Oct 26, 2022 | DAILY BREAD
Thursday of week 30 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Luke 13:31-35
Here we see a conflict between the worldly power and the power of charism. The worldly power puts restrictions and the charism bring in light and love. Jesus is defending the charism that it will continue to act until it completes its mission. We must defend the charism above the restrictions of the power of our selfishness. Church is an organism. The whole concept of Synodality is to make the Church work like an organism where each and every component can play its role. When the power of human selfishness takes the role, the charism disappears both from the Church and from our personal sphere. Therefore, the Gospel puts before us the question: Are you courageous enough to call the power of your selfishness “fox” and to continue the mission of the charism of the Gospel?
Oct 25, 2022 | DAILY BREAD
Wednesday of week 30 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Luke 13:22-30
“Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed”. This is pretty hard, when we read that many will try to enter and will not succeed. So, what is wrong here? They are trying and still not succeeding. There is something basically wrong. Yes, there is something wrong as he say this again, ““We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets” but he will reply, “I do not know where you come from. Away from me, all you wicked men!”. They were together with him and in his company. We are celebrating the Holy Mass and praying. We are in His company. Will we also hear the same thing? Are we doing the same mistake? If then, what is going wrong? What goes wrong is the first sentence in the gospel passage, “Jesus went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem”. He was on his way to Jerusalem. They ate his presence and they listened to him but they did not go with him to Jerusalem. We celebrate the Holy Mass and pray in His presence, but we are not ready to go with Him to Jerusalem to be in the cross.
Oct 24, 2022 | DAILY BREAD
Tuesday of week 30 in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Luke 13:18-21
Seed and yeast, both contains the vitality inside them to act and to produce the effect. What they need is the favorable conditions, for seed to grow and yeast to leaven. This is what is about the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God has its innate power. From our part what we must do is to create favorable conditions that the Kingdom of God incarnate. But unfortunately, often we are busy taking the role of Kingdom of God ignoring the duty to create favorable conditions. Losing the trust in the efficiency of the Kingdom of God to realize itself and having the trust in the structures to create the Kingdom of God is the problem. The Kingdom of God is working in silence, and it will work in silence. Kingdom of God needs only our docility to the Word of God. Let’s not hinder the growth of the Kingdom of God by our over enthusiasm and faith in structures. The silence of seed in growing under the soil and the yeast in leavening in the flour is not passivity. It’s the active realization of the Kingdom of God in its favorable conditions.
Oct 23, 2022 | DAILY BREAD
Monday of week 30 in Ordinary Time
Saint Antony Mary Claret, Bishop
Gospel – Luke 13:10-17
“‘There are six days’ he said ‘when work is to be done. Come and be healed on one of those days and not on the sabbath.’” The synagogue official interprets the healing of Jesus as a work. This interpretation continues in our life. We also interpret our mission and acts of love and mercy as work. The result is that we have working hours to love and do charity. We started making holidays for doing good things. When the mission is transformed into a duty, the mission loses its life. Mission is not anymore part of you. Mission is just a means to do something good. This is not following Jesus. Jesus did heal the woman on sabbath because his action was part of his love and mission. Before the person who needs his help, there is nothing that stops him. This is the mission. Nothing can stop from doing good when there is life in our mission. Before this gospel let’s analyze how much life is there in my mission? Or do I find excuses for not doing good? Or do I postpone the good I have to do good?
Oct 22, 2022 | DAILY BREAD
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel – Luke 18:9-14
Jesus is saying the parable regarding those who “prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else”. Priding oneself on being virtuous is that we do when we want to feel better than others because we are not really better than others. So, our pious activities give us the false assurance that we are better. The quality of life is not measured by the pious activities we do, but on how much we love. What matters is how much you are humble to love. The more you are humble, the more you can love. The intensity of love is measured by the strength of humility. And the quality of life is measured by the intensity of love. But when the pious activities do not generate love, they force us do despise everyone else. Because it puts you in the center and the rest of the world is worthless. Let us be humble to love and then rest of our activities be around this principle.
