FEARING NO ONE (Mt 10:26-33): 22 June 2008 (Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
The first line our Lord speaks to his disciples struck me: “Fear no one.”
“Sure,” I catch myself in mid-thought. “Easy for you to say.”
Not so easy for the rest of us. We are no strangers to fear. We know what it’s like to be scared. It’s not a pleasant experience—unless you’re one of those people who get their kick out of screaming their lungs out during horror and slasher movies.
LETTING GO AND GIVING UP (Mt 9:36-10:8): 15 June 2008 (Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time)
It was probably the opening shot of One Republic’s music video of their song, “Say (All I Need), that first caught my attention. It was unmistakably the Sacrecoeur Cathedral in Montmartre, Paris, with its signature immaculate facade.
CHOOSING THE BROKEN (Matthew 9:9-13): 08 June 2008 (Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
You can’t really blame the Pharisees in the gospel reading today. They see the Lord invite a corrupt tax collector to follow him. More than that, he dines with him and other sinners–a big “no-no” among the Jews. Like the Pharisees, we can’t help but wonder why the Lord doesn’t make better choices with regard to whom he chooses to be his follower and whom he breaks bread with.
“SPEAKING OF ROCKS AND SAND” (Mt 7:21-27): 01 June 2008 (Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
In today’s Gospel reading, the Lord talks about collapsing houses due to shaky foundations. He is, of course, teaching us that more than anything else, the strongest foundation we can find to build our lives on is following God’s Will and doing good.
SURVIVING THE WORLD WE KNOW (Jn 6:51-58): 25 May 2008 (Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ)
Lately, reading the papers or watching the news has been more painful than usual, thanks to all those recent tragedies. As a result, one can’t help but identify with the main character in Collective Soul’s music video of “The World I Know,” a man commuting to work, but driven to despair by all the bad news in the world.