DAILY HOMILIES

Jesus started with prayer, and throughout His public ministry, He never joked with it. He would rise early in the morning, go to a quiet place to pray (Luke 4:42), and at the end of the day, after dismissing the crowd, he would go again to a lonely place to pray. (Matthew 14:23, Mark 6:46). He would even spend a whole night praying (Luke 6:12). When you are prayerful, a certain aura goes with you; you don’t need to shout or make noise. Your very presence in any space is already a threat to demons. Jesus did not break a sweat dealing with the demon-possessed man. As we often say: “power pass power.”

Instead of allowing the truth to cure their pride, they turned against Jesus, intending to throw Him off the cliff. Their action did not nullify the bitter truth. Salvation is not hereditary, nor is it automatic. Indeed, the fact that I am a Catholic does not qualify me for heaven; it is the way I live that counts.

When Jesus speaks about carrying our crosses, He is not referring to sufferings entirely beyond our control. For instance, if I suffer from a medical condition, I cannot call it a cross because it is not something entirely within my power. I cannot choose to drop it or pick it up at will. The crosses we must bear as we follow Jesus are those sufferings that come to us in the process of pursuing a righteous life. In other words, you have a choice to either compromise your values (give in to sin to end the suffering) or continue doing what is right even though you are being persecuted for it.

Treat your body as God’s temple. If unmarried, keep yourself free from all forms of immorality. If you are married, be faithful to your spouse. Adultery is a sin. Keeping a side-chick or side-cock is evil. There is no justification whatsoever for the act of sex outside of the holy domain of marriage. Anyone who considers this statement about adultery offensive is another Herod in the making. Like St. John the Baptist, we would not stop proclaiming the truth.

A Christian who rejects the cross fails to carry the extra oil. For instance, as a youth, you may have the experience of your peers laughing at you and calling you a fool for not joining them to partake in the pleasures of the world.

Always remember the end; always remember that even the air you breathe is borrowed and you will have to relinquish it someday. Thinking of our death often helps us to be less materialistic; it also helps us to forgive easily. Reminding ourselves that we shall die helps us to take life lightly and refrain from complaining when we don’t seem to have all we need.

As a Christian, if people get close to me, would they see something different from what I portray in public? Do I even believe the things I preach? Do I expect anyone to believe me if I am not convinced about right and wrong? How do I hope to convert a single soul if I am still an unbeliever? How long will I keep hiding, hoping my secrets will never be exposed?

Jesus did not condemn tithing; He said it is less important than justice, mercy, and faith. This means that on the last day, God will never ask why you refused to pay your tithes. Instead, He will ask you why you failed to practice justice, mercy and faith. We will be judged for failing to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, visit the sick and the prisoners, etc. If you do not feel like tithing or you do not believe in it, you are not sinning.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Bartholomew, otherwise known as Nathanael. He was born at Cana and brought by the Apostle Philip to meet Jesus. Bartholomew did not hide his deep-seated convictions regarding Nazareth as a whole.

The fact that the Church continues to exist despite its long history of internal and external attacks is nothing short of a living miracle. It testifies that humans are not in charge, and God governs the Church. Over the years, many have sought to destroy the church, and many continue launching spurious attacks with hearts filled with hatred. In the end, just as Jesus said: “The powers of death can never prevail against the church.”

We may lie to the world about who we are, but we can never lie to God. The worst kind of life (and the most miserable too) is living in pretence; projecting a false image of yourself like an actor on stage. Funny enough, the movie comes to an end too quickly, and the audience gets to know the true identity of the characters. As Jesus said: “Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.” (Luke 12:2)

Ezekiel’s prophecy of the dry bones shows us that it is not possible for there can be dead cases as far as our lives are concerned. We can always change; there is always room for repentance. We can never be too old to start learning again. Why is it that it can never be too late for God? His steadfast love never ceases; His mercies endure forever. God’s mercies are new every morning. As we often sing: “Great is thy faithfulness, O Lord. Great is thy faithfulness.”