Matthew 18:21-35, 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time Our Readings for this Sunday center on the theme of forgiveness. This theme is ever-relevant, sometimes too relevant that it makes us all uncomfortable. We are imperfect, and we are surrounded by others who are similarly lacking in perfection. Expectedly, we offend people and people upset us. It…
Category: Evangelist: Matthew
Breaking the Chain – John Foley, SJ
Matthew 18:21-35, 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time This Sunday is all about forgiveness. The Gospel illustrates in stark terms what this word means. First, look at the initial readings, which are preliminaries. The First Reading, from the Book of Sirach, tells how awful wrath and anger are, but how the sinner “hugs them tight,” a…
77 Times – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 18:21-35, 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time From my own life and from the life of people I have accompanied through the years, I observe three reasons why we find it so difficult to forgive: (1) We don’t say “I’m sorry” enough; (2) we remember past hurts like they happened only yesterday; and (3), we…
I’m Sorry – Arnel Aquino SJ
Matthew 18:15-20, 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time In some of the recollections I’ve given, very good-hearted people have asked me something like this: “So, Fr Arnel, when someone wrongs us, must we really follow the process that Jesus stipulates in Matthew? Like, we talk to the person first, to point out his mistake, and if…
A Love Story – John Foley, SJ
Matthew 18:15-20, 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Sunday’s Mass will be all about love. Not the hearts and flowers type, but nitty-gritty stuff. What happens when someone misbehaves and hurts me? What should I do, “punch em out”? No. Jesus lays out a detailed plan in the Gospel about how to help someone within the…
Cold as Hell – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Matthew 16:21-27, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time You duped me, Lord, and I let myself be duped. Niloko n’yo ako, Panginoon; ako naman nagpaloko.” Imagine talking to God that way? Must’ve been one of prophet Jeremiah’s bad, bad days. Jeremiah means “Yahweh exalts.” But biblical tradition calls him “the weeping prophet”. God called him because…
Happy – Fr Harold Parilla
Matthew 16:21-27, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time What makes a person happy? This is an age-old question that has gotten the attention of philosophers and psychologists. Recently, it has been the object of research by economists who believe that data derived from the question can be used to craft public policy. One author says that…
Empty Chair – Johnny Go, SJ
Matthew 16:21-27, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Sting sang a little-known, but heartbreaking song at the Oscars last February. The song is called “Empty Chair,” from the film, “Jim,” which is about the journalist James Foley, who had been beheaded by the Islamic State three years ago. The lines go: “And when the winter comes and…
Riddle – Jett Villarin, SJ
Matthew 16:21-27, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Riddle: the more you hold on to it, the more you drop it. The more you keep it, the more you lose it. Answer: life. That seems to be the gist of God’s word to us today. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but…
What About God Are You Not Yet Ready For? – Francis Alvarez, SJ
Matthew 16:13-20, 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time “He strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ” (Matthew 16:20). In our Gospel today, Simon Peter correctly identifies who Jesus is – he is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. But then Jesus forbids Simon Peter and the other disciples to…
Careful the Christ you Choose – Johnny Go, SJ
Matthew 16:13-20, 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Here are two images that created some controversy a few years ago: The first, of course, is the poster for the movie “Da Vinci Code,” based on Dan Brown’s best-selling novel. The second is a fragment of a 1,700-year old papyrus that some scholars claim is the last…
Only Our Hearts can Answer – Willy Samson, SJ
Matthew 16:13-20, 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time In our Gospel reading today, Jesus suddenly asked the disciples two questions. The first one was easy, “Who do people say that I am?” And they answered with ease, “‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” But the second question…
One Lost Sheep 