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GRATITUTE FOR GRACE OF SALVATION

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SAINT MARTIN OF TOURS, BISHOP Titus 3:1-7; Ps 23; Lk 17:11-19 Living to Praise God Learning to praise God in all situations shows advancement in Christian maturity. We start off on our Christian vocation with a mindset conditioned by our physical or natural life. We consider and judge everything from a material perspective because that is what we are used to. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ gradually starts modifying our worldview, as we meditate and pray his salvific mysteries in the liturgy and in Scripture. The more we let the Holy Spirit guide us into the deep mysteries of Jesus Christ, the more we shed our natural way of seeing and evaluating things and embrace the spiritual way. Those things that used to attract and please us before gradually lose their grip on us; and spiritual things begin to appeal more to our spirit. The means God uses to change our lifestyle from physical or natural to spiritual are usually trials and difficulties. These constitute the process of pu...
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THE JOY AND POWER OF CHRISTIAN LIFE

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SAINT LEO THE GREAT, POPE, DOCTOR Titus 2:1-8,11-14; Ps 37:3-4,18,3,27,29; Lk 18:7-10 Living the Christian Doctrine The Christian vocation is beyond our expectations. Given our fallen state and how sinful the thoughts of our minds are, and the despicable things we have loved and dedicated our lives to before now, we ought to celebrate our conversion to Jesus Christ daily. By his life, death, and resurrection, Christ has rescued us from the dominion of darkness, sin, and evil, and brought us into his wonderful light, by which we now know God as our Father. The reality the Gospel of Jesus Christ presents to us is different from the realities of our sensible world. They are divine truths hidden behind visible realities, which enlighten us on what we perceive with our senses. Only faith in Jesus Christ connects us to the spiritual realities from which spiritual goods flow to us. Since faith is our adequate response to the word of God, no one can know we truly believe the Gospel if we...
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TEMPLES FOR WORSHIP OF GOD

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FEAST OF DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN BASILICA 1 Cor 3:9-11,16-17; Ps 46:2-3,5-6,8-9; Jn 2:13-22 The Dedication of Our Temple We celebrate the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, built by Emperor Constantine in 324 on the Lateran Hill. Rome has celebrated it since the twelfth century to mark the basilica's significance as “the mother and head of all the churches of Rome and the World.” The celebration was extended to the whole Roman Rite as a sign of unity and love towards the See of Peter, the head of the apostles. In celebrating the ancient basilica, the Church looks beyond the physical building to the reality which it signifies, the Church as the body of Jesus Christ. The dedication of the physical building is only a symbol of believers’ conversion and dedication to worship of the living God in the physical buildings and elsewhere. Physical buildings are dedicated only to mediate the consecration of our bodies and lives to God. The dedication of the physical building ...
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ENOUGH OIL FOR OUR LAMPS

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  SUNDAY, THIRTY SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Wis 6:12-16; Ps 63:2-8; 1 Thess 4:13-18; Mt 25:1-13 The Wise and Foolish Virgins Wisdom features prominently in today's readings. Wisdom is such a lofty virtue that the Eternal Word is called Wisdom himself. He is the Father's wisdom, and we see it at work everywhere in his creation. He exists in everything and directs all things to their proper end. Wisdom’s presence in creation prompts us to see the whole creation as a divine school for man. Though we are made in the image of God, we are not born wise; each of us needs to listen attentively to imbibe or cultivate wisdom from creation and the operations of natural things. Because the word of God that brought things into existence still governs their operations, wisdom is present and active among us. “Wisdom is bright, and does not grow dim. By those who love her she is readily seen, and found by those who look for her. Quick to anticipate those who desire her, she makes herse...
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ETERNAL COMMUNION WITH GOD

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FEAST OF ALL SAINTS OF THE ORDER OF PREACHERS Lev 19:1-2,17-18; Ps 1:1-4,6; Mt 5:13-16 Vocation to Preach the Word of God We celebrate together all the brothers and sisters of our Dominican family who have reached the heavenly banquet. Every Christian's vocation is holiness of life. Since God is holiness, the call to be with God is a call to be holy. This is what the reading from Leviticus teaches us. “The Lord spoke to Moses; he said: ‘Speak to the whole community of the sons of Israel and say to them: “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.”’” Thus, even in the Old Testament, God required the people of Israel to be holy as their God. He set a high ideal for them, not that they could ever be holy as God. But he did so that they may desire the life of holiness. Holiness is never something we can achieve on our own but comes to us in the company of God. The word of God, which carries the divine presence and holiness confers the same on us when we harbour it in our minds, ...
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STEWARDS OF GOD'S GIFTS

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FRIDAY, THIRTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Phil 3:17-4:1; Ps 122:1-5; Lk 16:1-8 Dishonesty with God’s Grace A steward's dishonesty usually stems from vested interests or dislike of the master. When a steward nurtures interest different from his master’s interest and the goal for which he was employed, he starts using his master’s resources to achieve his own goals. In this case, the steward becomes unfaithful and useless for the purpose for which the master employed him. It is in the master’s best interest to lay off such a dishonest steward and employ another who will represent and promote his interest in the establishment. This is exactly the case in today’s Gospel. “There was a rich man, and he had a steward denounced to him for being wasteful with his property.” Each of us can see himself or herself in the dishonest steward. God made us and placed us in charge of his business. What business of God are we in charge of? Surely, each of us has charge of his or her life. Life...
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THE CAUSE OF HEAVENLY JOY

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THURSDAY, THIRTY FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Phil 3:3-8; Ps 105:2-7; Lk 15:1-10 The Rejoicing over One Repentant Sinner We may not fully know or understand the cause of heavenly rejoicing over a repentant sinner because the mystery of God also enters into this area. God’s mysterious will is very difficult for fallen human nature to discern. What we consider good and pleasing to the Lord is often far removed from what God wants of us. Saint Paul is a good example. He was raised in Judaism by virtuous parents. He knew the Law of God and applied himself to it without reservation. But he was revealed to be a sinner through and through when the light of Jesus Christ came to him. His self-judgment as righteous and religious, according to external observance of the Law, could not win him a place in the presence of Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. “If it came to relying on physical evidence, I should be fully qualified myself. Take any man who thinks he can rely on what is physical: I am...
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