Fundamentalists usually ask: "Are you saved?" The question is made by one who thinks he is saved. The interlocutor of Jesus in today’s Gospel asks "Will only a few be saved?" It is a question that derives from one who is unsure whether he will be saved or not. To this one, Jesus gives the [...]
Continue reading about (Sunday XXI — C) Struggle Through the Narrow Door
For the eleventh Sunday, we are presented with the Lucan story about Jesus’ gives a lesson on generous love to a Pharisee who had invited him to dinner. The lesson is derived on the actions of a woman — a public sinner — who barges into the Pharisee’s house and displays her love for Jesus. [...]
Continue reading about (XI Sunday — C) She Was Forgiven Much (Luke 5:36-50)
“Love one another as I have loved you.” The love that the Lord commands is nothing else but the response to the love He himself has shown and continues to show to his community of friends. “Agape” is that self-less love that is ready to give life for another. The supreme example of this love [...]
The Lenten Sundays that precede Passion Sunday are thematically arranged in the following way: Sundays I and II: The Victory in which the Christian is called to participate Sundays III – V: Sin No More: To Victory through Conversion and Repentance Below is a schedule of the Gospel readings for Year C Date Sundays in [...]
Continue reading about (Lent I — C) The Victory in the Desert
The Visit of the Magi, the Baptism of the Lord and the wedding at Cana are events that the liturgy has associated to Epiphany, the manifestation of the Lord to the world. At the beginning of Ordinary Time (Year C), we make present again the Baptism of the Lord where He accepted his mission as [...]
Next Sunday, we will be celebrating the Solemnity of Christ the King and the end of Ordinary Time, Year B. Today’s liturgical theme anticipates Advent, Year C and reminds us that the Lord will come for us and has told us how to wait for His Coming. “Be alert”, “be watchful”, “keep awake”! These are [...]
Continue reading about (33rd Sunday OT B) I Have Told You This Beforehand
The selection from Mark 10:46-52 was probably a healing story narrated from the point of view of the blind man who was healed and then rewritten in Mark as a story of faith. Thus we may have here an instance of a personal testimony of faith that was incorporated into Mark’s gospel. Luke 7:36-50View in: [...]
Continue reading about (30th Sunday OT B) The Story of Bartimaeus
Mark 10:17-31 can be called “The Way of Jesus and the Question of Wealth”. The way of Jesus is of course the way into the kingdom of God. One would eventually become aware that it would involve a question about one’s wealth especially when during the course of following Him, one’s business plans seem to [...]
Continue reading about (28th Sunday OT B) Discipleship and Wealth
In the house at Caphernaum, Jesus had begun to teach his disciples about true greatness. The lesson continues when James and John inform Jesus about what they did to a man who has been exorcising demons in the name of Jesus but is not a member of their group. Salvation history remembers another instance when [...]
Continue reading about (26th Sunday OT B) Sin, Gehenna and Salt
Simon bar-Jona was a fisherman whom Jesus called to be a disciple. He left behind his net in order to become a “fisher of men”. He followed Jesus, listening to his teachings, watching him heal the sick and restore people to their families. He has become convinced that Jesus, the carpenter from Nazareth, is the [...]
Continue reading about (24th Sunday OT B) The Sequela Christi
The story of the healing of the deaf-mute in Mark 7:31-37 is set in the Decapolis — the Hellenistic area on the east side of the Lake of Galilee. Mark has written it in such a way that readers of his gospel — converts from Judaism and paganism residing outside Palestine — may see an [...]
Continue reading about (23rd Sunday OT B) Ephphata: Faith and Witnessing
On the 22nd Sunday of OT B, we take up the Gospel of Mark once more and continue the reading at Mark 7:1-23 which is a controversy on ritual purity. Mark puts two controversies together: one on the washing of hands and another on food. The first involves the Pharisees, the second, the crowds and [...]
Continue reading about (22nd Sunday OT B) Fidelity and Obedience (Mark 7:1-23)
“I am the Bread of Life”. In John, Jesus replaces the institutions of Israel. He is not only the definite self-revelation of God. In him is also summed up all the good things that God wants for those who love him. For the 18th Sunday of OT (Year B), we read John 6:24-35 together with [...]
Continue reading about (18th Sunday OT B) The Bread Come Down From Heaven
The liturgy of the 17th Sunday (OT B) bypasses the expected Mark 6:35-44 and offers for reading John 6:1-15 instead. John 6:1-15 is a rewriting of Mark 6:35-44. John gives the narrative of the feeding of the multitudes a twist by making it an introduction to the Discourse about the Bread of Life. Not only [...]
Continue reading about (17th Sunday OT B) The Feeding of the Multitude
The 16th Sunday (OT B) offers us a picture of a group of people who appear like “sheep without a shepherd”. To the eyes of the Church which has been given the task to proclaim the Good News, the picture is that of the world that awaits salvation. The liturgy therefore is an invitation to [...]
Continue reading about (16th Sunday OT B) Like Sheep Without A Shepherd
