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The Ten Lepers: The Healing Power of Gratitude Brothers and sisters in Christ, In today's Gospel, we hear the story of ten lepers who encounter Jesus as He is traveling toward Jerusalem. They stand at a distance and cry out: “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” Jesus hears their cry and tells them, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they go, they are cleansed of their leprosy. But something very interesting happens. Out of the ten who were healed, only one returns to Jesus to give thanks. And Luke makes an important observation: the one who returned was a Samaritan, a foreigner. Jesus asks: “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?” This question is not simply about good manners. It is a question about the human heart. It challenges us to examine our relationship with God. Let us reflect on three important lessons. 1. We are often very good at asking but not always good at thanking. Notice how all ten lepers prayed when they were suffering. They knew whe...

Prayer of an Overseas Worker Father God, it’s so lonely out here. Many times I’ve asked myself why I had to go here in the first place, and why I can’t go back yet to where my heart truly is, where my true happiness resides. Why must I walk these streets alone? Why must I eat this bread without my family? Many sights have so amazed me since I got here and yet no beauty has ever succeeded in wiping away the tears from my eyes. For without my loved ones, what can all these things mean to me? I’d rather be blind, I’d rather tire myself to sleep so I won’t have time to remember, to cry, to long so painfully for the people I love so much. Help me O God. Give me strength to bear such a terrible longing. Give me hope so that the vision of your blessings for my loved ones always be before me. Give me faith so I can cling on that hope on my darkest and loneliest days. Let me never forget the reason why I came here for. Let me never forget who I am and to whom I really belong....

GOSPEL REFLECTION: 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) Matthew 21:33-43 5th October 2014 by Rev.Fr. Allen Baclor Abadines  * GOSPEL: Matthew 21:33-43 Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: "Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. "When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. "Finally, he sent his son to them saying, "They will respect my son." But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, "This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance." So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. "Now when the owner ...

Homily Gratitude and Mobility Mk 1:29-39 What happened yesterday in wowowee is no longer a secret to you. It has left 73 dead and 355 wounded. We pray for them. This is the flight of our fellow Filipinos who are like Jacob is complaining for the sufferings and hardships in this life. However, we should not lose hope because God is constantly seeking us, to help us and to heal us. This is what He did to the mother-in-law of Peter. Jesus entered Peter’s house and healed the woman in her high fever. However, the message does not end here. After she was healed by Jesus, she immediately helps Jesus and the apostles in their work. This demonstrate not only the effective power of the Lord Jesus Christ that inflicts instant healing but also the goodness of Peter’s mother-in-law to offer her service as natural reaction of a human being that her life is for the service of others and as a gratitude to the Lord for strength and health. She put herself in the service in Jesus and the Apostles so th...