Struggle, My Soul

October 29, 2017 30 th Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading (Exodus 22:20-26) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 18:2-4, 47, 51) Second reading (1 Thessalonians 1:5C-10) Gospel (Matthew 22:34-40) There was this cartoon from my childho od which had a dog for a hero . This dog, Courage is his name, lived with an elderly couple who took him in their home and adopted him. He would fend off and drive away evil entities that threatened his home . Muriel, the elderly woman, was a loving mother to Courage . Eustace, the elderly man, yelled at and kept away from Courage . Yet, the dog cared for both of them out of love, regardless of the difference in how they treated him. All he could say in the end is that these are "the things I do for love." In our time, we ask for attention, for affection, for love, but we find it difficult to give any . We even find it difficult to appreciate the little lovely things people do for us . Love becomes a concept . A fee...

October 22, 2017 29 th Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading (Isaiah 45:1, 4-6) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 96: 1, 3-5, 7-10) Second reading (1 Thessalonians 1:1-5B) Gospel (Matthew 22:15-21) We give . That 's good . We give ourselves a treat for our sacrifices and effort . We give our friends and families our concern and time. We give God our sorrows and joys . We give and there's nothing wrong with that. Nothing much special in it either.  In our gospel for this Sunday (29th in Ordinary Time), we may see how we may make our GIVING more meaningful . We hear of the Pharisees testing Jesus on the lawfulness of paying taxes to Caesar. Giving  doesn't have to be extravagant or attention-seeking. Giving just needs to be SIMPLE .  Don't get me wrong though . Simplicity d oesn't mean "mediocrity". Simplicity in giving  doesn't mean giving a "pwede na" effort for someone or to a task .  When God calls he does so si...

October 15, 2017 28 th Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading (Isaiah 25:6-10A) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 23:1-6) Second reading (Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20) Gospel (Matthew 22:1-14) What do you wear at different times of the day? When you sleep? When you go to the mall? When you go on a date? Who wears a tuxedo to the beach? Or swimwear to a formal meeting? We wear only according to our intention. We normally go to bed in our pyjamas or house clothes so that we can sleep comfortably; to school in our uniforms to distinguish ourselves as students; or to the pool with our swimwear to make swimming a more pleasant experience. Our gospel reading for this Sunday would tell us the same thing. In our gospel reading (according to St. Matthew), Jesus tells His disciples a parable about a wedding feast were people were invited. Many refused the invitation, which led the host to extend the invitation to everyone. The rich were invited. So were the poor. So were the healt...

Do not let mistakes pull you or slow you down. Mistakes are a part of a normal human life. When you have committed a mistake in the past (such as hurting or lying to someone, or forgetting to  do something important or making the wrong decisions), move on from regrets. Regrets will only make you unproductive. You cannot build anything strong on regret.  Instead, learn from your mistakes. Make them lessons to learn from, inspirations to be better. You can build on lessons and inspirations. You build a forgiving heart and a loving mind, and a firm relationship with yourself and with those around you.  It may be difficult, but it is not impossible. Kung gusto may paraan, kung ayaw may dahilan.

What is your TRUE COLOR? Please don't answer with the complexion of the skin you have or you believe you have. I don't wanna know whether you are fair, dark or pale. I wanna know what kind of person you are. A person's TRUE COLOR refers to the kind of person he/she is inside of his/her heart and at the back of his/her mind. What is your TRUE COLOR? Why do I often hear negative things about people when people talk about one's true color? "Iyan, lumabas din ang tunay na kulay mo. Nagbabait-baitan ka pa, plastik ka lang pala." "Pakitang tao lang iyan, Lalabas din ang tunay na kulay niyan." "Grabe, iyan pala ang tunay na kulay mo. 'Yan pala ang tinatago mo." "And alas! Your true colors finally show. Your goodie-goodie acts were simply meant to impress." What is your TRUE COLOR? Does one's true color refer to one's negative personality? Are we naturally evil? Are we naturally bad? Were we made by God "bad"?...

October 8, 2017 27 th Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading (Isaiah 5:1-7) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 80:9, 12-16, 19-20) Second reading (Philippians 4:6-9) Gospel (Matthew 21:33-43) Faith, time, love, education, family, friends, praises, talents and the list goes on. These are things we possess that we should hold dear and consider important, most especially because they are given to us by God as gifts. But there are times when we hold on to them too much, that instead of considering them important, what becomes important for us is ourselves. We hold on to them and say, "Mine! Mine!" Our gospel reading (according to St. Matthew) for this Sunday has taught me just that: the danger of holding onto things and giving in to our selfishness. Jesus gives his disciples a parable on the selfish tenants. A landowner prepares his land and leases it to tenants until harvest time. The tenants however wanted to take the land for themselves. Everytime the landowner...

October 1, 2017 26 th Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading (Ezekiel 18:25-28) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 25:4-9) Second reading (Philippians 2:1-11) Gospel (Matthew 21:28-32) There is nothing permanent in this world except change. Remember this line. It's an overused line used to describe the reality of this world which is the permanence of change. But change, when used, may refer to either movement for better or for worse. There is another word that means change, but at a level deeper than change itself: conversion. Let us seek more wisdom as we reflect on this Sunday's Mass readings. Conversion is change. But it is a change that transcends to what is perceived as better. In our gospel reading (from the account of Matthew), Jesus helps us distinguish conversion from simple change. He tells of two sons who are asked by their father to work in his vineyard. The first son said "yes" but did not go. The second son said "no" but event...

September 24, 2017 25 th Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading (Isaiah 55:6-9) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18) Second reading (Philippians 1:20C-24, 27A) Gospel (Matthew 20:1-16A) 'Why do you stand here idle all day?' Jesus, in today’s gospel (from the account of Matthew), shares a parable with His disciples, comparing the Kingdom of God to a generous landowner. The landowner calls on those who stand idle, mga tambay, to work in His vineyard. Throughout the day, he calls whomever he sees idle to work for him. At the end of the day’s work, he calls all laborers and gives to each one the same amount of daily wage, even to those who only worked for only an hour or even less. Unfair? It seems so. But let us look closely on what Jesus meant by the generosity of the landowner. We have all been used to hearing generosity as being able to give beyond what is necessary. When we are capable of giving what is due, that is JUSTICE. When we are capab...

September 17, 2017 24 th Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading (Sirach 27:30—28:7) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12) Second reading (Romans 14:7-9) Gospel (Matthew 18:21-35) Be patient with me. Please bear with me. Patawad. Pasensya. I remember the last time I said these words. It was during our preparation for and the actual synod days in the archdiocese that I overlooked a lot of things and details which made life more difficult for my brothers since they had to fill in for my shortcomings.   All I could say was: Sorry ah, babawi ako sayo/sa inyo sa susunod. But can these words of apology mean anything on their own? In the gospel reading for this Sunday, we hear of the servant who, after being unable to pay for his debts, fell and begged his master, “Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.” The master was moved with compassion at these words and forgave him the loan. But the servant did not share his master’s mercy that up...

September 10, 2017 23 rd Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading (Ezekiel 33:7-9) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 95:1-9) Second reading (Romans 13:8-10) Gospel (Matthew 18:15-20) There are three moments in LOOKING at our neighbor which are: LOOKING FOR, LOOKING AT and LOOKING AFTER The first moment, LOOKING FOR, means recognizing our neighbor as brothers and sisters. In our first reading (from the book of the prophet Ezekiel), we hear of who the prophet Ezekiel is to be: a watcher, a keeper; and who the House of Israel is to be: the watched, the kept, the cared for. Today, have we understood who we have to be to our neighbor? Have we realized who our neighbor is to us? We are all called by the Lord to be keepers of our neighbors, and our neighbors to be brothers and sisters. Who are our brothers and sisters? Let us LOOK FOR them  in our neighbors. The next moment is LOOKING AT. Looking at means examining what situation our brot...

September 3, 2017 22 nd Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading (Jeremiah 20:7-9) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 63:2-9) Second reading (Romans 12:1-2) Gospel (Matthew 16:21-27) In the gospel reading for this Sunday (from the account of Matthew), we hear of Peter going against the revelation of Jesus that he would suffer, die and be raised. We also hear of Jesus rebuking Peter, making clear that Peter, the “rock” upon which Jesus would build His church, becomes a stumbling stone because he fails to understand the revelation and insists on his human perception and expectation. We also hear of Jesus proclaiming “whoever wishes to come after me deny himself take up his cross and follow me.” What did Peter lack or do wrong? Where did Peter fail? He failed in discernment, in understanding. He failed in these because at that moment, he had yet to surrender his whole self to the will of God. It was God’s will to send His Son for Him to suffer, die and be raised, yet Peter w...

August 27, 2017 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading (Isaiah 22:19-23) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8) Second reading (Romans 11:33-36) Gospel (Matthew 16:13-20) We often know who we are according to how we see and know others. From knowing our parents, we realize that we are their children. From knowing that we have teachers in class, we realize that we are students. From knowing our brothers and sisters, we learn that we are brothers and sisters also to them. The list goes on and on. And on. But from knowing God, what do we realize ourselves to be? In the readings for this Sunday, we will see that in knowing God, we not only see ourselves in relation to Him, but we also see ourselves according to what God has destined us to be. In the gospel reading (from the account of Matthew), we hear of Simon Peter recognizing Jesus as “…the Christ, the Son of the living God.” After this, Jesus points out to him who Simon Peter is, or is to be –the rock ...

August 20, 2017 20 th  Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading (Isaiah 56:1, 6-7) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8) Second reading (Romans 11:13-15, 29-32) Gospel (Matthew 15:21-28) When was the last time you were turned away when you asked for something? When was the last time people said, “It’s not for you” right after you request for something? When was the last time you turned someone and his/her request down because your time and attention have been reserved for something else? We are called to remember such instances by our gospel reading (from the account of Matthew) for this 20 th  Sunday in Ordinary Time. We hear of how Jesus initially tried to send away a Canaanite woman simply because she was a Canaanite (not a member of the chosen people Jesus was believed to have come to save). When the Canaanite woman asked for the healing of her daughter, Jesus said “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the do...