John 6:24-35, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time I saw something pleasantly strange in the first reading. “The Lord said to Moses,” the reading said, “’I will now rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion. In that way, I will test the Israelites…
Category: Season: Ordinary Time
Hunger – Jett Villarin, SJ
John 6:24-35, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time “Sir, give us this bread always.” That’s what anyone would ask when told that another sort of manna, come down from heaven, would satisfy our hunger for good. For good. For always. For good sounds too good to be true. What is for always, what never goes away…
The Call – John Foley, SJ
John 6:1-15, 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time If today has been “one of those days” for you, meaning stressful and tiring, maybe you could let the readings for Sunday bring you home for a while. Look especially at the Second Reading, taken from the letter to the Ephesians. It calls us to • live with…
Gather the Crumbs – Johnny Go, SJ
John 6:1-15, 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time What a nightmare scenario: Five loaves, two fish–and five thousand hungry people! But trust the Lord to turn every event organizer’s worst nightmare into an unforgettable affair! What struck me most this time around, however, was not what happens during the miracle, but after it: As the people sit on the…
Dying – Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP
Mark 6:30-34, 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” I am currently having my clinical pastoral education at one of the hospitals in Metro Manila. It has been one month since I started my pastoral visits. Since then, I have encountered…
Good Shepherds and Bad – John Foley, SJ
Mark 6:30-34, 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time A Jesuit friend of mine was an actual shepherd in his youth. He had spent plenty of time out in the fields, so I asked him what taking care of sheep was like. My motive was about our readings today, all of which have references to shepherds. He…
Thanks – John Foley, SJ
Mark 6:7-13, 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time I was out for a drive in the beautiful weather. The city had its usual non-country and somewhat ruined appearance, and I was merely doing shopping chores. Suddenly, unexpectedly, simple gratitude came upon me. Not earth-shaking, not the result of complicated reasoning, just a modest, gentle joy. I…
Shake the Dust off your Feet – Br Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP
Mark 6:7-13, 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them. (Mk. 6:11) Our Gospel today speaks of the mission of the Twelve. They are sent to perform the threefold task: to exorcise the evil spirits,…
Cramping the Lord’s Style – Johnny Go, SJ
Mark 6:1-6, 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Do we ever cramp the Lord’s style? I suspect that’s what happens in the scene we have in the Gospel today. Jesus goes back to his hometown and preaches at the village synagogue. Not an easy thing to do since he’s surrounded by people he’s grown up with,…
Koum – Jett Villarin, SJ
Mark 5:21-43, 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time “God did not make death.” A reminder, not even gentle, with a terrible eeriness about it, is what we get from the very first line of Wisdom today. Death is not dealt by God. God is the maker of life. And he does not rejoice over the ruin…
Lectio Divina – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Mark 5:21-43, 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectio divina, or literally, “holy reading,” is a Benedictine method of prayer. You read a Bible passage slowly. A word/phrase will soon stir feelings or trigger thoughts. When that happens, you stay on that word/phrase, and gently allow yourself to engage the thoughts and feelings it evokes, whether…
What Are Your Blessings For? – Francis Alvarez, SJ
Luke 1:57-66, 80, Solemnity of the Nativity of St John the Baptist Oscar Wilde tells the parable of a supercilious rocket so enamored with his pedigree and potential that he shed copious tears while talking about himself. Alas, his tears dampened his gunpowder. When his time came to be lit, he was too wet and…
One Lost Sheep 