Luke 21: 20-28 (Thursday, November 29, 2007)

Jesus invites us in today’s gospel to trust in him. When things are not going smoothly; when life becomes too difficult; when you get to a point of giving up; Jesus says, hold firm in your trust. We see this trust in the life of Job in the Old Testament. When he lost everything and even the wife asked him to curse God and die, Job held firm to the Lord because he believed strongly that when he is down to nothing, God is up to something in his life. What about Daniel in the Old Testament? When he was thrown into the lions den, he trusted that his God will save him and His God saved him. In my life I know so many people who gave up. They could not trust in the Lord when they met challenging times. They felt the Lord had abandoned them. Remember, all the those difficult and challenging times have a life span, but the life with Jesus is eternal. Let us stand firm in him because he is coming with power and great glory to liberate us from our present bondage.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ give to us the faith of Abraham, the trust of Job and the courage of Daniel. Help us every day of our lives stand firm, believing that our day of redemption is almost at hand.

Luke 19: 45-48 (Friday, November 23, 2007)

God’s house is indeed a house of prayer. One question we must ask ourselves today and sincerely try to answer is this, what is God’s house to me personally? We need not find the answer in our Baltimore catechism or in some Church book. We must find the answer from within ourselves. This reading challenges us to access the things we do in the Church and how we respond to the things other people do in the Church. Do you chew gum in the Church? Do you make noise or deliberately cause distractions in the Church? How do you respond to people that do these things? In some Churches, Bingo or raffle tickets rank almost higher than the Eucharistic celebration. For others, it is all about offertory and fundraisers rather than preaching the Word and praying. Do you courageously speak against these practices with the pastor or through the parish council? That is what Jesus did in today’s gospel. He knew this might cost his head, but he courageously did it because he knew that was the right thing to do. You are called to speak against evil in the Church, irrespective of who is involved.

Prayer:
Lord, give us the courage to always stand by you and speak strongly against all evil in your house. May you help us to make your house to be truly a place of prayer by the way we conduct ourselves.

Luke 6: 6-11 (Monday, September 10, 2007)

One thing very significant in today’s gospel is Jesus’ healing of the man even though it was a Sabbath day. It raises the question of the importance of laws. The laws are not there to enslave us, but to guide us. Since the sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church in the United States, some priests have become paranoid in doing ministry. So many laws have been created to protect our children. These laws are not to be taken literally. Would you deny listening to a confession of a child under the age of 18 years just because there isn’t an adult around? Must you insist on a transparent confessional door even if the parish cannot afford one? We must always keep in mind the spirit of the law. At each point in time, it is always important to do what is right even if it is going to generate opposition. Jesus knew the people were going to use the incident to accuse him, but he still went ahead to heal the man because he believed that was the right thing to do. As you strive to live your Christianity in a radical way, you would be confronted with decisions in which if you make the right decision, you would be opposed or persecuted. Jesus invites you today to fear no opposition, just do the right thing.

Prayer:
Lord, sometimes we are timid and afraid of opposition. Give us the courage to always stand firm and do the right thing even if it will bring us persecution.