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CONVERTS FOR HEAVEN OR HELL

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MONDAY, TWENTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 1 Thess 1:1-5,8-10; Ps 149:1-6,9; Mt 23:13-22 The Idolatry in the Temple The prophet Isaiah proclaimed the will of Yahweh to send the survivors of the children of Israel to all nations and languages, bringing them into the family of God. Those who will function in that capacity as messengers of Yahweh would be purified of their own wills and desires, to be able to tell people of God’s will and bring them to conform to the divine will by their words and deeds. What Isaiah expresses has always been the noble role Israel was called to play as the people of God. God chose them to carry out his holy will, as a royal and priestly nation, dedicated to proclaiming the will of God to the nations and peoples. As priests of God, they were to give the holiest of things to all peoples and nations, that is, the word of God, enshrining his holy and immutable will. The sacred role is not reserved for Israel alone, but is the role anyone called and elect...
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THE DOOR OF GOD'S WILL

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SUNDAY, TWENTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Isa 66:18-21; Ps 117; Heb 12:5-7,11-13; Lk 13:22-30 Entering through the Narrow Door Sin, death, and corruption found a place in the universe of God through the disobedience of man to God’s word, prompted by the ancient serpent, the evil one. They are perpetuated through man’s ignorance and continuing disobedience to the word of God. Every divine plan to address the situation of our world must address the problem of sin in the world and in man specifically. Hence, the Proto-Evangelium, the first promise of salvation to fallen man and woman, is about God sending his word anew to us. The whole universe obeys the word of God, for everything came to be, and continues to be, by the word of God. The only discordant tone comes from men doing their own wills, and not God’s. The salvation of man lies in coming back to the will of the Father. Thus, the Church looks up to God, who alone can bring this about, and prays in the opening prayer that God...
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CALL NO ONE YOUR FATHER

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SAINT ROSE OF LIMA, VIRGIN Ruth 2:1-3,8-11,4:13-17; Ps 128:1-5; Mt 23:1-12 The Teachers of Heavenly Mysteries God, who is our heaven, commingles with the earth at every moment in time, as time mixes with eternity. But we reach or perceive the mysteries of heaven only through faith in the word of God. In a similar manner, we experience time through the way we perceive things and relate to them on a daily basis. The one who is able to remove himself from relations among things to relations within himself catches a glimpse of eternity, for our minds and wills are spiritual faculties. Our Christian faith gives us a spiritual life. It originates from God and gives us a faculty to see God and cooperate with him. Thus, the scripture says that it is impossible to see or please God without faith. Since the word of God dwells within us by faith, a person of faith draws life from the word of God within and not from without. We are ruled from without when we focus our attention on the things...
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LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS

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OUR LADY, MOTHER AND QUEEN Ruth 1:1,3-6,14-16,22; Ps 146:5-10; Mt 22:34-40 Mother by Love and Queen by Faithfulness The Church’s celebration of the Blessed Virgin Mary as our Mother and Queen is to set her before us as a model and refuge in times of need. In doing this, the Church is only following the example of God and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God is the first to set the Blessed Virgin Mary before all the chosen people for their imitation and their succour in time of need; for from the beginning, he promised the fallen race of men the Woman and her Offspring. By that divine destiny, the Woman, who is to be in perpetual enmity with the devil, became the mother of all the elect of God. God chose her to be the mother of the Word Incarnate, and by that choice made her the bearer of the Eternal Word and all who are to be reborn of the Eternal Word. Since the word of God can live in us only by faith, none can contest that she excels in faith in the word of God. But only lo...
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WEDDING FEAST OF THE SON

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SAINT PIUS X, POPE Judges 11:29-39; Ps 40:5,7-10; Mt 22:1-14 Invitation to the Wedding Feast Our Lord puts another parable before his audience. Just as in the other parables, he intends to teach us about the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. The Gospel says he directed this parable to the chief priests and elders of the people. Thus, the first audience or target of the parable is the chief priest and the elders within the Jewish people. “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come.” In support of our understanding of the one denarius given to the workers in the parable of yesterday as a gift and not a payment as such, the parable here presents the kingdom as what is given gratis. The chosen people were invited to the communion of God by God’s revelation of his word to them. Their refusal to obey the Commandments and follow God's word is a rejection of...
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THE GENEROSITY OF GOD

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  SAINT BERNARD, ABBOT, DOCTOR Judges 9:6-15; Ps 21:2-7; Mt 20:1-16 The Impossible and God’s Generosity As we learned from our Lord himself, it is impossible for us to make heaven by our own devices or achievements. At the same time, he consoles us by saying that nothing is impossible for our God. Understanding that God made us for himself; he made us that we may know him, love him, and serve him in this temporal life, to be happy in his communion forever, is a consoling doctrine. God, who created us for himself, will bring us to himself if we cooperate with his grace. The source of all the graces of God is the Son of Man. Hence, it is necessary for us to walk in his company, for as Saint John wrote in his Gospel, the Law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Grace is the presence of God offered to us for our salvation. By our faith in Jesus Christ, we enter the abundance of grace made available for us to attain communion with God. Jesus Christ is...
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THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF ETERNAL LIFE FOR MAN

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TUESDAY, TWENTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Judges 6:11-24; Ps 85:9,11-14; Mt 19:23-30 Impossible for Man to Follow Christ Every time we come to the statement of our Lord Jesus Christ on the impossibility of man entering the kingdom of heaven, we are struck with fear, confusion, and amazement. Reflecting on these solemn words of our Lord clears most of our doubts and strengthens our hope of possessing the communion of God. The Lord’s statement was a reaction to the sudden and sad departure of the man who desired communion with God. The Lord asked him to go sell everything he owned and give the money to the poor, then come join the company of his followers. The Lord made a just demand on him, and on each of us, who seek the life of God. In our first parents, Adam and Eve, we freely abandoned God and all he had to offer us for what is pleasurable to the senses and for the gratification of self. It is therefore a just demand on us to abandon all our external possessions and embrace the...
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