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“Remember Lot’s Wife: Be Ready, Be Watchful, and Do Not Look Back” Brothers and sisters in Christ, In today's Gospel, Jesus speaks about the coming of the Son of Man. He refers to two important events in the Old Testament: the days of Noah and the days of Lot. In the time of Noah, people were eating, drinking, marrying, and conducting their ordinary activities until the flood came and destroyed them. In the time of Lot, people were buying and selling, planting and building until fire and sulfur rained down from heaven. What is interesting about these examples is that the people were not necessarily doing anything wrong by eating, drinking, marrying, buying, or building. These are ordinary activities of human life. So what was their problem? Their problem was that they were so absorbed in their everyday activities that they failed to recognize the seriousness of their spiritual situation. They lived as though life would continue forever, without considering their relationship wi...

Luke 17:20–25 The Kingdom of God Is Among You Brothers and sisters in Christ, In today's Gospel, the Pharisees ask Jesus a very interesting question: “When will the Kingdom of God come?” Perhaps they were expecting Jesus to give them a date, a particular sign, or some extraordinary event that would announce the arrival of God's Kingdom. But Jesus gives them an unexpected answer: “The Kingdom of God is among you.” This statement is at the very heart of today's Gospel. Jesus is telling them that the Kingdom of God is not simply a future event to be anticipated. It is already present in their midst because Jesus Himself is among them. Yet there is something tragic about this encounter. The Pharisees are asking when the Kingdom will come, but they fail to recognize that the King is already standing before them. This Gospel invites us to reflect on three important lessons. 1. We sometimes look for God in extraordinary events while failing to recognize Him in our daily lives....

Homily on Matthew 25:1–13 “Keep Your Lamps Burning: Be Ready to Meet the Lord” My dear brothers and sisters, In today's Gospel, Jesus tells us the parable of the ten virgins who went out to meet the bridegroom. Five were wise, and five were foolish. All ten carried lamps, and all ten were waiting for the bridegroom. But there was one important difference: the wise brought extra oil, while the foolish did not. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, someone announced: "Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!" The five wise virgins were ready. They had enough oil for their lamps. But the foolish ones discovered that their lamps were going out, and they had no extra oil. Jesus concludes the parable with a very important warning: "Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour." What is Jesus teaching us through this parable? 1. All of us are waiting for the Bridegroom In biblical tradition, t...

Lucas 15:1-10 - The Joy of God Who Seeks The Parables of the Lost Sheep  and the Lost Coin "There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." - Lk 15:7 1. Introduction - Who is this Gospel for? My dear brothers and sisters, look at the first line of Luke today. It tells us everything. "The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, and the Pharisees and scribes murmured." There are two groups around Jesus. The sinners who know they are lost, and the self-righteous who think they are found. And Jesus tells this parable for both . If you have ever felt far from God, this Gospel is for you. If you have ever judged someone who is far from God, this Gospel is also for you. Our God is not a God who waits. He is a God who seeks. 2. The Lost Sheep - God Leaves the Ninety-Nine The Story: A shepherd has 100 sheep. One is lost. What does he do? He leaves the 99 in the des...

In a world still fractured by walls of enmity and distracted by the urgent noise of the present hour, Christ our peace calls us to keep our lamps burning and our hearts ready. Today is Tuesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time. It is also the optional memorial of St. Paul of the Cross, the eighteenth-century Italian priest and founder of the Passionists, whose life was spent keeping the memory of the Cross alive as the true source of reconciliation and peace. The first reading from Ephesians 2:12-22 reminds us who we once were and who we have become. Once “far off,” strangers to the covenants and “without hope and without God in the world,” we have been brought near “by the blood of Christ.” He is our peace: in His flesh He broke down the dividing wall of hostility, abolished the enmity, and created “one new person” in place of the two, reconciling both to God in one body through the cross. We are no longer strangers but “fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of ...

Mateo 22, 15-21 — Feast is usually 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time — "Ibigay kay Cesar ang kay Cesar, at sa Diyos ang sa Diyos." Gospel: Matthew 22:15-21 Noon, umalis ang mga Pariseo at nag-usap kung paano huhulihin si Jesus sa Kanyang salita. Sinugo nila ang kanilang mga alagad kasama ng mga Herodiano at sinabi: "Guro, alam naming tapat Ka... Ano sa palagay Mo? Matuwid bang magbuwis kay Cesar o hindi?" Alam ni Jesus ang kanilang masamang hangarin kaya sinabi Niya: "Bakit ninyo Ako sinusubok, mga mapagkunwari? Ipakita ninyo sa Akin ang salaping pambuwis." Nagpakita sila ng denario. Tinanong Niya: "Kaninong larawan at pangalan ito?" "Kay Cesar po." Sinabi Niya: "Kung gayon, ibigay ninyo kay Cesar ang kay Cesar, at sa Diyos ang sa Diyos." HOMILY: The Trap That Became a Teaching 1. The Most Dangerous Alliance: Pharisees + Herodians This is unholy team-up. Pharisees hate Romans. Herodians love Romans — they work for Herod, pro-Rom...