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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Pray For Something That Will Not Make You Trip And Fall
Dear Brothers and Sisters, There was a blind girl who hated herself just because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She said that if she could only see the world, she would marry her boyfriend. One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her and…
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A Child Is Simple, He Takes The Last Place
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Pope Francis was in Slovakia this week and visited Mother Theresa’s nuns there who run a shelter for homeless people. They call the area the Bronx of Slovakia because of the number of drugs in the area. The local parish priest said there are six or eight nuns there and none…
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Get Behind Me, Not Ahead Of Me!
Dear Brothers and Sisters, Peter gets the identity of Jesus Christ correct (Mark 8: 27-35) but he doesn’t understand that only through suffering will he will be saved. We can fall into the same trap. A friend of mine often asks what did God save you from? If he really is your savior, what did…
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Lord, You Have ‘Words’ Of Eternal Life
Dear Brothers and Sisters, The gospel today puts before us our history, who am I and how have I lived the life God gave me? Concretely, the Lord is asking, “Do you also want to go away?” Is this our desire especially when things go badly for us? How beautiful it would be to respond…
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