Sunday
September 29th

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sts. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels

1st Reading: Nm 11:25-29:
The Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses, the Lord bestowed it on the seventy elders; and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied. Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad, were not in the gathering but had been left in the camp. They too had been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent; yet the spirit came to rest on them also, and they prophesied in the camp. So, when a young man quickly told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp, ” Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses’ aide, said, “Moses, my lord, stop them.” But Moses answered him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets! Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all!”

2nd Reading: Jas 5:1-6:
Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will devour your flesh like a fire. You have stored up treasure for the last days. Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers who harvested your fields are crying aloud; and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous one; he offers you no resistance.

Gospel: Mk 9:38-43, 45, 47-48:
At that time, John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.

“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'”

Reflection:
We are jealous sometimes of our relationships and possessions, so much so that we want to have exclusive claim to them. The disciples were not immune to this very human feeling. They expressed and manifested it to their Teacher who in turn patiently schooled them into the kind of love that is not limited by boundaries. This band of brothers who professed their faith in Him were the only ones willing to stick it out with Him. Jesus called them by name. And so amidst their insecurities and weaknesses, Jesus did not give up on them.

He moved forward with them believing in them that someday, they would truly learn and live the teachings of their Master. What provokes my jealousy and envy? Human as these feelings are, still we are called to have control over ourselves. Acknowledging the sources of our envy and jealousy is the first step towards overcoming them. Lord, help me to realize that what I have is already amazing. May I be too busy thanking you for all that is given me so that I will have no time to think of the things I lack. Amen.

Monday
September 30th

St. Jerome

1st Reading: Jb 1:6-22:
One day, when the angels of God came to present themselves before the Lord, Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, “Whence do you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming the earth and patrolling it.” And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job, and that there is no one on earth like him, blameless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil?” But Satan answered the Lord and said, “Is it for nothing that Job is God-fearing? Have you not surrounded him and his family and all that he has with your protection? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock are spread over the land. But now put forth your hand and touch anything that he has, and surely he will blaspheme you to your face.”

And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand upon his person.” So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. And so one day, while his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother, a messenger came to Job and said, “The oxen were ploughing and the asses grazing beside them, and the Sabeans carried them off in a raid. They put the herdsmen to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, another came and said, “Lightning has fallen from heaven and struck the sheep and their shepherds and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

While he was yet speaking, another messenger came and said, “The Chaldeans formed three columns, seized the camels, carried them off, and put those tending them to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, another came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother, when suddenly a great wind came across the desert and smote the four corners of the house. It fell upon the young people and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

Then Job began to tear his cloak and cut off his hair. He cast himself prostrate upon the ground, and said, “Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I go back again. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!” In all this Job did not sin, nor did he say anything disrespectful of God.

Gospel: Lk 9:46-50:
An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest. Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a child and placed it by his side and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest.” Then John said in reply, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow in our company.” Jesus said to him, “Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you.”

Reflection:
In today’s gospel reading we hear Jesus say: “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me.” Unfortunately, in our modern society children are not welcome in at least two ways. First, motherhood and homemaking have been so devalued that many stay-at-home moms describe themselves with these words: “Oh, I’m just a housewife.” As if raising a child were not the most important job in the universe! Second, few parents spend quality time with their children because of their career, job, social life, etc. Yet, time is the greatest gift they can give their children and the only gift that can assure children of their personal value and self-worth. We can see that the teaching of Jesus is more relevant than ever. If we do not heed it and if we keep rejecting children, we are courting disaster.

Tuesday
October 1st

St. Thérèse of Lisieux

1st Reading: Jb 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23:
Job opened his mouth and cursed his day. Job spoke out and said: Perish the day on which I was born, the night when they said, “The child is a boy!” Why did I not perish at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? Or why was I not buried away like an untimely birth, like babes that have never seen the light? Wherefore did the knees receive me? or why did I suck at the breasts? For then I should have lain down and been tranquil; had I slept, I should then have been at rest with kings and counselors of the earth who built where now there are ruins Or with princes who had gold and filled their houses with silver.

There the wicked cease from troubling, there the weary are at rest. Why is light given to the toilers, and life to the bitter in spirit? They wait for death and it comes not; they search for it rather than for hidden treasures, Rejoice in it exultingly, and are glad when they reach the grave: Those whose path is hidden from them, and whom God has hemmed in!

Gospel: Lk 9:51-56:
When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.

Reflection:
The First reading taken from the prophet Zechariah speaks so well of God‘s constant desire to gather all peoples into one family under His Fatherhood. A Father of a family or a parish priest will understand by heart this divine desire to have ”one flock under one shepherd” (Jn 10:16). This too is the priestly prayer of Jesus: ”Father may they be one as You and I are one” (Jn 17:20). This theme is also shown in today‘s Gospel reading. Jesus forbade his disciples James and John to retaliate against the Samaritans who did not welcome Him. The unwelcoming actions of the Samaritans are due to the long quarrel between the Jews and Samaritans. Jesus is not unaware of the conflict.

But, He consented to pass that way to Jerusalem. For security and to avoid confrontations, they could have passed through another way. Jesus must have a reason for passing through Samaria. He wanted to reconcile the conflict and to offer friendship and reunite them, as He is faithful to His mission as the “light to all nations.” During the civil war, President Abraham Lincoln was criticized for being soft and considerate to his enemies. Many times he was reminded that it was his duty to destroy them. To these, his answer was “The best way to destroy an enemy is to be friend him. “Lincoln must have learned it from Jesus. For us Christians, like Jesus, no one is an enemy but only a lost and strayed friend.

Wednesday
October 2nd

The Guardian Angels

1st Reading: Jb 9:1-12, 14-16:
Job answered his friends and said: I know well that it is so; but how can a man be justified before God? Should one wish to contend with him, he could not answer him once in a thousand times. God is wise in heart and mighty in strength; who has withstood him and remained unscathed? He removes the mountains before they know it; he overturns them in his anger. He shakes the earth out of its place, and the pillars beneath it tremble. He commands the sun, and it rises not; he seals up the stars. He alone stretches out the heavens and treads upon the crests of the sea.

He made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south; He does great things past finding out, marvelous things beyond reckoning. Should he come near me, I see him not; should he pass by, I am not aware of him; Should he seize me forcibly, who can say him nay? Who can say to him, “What are you doing?” How much less shall I give him any answer, or choose out arguments against him! Even though I were right, I could not answer him, but should rather beg for what was due me. If I appealed to him and he answered my call, I could not believe that he would hearken to my words.

Gospel: Mt 18:1-5, 10:
The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.”

Reflection:
We may have experienced being rescued from imminent dangers by no one. And when I tell people about them, their easy remark is that it was my guardian angel at work. Each of us has a guardian angel. Psalm 91:11 states “For he will command his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.” Although in today’s gospel Jesus speaks only of children who have them, it doesn’t mean that once a child becomes an adult his or her angel leaves with task accomplished.

Our guardian angel is our lifetime companion. CCC 336 admits that “Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.” Having a guardian angel speaks of God’s caring presence in our life; he does not will that we are totally left on our own. Be it to rescue us from figuring in accidents, or to assist us in difficult times, or to simply protect us in any way. Each of us has a special place in God’s heart. And for this we must be truly grateful.

Thursday
October 3rd

1st Reading: Jb 19:21-27:
Job said: Pity me, pity me, O you my friends, for the hand of God has struck me! Why do you hound me as though you were divine, and insatiably prey upon me? Oh, would that my words were written down! Would that they were inscribed in a record: That with an iron chisel and with lead they were cut in the rock forever! But as for me, I know that my Vindicator lives, and that he will at last stand forth upon the dust; Whom I myself shall see: my own eyes, not another’s, shall behold him, And from my flesh I shall see God; my inmost being is consumed with longing.

Gospel: Lk 10:1-12:
Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.

Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’ Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, ‘The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.’ Yet know this: the Kingdom of God is at hand. I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town.”

Reflection:
I have always admired the boldness of Jesus in this evangelization campaign. Seventy-two disciples is not a small army of preachers. We easily can imagine their short preparation for the task. They had just heard the teachings of the Lord and seen his miracles. And then they were sent. Why? Because the harvest was rich, and Jesus knew the will of the Father. Can we guess here the intention of Jesus during his nights of praying? Yes, he asked the Lord of the harvest and the workers were abundant. Isn’t that a lesson for us? Therese understood it. The advice of Jesus to them deserves reflection. They were lambs among wolves.

There is no evangelization without risk and opposition. Christian disciples have to be confident in God, not in human means, like purse or bag. Francis of Assisi was such a disciple; Anthony M. Claret was one too in his missions through Catalunya. He stressed that poverty is the first quality of the evangelizer. Greetings are simple: “Peace!” Stability is demanded. No concern for meals. The message is one of awakening: “The kingdom of God has drawn near to you.” This seems to echo John the Baptist’s preaching. The final remark is not to be forgotten. The Gospel is the ultimate invitation. The gesture of wiping off of the dust is a symbol. The allusion to Sodom is a reminder for the future.

Friday
October 4th

St. Francis of Assisi

1st Reading: Jb 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5:
The Lord addressed Job out of the storm and said: Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place For taking hold of the ends of the earth, till the wicked are shaken from its surface? The earth is changed as is clay by the seal, and dyed as though it were a garment; But from the wicked the light is withheld, and the arm of pride is shattered. Have you entered into the sources of the sea, or walked about in the depths of the abyss? Have the gates of death been shown to you, or have you seen the gates of darkness? Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?

Tell me, if you know all: Which is the way to the dwelling place of light, and where is the abode of darkness, That you may take them to their boundaries and set them on their homeward paths? You know, because you were born before them, and the number of your years is great! Then Job answered the Lord and said: Behold, I am of little account; what can I answer you? I put my hand over my mouth. Though I have spoken once, I will not do so again; though twice, I will do so no more.

Gospel: Lk 10:13-16:
Jesus said to them, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum, ‘Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.’ Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

Reflection:
Addressing his disciples he says, “He that hears you, hears me and he that despises you despises me“ and the Father who sent him. In other words, to listen to the messengers of Jesus is equivalent to listening to him personally; to reject those messengers is to reject Jesus and to reject God. And, in our own times, perhaps we should emphasize that those “messengers” are not just priests and religious. They include all those who sincerely proclaim the Gospel by their words and their lives. Each of us needs to hear those warnings of Jesus addressed to ourselves.

How well have we really responded to the call of Jesus in the Gospel? How open are we to hear that message coming to us from different kinds of people in our community? How committed are we to accepting, living and sharing that Gospel with others? There is never any room for complacency or for indifference in our Christian life. We are all called to conversion and above all to share God‘s mercy to others.

Saturday
October 5th

Bl. Francis Xavier Seelos

1st Reading: Jb 42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17:
Job answered the Lord and said: I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered. I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know. I had heard of you by word of mouth, but now my eye has seen you. Therefore I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes. Thus the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his earlier ones.

For he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses. And he had seven sons and three daughters, of whom he called the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Kerenhappuch. In all the land no other women were as beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers. After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; and he saw his children, his grandchildren, and even his great-grandchildren. Then Job died, old and full of years.

Gospel: Lk 10:17-24:
The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” Turning to the disciples in private he said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”

Reflection:
Many have asked if I possess the gift of healing, just like my good friend Roselle whose sick father-in-law I anointed in the hospital. According to her, he had been confined to his bed in the past months. But a few hours after the anointing, he stood up from bed and asked for milk! I sensed her excitement, but I am not sure if she sensed my bewilderment. Our gospel today forms part of the conclusion of the mission-sending of the 72 disciples. By this time, they returned to the company of Jesus bringing along thrilling success stories from their missionary undertakings. But Jesus was quick to remind them: “I have given you authority….”

What they have accomplished did not flow from their inherent capabilities, but from a power whose source is Jesus. My friend’s father-in-law survived for a few weeks before he finally went home to the Father, but it was not I who gave him those few more weeks to live! At the outset, Jesus’ words may appear more appropriate for us who are in the ministry and service of the Church. But a closer reflection reveals that the lesson is important for all Christians as well: we cannot be successful on our own; it is only with and through Jesus that we can accomplish great things. Remember, Jesus says in John 15:5 that “… apart from me you can do nothing.”