Today Jesus gives us his mission statement: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”
Christ’s followers are also called to seek out what is lost
In other words, Christ’s whole life was for others. Everything he did and said was aimed at bringing people back home to the Father’s house, back onto the path of true happiness.
That is still his mission, today. More…
Keep your eyes on the finish line
“I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.”
More often than not, it is near impossible to find the connection between the second reading and the Gospel for Sunday’s liturgy. The reason for this is that, more often than not, there’s not one, because the liturgy of the word is designed that way. The first reading and the Gospel always have some connection: The Lord fulfilling an Old Testament prophesy, for example. The responsorial psalm, often echoes a sentiment from the first reading, to reinforce its message. But the second reading More…
Listening is as important as asking in prayer
Somewhere between faith and hope lies the virtue of trust, which among the three is perhaps the one that counts most on us.
In today’s Gospel (Luke 18:1-8), the Lord shows us how and where we can exercise and measure our trust. The measure of our trust in God reveals itself when we examine our prayer.
Jesus uses a parable to illustrate this point. More…
Has Sunday ever snuck up on you before?
That’s what happened to me this week, which is why this post is going to be just a little different, but I’m taking advantage of providence to share what’s on my mind regarding the Liturgy we are gradually walking into this time of the year. But first… More…
The prophet Habakkuk, in today’s First Reading, stresses the power of faith — he also gives us a clearer idea of what exactly faith is.
Habakkuk lived in the 6th century BC, when Israel had been conquered by the Babylonians and the majority of Jews had been deported. It was as if a hurricane, like Katrina, had swept over not just one city, but the entire country. Habakkuk is in the middle of it all, he sees the devastated city and countryside, strewn with corpses, burned and barren.
Habakkuk feels the pinch of poverty and destruction. And he does the most natural thing in the world: he complains to God about it:
How long, O Lord? I cry for help, but you do not listen! More…
We often hear people say that they will get to heaven because they haven’t committed any really, really heinous crimes.
“I’m a good guy,” they say, “I haven’t murdered anyone or sold weapons to terrorists.” This attitude is not a Christian attitude.
“No servant can serve two masters.”
Jesus wants our undivided hearts.
He doesn’t give a third alternative. There are only two paths in life, the one that leads closer to Christ, or the one that leads away from him. More…
Have you ever wondered how this parable would have ended up if the older brother had been a better brother?
When the younger, rebellious son abandons his father, the father has to respect that. He can’t force the young man to love and trust him. He can’t go out and try to force his son to come back home. He can only wait, hoping that the son will have a change of heart and come back.
But the older brother doesn’t have to wait. He doesn’t have to be passive. More…
One area where we often fail to utilize our reason and creativity is our own growth in holiness.
Doctors are always reading up on the latest medical research. Athletes are constantly striving to maximize their performance. Professors never tire of refining their expertise. Can we say the same about Christians striving to be more like Christ?
Christ wants your creativity
Biltrix 