For your easy reference, the following is a list of weeks and years with their corresponding date:
30 Oct 2016 – 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
31 Oct 2016 – Monday of Week 31 Year 2
1 Nov 2016 – All Saints Day
2 Nov 2016 – All Souls Day
3 Nov 2016 – Thursday of Week 31 Year 2
4 Nov 2016 – Friday of Week 31 Year 2
For your easy reference, the following is a list of weeks and years with their corresponding date:
23 Oct 2016 – 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
24 Oct 2016 – Monday of Week 30 Year 2
25 Oct 2016 – Tuesday of Week 30 Year 2
26 Oct 2016 – Wednesday of Week 30 Year 2
27 Oct 2016 – Thursday of Week 30 Year 2
28 Oct 2016 – Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles – Feast
Nowadays, looking for a man or a woman who is true, genuine, loving and caring is not so easy. This is especially true if one gets to know another through social media or through the internet. We come across many situations where a person appears to be one way online, but could be quite different when met in person. Even when we get to know a person, the person may be putting on a show or a mask to appear different from what he or she really is. This is where we need to be cautious and discern carefully, find out more about the person, before we even consider any serious relationship which may lead to marriage.
Marriage is not something which we play play, since it is a life-long commitment. That is why we should take heed of what St. Paul tells us in today’s reading: “Give way to one another in obedience to Christ. Wives should regard their husbands as they regard the Lord, since as Christ is head of the Church and saves the whole body, so is a husband the head of his wife; and as the Church submits to Christ, so should wives to their husbands, in everything. Husbands should love their wives just as Christ loved the Church and sacrificed himself for her to make her holy… To sum up; you too, each one of you, must love his wife as he loves himself; and let every wife respect her husband.” May we be properly prepared and discern carefully whether the other person is whom we would want to live with for a lifetime, and may we depend on God for His help and guidance, so that we would learn to love unconditionally, just as He loves us.
For your easy reference, the following is a list of weeks and years with their corresponding date:
16 Oct 2016 – 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
17 Oct 2016 – Monday of Week 29 Year 2
18 Oct 2016 – Saint Luke, Evangelist – Feast
19 Oct 2016 – Wednesday of Week 29 Year 2
20 Oct 2016 – Thursday of Week 29 Year 2
21 Oct 2016 – Friday of Week 29 Year 2
For your easy reference, the following is a list of weeks and years with their corresponding date:
9 Oct 2016 – 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
10 Oct 2016 – Monday of Week 28 Year 2
11 Oct 2016 – Tuesday of Week 28 Year 2
12 Oct 2016 – Wednesday of Week 28 Year 2
13 Oct 2016 – Thursday of Week 28 Year 2
14 Oct 2016 – Friday of Week 28 Year 2
For your easy reference, the following is a list of weeks and years with their corresponding date:
2 Oct 2016 – 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
3 Oct 2016 – Monday of Week 27 Year 2
4 Oct 2016 – Tuesday of Week 27 Year 2
5 Oct 2016 – Wednesday of Week 27 Year 2
6 Oct 2016 – Thursday of Week 27 Year 2
7 Oct 2016 – Our Lady of the Rosary, Memorial
Every once in a while we come across a person who seems bent in creating problems for us as a church, or such a person is going all out to persecute us, like some sort of villain or antagonist who aims at getting rid of us or get the better of us at all costs. Some of us may try to avoid such a person, or even pray that God would do something to change the person’s ways, so that we would be left in peace. The funny thing is, God does do such things from time to time, and a person who was once so mean and wicked, could change to become a defender of the faith.
In today’s reading, we come across one such person named Paul, who tells us: “You must have heard of my career as a practising Jew, how merciless I was in persecuting the Church of God, how much damage I did to it, how I stood out among other Jews of my generation, and how enthusiastic I was for the traditions of my ancestors. Then God, who had specially chosen me while I was still in my mother’s womb, called me through his grace and chose to reveal his Son in me, so that I might preach the Good News about him to the pagans.” From a persecutor of the faith, Paul became a great defender of the faith, and even eventually died for the faith.
What does this mean to us? It means that we need to be patient and trust that God will take care of things. We need to be courageous and persistent in sharing our faith with others, just as Paul was after his conversion. If God can change a person like Paul, and use him for His glory, just imagine what God could do for us, if we are humble and willing to let God be in control.
Looking at what is happening around us, in our families, in our communities, in our country, throughout the world; I sometimes wonder… Have people become crazy? Has the world gone insane? Are we heading towards disaster or impending doom? We see innocent children being killed, some even while in the womb, since there are some who think that abortion is a right, they are the victim and the foetus is the aggressor. We see marriages falling apart and in some places, even the definition of marriage is being challenged. We see children being mistreated or even tortured, sometimes due to issues between adults or between their own parents. We see domestic violence, maids being ill-treated, misuse of power or authority, rape, corruption, exploitation, people going on amok or on a rampage, just because they have been so easily influenced by certain irresponsible parties.
Amidst all the mayhem and mess we are facing, we could understand how the Prophet Habakkuk must have felt in the first reading when he said: “Outrage and violence, this is all I see, all is contention, and discord flourishes.” Is it any wonder that more and more people around us are experiencing depression, some even to the point of ending it all, due to the madness happening around us. So how do we cope? How do we find meaning in life, when things all around us seems to be falling apart?
The readings today speak of faith. Faith enables us to see that God is in control, even though evil seems to be gaining the upper-hand; faith gives direction when we are lost; faith helps us to persevere and press on even when faced with the many problems. In the world today, we need faith more than ever if we are to survive. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that if we have faith “the size of a mustard seed” we could uproot trees and move mountains. What does this mean? Jesus is not telling us that faith in God means God is going to perform something miraculous or spectacular for us, since that would reduce God to merely an entertainer, magician or some sort of wonder worker. Faith is when we believe God will take care of all things and not allow us to come to any harm. Faith is letting God to be God, letting God take control of our lives and do what is best for us, according to His terms and for His glory. It is in this context that, if we trust God, then even a tiny mustard seed could perform wonders way beyond our imagination and expectation, since it is God who allows it to take place. The problem is that some of us feel we must take a greater role, we want to be ones that can move mountains rather than letting God to do this. But if we say that we have ‘faith,’ then we must be prepared, willing and humble enough to let God have a free hand to do what is best for us.
Today, let us echo the words of the disciple and ask God to “increase our faith.” Let us be docile and willing to let God take care of us and do what is best for us, putting on the eyes of faith and knowing and trusting that no matter what happens, no matter how bad the situation may be, we have a God who will not abandon us and will be there for us.
For your easy reference, the following is a list of weeks and years with their corresponding date:
25 Sept 2016 – 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
26 Sept 2016 – Monday of Week 26 Year 2
27 Sept 2016 – Tuesday of Week 26 Year 2
28 Sept 2016 – Wednesday of Week 26 Year 2
29 Sept 2016 – Saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels – Feast
30 Sept 2016 – Friday of Week 26 Year 2
Why do we follow Jesus? Have we decided to follow Jesus, no matter what happens? If disaster strikes, would we still follow Jesus, knowing and trusting that Jesus would be our help and guide? Or would we abandon Jesus and go for some other form of help? Sometimes, we come across people who claim to follow Jesus, only because they think that Jesus could be of use to them. Could some of us have such an attitude, thinking that Jesus is merely a means to satisfy our demands?
In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that following Him comes at a cost. We should be ready to give up everything we hold so dear, take up our cross and follow Him. We should also learn to be detached from people and things, so that we could be free to do God’s will. Would we be willing to surrender all to follow Jesus? Or have we become so attached to persons and things around us, and such persons and things have become obstacles preventing us from becoming true disciples of Jesus? May we be true to ourselves and be willing to become true followers of Jesus, letting Him be our constant help and guide, with trust and hope that we would be with Him for all eternity.
