1. 20th Sunday in Ordinary time: Year B
    Proverb 91-6; Ps. 34; Eph. 5:15-50; John 6:51-58

    Theme: A true Christian life is a meal prepared in a house set on seven pillars

    Beloved in Christ, our first reading today presents Wisdom as a woman who has prepared a meal in a house set on seven pillars. The tradition of seeing God’s wisdom as a woman arose after the Babylonian exile when women began to play the crucial role of ensuring the survival of the new society. Among other things, women made clothes, prepared food, stored food and ensured that food was distributed justly. They also kept record in writing and passed on knowledge to the younger generation by raising and educating children. Thus, the survival of the entire society depended on how a woman carried out her duty. The wise woman, Lady Wisdom, is one who did her job well and brought life to others; whilst the foolish woman, Lady folly, failed her duty and brought death to others (Prov. 1, 8, 9).

    In Proverb 9, both women prepare a meal and send out invitation but one of the meals leads to life while the other brings death. What is the difference between the foods prepared by these two women? Is it the spices? No! The author of the book tells us that Wisdom, the wise woman, prepare her table in a house set on seven pillars.  The number 7 in Scripture means, completion, perfection, that which is pleasing in God’s eyes. The seven pillars that support Wisdom’s dinner house remind me of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Council, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord (Isaiah11: 2). The seven pillars also remind me of the seven sacraments of the Church, all of which are meant to restore us into the image of Christ, make us authentic disciples, people who are set apart for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

    Beloved, Like Lady Wisdom, you and I are the custodians of the Bread of life. We are the ones who receive Jesus in the Eucharist; and so it is our duty to feed people and help them come to experience new Life in Christ. But unless we prepare our meal in the house set on the seven pillars, we cannot bring life. We shall be like lady folly, feeding people with food that leads to death. That is why St Paul in the second reading tells us “pay attention to how you behave … be filled with the holy Spirit….celebrate the Lord in your heart”

    As Christians, our actions are NEVER neutral; they will either bring people life or destroy their lives.  If you think of your life as a meal, what food are you feeding people with? Is it a meal prepared in a house that is set on the seven pillars?
    May God renew his Holy Spirit within us and help us open our hearts one more time
    to the transforming power of Christ, The Bread of Life, so that our own lives will be a meal that saves. Please listen to this video and make this prayer your on. May God consecrate us anew to Himself.
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  2.                                          19th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

                                        1 Kings 19:4-8; Ephesians 4:30-5:2; John 6:41-51


    Theme: How to taste and see the goodness of God

    Our responsorial Psalm today invites us to taste and see the goodness of God. How do we do that? I am not a very good cook so I like to taste my food a couple of times in order to be sure that it is well done and that it will make me happy when I eat it. One thing I have learned about tasting food is that I have to clear my mouth of everything that is bitter in order to have a good taste. St. Paul, in our second reading today tells us that there are certain things we need to get rid of in order to have the best taste of life in Christ: “All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice”.

    Beloved in Christ, are you angry with someone? Do you feel betrayed? Do you feel unjustly treated. Do you feel you have laid down your life for somebody or some people and they did not appreciate it? Do you feel you have had enough of some situation and cannot take anymore? You are not alone. That was the situation of the prophet Elijah in our first reading today.

    Elijah is one of the greatest prophets in the OT.  He loved God and loved his people and would stop at nothing to bring God’s love to the people and teach the people how to attain true peace and joy in life. On Mt. Carmel (1 Kings 18) he virtually put his life on the line for God and His people. Despite all his love for the people, Elijah was rejected by them; and he had to run away from the city to hide in a cave because King Ahab  and the Queen, Jezebel, wanted him dead. That explains why the prophet cries out  “It is enough!” I cannot take it anymore! I am done! He was angry and bitter and that took his joy away. He even thought life had no meaning.

    Beloved in Christ, there are times in my own life when I feel like Elijah, angry and frustrated and want to tell God, It is enough, I am done.  Are you like Elijah and me? If so, do not be discouraged. There is hope!

    God has some good news for you today. There are three things God wants you to know today:
    1. God wants you to understand that it is okay to feel that you cannot handle the pain and anger alone. Actually, that is the truth. God never meant for you to carry the burdens of life alone.  He knew that Elijah could not do it all with his strength; that why he sent His angel to bring new strength (food to Elijah). So God knows that you cannot do it all by yourself.

    2. But God does not agree with you that it is over.  What God wants from you is your willingness to be surprised again by Him. Your openness to spill all the anger and hatred, and the pain from your mouth and taste the new food that he sends. That is all He needed from Elijah. In a sense, God was telling Elijah you think it is over but I have some new strength that I can surprise you with. If you are ready for that strength, you can be the man, the prophet I made you to be. You can love again, you can be my instrument again.

    3. God needs your cooperation to turn your situation around. He needs your cooperation to take the pain and anger away. Remember, God provided new food but it was up to the prophet to wake up from his sleep, make the decision to let go of all the pain in his heart; and dare to take the new food that God had for him. The food that was given to Elijah, was a symbol of the Eucharist, Jesus, the Bread that has come down from heaven, as we read in our Gospel today.

    When Elijah decided to let go of all the pain and allow God to surprise him, he saw that he was not done yet. He saw that he could go on. He saw that he could love again, that he could be a prophet again. Are you ready to let go of any pain and anger in your heart and allow God in order to taste and see the goodness of God one more time?
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  3. Feat of St. Lawrence: Deacon and Martyr
    August 10th

    2 Cor. 9;6-9; Ps. 112; John 12:24-26

    Theme: God has placed His Life in our hands; let us not betray the trust God has placed in us.
    Martyrdom of St. Lawrence

     "Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me" (John 12: 25-26).
              The life and martyrdom of  St. Lawrence affirm the truth in the above words of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. St. Lawrence was a deacon who was in charge of  the Church's treasure  under Pope St. Sixtus II. He understood his life as a gift from God and his office as sign of the trust that God has placed in him. To St. Lawrence, this trust was something that should NEVER be betrayed; something that must be protected even in the face of death. 

    My dear reader, your life like that of St. Lawrence, is a gift from God and all the blessings that God has given you, family, friends, vocation, and any other blessing God has given you is a sign of the trust He has in you. It is important to remember that the greatest treasure that God has given us is the gift of  faith in Christ Jesus; that faith that makes us channels of blessings to our family, friends, and society at large. It is our duty to hold fast to this treasure, defend it, and hand it on to the next generation. God has placed His trust in you and me; and He is counting on you and me to help others understand and embrace the true treasure of life (faith in Christ). This may call for red-martyrdom like that of St. Lawrence or white-martyrdom, which is letting go of your own will in order to allow God's will to be done.  

    As a Catholic in the USA today, God is counting on you. He has placed His life in your hands; and His trust in you. To what extent would you go in order to hold fast to the gift of faith in Christ and the trust that God has placed in you? Would you lay down your life for it? Do the choices you make everyday in your life show that you would? 

    May God bless you!
    For more on the life of St. Lawrence please visit http://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php







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  4. Monday, August 9th
    Jer. 31:31-34;  Ps. 51; Mt. 16: 13-23

    Theme: Loving God means allowing God to be God.

    Discipleship is not so much about how much knowledge we have about Christ but the extent to which we allow Him to be who He is in our lives: God

    Beloved, the story of Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross), whose memorial we celebrate today, teaches us that reading about God will bear fruit in our lives only if it is accompanied by a desire to fall in love with Christ and allow Him to possess our hearts. This approach to seeking knowledge about Christ is what opens our hearts to Christ and makes it possible for us not only to live in God's presence every minute of the day but also renew our  relationship with God by allowing Him to write His laws anew on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:31-34). This is what it means to die each day to our own ways in order to allow God to be God in our lives. This is what St. Peter learns in our Gospel today: That Jesus is Christ, but Christ in the way the Father wants him to, and that he, Peter, will have to be the rock in the way Christ wants him to. We also need to learn from our celebration today that we cannot be Christians the we want to; and that knowledge about Christ alone is not enough. It must lead to allowing Him to be God even when you disagree with Him as Peter was in today's gospel and as Edith Stain was for 14 years before she gave her heart totally to Christ. 

    May God renew a steadfast spirit within us (Ps. 51); and help us translate our knowledge of Christ into love for Him. Love that allows God to be God.


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  5. 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
    (Year B)
    Readings: 2 Kings 4: 42-44; Psalm 145; Ephesians 4:1-6; John 6: 1-15

    Theme: God can make all things new; He brings new life to all who turn to Him.


    Beloved in Christ, we thank God for another opportunity to listen to His Word and dine with Him at the table of the Eucharist. Our Scriptural Readings today talk about the power of God to make all things new.  Both the First Reading and the Gospel talk about how God brought new life to people by feeding them.

    One verse that the Lord called my attention to as I was reflecting on this homily was John 6:12, which tells us that after Jesus had fed the 5000 people with five barley loaves and two fish, He told his disciples to gather the scraps that were left over so that “nothing will go waste”  (V. 12) and the disciples gathered 12-basket full of the left over.

    St. John gives us a specific detail about the kind of basket that was used to gather the left over.There are two types of baskets mentioned in the New Testament. The first is the type that the Jews used to carry food as they travelled so that they would not have to eat any food that had been touched by pagans. That type of basket was referred to as Kophinos (see Matt. 14:20). The second type is the basket (spuris) that was used to save human lives. For example, St. Paul was saved by the Christians in Damascus when they placed him in a basket and lowered him through a window so that he could escape. It was a kind of a robe-basket. That kind of basket is what St. John describes in today’s Gospel as being used by the disciples to gather the leftovers.

    This basket symbolizes the saving hand of God, which saves and transforms a life/situation that human beings consider useless or hopeless; but that which is so precious to God, a life/situation that God turns around if it is offered to Him.

    Beloved in Christ, there are times in life when we come face to face with situations that seem hopeless and out of hand. There are times when all our knowledge, resources, and experiences seem inadequate in solving a problem. Maybe you have been fighting with some family situation for many years and the more you try the worse the situation gets. Maybe you are struggling with  some sin and you think you are too sinful for God to even love you or use you for anything. Or maybe you see your family member turn his back on God and the more you pray for him/her the worse s/he seems to get and you are giving up. No! God says, put those hopeless situations into the basket and present them to Him. He will transform them. That is what St. Paul did in the second reading. Even in prison, he still put the situation in the basket (the saving hand of God) and so could look beyond the present difficulties and bring hope to the people of Ephesus.

    So my dear People of God, let’s not give up. To God, nothing is a waste; no situation is hopeless; no life placed in His hand is a waste. He is telling you, no matter how rough the situation gets, continue to gather the pieces and present them to God. God is saying gather all the scraps (what is leftover) and put it in the basket. He can make all things New.
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