XXVI Sunday : Eze 18:25-28; Phil 2:1-11; Mt 21:28-32

XXVI Sunday : Eze 18:25-28; Phil 2:1-11; Mt 21:28-32

Introduction:  Today’s Scripture passages warn us that it is our final decision for or against God, that is, our choosing to obey Him gracefully by doing His will or our choosing to go against His will, which will decide our eternal reward or eternal punishment. As free beings, it is we who choose our eternal destiny.

Exegesis: A man who has two sons tells both to go out to work in the vineyard. The first son says he won’t go, but later regrets it and works.  The second son says he will go but does not. In each case it is the final decision that is more important. Jesus teaches through this short parable that repentant tax-collectors and prostitutes, represented by the first son who initially refused to go, will make their way into the kingdom of God before the chief priests and the elders, represented by the second son in the parable. Because of their pride and their refusal to obey God's call to repentance, the Scribes and the Pharisees will exclude themselves, while the tax-collectors and sinners, whom they despised, will repent of their sins and will be accepted into God's Kingdom.

Anecdote: An associate pastor, new to the parish, saw the need to start a Bible study group where people could learn to read the word of God and deepen their faith. After service one morning, he presented the idea to the people and received a unanimous and enthusiastic feedback. "It is a wonderful idea," they all said. Then the young associate pastor went and told the pastor that the people were happy with the idea of starting a Bible class. The older and more experienced pastor told the associate to rephrase the question and consult the people again. The following day the young priest asked the same congregation, "Who would like to sign up for the Bible study group? Only four hands went up. Then it dawned on the young man that saying yes to an idea is one thing and doing what is required is another.

There are those of us who have the fine words: who come to church every Sunday and say to God "Amen! We believe." We wear badges and medals as ways of professing our faith. But sometimes when it comes to concrete action in support of what we know to be the will of God, we are found wanting. If we carry on like this, then we should heed the warning that those other folks are going into the kingdom of God ahead of us.

Joke: A non-Catholic preacher recently quit the ministry after more than 20 years of faithful, dedicated service and became a funeral director. When asked why he changed vocations, he said: "I spent 10 years trying to straighten out John and he’s still an alcoholic. Then I spent three and one-half years trying to straighten out Harold and Susan’s marriage problems and they ended up getting a divorce. Later I tried for two years to help Bob kick his drug habit and he is still an addict. Now, at the funeral home, when I straighten them out, they stay straight! Perfect obedience!"

Ideal sons and daughters are those who say yes to their parents and then go on to do what is commanded. This is what we should aim to be -- men and women who profess our faith in word and deed - knowing that "Not all those who say to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21).

Practical Applications: (1) Do God’s will every day:  Each one of us is responsible to God for every one of his or her actions, and the just God will punish or reward each individual according to his or her actions.  Since we are not sure about the moment of our death, our only guarantee of dying in God's friendship is to live in that friendship always, saying “Yes,” to God in our deeds or choosing God or doing God’s will.

2) We are never late for repentance, conversion and renewal of life:   If we have been disobedient to God in our past life, we need to knock at the door of God’s mercy. We have to remember that God can do for us what He, in his mercy, did for the repentant tax-collectors and harlots in the parable. Hence, every night we need to repent of our sins and ask God’s pardon. If we are in serious sins we have to get reconciled with God by receiving the sacrament of reconciliation.  Let us remember that it is never too late for us to turn back to God. 

Introduction: Twenty Sixth Sunday in OT

Message:  Jesus was obedient to the Father, even to death on a cross.  We need never fear if we turn away from the path of virtue for the Lord is ever ready to forgive us, if we but repent.  Remember, the Lord’s compassion and kindness are from of old.

Saints and Events in this Week:  29 – Twenty Ninth – Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael; Archangels; 30 – Thirtieth – Tuesday – Saint Jerome, priest, doctor of the Church; October First – Wednesday – Saint Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin, doctor of the Church; 2 – Second – Thursday – The Holy Guardian Angels; 4 – Fourth – Saturday – Saint Francis of Assisi, religious.

XXV Sunday in OT:[A]: Is 55: 6-9; Phil 1: 20c-24, 27a; Mt 20:1-16a

XXV Sunday in OT:[A]: Is 55: 6-9; Phil 1: 20c-24, 27a; Mt 20:1-16a

Introduction:    Today's Gospel tells us that it's never too late for God. A full wage is offered to each of us, whether one has served him for a whole lifetime, or has turned to Him only at the eleventh hour. This story of the landlord's love and generosity represents God’s love and generosity to us.

Exegesis: Like God, the landowner sees hints differently than the simple workers. The immanence of God is seen in the landowner’s kindness to those who were not chosen to work at the beginning. The landowner felt sorry for the fact that they wouldn’t get a full day’s wages, so he decided to pay them all the same daily wage. It was a generous gift, especially to those who only had worked one hour. The fact that the landowner could empathize with the workers who needed a wage to survive, to feed their families, and so on, shows his care. The fact that it doesn’t seem fair to the workers who worked all day doesn’t enter into his thoughts because it is his generosity which is at work here, not his justice. Mercy often overrides justice for God.

A man named Charles was lying in a hospital bed near death. The nursing staff, the man's wife and a couple of children all testified that Charles was not a very nice man. He drank too much, he was verbally abusive to his wife and he had alienated his children. He did, however, ask for a Chaplain. The staff filled the Chaplain in on Charles and the kind of person he was. The Chaplain went in to the room to visit Charles who asked him to pray. The conversation went something like this. "Would you pray for me?" Charles asked. "What do you want to say to God?" The Chaplain asked. "Tell God that I am sorry for the way my life has turned out. Tell him that I am sorry for the way I treated my wife and family and that I've always really loved her." "That's it?" "No. Tell God that I know I have no right to ask this -- but, I would like to be able to live with him." The Chaplain prayed Charles' prayer for him. He came back the next morning to inquire about Charles' condition. He had passed away during the night. Now what do you suppose? Did Charles receive the grace of God? And if he did, did he receive as much of God's love and grace as you and I have after all these years of service? Here's what Jesus' parable about equal wages is trying to say. God is always available to anyone who reaches out whenever they reach out. God's timing is such that any time is the right time! (Rev. John Jewell). We do not know when our right time is. So be ready always. Do not wait for death-bed conversion.

Joke:     The CEO of a large company was walking to the cafeteria along with two of his secretaries. Upon tripping on a bottle, a genie appeared and asked the threesome if they would like to each make a wish. The first secretary excitedly exclaimed, “I wish I was on a beach in a tropical island!” Immediately her wish was granted. The next secretary proclaimed, “I wish I was on a tour of France!” Immediately her wish too, was granted. Being that it was now his turn to make a wish the CEO exclaimed “I want the two of them back in their offices right after lunch!”

Practical Applications:    (1) We need to follow God’s example and show grace to our neighbor.  When someone else is more successful than we are, let us assume he needs it.  When someone who does wrong fails to get caught, let us remember the many times we have done wrong and gotten off free. We must not wish pain on people for the sake of fairness.  We become envious of others because of our lack of generosity of heart.  Envy should have no place in our lives.  We cannot control the way God blesses others.

(2) We need to express our gratitude to God in our daily lives.  God personally calls each of us to our own ministry and shows us his care by giving us His grace and eternal salvation.  To God, we are more than just numbers on a payroll.  Our call to God’s vineyard is a free gift from God for which we can never be sufficiently thankful. All our talents and blessings are freely given by God. Hence, we should express our gratitude to God by avoiding sins, by rendering loving service to others, by sharing our blessings with the needy,  and by constant prayer,  listening and talking to God at all times.

Introduction:Twenty fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Message:  How different are the Lord’s ways from our own! Gracious and good to all, the Lord is equally generous in compassion and love to both those who are quick to respond to his invitation, as well as those who are slow to hear his call.  May the Lord Jesus always be our life.    

Saints and Events in this Week:  23 – Twenty third – Tuesday – Saint Padre Pio [Pius of Pietrelcina], priest; 26 – Twenty Sixth – Saints Cosmas and Damian, martyrs; 27 – Twenty Seventh – Saturday – Saint Vincent De Paul, priest;

XXIV Sunday in OT:[A]:Exaltation:Ez33:7-9;Rom13:8-10;Mt18:15-20

XXIV Sunday in OT:[A]:Exaltation:Ez33:7-9;Rom13:8-10;Mt18:15-20

Introduction: We celebrate this feast of the Exaltation of the Cross for two reasons: (1) to understand the history of the discovery and recovery of the True Cross and (2) to appreciate better the importance of the symbol and reality of Christ’s sacrificial love, namely, the cross in the daily life of every Christian.

History: We find the origins of today’s Mass back in the year 335 A.D. when, on September 14th of that year, a basilica built by the Emperor Constantine was consecrated. The site was that of Calvary and the Holy Sepulcher. Earlier, the Roman Emperor Hadrian had leveled the site, covering it with earth and building a temple to the Roman goddess Venus along with a statue to Jupiter on top of Calvary’s site. A few years later the Emperor Constantine encouraged Christianity to flourish in the Roman Empire. Constantine’s mother, whom we know as St. Helen, subsequently searched for and found the remnants our Lord’s Cross after excavating Hadrian’s temple terrace to get down to the actual site of Calvary.

About three hundred years later the Persian King Chosroes captured Jerusalem and carried off the True Cross, taking it to Persia, today’s Iran. Fourteen years later the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius defeated the Persian King Chosroes and brought the True Cross back to Jerusalem. With great ceremony, and wearing sumptuous and be-jeweled vestments, Heraclius in a grand procession carried the Cross on his shoulder back to Calvary, the site of Constantine’s original basilica.

When he arrived at the gate in Jerusalem’s wall leading to Calvary he found that he couldn’t move. Some invisible force had stopped him; he simply couldn’t move forward. The Bishop of Jerusalem, a man named Zachary, addressed the Emperor in these words: “In all of this finery you are far from imitating Christ’s poverty and the lowly state of our Savior when He carried the Cross.” Thereupon the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius took off his finery and donned a simple cloak. It was then he found that he could move forward -- and so carried the Cross back to Calvary’s site.

Joke:  Wilson runs a nail factory and decides his business needs a bit of advertising. He has a chat with a friend who works in marketing and he offers to make a TV ad for Wilson's Nails.   "Give me a week," says the friend, "and I'll be back with a tape."

A week goes by and the marketing executive comes to see Wilson. He puts a cassette in the video and presses play. A Roman soldier is busy nailing Jesus to the cross. He turns to face the camera and says with a grin "Use Wilson's Nails, they'll hold anything."

Wilson goes mad shouting: "What is the matter with you? They'll never show that on TV. Give it another try, but no more Romans crucifying Jesus!"

Another week goes by and the marketing man comes back to see Wilson with another tape. He puts it in the machine and hits play. This time the camera pans out from a Roman standing with his arms folded to show Jesus on the cross. The Roman looks up at him and says 'Wilson's Nails, they'll hold anything'.

Wilson is beside himself. "You don't understand: I don't want anything with Jesus on the cross! Now listen, I'll give you one last chance. Come back in a week with an advertisement that I can broadcast."

A week passes and Wilson waits impatiently. The marketing executive arrives and puts on the new video.

This time same crew, instead of Jesus, same man as Judas with long hair, gasping for breath, is running across a field. About a dozen Roman soldiers run after him towards the hill. One of them turns to camera and says 'No control if not used Wilson's Nails!’

Whatever happens in our life, we are not ready to change our life.  We keep our sinful life as it is.

Practical Applications: 1) We must ask ourselves what burdens us, what weighs us down, and keeps us from spiritually moving forward? The Cross is not so heavy that we cannot carry it or move under its weight. Christ, after all, said “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…” If He is yoked with us then there is no burden too heavy that you and He cannot carry together. But if you are burdened by the weight of this world’s glitter and gold, you will soon be immobilized by it. It will not only weigh you down, it will crush your spirit.

2) We need to be forgiving others because we are forgiven sinners: The crucifix reminds us that we are forgiven sinners and hence we are expected to forgive those who offend us and ask for forgiveness whenever we offend others or hurt their feelings.

Twenty Fourth Sunday in OT: Introduction

Message: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent, so must the Son of Man be lifted up”.  “God highly exalted him” and made him Lord!  How unforgettable are his deeds!  Todays’ feast celebrated a double anniversary.  In Jerusalem, Constantine erected a round church, the Anastasis, above the empty grave of Jesus, and a basilica, the Martyrium; in the square between the two churches, a shrine, Calvarium, marking the place of the crucifixion.  Dedicated in 335, they were destroyed by the Persians in 614. The two churches were rebuilt by Patriarch Modestus of Jerusalem c.626, but were later destroyed by the Muslims in 1009.  The present church of the Holy Sepulcher, rebuilt by the Crusaders, was dedicated in 1149.  Today also commemorated the discovery of the Lord’s cross by the empress, St. Helena, in 320.

Saints and Events in this week:  15–Fifteenth – Monday – Our lady of Sorrows; 16 –Sixteenth – Tuesday – Saints Cornelius, pope, and Cyprian, bishop, martyrs; 17–Seventeenth – Wednesday – Saint Robert Bellarmine, bishop, doctor of the Church; 19 – Nineteenth – Friday – Saint Januarius, bishop, martyr; 20 – Twentieth – Saturday – Saints Andrew Kim Tae-gon, priest and Paul Chong Ha-sang, and companions, martyrs;

XXIII Sunday in OT:[A]: Ez 33: 7-9; Rom 13: 8-10; Mt 18: 15-20

XXIII Sunday in OT:[A]: Ez 33: 7-9; Rom 13: 8-10; Mt 18: 15-20

Introduction: In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches that true Christian charity obliges a Christian not only to assist his neighbors in their temporal and spiritual needs with material help and prayer, but also with correction and counsel for an erring brother or sister who has injured if his or her sins are public. If the erring one refuses a one-on-one loving correction by the offended party, then the Christian is to try to involve more people: first, "one or two others,” and eventually "the Church." Finally, Jesus mentions the efficacy of community prayer in solving such problems, for Christ is present in the praying Christian community. 

The danger we come across is that we never realize that there is a log in our eyes. We always go to take out the beam from other’s eyes. That’s not helping. That’s not becoming, rather discouraging or distracting.  "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye”. (Mathew 7:5)

A brief story from the book titled: “The Little, Brown Book of Anecdotes” (p. 28), edited by Clifton Fadiman goes thus. A Roman nobleman died, leaving enormous debts that he had successfully concealed during his lifetime. When the estate was put up for auction, Caesar Augustus instructed his agent to buy the man’s pillow. When some expressed surprise at the order, he explained: “That pillow must be particularly conducive to sleep, if its late owner, in spite of all his debts, could sleep on it”. Debt creates pressure and no one likes pressure. However, there is one debt that we will always owe and never be able to pay off fully: “The debt of love to one another.”  In today’s second reading, St. Paul points out that the love we should have for one another should be our only reason for admonishing the sinner.  Love seeks the good of the one who is loved. Therefore, we should admonish one another so that we all may repent and grow in holiness.

Joke:  There was an 85year old lady who found her husband in bed with another woman.  She was so enraged that she dragged him to the balcony of their Miami high-rise and pushed him off, and he fell to his death.  She was arrested, of course, and when she appeared before the judge he asked if she had anything to say in her own defense.  “Well, your honor,” she said, “I figured if he were able to be unfaithful to his wife at the age of 92, he surely would be able to fly.” [Readers Digest, Laughter, the Best Medicine, pg.365)

Practical Applications: 1) Be welcoming to different perspectives. Listening to somebody’s ideas may broaden our narrow mind. May be we will even change our stand point. Correcting others is easy, but being corrected is hardly acceptable. Be instructors is easy, but being instructed is difficult to accept. It is human nature. Jesus wants us to be receptive, to be listeners, to be divine.

2) We are our brother’s/sister’s keeper. Modern believers tend to think that they have no right to intervene in the private lives of their fellow believers. While others evade the issue saying, “As a sinner, I don’t have the moral courage or the right to correct anyone.” But Jesus emphatically affirms that we are our brothers' keepers, and we have the serious obligation to correct others. We have our culture working against us.  Christianity has often had to be counter-cultural.

3) Pray for the conversion of sinners or evil doers: Saint Monica, a patron saint for mothers and wives, prayed for Augustine’s conversion, to be devoid of sinful life.  Result is Saint Augustine. We all have at least a low cost, low energy method of correction, prayer.

Twenty Third Sunday in OT: Introduction

Message: May our hearts not be hardened, but may we turn from our sin.  In our love for one another, we may be called to confront our brother and sister for the wrong they may be doing.

Saints and Events I this week:  8 – Eighth – Monday – The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary; 9 – Ninth – Tuesday – Saint Peter Claver, priest (USA); 12 – Twelfth – Friday – The Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary; 13 – Thirteenth –Saturday – Saint John Chrysostom, bishop, doctor of the Church; 14 – Fourteenth – Sunday – Exaltation of the Cross;