Dear readers,
I will be going through a 30-day Ignatian retreat for the whole month of October. For this reason, I will not be posting Sunday Gospel reflections for the Sundays of October. I ask for your prayers for this important time in my life, and I would like to assure you of mine. If you have any specific prayer intention that you would like me to pray for, please email me at [email protected] before the evening of October 1 (Philippine time).
Thank you! And see you in November!
Fr. J
This reflection is based on Mark 8:27-35.
In today’s Gospel, our Lord asks His disciples a life-defining question: “Who do you say that I am?” It is a life-defining question because the way we answer that question–who, for us, Jesus is–should have tremendous consequences on our lives. Who we say–and believe–Jesus is, if taken seriously, must affect our decisions and shape our actions.
This homily is based on Mark 7:31-37.
The Gospel story today features another one of those healing miracles performed by our Lord. This time, we are told, he heals a deaf man with a speech impediment. Nothing exciting there. Our Lord has performed more dramatic miracles–like the exorcism of a legion of demons or the raising of Lazarus from the dead.
This reflection is based on Matthew 7:1-23.
When the Pharisees saw the disciples of Jesus eating with unwashed hands, they were scandalized. For the washing of hands was an important ritual for the Jews. Our Lord answered them by quoting the prophet Isaiah:
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
This reflection is based on John 6:60-69.
Our gospel story has what I consider two of the most poignant questions in the entire Bible. Our Lord has just talked about one of his most controversial teachings: That we need to eat his flesh and drink his blood. Indeed a “shocking” teaching, a saying that is “hard to accept.” As he watches his followers depart, one by one, he turns to the Twelve and asks, “Do you also want to leave?”
Simon Peter’s response on behalf of the Twelve is also a question: “To whom shall we go?”