Daily Reflections
In commemorating this annual feast of the presentation of the Lord in the temple, let us delve into the profound significance of presenting oneself before the Lord. The contemplation on the importance of Jesus being brought to the temple transcends mere adherence to religious duties. The events unfolding during Jesus’s…
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Reflecting on the relationship between a messenger and tradition is pertinent to the current state of missionary work. Mark 6:7-13 describes the Lord sending his apostles to bear witness. The essence of being “One Sent”, a messenger, embodies deep-rooted faith, tradition, and a clear sense of purpose and direction. The…
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The Gospel today has Jesus crossing the sea, and a crowd was already gathered at his expected landing spot. News can travel fast. As Jesus disembarks and walks along the shore, the stage is set for three types of interactions with Jesus during this very eventful visit. See and Hear…
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Have you ever thought about the Liturgical seasons in the calendar year in terms of a ‘roller coaster’? Probably not. Neither did I, well… until now. There have been and will be, in a short period of time, many tight turns and steep slopes, and wild changes, however not unpredictable.…
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Today’s saint of the day is one of the church’s greatest theologians and a Doctor of the Church: St. Thomas Aquinas. It would be hard to overstate his impact on both the Church and the world. St. Thomas was born in Italy in 1225. When he was 19 years old,…
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The Call of the Disciple: The call of the disciples at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry shows God’s decisiveness to establish his kingdom on earth. Jesus’ method was simple. First calling the disciples to be with him, and later to be sent out, to impact their world. Being with…
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Yesterday we celebrated the conversion of St. Paul, and what a dramatic conversion it was! From being such a ferocious persecutor of Christians, he turned into the most fervent disciple of Jesus. And his fervor was not limited to just traveling and preaching to the people of distant lands, but…
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Today the Church celebrates the conversion of St. Paul, who is regarded as the Apostle to the nations. The first reading of the day’s liturgy from Acts 22: 3-16 (cf. Acts 9: 1-22) recounts, in graphic details, the story of Paul’s conversion. The turning point was his encounter with Jesus…
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The enjoyable part about today’s Gospel (Mk. 4:1-20) is that it is written like a two-scene play. You can just see the scenes playing out in your mind as it is read. Scene one is Jesus preaching parables from a boat to a crowd on the beach. Scene two is…
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My dear friends, the first reading is very interesting. It expresses the joy of King David before the Ark of the Lord. He moved the Ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the capital city of Jerusalem, which he recovered from his enemies with great rejoicing. Recall that…
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