Struggle, My Soul

November 26, 2017 34th Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading (Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 23:1-6)  Second reading (1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28) Gospel (Matthew 25:31-46) We all want to be royals. Kings. Queens. Princes. Princesses. In our own lives, we want to be in control. We want to the best. But everyone who is best has an example, an adviser, a guide, an idol, an inspiration, a motivation. In our celebration of Jesus Christ as King of the Universe this Sunday, let us fix our gaze on Jesus in our mass readings for inspiration on how to be good kings and queens, princes and princesses. Our King is a caretaker. In our first reading (from the book of the prophet Ezekiel), we hear of the Lord God revealing himself as a shepherd that looks after His sheep. He looks after them. He finds the lost and nurses the sick back to health. As we strive to be kings and queens in our lives, when was the last time we looked after our brothers an...

November 19, 2017 33 rd Sunday in Ordinary Time First reading (Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 128:1-5) Second reading (1 Thessalonians 5:1-6) Gospel (Matthew 25:14-30) I remember when I first met one who came by the name of Joy. At first, I did not really notice the presence of this someone. But gradually, it became apparent. I found more meaning in my life through Joy. Joy made me realize how much blessed I am. What a God-given gift is Joy. As much as I’d like to keep Joy in my life and to myself, I cannot, especially since I’m a seminarian. To be clear, I’m not talking about a girl or any person named Joy, if that ever crossed your mind. A reflection on the gospel reading for this 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time may help me explain more about who Joy is. Jesus spoke of a parable wherein a master gave three servants talents (money): the first received five; the second, two; and the third, one. The first and second servants, took to wo...

November 12, 2017 32 nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings: First reading (Wisdom 6:12-16) Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 63:2-8) Second reading (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) Gospel (Matthew 25:1-13) While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came... During my semestral break,  I admit to not being very faithful to my formation. I was not able to attend and serve at mass every day and I contributed in making a mess out of our common bedroom at home. It was only after losing my wallet that I started cleaning up. Then it struck me: Why did I have to wait for my wallet to disappear, before deciding to finally clean up my mess at home. If that situation were to be blown up to my seminary formation, would I have waited for something drastically negative to happen before making a move, before finally deciding to take things more seriously? In the gospel reading for this Sunday (according to St. Matthew), Jesus tells the parable of the ten virgins who waited for the ...