Luke 18: 1-18, 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time I have often heard people say that they don’t want to trouble God with their petty needs and concerns. After all, he has more important things to attend to, like running the universe. Just about three weeks ago, a lady told me, “Father, isn’t it that God…
Author: ninangdeb
The Answer to our Prayers – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 18:1-8, 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time I’ve been praying to God to work on my younger brother, to make him more responsible than he’s been all his life. Dad is 80 now, but he’s still “lawyering”. He says he loves working. But I know that he’s carrying Jonathan and his family on his shoulders…
Righteous – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 11:42-46, Wednesday of Week 28 in Ordinary Time I’m sure you’ve noticed in the Gospels that Jesus was much kinder to prostitutes and tax collectors than to Pharisees and teachers of the law. I don’t believe for one second that Jesus condoned prostitutes and tax collectors. He precisely tried to turn them around when he…
Signs – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 11:29-32, Monday of 28th Week in Ordinary Time I have a few good friends who at some point in their lives prayed a particular novena. And while they did, they hoped to be given a sign at the end of nine days whether God’s answer to their petition was a “yes” or a “no”….
No Such Thing as Too Much Thanks – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 17:11-19, 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time In the time of Jesus, when a so-called leper claimed to have been healed, religious law required him to submit himself to the examination of a priest. The priest would start observing the person’s sores, note their size, shape, and color. Through many weeks, months sometimes, the patient made…
Sunday Obligation – Rudolf Horst, SVD
Luke 17:11-19, 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Leprosy was and is a awful thing anywhere, anytime. But in the ancient Near East, it was a particularly heavy burden to bear since it meant complete social isolation. You could, of course, hang out with other lepers. But you were bound to stay as far away from…
Our Father – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 11:1-4, Wednesday of 27th Week in Ordinary Time I hadn’t picked up the rosary for many, many years since I was ordained. Mom pretty much forced us to pray it with her every October and May; even as a child, I had already found it too repetitive for me to really mean what I…
When God seems Absent – Mark Aloysius, SJ
Luke 17 5:10, 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time I. Perhaps as we begin a new academic year after our summer holidays, we do well to spend some time reflecting on all the experiences we have had during our break. You might have had the grace of rest, the pleasure of being in the midst of…
Increase our Faith – Rudolf Horst, SVD
Luke 17 5:10, 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time We all admire the heroes of faith like St. Francis whose feast we will celebrate on Tuesday. Absolutely nothing stopped him in his pursuit of God’s glory. When, during the Crusades, he was captured by the Saracens, St. Francis challenged the imams to a duel to prove…
Heaven and Hell – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 16:19-31, 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Well-meaning Catholics through the years have understood today’s Gospel as an authoritative description of heaven and hell. This image of heaven and hell has lasted us for centuries: that between heaven and hell yawn a dark, final chasm that God leaves un-bridged for all eternity. To a fault,…
The Ultimate Test of Character – Mark Lopez, SJ
Luke 16:19-32, 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time I sometimes wonder how many people will actually be allowed into heaven. And I wonder, what if, just what if, we were to be judged according to ways that we behaved in circumstances we thought didn’t really matter. For those of us who can drive a car, what…
What is Wealth for? – Francis Alvarez, SJ
Luke 16:19-31, 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s…
