Sunday
October 27th

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

1st Reading: Jer 31:7-9:
Thus says the Lord: Shout with joy for Jacob, exult at the head of the nations; proclaim your praise and say: The Lord has delivered his people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them back from the land of the north; I will gather them from the ends of the world, with the blind and the lame in their midst, the mothers and those with child; they shall return as an immense throng. They departed in tears, but I will console them and guide them; I will lead them to brooks of water, on a level road, so that none shall stumble. For I am a father to Israel, Ephraim is my first-born.

2nd Reading: Heb 5:1-6:
Brothers and sisters: Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness and so, for this reason, must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. In the same way, it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest, but rather the one who said to him: You are my son: this day I have begotten you; just as he says in another place: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Gospel: Mk 10:46-52:
As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he kept calling out all the more, “Son of David, have pity on me.” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”

So they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you.” He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.

Reflection:
Blessed occasions present themselves to us sometimes during unusual circumstances, when we least expect it, when it is inconvenient and we have to compete with others for attention and when it is inappropriate to approach as dictated by convention. It happened to Bartimaeus, a blind man who spent his life in search for healing and wholeness. Jesus passed by unexpectedly with a large crowd in tow. His attention must have been into many things at once.

But Bartimaeus was desperate; encumbered by his blindness, he could not find his way towards Jesus. So he let his voice catch Jesus’ attention. Others began to rebuke him but it made Jesus aware of him. This in turn led to his healing. If we could not find our way to Jesus because of our spiritual blindness, our voice can call His attention to ourselves. Have I prayed my way lately to the Lord? Do I really pray for that which I need the most? Perhaps a quick look at my prayer intentions will help me clarify whether I truly ask for those that matter most or not.

Father, purify my intentions. Let my prayer be of those things that truly matter. Let me not wander around begging for things that are mundane and unimportant. May I only ask for those which I am most in need of. In the name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Monday
October 28th

Feast of St. Jude
St. Simon

1st Reading: Eph 2:19-22:
Brothers and sisters: You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Gospel: Lk 6:12-16:
Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Reflection:
The feast of the Apostles is always an occasion to remind the apostolic origin of our faith and our Church, and to renew our commitment in the apostolate. For us Christians the Creed is the summary of the Word of God. Our Creed is entitled “apostolic” because the Apostles preached the Good News of Jesus and our knowledge of Him comes through the witness of the twelve disciples who were first summoned by Him, as the Gospel of today reminds us. Our faith has therefore an unshakable foundation.

Our Church is “apostolic.” The faith is the answer to the apostolic preaching. Consequently, the community that confesses this faith and celebrates the Sacraments of Jesus is apostolic. The deeds of some Apostles are well known. Others, however, are really hidden. It is nice to celebrate the feast of these two ignored Apostles. Why?

In Christ all of us are called to share the apostolic mission, but probably our words and deeds will be simple and unknown. In this sense we will be followers of Simon and Jude in their deep and discrete apostolate. We are now successors of them according to the grace we received. Let us be faithful and joyfully fulfill our vocation until the end.

Tuesday
October 29th

1st Reading: Eph 5:21-33:
Brothers and sisters: Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is head of his wife just as Christ is head of the Church, he himself the savior of the Body. As the Church is subordinate to Christ, so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the Church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the bath of water with the word, that he might present to himself the Church in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the Church, because we are members of his Body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church. In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself, and the wife should respect her husband.

Gospel: Lk 13:18-21:
Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.” Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.”

Reflection:
The mustard seed is very small, hardly greater than dust. However, a mustard tree is bigger than any garden plant. That is why birds can nest in its branches. Similarly, yeast is insignificant, but its effect is great: the whole mass of dough rises. Why did Jesus use these parables to explain the Kingdom of God?

He knew the Father’s will and he had prophetic vision. Beyond human empires–Roman, Byzantine, Arabic, Mongol, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, British, French, German, American…–the Kingdom of God is not the fruit of military and powerful conquests; the salvation it brings is for eternity; its visible presence is however a growing nest for humankind and its effects transform human history and even the entire creation. As Christians, do we consider ourselves through the Church in Christ, as instruments of this universal expectation of the kingdom of justice, holiness and peace forever? Only in heaven will we enjoy the kingdom of God that we forefeel now in hope.

Wednesday
October 30th

1st Reading: Eph 6:1-9:
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment with a promise, that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on earth. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up with the training and instruction of the Lord.

Slaves, be obedient to your human masters with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ, not only when being watched, as currying favor, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, willingly serving the Lord and not men, knowing that each will be requited from the Lord for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. Masters, act in the same way towards them, and stop bullying, knowing that both they and you have a Master in heaven and that with him there is no partiality.

Gospel: Lk 13:22-30:
Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’

“Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!’ And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Reflection:
Is being known by God more important than knowing God? In the two readings of the day, see the shocking references to being known or not known by God. Paul tells us that those whom God knew beforehand would share in God’s glory. Jesus speaks about the condemnation of those people to whom he would say, “I don’t know where you come from.” How is it possible to be known by God even when we may not always know Him?

Perhaps we have a clue in the discourse on the Last Judgment (Matt 25:31-46) where the elect express surprise at having catered to the needs of Jesus when they were merely caring for people in their life. They did not know or recognize God, but God knew and recognized them in their act of love. Many people from the north, the south, the east, and the west would come and enter the Kingdom, for God knows them even when they do not know God. Love is God’s nature and in their acts of love, God recognizes them to be His own. The Spirit comes to help us in our weakness. Let us ask the Spirit to do in us what is pleasing to God so that we will be known by Him.

Thursday
October 31st

1st Reading: Eph 6:10-20:
Brothers and sisters: Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the Devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground.

So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit. To that end, be watchful with all perseverance and supplication for all the holy ones and also for me, that speech may be given me to open my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains, so that I may have the courage to speak as I must.

Gospel: Lk 13:31-35:
Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.” He replied, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I accomplish my purpose. Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day, for it is impossible that a prophet should die outside of Jerusalem.’

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were unwilling! Behold, your house will be abandoned. But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Reflection:
At this point in time, the religious leaders who are out to destroy Jesus play the political card. They could not best Jesus on religious ground. He is always one step wiser than them, demolishing their arguments with aplomb. And so they have to drag their hostility towards the political front. After all, Jesus has no connections with anyone in power. He will surely be cowed and intimidated by their political clout.

This was their mistake. Jesus did not come to please anyone except His Father, the ruler and governor of the universe. A mere Herod, king of Israel could not instill fear on Him. And so He dared to call Herod names that would surely fan his anger. He will not back out from this confrontation. Jesus shows courage that is not one of reckless abandon. He places His feet where His mouth is.

Friday
November 1st

All Saints’ Day

1st Reading: Rv 7:2-4, 9-14:
I, John, saw another angel come up from the East, holding the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were given power to damage the land and the sea, “Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal, one hundred and forty-four thousand marked from every tribe of the children of Israel.

After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.”

All the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They prostrated themselves before the throne, worshiped God, and exclaimed: “Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me, “Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?” I said to him, “My lord, you are the one who knows.” He said to me, “These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.”

2nd Reading: 1 Jn 3:1-3:
Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure.

Gospel: Mt 5:1-12a:
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”

Reflection:
Many spend their life toiling to achieve something which they think would make them happy. Of course power and authority, fame and fortune do give joy and satisfaction. But to achieve them you have to work hard, give much, sacrifice those that are sometimes dear to you. In the end, are they really worth the price paid? Do they give joy and happiness to last forever? Contrast that with what Jesus offers as the new form of blessedness.

They are laughable in the least because they represent the end of losers in this world. They are counter-intuitive. But come to think of it, all those called fortunate by Jesus are those who work and suffer for something that will lead them to God. The meek, sorrowing, lowly and those who work for justice and peace will inevitably find themselves in front of God. That is why they are blessed. God will be their ultimate possession. Many people or groups work for a better society.

They advocate values that are consistent with the gospel. Have I shown my support and participation to their cause? It would be good to stand up once in a while for what I believe and profess. Loving Father, awaken my passion to those that advance the cause of Your kingdom. Let me not waver in my resolve. May I be bold enough to identify myself with Your cause, and may I act accordingly without hesitation. Amen.

Saturday
November 2nd

All Souls’ Day

1st Reading: Wis 3:1-9:
The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace. For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself.

As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble; they shall judge nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord shall be their King forever. Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love: because grace and mercy are with his holy ones, and his care is with his elect.

2nd Reading: Rom 6:3-9:
Brothers and sisters: Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.

We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin. For a dead person has been absolved from sin. If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him.

Gospel: Jn 6:37-40:
Jesus said to the crowds: “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”

Reflection:
Many people are afraid of death. In most cases this is because many of us think that death is loss. But our Christian teachings provide us with courage by telling us that death is but a passage to life, to the real life where all of us are destined to reach. Of course I also understand that the source of fear may be the teaching that there are two possibilities of the life that awaits us after death: life in eternal bliss (heaven) or life in eternal punishment (hell).

But then, this fear can be mitigated. While we are still living today, let us make sure that we will reach heaven tomorrow. And instead of fearing death, we should always be ready for it. One beautiful line from the film “Dr. Strange” said: Death is a beautiful thing. It’s when we know that our days are numbered that we begin to live life better. Today we pray for all of those who have gone ahead of us in death, that through God’s mercy they will receive the reward of eternal life with him. We pray for ourselves too that when our time comes, we will share in the same reward.