15th Sunday of Ordinary Time: July 11th, 2010

1st Reading from the Book of Deutoronomy, 30: 10-14
-Conditions for Restoration and Blessing-

"You will have to turn to Him with all your heart."

The key to the Book of Deutoronomy lays on this statement: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strenght."

Deutoronomy's Book calls us to the most basic of the Commandments, to love our God first and foremost, with the understanding that, in loving Him, in putting our trust in Him, we shall discover that the path to salvation is easier when we have God on our side. For without him, salvation is nothing but a dream that shall never come to pass.

We are called to love our neighbor as much as if he is a part of us. A basic and simple word: love. It can be a noun or it can be a verb, and either way when we hear the word love, we cannot help from seeing pink, we cannot avoid feeling feathers all over our skin, we cannot ignore the taste of chocolate and champaigne... And who can ignore the butterflies flying all over their stomachs?

Love. It sounds simple and fun, but the reality is a bit more complicated. Because true love is acceptant of others' shortcomings, it is forgiving and it is full of second, third, and fourth chances. Love is a lot of work... With one single exception: God's love.

Dear Lord, may our actions speak on behalf of us, so when we come to you on the day of Judgement, our transition from here to there will be a comfortable one; may we get to experience God's merciful forgiveness so we can understand the real meaning of the word love.

*********************GOD IS LOVE*************************

2nd Reading, from the Letter of Paul to the Colossians, 1: 15-20
-The Person and Work of Christ-

"... (Jesus) is the first-born Son, superior to all created things."

Paul writes a loving and peaceful letter to the Colossians, with the intention of bringing their attention away from earthly confusing theories, and hoping that the Colossians will find their way back to the path intended by God.

So in this fragment of Paul's letter, we are blessed to receive the enlighting words that shows us that we are better-off focusing on Jesus, on his life, work, and legacy, than focusing in any other teaching that might subtly drive our attention away from him.

God gave us his Son, so we could learn from him, about sacrifice and about loving our neighbors. Through Jesus we also learn that we are to love God the Father, and that we must trust his plans and its designs, so we can find our way throughout life.

Through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross our sins are forgiven, not just once, but twice, and then again many more times. The fact that we infinite chances to be forgiven, is the measure that we must use when we ask ourselves 'how many times should I forgive that person?'

Christ tells us, via Paul's letter, that "Christ existed before all things", and explains to us that "Jesus Christ is the head of his body, the Church." With words so clear and direct, we are left with no room for confusion. The statement about Christ being with us before the beginning of times, should serve us as a beacon of light that will help us to easily follow God's path on this Earth.

So, in order to lead a life that will grant us a place on God's Heavenly Banquet, all we have to do when facing one situation or another, is to ask ourselves "what would Jesus do right now?", or "how would Jesus handle this particular situation?" The answers should not be too hard to find if we look towards the beacon of light that Jesus represents on our lives.

Beloved Father, we thank you for the present of your Son to us; we thank you because in a world as confusing as this one, you have given us Jesus as our teacher. May we become worthy of being Jesus' students, so we can mature into good examples to others, of how God's children are to live their lives.


*********************GOD IS LOVE*************************

The Gospel according to Luke, 10: 25-37
-The Parable of the Good Samaritan-

"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart... and our neighbor as yourself."

On our 21st Century society, if one finds a person distressed on the side of the road, common sense tells us to be cautious because it could be a ruse to take advantage of the helper. Law enforcement personnel are likely to be the first ones to offer aid to a fellow in distress. So what would we think if even a policeman or a firefighter drove by blatantly ignoring the person in need of help?

Such is the situation described on the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The beautiful parable that tells us about loving our neighbor. If we pay just a bit of attention and think about the parable's message, we will discover that the parable asks us beyond merely identifying who the neighbor is, because in so many words the parable asks us to become the one who will love the neighbor, all neighbors.

During the times when the parable first saw the light, a Samaritan was the least expected person to be out there offering help to a stranger. The other two men who walked by the mugged man -before the Samaritan walked by-, were the one who common knowledge of the times, suggested would be inclined to stop and offer help. A priest and a Levite walked around the man on the road, both going to the opposite side, avoiding having to offer assistance.

Jesus teaches us to love our neighbor as we do ourselves. He does not say choose and pick, or be careful to whom you offer help to; he especially leaves out any words that would suggest to us to be picky in deciding who to help. Jesus' words encourage us to help, no matter who, no matter where, to just help.

So we are called to look the other way, not to ignore the person on the side of the road, but to look the other way ignoring the person's color, race, gender, or general looks. Whether the person looks rich or poor, God asks us to help; because after all anyone who is asking us for help is a branch of the one tree from which we all come from.

Beloved Father, thanks for your infinite patience, and for your never ending love for us. Please help us to be less critical of others and more welcoming towards our brothers and sisters who are in need of our help.

14th Sunday of Ordinary Time: July 4th, 2010

1st Reading, from the Book of Isaiah, 66: 10-14c
-The Lord Judges the Nations-

"The Lord says, "I will bring you lasting prosperity."

On this reading God speaks, clearly offering the people of Jerusalem, a prosperous future. Their journey back to the Promised Land has lasted about 40 years, and they feel emotionally and physically exhausted. Their spirits are starving for reassurance, so God's message to them, is manna from the heavens. The Almighty is giving them confirmation of how much He loves them, and the message is a prophecy of how far in life they will go.

Like the people of Jerusalem, today's migrants hope for words of encouragement, wishing that -at their destination-, prosperity will await for them.

In these hard economic times, when all we hear on the radio and television are government news explaining how bad our situation is, and how much worse it will be before getting just a bit better, we too hope - like the people of Jerusalem- to hear the Good News. Because it is during difficult times like current ones, that we crave for promises of a better and bountiful future. And though we might not be aware of it, deep inside what we most yearn for is something compared to the celestial promise that God gave to Jerusalem when he said, "You will be like a child that is nursed by his mother, carried in her arms, and treated with love."

Dear God, we call onto you, faithful children, trusting you, believing in you, and above all, hoping that our time for prosperity be near.

***************************GOD IS LOVE*****************************

2nd Reading, from the Letter to Paul to the Galatians, 6: 14-18
-Final Warning and Greeting-

Paul letter to the Galatians is a reminder to live a clean life, to cultivate a pure heart that is eager to follow God's path.

The people of Galatia is experimenting disbelief and confusion, and their psychological strenght is so depleted that God's Good News are considered to be "false teachings." So Paul's letter to them is written with the hope that they will be able to see the veritable truth that multiplies in front of them, that external signs of submition do not lead us to be better Christians, but instead that it is only through sacrifice that our cross will become lighter and easier to carry along.

Erroneously, we are lead to believe that we can reach the Kingdom of God by merit of listening to human teachings, that insist on claiming that their message is the only one and the "real" one. As we grow up, the understanding that the truthful servants of God can be identified by their actions and not by their clothes or the symbols they use to adorn their bodies.

Beloved Father, may we be able to become your greatest students, so we are able to help spread your message to many more than just a few.


***************************GOD IS LOVE*****************************

The Gospel according to Luke, 10:1-13, 17-20
-Jesus Sends Out the Seventy Two- & -The Return of the Seventy Two-

"...do not be glad because the evil spirits obey you; rather be glad because your names are written in heaven."

Turner and Hooch. Rick Castle and Detective Beckett. FBI agents Mulder and Scully. The mere fact that cops and other law enforcement agents patrol in pairs is an indication of the potential dangers that performing their duties can bring along.

On today's Gospel the 72 are sent out in pairs too, hinting that the same dangers faced by cops on the street could await at the end of their road. The potential for danger awaits every step of the way, and despite this, off they go. Jesus, a good supervisor, instructs them to be prepared because, though some towns will receive them with open arms, some others will be so unwelcoming to them, that the 72 will be rightful in reminding those towns that even their own dust will turn on them when Kingdom comes.

Police force, fire-fighting teams, teachers, doctors... They're never enough of them to supply demand. The lack of having enough laborers to work during harvest time has been announced in this Gospel through Jesus' words to the 72. The anomaly of not having enough hands to do the job remains ever present today in almost every field, from fast-food workers to priests in the Mother Church -especially within our Mother Church which today's anemic numbers signal a great lack of brothers, sisters, and other dedicated religious ministers-.

Upon their return, the emotional 72 share with Jesus stories about their amazing journeys, including tales that include evil spirits obeying their orders. Jesus reply to them is much more than a wake up call, as it redirects them to the fact that the glory attached to their "uniforms" ad to their special powers, are mere glitter without glue that cannot stick to any surface. Jesus reminds them that the real glory given to them lays not on the "special powers" blessed upon them, but on the fact that through their work and their sacrifices their names will be added on to the glorious "list of Heaven."