Unprofitable Servants...

We are unprofitable servants

 

And so let us all continue what we have been 

doing for God, the church, others and say:

“We are unprofitable servants;

we have done what we were obliged to do.”

Initially I found this Gospel (Luke 17:7-10) to be somewhat difficult to understand. I would tend to interpret that the master is harsh and lacking in gratitude for what his servant has done for him. But this is not the case. Jesus wants to teach us about the basic attitude of a servant or a worker like us. A servant is simply there to work and to accomplish the household duties that are expected of him/her. His purpose is to correct the way the scribes and Pharisees relate with God. They thought of religion as a contract between master and servant. They performed their religious duties in the hope of getting special reward and better treatment in His kingdom.

            The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company… a church … a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes.”

Initiative, ingenuity and inventiveness

Think of all the gadgets and conveniences that have been devised to meet our needs, no matter how trivial; machines which buff our shoes before we leave the house; ways of turning on the lights with a sound; devices acting at a distance to save us steps and movement. The inventiveness, initiative and ingenuity of human beings with respect to matters that are not life and death, testify to truth of human poverty! We show a great deal of ingenuity when it comes to our comfort and security. But our world lacks inventiveness in dealing with acts and deeds of human love - we should be creative in listening, understanding, caring, patience and ability to respond practically to the problems in our own environment, family, home, neighbourhood, friends, and life.

small deeds done are better than great ones planned!

 

Let go and enjoy....

Mahatma Gandhi once summarized the Hindu religion in some words taken from one of its sacred books: "All is filled with God. Renounce it and enjoy it." To simply: all we have comes from God; we are caretakers of what is God's. Our response is to use it in love; above all, we are to take lightly property and possessions, not grasping them as if they were our true security. God knows we and all people need possessions, but there should be some looseness in our grasp of them, coupled with a readiness to let go of them, to share them, and use them well.  We live once on earth....!

Good fight in journey of life...

Good fight in journey of life...

            In the journey of life we need first, to know our enemy. Some of our most dangerous enemies we carry within are our: laziness, fear of discomfort, pride, oversensitivity to what others think of us and so on and so forth. But Satan is our greatest enemy and therefore, we “should not be ignorant of his designs,” St. Paul advices us to be well acquainted with his character and never ignore his active and destructive work. Jesus advises us to watch and pray against temptation and pray to God to “deliver us from the Evil One.”

            In the journey of life, don't fight alone; ask the help of the Holy Spirit. Pride easily dominates our thinking. We are shocked by the sins of others and yet we are blind to our own weaknesses. So we need the gifts of the Holy Spirit to equip ourselves against anything that is evil, to depend on Him to overcome the Evil One and make the right decisions.

            In the journey of life, been short as it is, we need to be quick to put right a wrong relationship. Hurting others and feeling hurt ourselves cannot be avoided. That is why Jesus teaches us that there is a need to forgive others not only seven times but seventy times seven. It is because, like for example our anger, if we let our anger to continue even if the sun goes down already, we may be sleepless; depressed and irritable in the following morning; and will give the devil an opportunity to exploit our anger. So let us be quick to put it right.

            Wishing you a day full of peace in spirit, busy but not rushed and alert but not tense.

God keeps on pursuit....

30th Ord. Sunday - Yr B.

God keeps on pursuit....

Today’s gospel is about a man by the name of Bartimaeus who had a handicap of not seeing. He was blind. He is one of the dregs of Jewish society whose blindness is considered as a punishment from God because of his sinfulness he committed. He was hurt not only physically but also above all, spiritually and emotionally. He is spiritually and emotionally hurt because people rejected him and isolated him from the community and Jesus knew how painful this was. He shouted at Jesus to help him in his sickness. Jesus stopped and said, "Call him here...what do you want me to do for you?" In this way, God cares for us no matter who we are or what we have done. God never abandons anyone even those who abandon him. God loves us all and will continue to pursue us whenever we stray. God will never ever give up. This is cause for great rejoicing.

Progress in Love....

Sometimes, we need not a brilliant mind that speaks but a patient heart that listens, not a keen eye that sees faults but an open arm that accepts and not a finger that points mistakes but a gentle hand that leads. Sometimes being understanding is more important than being right.



(Prophecy, Apr 11, 2015 Feast Milton) 

Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael - Archangels.... (Sept. 29)

Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael - Archangels.... (Sept. 29)

 

            Today we celebrate three archangels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. The term archangel occurs only in one book of the bible and seems to be an honorary term given to angels whose names appeared in scripture. Michael means - who is like God. He is understood as the one who marshals heavenly power against evil. He is often depicted in warrior mode. He is the universal patron for the church and against evils and Satan battles. Gabriel means - God is strong and he is the one who carried important messages to Mary, Joseph and Zachariah; he is the patron saint of communication. Raphael means - God has healed. He is the promoter of healthy and the patron saint of medicine.

            The word angel means messenger in the original Greek. Angels, as stated in the scripture, serve many other functions: companions, guardians, guides, overseers,, members of the heavenly court.

            All this suggests that we should think of them as personifications of the loving presence of God among us and in us. in any case, we understand angels best if we think of them as doing what all of us should be doing for each other, that is, serving as the means by which God heals, comforts, strengthens, helps fellow human beings, touches to soothe, accompanies, welcomes, supports, defends....etc. Our angels are our fellow humans in acting the grace of God in LOVE....

 

PRAYER TO: SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL

St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.