Rejoice, The Lord Is Coming
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today is Gaudete Sunday which means rejoice. Rejoice because the Lord is near; he is coming at Christmas that is only 2 weeks away. You might be saying how can I rejoice with this spouse, with these kids, with a lack of money, with the sickness that I have? How can…
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In Your Desert, God Comes To You
Dear Friends, Why would God send John the Baptist or anyone to the desert to announce the coming of Christ? It seems absurd. Shouldn’t they go to downtown Jerusalem or to the temple or a place where there are many people. The desert is empty; it lacks water, food, people, and life. But perhaps there…
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He Doesn’t Come With A Stick
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Advent means coming. When Christ returns as he promised, to live again his birth as a man, as a child, in history, and his coming when he is proclaimed in the Mass. He does not come with a stick or with demands or to punish. He comes to love. To enter…
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He Wants To Reign In You
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Pilate responds to Jesus after the end of today’s gospel, what is truth? He is a cynical man but somehow, he believes that he has met the truth. And the first thing that comes into his mind is that at Passover one person can be set free and he think he…
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Even If What You Have Is Little, Give It To God And It Will Increase
Dear Brothers and Sisters, The first reading today is very moving for me. It is understated as many stories are in the Bible. To understand it better you need to know the background. God had told the prophet Elijah that there will be a draught in the land that would last for several years. This…
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You Will Love God With All Your Strength, One Day
Dear Brothers and Sisters, One of the readings this week recounted how God through the prophet Jeremiah told the people of Jerusalem to surrender to the Babylonians and move to their country where they would be safe. If they did not surrender, they would be killed. Jeremiah told them build your houses and your gardens…
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His Blindness Leads Him To Christ
Dear Brothers and Sisters, The gospel reminds us that our blindness (fill in whatever makes you limp) is the source of our greatest blessing. If Bartimaeus could see, he would never have called out to Christ. If your upbringing or your life was perfect, you would not be looking for him. God uses that difficulty…
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Are You Not Already In The Kingdom?
Dear Brothers and Sisters, It is touching to see Jesus’ response to the apostles fighting over who is the greatest. He doesn’t get annoyed or yell and scream. He reacts as he would like them to react when they face a problem with their disciples. He is totally calm. It is a teaching moment. Jesus…
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He Wants You To Be A King
Dear Brothers and Sisters, There is a common way of interpreting this gospel (Mark 10: 17-30) that says the young rich man wanted to be generous and wanted to follow the commandments but he could only do it up to a certain point. To sell all one’s goods was something only for monks and religious…
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He Will Make You A Suitable Partner
Dear Brothers and Sisters, The first reading from Genesis (2: 18-24) mentions twice the words suitable partner. And God even takes the responsibility to make a suitable partner for Adam and for every couple today. Allow him and he will get you a good help mate. What is a suitable partner? One who always agrees…
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