XXXI Sunday of OT:[C]: Wis 11:22--12:2; 2 Thes 1:11--2:2. Lk 19:1- 10

XXXI Sunday of OT:[C]: Wis 11:22--12:2; 2 Thes 1:11--2:2. Lk 19:1- 10

Jesus didn’t intend to stay there. He was passing through Jericho. But something happened that made Him change His plans. Compassion Mercy and Love happened. The little man that everyone hated, Zacchaeus, the head tax collector, had climbed a tree along the road that Jesus was walking down. He was merely curious. He wanted to see this Jesus. But then Jesus stopped under the tree and said, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly because today I must stay at your house.”  The man with the crowds around Him hanging on His every word, saw the man that everyone avoided, everyone hated, changed His plan to pass through Jericho, and said, “I must stay at your house.”  Shocking.  So also was Zacchaeus’ reaction. He promised to give half his possessions to the poor and payback four times over all he had extorted. Jesus cared about Him. Zacchaeus would not let the moment pass. And salvation came to little Zacchaeus’ house. 

Anecdote: Boris Becker was the world’s number one tennis star. At the height of his tennis career, he had won Wimbledon twice, once as the youngest player. He was rich and could afford all the material comfort and luxury he wanted. Yet he was an unhappy man. In spite of all his achievements, his life was so empty and meaningless that he contemplated suicide. “I had no inner peace,” he said. Becker is not alone in this feeling of emptiness. Many successful people who have ignored the inner life have felt that way. According to J. Oswald Sanders in his book Facing Loneliness, “The millionaire is usually a lonely man and the comedian is often more unhappy than his audience.” Jack Higgens, author of such successful novels as The Eagle Has Landed, was asked what he would like to have known as a boy. His answer: “That when you get to the top, there’s nothing there.”

We are all worried about acquiring possessions, richness, money, affections and high positions in the society. Accumulations of these worldly things cannot satisfy our inner self.  We need a curiosity to see Jesus and then experience the presence of God.  Even being in the presence, we are not able to experience the Divine for we are so much grabbed with the worldly things.  God can heal you. Just show an interest to see Him.

I think we all have had times that our sins have separated us from the people following the Lord, but our determination to be in His Presence has led us to a place we can view Him. So we go to Church in our sinfulness, just to get away from ourselves for a few moments. And then something happens. We decide that we want to be with the Lord forever. And we seek forgiveness, and are rewarded with peace. Or perhaps we come to Church only to keep someone else happy, a spouse, or parents, or children. We don’t intend to take our presence in Church all that seriously, but then we feel the call of Jesus to let Him stay with us, in our house, and everything changes.

Joke: 1)A pastor was asked by one of the presidential candidates,

"Name something my government can do to help your church if I am elected president." The pastor replied, "Quit making one-dollar bills." 

Life messages: 1) We need to accept the Divine invitation for repentance.  We are all sinners to a greater or lesser degree.  Jesus is inviting each one of us to total conversion today.  Let us remember that Jesus loves us in spite of our ugly thoughts, broken promises, sullied ideals, lack of prayer and Faith, resentments and lusts.  Hence, let us admit our sinfulness and accept God’s call to repentance, conversion and renewal of life.

2) we must avoid, and ignore distractions and detractors to our success. These come in the form of complains from those around us as the crowd did to Zacchaeus: “They all complained when they saw what was happening. ‘He has gone to stay at a sinner’s house…”Sympathizers and gossips must play their roles in our lives but we must not cave in because of their negative comments, complaints, and castigations. Instead, we must stand our ground as Zacchaeus did, remain poised and unperturbed in our quest to achieve the life changing divine encounter we are looking for.

3) Sometimes we are with Zacchaeus in the tree, and sometimes we are in the crowd following Jesus. But always Jesus is there for us, calling us away from sin, and calling us to join him in rejoicing over each person who has come into His Family. We pray today for the courage to accept His Presence into our lives, and in the lives of others.

Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Message: The Lord is full of mercy and compassion, slow to anger and of great kindness.  He has come to search out and save what was lost.  Let us be more concerned with doing the Lord’s work than with idle speculation about when he will come again.

Saints and Events in this Week:  4-Fourth-Monday-Saint Charles Borromeo, bishop; 9-Ninth-Saturday-The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

XXX Sunday in OT-[C]: Sir 35:12-14, 16-18; 2Tm 4:6-8, 16-18; Lk18:9-14

XXX Sunday in OT-[C]: Sir 35:12-14, 16-18; 2Tm 4:6-8, 16-18; Lk18:9-14

Introduction:  Today’s gospel says that true humility must be the hallmark of our prayers. However, the central focus of today’s parable is not on prayer itself, but rather on pride, humility and the role of grace in our salvation.

Anecdote:  The story is told that one day Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, visited a prison and talked with each of the inmates. There were endless tales of innocence, of misunderstood motives, and of exploitation. Finally the king stopped at the cell of a convict who remained silent. “Well,” remarked Frederick, “I suppose you are an innocent victim too?” “No, sir, I'm not,” replied the man. “I'm guilty and deserve my punishment.” Turning to the warden the king said, “Here, release this rascal before he corrupts all these fine, innocent people in here!” The biblical saying proves true, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5).

Explanation:  Jesus chose to make the Pharisee a principal character of his parable because Pharisees were the most highly respected religious group in the community. Pharisees were intensely committed to the religious traditions of the people. They refused any collaboration with the occupying Roman military power. They kept the commandments, voluntarily fasted beyond the obligatory annual day of fasting, and even cut down on their standard of living to support the needs of the temple.

Jesus chose a tax collector as the opposite principal character because tax collectors were generally held in contempt by the people. They were not only collaborators with the hated Roman oppressors, but by collecting funds to support a corrupt imperial system, made it impossible for many people to fulfill their financial obligations to the temple. These petty government officials were proficient at defrauding people by various strong-arm methods, and were regarded as no better than robbers.

The Pharisee of the parable had every good reason to thank God for the worthiness of his own life, and to despise the tax collector as one who was a threat not only to the temple, but to everything that was worthwhile and holy. When Jesus at the conclusion of his parable remarked that the tax collector went home justified, not the Pharisee, it must have seemed like a shockingly unfair conclusion.

Jesus in his parable obviously is not advocating collaboration with an oppressive military power, cheating people, moral relativism, or much less, forbidding evaluation of evil behavior or false teaching. The Pharisee is condemned because he assumed God’s role in judging the spiritual worth of a fellow human being. He exalted himself above the rest of humanity, and despised another through the comparisons he fashioned in his prayer.

Today at our Eucharist we ask to be freed from illusions that we have fashioned about ourselves, and pray for the grace of sharing in Christ’s humility. Through his authentic humility, we will be able to stand before God in our own unique truth, and thus make it possible to receive divine mercy and go home justified.

Joke: I once heard a humorous story about the Pope who was on a visit to America for a period of time. On his last day of the visit, he was delayed due to meetings and was unable to break away to catch a flight.

Since he couldn’t depend on his Pope Mobile, he phoned for a limousine. When the limousine arrived, the driver was joyfully surprised that it was the Pope who called for him. The driver became nervous and was beside himself. He proceeded to drive very slowly. The Pope became nervous and told him to hurry up. It did not make a bit of difference. The driver went slower; he wanted to keep the Pope in his limousine as long as he could. The Pope could not be delayed any longer so he asked to drive the limo himself. The Pope speed off and reached the speed of 85 miles an hour. The policeman who stopped him was shocked when he discovered the famous personality behind the wheel. He frantically phoned his police chief and said, “Chief, I have stopped a very important figure for speeding. I don’t know what to do?”

--“What do you mean? Give him a speeding ticket!”    --“Sir, in all honesty, I can’t.”

--“Why can’t you? The law is the law. Who is it anyway that you stopped?  Is it the mayor?”   --“No, sir.”     --“Is it the governor?”     --“No, sir.”     --“Is it a congressman?”    --“Is it the president?”   --“No, sir.”    --“Well, then, who is it?!”

--“I don’t know sir! All I know is that the Pope is driving him to the airport.”

Practical Applications: 1) Let us evict the Pharisee and revive the publican in each of us.  There is a big dose of the Pharisee's pride in us and only a small dose of the tax-collector's humility.  2) Let us have the correct approach in our prayer life by including praise and worship, thanksgiving and our request for pardon and forgiveness for our sins, along with our petitions.  3) Let us rid ourselves of self-justification and ask for God’s unconditional love and mercy during the Holy Mass.  It is a tragedy that those who justify themselves leave no room to receive grace. There must be a space in our lives   for grace to enter and work its miracle. On the other hand, if we are truly humble, we will find grace, mercy and peace. Hence, let us make the tax collector’s prayer, “Be merciful to me, a sinner” our daily prayer.   

Introduction: Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Message: Humility is the recognition that no matter what our accomplishments, we still stand in need of the Lord.  God hears the cry of the poor and the oppressed, especially those who acknowledge their dependency upon him.  Having heard Paul’s cries for help, the Lord crowned him with eternal salvation.

Saints and Events in this Week: World Youth Day is observed today in the USA. 28 -Twenty eighth- Monday - Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles; November – 1 – First Friday -First Friday - All Saints Day -Holy day of obligation in USA; 2 - Second-Saturday - All Souls Day - The Commemoration of all the faithful departed; practice of visiting the graves of loved ones is recommended.

XXIX Sunday in OT-[C]:Ex 17: 8-13,II Tm3:14--4:2,Lk18:1-8

XXIX Sunday in OT-[C]:Ex 17: 8-13,II Tm3:14--4:2,Lk18:1-8

Introduction:  Today’s readings are mainly about prayer -- perseverance in prayer, constancy in prayer and trust in God as we pray. They are also about the Trustworthiness and Justice of God, a Justice that reaches out to the poor and the weak, enabling them to fight against injustice.

Exegesis:  Meanwhile he begins to tell us two stories about prayer.  One, (in Lk 18:1-8) about constancy in prayer; and another, (in Lk 18:9-14) about our attitude in prayer. This Sunday we take up the first story, about the woman who went knocking at the door of the agnostic judge.  Though the woman in the parable of today is seeking the help of the judge because she is in need, we should not lose sight of the context of the story. Luke tells us that “Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.” (Lk 18:1). Besides, this story comes after Jesus has been talking about the coming of the Kingdom of God (Lk 17:20-37).  And the story ends with the statement from the mouth of Jesus, “When the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Lk 18:8). Therefore, the parable is about praying as long as we are on the earth. It is about prayer in our daily life.

Explanation:  Wherever in the world you are, today, you can have access to emergency services just by ‘dialing’ a few numbers on your telephone. In the UK, it is 999; in the European Union it is 112, and in United States it is 911.  In some other countries there are separate numbers to call the police, fire services, or medical assistance.  I recently read in the internet that the first emergency number system to be deployed, anywhere in the world, was in London.  It was on 30 June 1937 that ‘999’ was first dialed and a special red light flashed on the telephone operator’s table.  Thus began the system of emergency services.  

How often have you called an emergency number in your life?  If ever you called an emergency number, I am sure, it now brings to your mind some traumatic experience. In any case, I suppose, the emergency number is not the most frequently dialed number on your personal telephone.  What is the most dialed number in your phone?  Is it that of your lover, spouse, child, parent, friend, business partner?  Perhaps, these days, thanks to the mobile phones you might even call the same person more than two, three times a day!  And what the frequently dialed number say is about your own priorities in life. 

Now, here is a more important question:  how would you describe your own acts of calling on God!  Are they emergency calls, or are they frequent calls?

A study among recovering alcoholics revealed that even alcoholics pray!  Sometimes, even when they are drunk, they pray.  But their prayer is often like calling an emergency number: “God get me out of this mess!”  But the study also revealed that prayer takes another form among recovered alcoholics.  Their prayer becomes more constant.  Their prayer is no more just sporadic ‘God-get-me-out-of-this-mess’ type of prayer, but a constant: “Father, lead me not into temptation.”

How would you describe your own prayer life?  Is it like calling emergency numbers?  Or it is a constant relationship?

Joke: The middle-aged farm couple had no children. As a last resort they put their trust in persistent prayer. And it worked.  The wife became pregnant, and at the end of her term, she was delivered of triplets. “Persistent prayer really works, doesn’t it?" she asked her husband. Her husband replied, “Seems to-- but I sure as heck didn’t pray for a bumper crop!”

Practical Applications: 1) We need to combine formal prayers with action prayer. We should perfect our prayers by bringing ourselves into God’s presence during our work several times during the day and by offering all that we are, that we have and that we do to God. This will help us to bring all our successes and failures, joys and sorrows, highs and lows to God in prayer. Along with formal and memorized prayers, this type of prayer life enables us to pray always and pray with constancy and trusting perseverance.

2) We should not expect to get whatever we pray for. This parable does not suggest that God writes a blank check, guaranteeing whatever we want whenever we want it in the form we ask for.  But we conveniently forget the fact that, often, a loving father has to refuse the request of a child, because he knows that what the child asks would hurt rather than help him

Introduction: Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Message: Through incessant prayer, we open ourselves more fully to understanding God’s will.  Through faith in the power of prayer, we experience God’s love and assistance.  Our Christian life is nourished by the scriptures we read and by our received tradition.

Saints and Events in this Week: 23-Twenty Third-Wednesday-Saint John of Capistrano, priest; 24-Twenty Forth- Thursday-Saint Anthony Mary Claret, bishop;

XXVIII Sunday in OT:[C] II Kgs 5:14-17;II Tm2:8-13;Lk17: 11-19

XXVIII Sunday in OT:[C] II Kgs 5:14-17;II Tm2:8-13;Lk17: 11-19

Introduction: "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you." [Lk.17:19] Last week's readings spoke of living faith, a faith that shines in works. Today's readings speak of healing faith, a faith that embraces gratitude. For we are called to "Rejoice always, (to) pray without ceasing, (to) give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for (us)." [1 Thess. 5:16-8]

Interpretations: Naaman, the Syrian military General in the first reading, was not only an outcast because of his illness; he was also a non-Israelite. But he returned to thank Prophet Elisha for the cure, and as a sign of his gratitude, transferred his allegiance to the God of Israel. St. Paul , in the second reading, advises Timothy to be grateful to God even in his physical sufferings and amid the dangers associated with spreading the Word of God, because God will always be faithful to His people. Today’s  Gospel story tells us of a single non-Jewish leper (a “Samaritan heretic”), who returned to thank Jesus for healing him, while the nine Jewish lepers went their way. Under the false impression that healing was their right as God’s chosen people, they  hurried off to obtain health certificates from the priests.  “Where are the other nine?” Jesus asked the Samaritan leper and the crowd.   Today’s readings also remind us that faith and healing go hand in hand. It was faith that prompted Naaman to plunge himself into the waters of the Jordan River, and it was in faith in Jesus which prompted the lepers to present themselves to the priests. The readings also demonstrate the universal love of God for all peoples, including the Samaritans (whom the Israelites hated), and the pagans, Israel 's enemies whom Naaman represented.

Anecdote: Harry Ironside, the great American Bible teacher, went into a crowded restaurant to have a meal. Just as he was about to begin his meal, a man approached and asked if he could join him. Ironside invited him to have a seat. Then, as was his custom, Ironside bowed his head in prayer. When he opened his eyes, the other man asked, “Do you have a headache?” Ironside replied, “No, I don’t.” The man continued, “Is something wrong with your food?” Ironside replied, “No, I was simply thanking God as I always do before I eat.” The man said, “Oh, you're one of those, are you? Well, I want you to know that I never give thanks. I earn my money by the sweat of my brow and I don’t have to give thanks to anybody when I eat. I just start right in!” Ironside said, “Yes, you're just like my dog. That’s what he does too!”

Exegesis: As a general rule, when a Jewish leper was healed, he had to go to the local priest to confirm that he was now clean and permitted to mix among the general public. For the Samaritan, more was demanded. Most likely, he had to go to his own priest near Mount Gerizim. This demand of Jesus required a greater act of obedience because of the travelling involved. While the demand was greater upon the Samaritan, he was the only one to show gratitude for the gift of healing that he received.

Today's readings provide us with an opportunity to reflect upon our own disposition during prayer. Do we beg God for a special favor but forget to show gratitude by giving thanks when our favor is obtained? Do we persevere in our prayers as Paul persevered in his sufferings? If praying while in a state of mortal sin and told by the priest to go and clean ourselves through the Sacrament of Confession so our prayer will be pleasing to the eyes of God, do we grumble, hesitate or even hardened our hearts?

Today's readings provide us with answers as to why some prayers are not answered. They teach us that we are healed when we show gratitude to God for the abundance of blessings that He has bestowed upon us from the moment that we were created.

Joke: I got a letter which reads: “Dear Pastor, I'm sorry I can't leave more money in the collection plate, but my father didn't give me a raise in my allowance. Could you have a sermon about a raise in my allowance? Love, Patty. Age 10, New Haven”

Practical applications: 1) We need to learn to be thankful to God. We can express our gratitude to our loving and providing God by offering grace before meals and by allotting a few minutes of the day for family prayer.  Fix a time like 7:30 in the evening, everybody in the family sit in front of a statue or icon of sacred heart and pray rosary everyday.

2) Be thankful to others: Let us show our gratitude to our forgiving God by forgiving others, and to a loving God by radiating His love, mercy and compassion to others, including our families and friends.  It is by taking good care of our old and sick parents that we express our gratitude to them for the sacrifices they made in raising us.   Visiting the sick is also an encouragement.

2) We need to celebrate the Holy Eucharist as the supreme act of thanksgiving:  The Greek word “Eucharist” means profoundly religious and thoroughly spiritual “thanksgiving.”  When we celebrate Holy Mass together, we are thanking God for giving us the great gift of His Son in the Holy Eucharist, so that we can share His divine life.  We express our thanks to God as a parish community by sharing our time, talents and material blessings in the various ministries and services of the parish and by our active participation.

Introduction: Twenty Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Message: The Lord has revealed his saving power to all the nations! Naaman, a Syrian is healed, and lepers are made whole, but only the Samaritan returns to give thanks.  Let us remain steadfast in faith, and thankful for the Lord’s blessings.

Saints and Events in this Week: 14-Forteenth- Monday- Saint Callistus I, pope, martyr; 15-Fifteenth-Tuesday-Saint Teresa of Jesus, Virgin, doctor of the Church; 16-Sixteenth-Wednesday-Saint Hedwig, religious; Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, virgin; 17-Seventeenth-Thursday-Saint Ignatius of Antioch, bishop, martyr; 18-Eighteenth-Friday-Saint Luke, Evangelist; 19-Nineteenth-Saturday-Saints John de Brebeuf and Isaac Jogues, priests, and companions, martyrs from USA.; 20-Twentieth-Sunday-Mission Sunday.