DAILY HOMILIES

Jesus is not afraid to approach the cross because of his absolute confidence in the resurrection. This is the same confidence we should have when we go through tough times. Whatever it is I am suffering today, one day will come that I would get down on my knees and say: “God, I thank you for allowing me to suffer those years.”

The feeling of regret or better put, emptiness is what comes to us when we realize our past actions were mere acts of foolishness, especially those spurred by vain ambitions.

Man’s opinion about you may be damaging but it is God’s opinion that matters. The name people call you is just an identity, it does not define your essence. The fact that people are laughing at you or insulting you does not make you a loser. Let God have the last word.

Go out of your way to help people in very critical situations and then disappear. Take some money, rush to the nearest hospital and pay the bills of someone who has no hope of paying, then, just leave quietly. Your act of kindness can trigger a positive chain reaction leading to even greater deeds of kindness.

At no point is it ever justified to act against our Christian values. Not Even in Secret. If you must do anything in secret, make sure it is something good, something noble, something worthy of praise

Jesus is teaching us first to think carefully like this steward of what shall become of us after our death (when we are relieved of our stewardship) and secondly, to use “what does not belong to us now” to be charitable to others so that like this steward, we would be welcomed into Paradise.

There are different hearts, the stony heart, the root-less heart, the distracted heart, and the rich heart. There are different ways people respond when they hear the word of God, but the beauty of it all is that the word of God is so powerful that in whatever heart it enters, it does not remain stale. Something must happen.

Albert Einstein said: “If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would only have four years left to live.” This is just an example of how roles could be different yet complementary. We are not going to ask some human beings to turn into bees in order to keep other humans alive nor are we going to ask bees to change into human beings. Everyone’s role is different but we all need each other.

If you agree that Mary carried Jesus in her womb for nine months and went through labor pains to have him, I do not know of any mother that would not feel a thing while watching her innocent son go through all of these. Whatever our present sorrows in this life may be, let us be consoled that we have a mother who was no stranger to sorrow and reach out for our rosary in asking for her intercession.

If we are being persecuted, insulted, and denied our rights because we are Christians, one day, our very sufferings shall become our badges of honor in heaven. As we celebrate the exaltation of the cross today, so also shall we be exalted for our faithfulness in carrying our cross.

When we quarrel with each other, there is a tendency for us to assume we can just be on our own, that we can survive without this person or that person. The truth is that what unites us is greater than what pulls us apart. The person you refuse to help today may be your last resort tomorrow. Not even death can separate us from each other. This world is a small place; smaller than we think. We are all one body!

If only we can just have the Centurion’s Faith and learn to approach Holy Communion as the Centurion approached Jesus, we would be amazed at the number of miracles we would experience. Let the words we recite at every mass remind us of how the Centurion’s slave got cured and assure us of our own healing.