Luke 18:9-14a, 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time When Jesus tells a parable, the persons in the story are usually nameless. That means Jesus wants us to identify with one of these persons, asking ourselves: Which person of the story am I? Think of the parable of the Prodigal Son. In the end we are confronted…
Category: Season: Ordinary Time
Repentance – Arnel Aquino, SJ
Luke 18:9-14a, 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time When priests hear confessions, once in a while there will be someone who would come in and say, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned, my last confession was this-and-that. These are my sins. Father, I was very angry with someone because…” and what follows would be a litany…
Persistence – Rogel Abais, SJ
Luke 18:1-8, 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time …the just man justices; Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces; –As kingfishers catch fire Gerard Manley Hopkins, SJ Hopkins in this beautiful poem reminds us of how a just man must act. It is God’s grace that he receives and which manifests itself in his everyday…
The Power of Prayer – Mark Lopez, SJ
Luke 18:1-8, 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time There was once a young mother who came to a Jesuit priest for spiritual direction. In the beginning, the Jesuit asked her “What is your deepest desire ? What are you really praying for ?” (In short, why have you come for spiritual direction?) And so this young…
Silence is an Endangered Species – Johnny Go, SJ
Luke 18:1-8, 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time There was a time in my life when prayer felt like second nature. Whenever I was stuck in traffic, I would simply shut the world out and quietly say my rosary. Not only did I get the chance to pray for people who asked for prayers, but I…
Why bug God? – Rudolf Horst, SVD
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…
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…
One Lost Sheep 