domingo
2 de noviembre^nd

Todo el día de almas

1^st 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.

2^nd Reading: Rom 5:5-11:
Hermanos y hermanas:
Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. For Christ, while we were still helpless, died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

How much more then, since we are now justified by his Blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life. Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Gospel: Jn 6:37-40:
(…) All the nations will be brought before him; and, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, so will he do with them, placing the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.

“The king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, blessed of my Father! Take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me into your home. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to see me.’ (…)

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Go, cursed people, out of my sight, into the eternal fire, which has been prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry, and you did not give me anything to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not welcome me into your house; I was naked, and you did not clothe me; I was sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me.’

“(…) ‘Truly I say to you: just as you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for me.’ (…)“

Reflexión:
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.

lunes
3 de noviembre^rd

31^st Week in Ordinary Time

Martin de Porres

1^st Reading: Rom 11:29–36:
Brothers and sisters: David says: The call of God and his gifts cannot be nullified.

Through the disobedience of the Jews the mercy of God came to you who did not obey God. They in turn will receive mercy in due time after this disobedience that brought God’s mercy to you. So God has submitted all to disobedience, in order to show his mercy to all.

How deep are the riches, the wisdom and knowledge of God! His decisions cannot be explained, nor his ways understood! Who has ever known God’s thoughts? Who has ever been his adviser? Who has given him something first, so that God had to repay him? For everything comes from him, has been made by him and has to return to him. To him be the glory for ever! Amen.

Gospel: Lk 14:12–14:
Jesus addressed the man who had invited him and said, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite your friends, or your brothers and relatives and wealthy neighbors. For surely they will also invite you in return and you will be repaid. When you give a feast, invite instead the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. Fortunate are you then, because they can’t repay you; you will be repaid at the Resurrection of the upright.”

Reflexión:
When we throw a party, we deliberately invite our friends, family members, and people of high status precisely because we want the invitation to be reciprocated. Human society works on mutuality. We give so that we can get. When we stop getting, we stop giving as well.

However, God relates to us on a different plane. He gives, even when we do not return the favor. Paul tells us that God’s call and His gifts are irrevocable. Even when everyone is disobedient to God and turns his/her back on Him, God continues to be merciful and generous with us.

Jesus invites us today to share in God’s nature. Be generous with people who cannot return the favor. Give without expecting to get. By doing so, we become perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect (Matt 5:48). We may not be able to grasp the depths of God, but by doing so, we will get a little taste of God’s manner of loving, which itself is the greatest reward we can hope for.

martes
4 de noviembre^th

Charles Borromeo

1^st Reading: Rom 12:5–16ab:
The same with us; being many, we are one body in Christ, depending on one another. Let each one of us, therefore, serve according to our different gifts. Are you a prophet? Then give the insights of faith. Let the minister fulfill his office; let the teacher teach, the one who encourages, convince.

You must, likewise, give with an open hand, preside with dedication, and be cheerful in your works of charity.

Let love be sincere. Hate what is evil and hold to whatever is good. Love one another and be considerate. Outdo one another in mutual respect. Be zealous in fulfilling your duties. Be fervent in the Spirit and serve God.

Have hope and be cheerful. Be patient in trials and pray constantly. Share with other Christians in need. With those passing by, be ready to receive them.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not wish evil on anyone. Rejoice with those who are joyful, and weep with those who weep. Live in peace with one another. Do not dream of extraordinary things; be humble and do not hold yourselves as wise.

Gospel: Lk 14:15–24:
One of those at the table said to Jesus, “Happy are those who eat at the banquet in the kingdom of God!”

Jesus replied, “A man once gave a feast and invited many guests. When it was time for the feast he sent his servant to tell those he had invited to come, for everything was ready. But all alike began to make excuses.

“The first said: ‘Please excuse me. I must go and see the piece of land I have just bought.’

“Another said: ‘I am sorry, but I am on my way to try out the five yoke of oxen I have just bought.’

“Still another said, ‘How can I come when I have just married?’

“The servant returned alone and reported this to his master. Upon hearing the account, the master of the house flew into a rage and ordered his servant: ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’

“The servant reported after a while: ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out, but there is still room.’

The master said: ‘Go out to the highways and country lanes and force people to come in, to make sure my house is full. I tell you, none of those invited will have a morsel of my feast.”

Reflexión:
One can only imagine the messiness and utter chaos at the royal banquet Jesus describes! The poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame are not the original invitees. Hence, they are not at all prepared for the honor. They are brought in just as they are—in their rags, with their begging bowls and their walking staffs.

They may not smell very good, nor are they familiar with the kind of behavior expected at such banquets. The blind may bump into the lame, and the crippled may stumble along the path. To add to it all, the master wants his banquet hall to be packed to its capacity; hence, more people are still being brought in!

However, one thing is certain: Over and above all such disorder, there will be much joy and delight, and the hall must be bursting with ripples of laughter and singing!

If we expect the Kingdom of God to be like the first-class lounge in an airplane, we may be mistaken. Kingdom is where God’s people are; and God invites everyone just as they are. Better practice being in the Kingdom by rubbing our shoulders here on earth with the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.

Paul gives us some very practical suggestions for being one body with others. Let us listen to him.

miércoles
5 de noviembre^th

1^st Reading: Rom 13:8–10:
Do not be in debt to anyone. Let this be the only debt of one to another: Love. The one who loves his or her neighbor fulfilled the Law. For the commandments: Do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not covet and whatever else are summarized in this one: You will love your neighbor as yourself. Love cannot do the neighbor any harm; so love fulfills the whole Law.

Gospel: Lk 14:25–33:
One day, when large crowds were walking along with Jesus, he turned and said to them, “If you come to me, without being ready to give up your love for your father and mother, your spouse and children, your brothers and sisters, and indeed yourself, you cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not follow me carrying his own cross cannot be my disciple.

“Do you build a house without first sitting down to count the cost to see whether you have enough to complete it? Otherwise, if you have laid the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone will make fun of you: This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’

“And when a king wages war against another king, does he go to fight without first sitting down to consider whether his ten thousand can stand against the twenty thousand of his opponent? And if not, while the other is still a long way off he sends messengers for peace talks. In the same way, none of you may become my disciple if he doesn’t give up everything he has.”

Reflexión:
The invitation to the Kingdom is free. However, our response demands some sacrifice. Jesus cautions us that unless we are willing to give the highest priority to him, we cannot be his disciple. No other preference—parents, children, siblings, job, even our own life—can stand in the way of Jesus’s absolute primacy. If the invited guests (in yesterday’s gospel passage) were found wanting, it was because they gave first preference to their wedding, land, and oxen. For this reason, they were summarily rejected once and for all.

Paul advises us to love one another, and one who loves one’s neighbor fulfills the Law. However, even this neighborly love must be subordinated to the love of Christ. Our love of the other must be routed through and rooted in our love of Christ. Without the centrality of Christ, our love may degenerate into possessiveness and idol worship. Let Christ alone be our first love and our last love, our alpha and our omega.

jueves
6 de noviembre^th

1^st Reading: Rom 14:7–12:
In fact, none of us lives for himself, nor dies for himself. If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. Either in life or in death, we belong to the Lord; It was for this purpose that Christ both died and come to life again to be Lord both of the living and of the dead.

Then you, why do you criticize your brother or sister? And you, why do you despise them? For we will all appear at the tribunal of God. It is written: I swear by myself—word of the Lord—every knee will bend before me, and every tongue shall give glory to God. So each of us will account for himself before God.

Gospel: Lk 15:1–10:
Tax collectors and sinners were seeking the company of Jesus, all of them eager to hear what he had to say. But the Pharisees and the scribes frowned at this, muttering. “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So Jesus told them this parable:

“Who among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, will not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and seek out the lost one till he finds it? And finding it, will he not joyfully carry it home on his shoulders? Then he will call his friends and neighbors together and say: ‘Celebrate with me for I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, just so, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ninety-nine upright who do not need to repent.

“What woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one, will not light a lamp and sweep the house in a thorough search till she finds the lost coin? And finding it, she will call her friends and neighbors and say: ‘Celebrate with me for I have found the silver coin I lost!’ I tell you, in the same way there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.”

Reflexión:
If it had the faculty to do so, how would the lost-and-found sheep have felt about the master’s response of risking the ninety-nine obedient sheep and going in search of her and, having found her, delightfully celebrating with his friends and neighbors?  How would the lost-and-found coin, too, have felt at the woman’s panicky search for it and, having found it, celebrating wildly with her friends and neighbors?

I am sure the sheep and the coin would have felt very, very special—being on top of the world. I reckon they would have loved their owner over and above life and death. I presume they would have vowed never to leave him/her again.

Luke tells us that tax collectors and sinners were milling around Jesus, eager to hear him and be with him, despite the frowns and much to the dismay of the Pharisees and the scribes. It is no wonder they sought after him. For, in a world where everyone looked at them with contempt, Jesus alone loved them beyond measure. They felt special, like the sheep and the coin.

Have you felt this singularly special love of Christ for you?

viernes
7 de noviembre^th

1^st Reading: Rom 15:14–21:
As for me, brothers and sisters, I am convinced that you have goodwill, knowledge and the capacity to advise each other; nevertheless I have written boldly in some parts of this letter to remind you of what you already know.

I do this according to the grace God has given to me when I was sent to the pagan nations. I dedicated myself to the service of the Good News of God as a minister of Christ Jesus, in order to present the non-Jews to God as an agreeable offering consecrated by the Holy Spirit. This service of God is for me a cause of pride in Christ Jesus.

Of course, I would not dare to speak of other things but what Christ himself has done through me, my words and my works, with miracles and signs, by the power of the Holy Spirit—so that non-Jews may obey the faith. In this way I have extended the Good News to all parts, from Jerusalem to Illiricum.

I have been very careful, however, and I am proud of this, not to preach in places where Christ is already known, and not to build upon foundations laid by others. Let it be as Scripture says: Those not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.

Gospel: Lk 16:1–8:
Jesus told his disciples, “There was a rich man whose steward was reported to him for fraudulent service. He summoned the steward and asked him: ‘What is this I hear about you? I want you to render an account of your service for it is about to be terminated.’

“The steward thought to himself: ‘What am I to do now? My master will surely dismiss me. I am not strong enough to do hard work, and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I will do: I must make sure that when I am dismissed, there will be some people to welcome me into their house.’

“So he called his master’s debtors one by one. He asked the first who came: ‘How much do you owe my master?’

“The reply was: ‘A hundred jars of oil.’

“The steward said: ‘Here is your bill. Sit down quickly and write there fifty.’ To the second he put the same question: ‘How much do you owe?’

“The answer was: ‘A thousand bushels of wheat.’

“Then he said: ‘Take your bill and write eighty.’ The master commended the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the people of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the people of light.”

Reflexión:
Look at the dishonest steward’s eagerness to make his future secure! He goes to the extent of further risking the ire of his master by manipulating records in favor of the debtors, but in the process he makes sure that he wins the gratitude and affection of the debtors who would receive him into their homes.

We are not much different from this steward when it comes to making sure our life on earth is secure. We bribe, we cheat, we produce false records, and we curry favor with people in positions to get us what we want. The million-dollar question then is—how much more concerned and worried we should be in securing our life after death, a life that is eternal and everlasting!

 Are we willing to risk the ire of the prince of this world by living such a life that ensures us entry into eternal life?

It often surprises me when I find people giving the Mass a miss because it is too early in the morning (say, at 6:30 AM), but having no problems in spending an hour in the gym as early as 5:00 AM. Which life are they making secure?

sábado
8 de noviembre^th

1^st Reading: Romans 16:3-9, 16, 22-27:
Brothers and sisters: Greet Prisca and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I am grateful but also all the churches of the Gentiles; greet also the Church at their house.

Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first fruits in Asia for Christ. Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and my fellow prisoners; they are prominent among the Apostles and they were in Christ before me. Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys.

Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. I, Tertius, the writer of this letter, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole Church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus greet you.

Now to him who can strengthen you, according to my Gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages but now manifested through the prophetic writings and, according to the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith, to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Gospel: Lk 16:9-15:
“And so I tell you: use filthy money to make friends for yourselves, so that, when it fails, these people may welcome you into the eternal homes. Whoever can be trusted in little things can also be trusted in great ones; whoever is dishonest in slight matters will also be dishonest in greater ones.

“So if you have been dishonest in handling filthy money, who would entrust you with true wealth? And if you have been dishonest with things that are not really yours, who will give you that wealth which is truly your own? No servant can serve two masters. Either he does not like the one and is fond of the other, or he regards one highly and the other with contempt. You cannot give yourself both to God and to Money.”

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and sneered at Jesus. He said to them, “You do your best to be considered righteous by people. But God knows the heart, and what is highly esteemed by human beings is loathed by God.

Reflexión:
When we feel sick and visit our doctor, the first thing the doctor does is to check our vital signs: temperature, pulse, blood pressure. These will tell him if there is something wrong with us or not. In the Christian life, one of the key indicators of our spiritual condition before God is our relationship to money: do we use money or do we serve money?

This is the question to ask ourselves, as we can judge by combining the teaching contained in today’s two readings. Paul is a magnificent example of someone who uses money and is not serving it. As he says: “I have learned to manage with what I have. I know what it is to be in want and what it is to have plenty. I am trained for both.”

On the other hand, Jesus in today’s gospel tells us that we cannot hold a neutral position towards money: either we serve it as our practical god (a “god” is anything to which we give our hearts) or we only use it and serve the true God. But we have to choose, Jesus tells us: “You cannot give yourself both to God and money.”

Whom do I serve: God or money?