineteenth-Thursday-Saint Januarius, bishop, martyr; 20-Twentieth-Friday-Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gon, priest, and Paul Chong Ha-sang, and companions, martyrs; 21-Twenty First-September-Saint Mathew, Apostle, Evangelist. 

XXIII Sunday in OT[C]: Wis 9:13-18b; Phlm 9-10, 12-17; Lk 14: 25–33

 

Introduction: Today’s readings challenge us to the true Christian discipleship of total commitment to the will of God, putting God first in our lives.

Background: To understand our second reading, I need to explain something about slavery in the Roman Empire in the first century.  It was in many ways different than our experience of slavery before the Civil War.  Slavery was common in the first century but slaves came from nations and peoples that Rome had conquered.  Most slaves would have been educated and would have worked as musicians, scribes, craftsmen, teachers and even doctors.  A slave might eventually be set free by his or her owner or buy their own way to freedom.  Today’s second reading is about a slave named Onesimus (a name which means “useful”).  Onesimus escaped from his owner. The Greek word for an owner of slaves is “despota.”  The owner was named Philemon (a name which means “loving”).  By Roman law, a runaway slave could be punished buy death.  Onesimus had known Paul, for Paul converted his master Philemon, to Christ.  So, in fear for his life, Onesimus ran to Paul, who was in prison at the time.  Unlike today, where prisoners receive good care, the Romans locked a person up temporarily until a trial was held.  It helps to know that in those days a prison was just a place where an accused person was held until their case was determined: whether they would be executed, sent into exile, have their property confiscated, or be set free.  The Romans never considered it a punishment to lock up a criminal.  Often prisoners needed friends or family to provide for their basic needs and apparently, Onesimus did that for Paul.  For Paul Onesimus lived up to his name: useful.  In the process Paul converted him to Christ.  Paul thus refers to Onesimus as his own child for he has led him to rebirth in Christ.  Paul would have liked to keep Onesimus with him to help him, but he felt an obligation to send him back to Philemon.  He didn’t feel right benefiting from a gift that had not been given to him.  Paul asked Philemon in the letter we hear in today’s second reading to receive Onesimus back, not as property he might own, but as a brother in the Lord.  Christianity transcends all of our relationships.

St. Paul teaches that people should remain in the same social condition in which God called them and that slaves should not seek their freedom (1 Corinthians 7:20-21). It is not that St. Paul is endorsing slavery. Yet the same Paul says that “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).

Exegesis: Being a Christian was and is infinitely more important than social status, even if that status is slavery.  We are all slaves in the world, but we are free in Christ.  There are many things that enslave us.  Some are sinful, some are temptations, some are breaks in relationships, all are nuisances.  We are all enslaved by our own selfishness and pride.  We want to put ourselves first.  Our very society drills us to “take care of number one.”  But Christ frees us from that.  He tells us to love God first, and then others as ourselves.

We come to Mass today seeking to grow in our relationship with Christ who is the way, for this task of following him and putting him above everything else in our lives in an on-going process and with his guidance and with his help we will succeed.  The relationship with Christ reflects in the relationship with others. Heaven is the happiness of surrendering ourselves to the greatest love in the universe.

Joke: One morning Rev. Desmond went to the front door of his rectory to get his newspaper and found a dead mule on the street.  He quickly called the city health department and asked to have the mule disposed of.  The smart secretary on duty said, “Hey, Reverend Pastor, I always heard that you pastors buried your own dead even if they are not practicing Christian disciples”.  “Yes, we do”, the pastor replied. “But not in all cases.  In this case, I would like to meet the deceased’s close relatives in the Health Department in person to offer my condolences and to give a special blessing!

Practical Applications: 1) We need to accept the challenge of Christian discipleship with heroic commitment and practice it. We do so: 1) by daily recharging our spiritual batteries through prayer, i.e., by talking to God, and by listening to Him through the meditative reading and study of the Bible; 2) by sharing in God’s life through frequent and active participation in the Eucharistic celebration; 3) by practicing the spirit of detachment and the renunciation of evil habits; 4) by giving our time, talents, and resources generously, for the Lord’s work in our parish community, relying on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, 5) by loving all God’s children, especially the less fortunate ones, through humble and selfless acts of kindness, mercy, forgiveness and service; 6) by showing true commitment to the obligations and duties entrusted to us by our vocation in life and our profession, like fidelity in marriage and firm adherence to justice in our living and profession.

Twenty third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Message: Who can comprehend the Lord’s ways or conceive what the Lord intends?  True wisdom leads us to acknowledge our limitations (a matter of “calculation”) and our idols of materialism as we seek to follow the Lord without reservation.  True discipleship calls us to forgive those who have wronged us.  May we gain the wisdom of heart to discern more fully our call to take up the cross of Jesus.

Saints and Events in this week:  Ninth(9)- Monday-Saint Peter Claver, priest(USA); Twelve(12)-Thursday- The Most Holy Name of Mary; Thirteenth(13)-Friday- Saint John Chrysostom, bishop, doctor of the Church; Fourteenth(14)-Saturday-The Exaltation of the Holy Cross.