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• Isaiah 5:1-7
• Psalm 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20
• Philippians 4:6-9
• Matthew 21:33-43

Today is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A. As Catholics, we heed the call of the Blessed Virgin Mary to offer our humble recitation of the Holy Rosary for the reparation of sins. It is beautiful to continue this beautiful tradition to pray together, especially in this time, to be spared from appalling destruction.

God brings us together as the Church, the vineyard of the Lord here on earth, according to Vatican II. In both the Old and the New Testaments, the people of Israel represented by the grape vine. I am wearing a green chasuble with the embroidered image of a grape vine to remind us of our common bonding and relationship as the chosen people, planted by God to bear many fruits. Are we receptive of that call to produce the fruits of justice, peace and love?

The first reading from the book of Isaiah is his lamentations about his friend’s vineyard. He planted the choicest of vines and planted in a fertile ground yet “what yielded was wild grapes.” So, what he did was to “take away its hedge, give it to grazing, breakthrough its walls, let it be trampled.” It simply means to tear down. This is the image of God who planted a good crop for the people of Israel then tribe. The chosen people became a nation. Because of their pride, infidelity, and indifference the nation was rotten. It was by their own making the downfall of the chosen people, massive destructions, injustices committed by many, and bloodshed all over, and God was deeply hurt and disappointed.

The second reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Philippians tells us that the fruitful harvest in the kingdom of God is “by prayers, and petition with thanksgiving.” It assures us of plentiful harvest as a nation. St. Paul says, “Have no anxiety at all,” for the graciousness and presence of God sustains this earthly vineyard. Thus, after the Creed there is a Universal Prayer (Prayers of the Faithful) which offers all our personal and communal intentions to signify the Church as the Body and the vineyard of God. Christ shares with us His priestly role of interceding for various needs of the Church to the Father.

The gospel taken from St. Matthew is another parable to remind us of Israel as a chosen nation made in God’s vineyard. The vineyard was under lease and the landowner just receives rental and shares of the harvest. What has been transpired in the parable is the history of Israel in its allegory form.

First, God made His vineyard very pleasing to His sight. He was able to invest a lot for the growth to expect good and fruitful harvest. God, as the landowner, was successful then slowly, people transgressed against God, the landowner. The chosen people were unfaithful and were not keeping their promises.

Second, the landowner leased his vineyard to the tenants and went for a journey. When the harvest time came, he sent servants to take his share of the harvest that was due to him. However, the tenants choose not to pay and abuse the servants. These servants were the prophets whom God sent to Israel, only to see them abused and killed.

Third, the owner sends his son, thinking that they would respect him, but instead he was killed by the tenants. This refers to the sending of His only Son, Jesus Christ; however, they rejected Him and killed His Son as well.

God is a merciful owner. God has worked so hard through our Lord Jesus to bring back the glory of His Kingdom here on earth. We know that the kingdom or the vineyard is not ours, but I am sure that we belong to it. We must be responsible to keep God’s vineyard and we must work constantly bring forth good produce.

Let us be more receptive to the Word and the Eucharist, offer prayer of petitions to improve our relationships and responsibilities to the vineyard where we are part of in bringing life and wonderous produce to the Church today.

God bless you.

Fr. Arlon, osa

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El Dictado del Corazón:  Vigésimo Séptimo Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, año A

• Isaías 5:1-7
• Salmo 80:9, 12, 13-14, 15-16, 19-20
• Filipenses 4:6-9
• Mateo 21:33-43

Hoy es el Vigésimo Séptimo Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año A. Como católicos, atendemos el llamado de la Santísima Virgen María de ofrecer nuestra humilde recitación del Santo Rosario para la reparación de los pecados. Es hermoso continuar con esta hermosa tradición de orar juntos, especialmente en este momento, para salvarnos de una destrucción atroz.

Dios nos reúne como Iglesia, la viña del Señor aquí en la tierra según el Vaticano Segundo. Tanto en el Antiguo como en el Nuevo Testamento, el pueblo de Israel está representado por la viña. Llevo una casulla verde con la imagen bordada de una vid o parra, para recordarnos nuestro vínculo y relación común como pueblo elegido, plantado por Dios para dar muchos frutos. ¿Estamos receptivos a ese llamado a producir frutos de justicia, paz y amor?

La primera lectura del libro de Isaías son sus lamentaciones sobre la viña de su amigo, quien plantó las mejores vides y las plantó en un terreno fértil, pero “lo que dio fueron uvas silvestres”. Entonces, lo que hizo fue “quitarle el seto, darle pasto, romper sus muros, dejarlo pisotear”. Simplemente significa derribar. Esta es la imagen de Dios que plantó una buena cosecha para el pueblo de Israel a una tribu, sin embargo, la nación estaba podrida, infiel y por su propia creación provocó la caída del pueblo escogido, destrucciones masivas, injusticias cometidas por muchos, derramamiento de sangre. Todo terminó y Dios quedó profundamente herido y decepcionado.

La segunda lectura de la carta de San Pablo a los Filipenses nos dice que la cosecha fructífera en el reino de Dios se logra “con oraciones y peticiones con acción de gracias”. Nos asegura una cosecha abundante como nación. San Pablo dice: “No tengáis ninguna inquietud”, porque la gracia y la presencia de Dios sostienen esta viña terrenal. Así, después del Credo, hay una Oración Universal (Oraciones de los Fieles) que ofrece todas nuestras intenciones, personales y comunitarias. intenciones de significar la Iglesia, como Cuerpo y viña de Dios, Cristo comparte con nosotros su papel sacerdotal de interceder por las diversas necesidades de la Iglesia ante el Padre.

El evangelio tomado de San Mateo es otra parábola que nos recuerda a Israel como una nación elegida hecha de la viña de Dios. El viñedo estaba arrendado y el propietario sólo recibía alquiler y parte de la cosecha. Lo que ha ocurrido en la parábola es la historia de Israel, en su forma de alegoría.

Primero, Dios hizo que Su viña fuera muy agradable a Su vista. Pudo invertir mucho para el crecimiento y esperar una cosecha buena y fructífera. Dios como terrateniente tuvo éxito, pero poco a poco la gente transgredió a Dios, el terrateniente. El pueblo elegido fue infiel y no cumplió sus promesas.

En segundo lugar, el terrateniente arrendó su viña a los labradores y se fue de viaje. Cuando llegó el tiempo de la cosecha, envió sirvientes para que participaran en la cosecha que le correspondía. Sin embargo, los inquilinos optan por no pagar y abusan de los sirvientes. Estos siervos eran los profetas que Dios envió a Israel, sólo para verlos abusados y asesinados.

En tercer lugar, el propietario envía a su hijo, pensando que lo respetarían, pero los inquilinos lo mataron. Esto se refiere al envío final de Su único Hijo, Jesucristo, sin embargo, lo rechazaron y mataron a Su Hijo también.

Dios es un dueño misericordioso. Dios ha trabajado tan duro a través de nuestro Señor Jesús para traer de vuelta la gloria de Su Reino aquí en la tierra. Sabemos que el reino o la viña no es nuestro, pero estoy seguro de que pertenecemos a él. Debemos ser responsables de mantener la viña de Dios produciendo constantemente buenos productos.

Seamos más receptivos a la Palabra y la Eucaristía, ofrezcamos una oración de peticiones para mejorar nuestras relaciones y responsabilidades con la viña donde somos parte para traer vida y productos maravillosos a la Iglesia de hoy.

Dios los bendiga.

P. Arlón, osa

• Ephesians 4:23-28
• Matthew 22:1-14

Today is the 19th Sunday after Pentecost. It is a lovely day for us to start our week right. Today’s readings cite our continuous response to Christian renewal, and the gospel reminds us of our worthiness of the wedding feast, the Eucharist, which we celebrate every Sunday.

The epistle, taken from the letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians, is a reminder to all about how we shape ourselves as followers of Christ, being transformed disciples. “Transformed disciples” means that our character and personality must mirror that of Christ. Inspired by St. Augustine’s experience on how he changed and was converted for Christ, there is hope for everyone. His old self is what he recognized and surrendered to Christ and authentically progressed to walk with God’s grace. His conversion of mind and heart were the two essential actions to experience complete transformation.

St. Paul says, “Brethren, be ye renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, who according to God is created in justice and holiness of truth.” This is how God afforded us the ability to be spiritually renewed by frequently spending time for prayers and meditation, reading the scriptures and constant communication with God with an open heart. Our spiritual strength guarantees our ability to renew the world as well. This is our way to sanctification, which means a process by which we work along with God to become more like Jesus Christ. It is our total resignation that we seek spiritual transformation, which certainly follows good works and active participation in good things.

Are you consistent to open your heart and mind to be renewed and transformed by moving away from your old self? Take advantage of the many resources God has been giving you for your spiritual growth. Keep growing and seek God’s grace for your renewal, and ask God to help you so you will see that growth.

The gospel from St. Matthew narrates to us the parable of the wedding feast. Our concept of God’s kingdom is like a wedding feast. There are so many invited people, including the attendants, the entourage, the groom and the bride. God is the King, and his son is the bridegroom. The bride is the Church. The attendants are righteous people who have prepared themselves to be in the presence of God. The man not properly dressed symbolizes the sinners.

If you read the earlier verses of the gospel, you learn that Jesus explains how God sent His prophets to His chosen people, the Israelites, but they were mistreated and killed. God was angry due to the Israelites’ rejection of His goodness. Thus, He decided to also invite to the Kingdom of Heaven all the other nations and people, like the gentiles, besides the people of Israel.

In this parable, the people on the main roads are the people who have heard and valued the invitation of God to His kingdom. However, one of the discussion points is the man who did not have on a wedding garment. What is the wedding garment? How do we understand this man’s eviction from the wedding feast and “cast him into the exterior darkness?”

Brothers and sisters, the wedding garment symbolizes the state of being prepared in our hearts to know, to love and glorify God all the days of our lives. It is the state of our interior life that we truly evaluate and check. We are invited by God; and we must heed His call of repentance so that we are ready to embrace His holy presence.

On the final day of judgment, we will be assembled, and He will isolate all those who are not prepared, meaning unrepentant, those who refused to believe in Him and those who are indifferent and passive by their own decision. The true King will send them to the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.

Today, we realize that the patience of God has been afforded to us. Let us be prepared always for the last day when Jesus Christ, the King, will come to gather those of us who are worthy of His presence to join Him in the Kingdom of Heaven, while those who do not have the “wedding garment” will have the time to stick to the core mandate to know, to love and to serve Him. Let us always glorify His name in all we do.

Therefore, a changed lifestyle is necessary to give us an assurance of our final destiny and to avoid the choices of the world, participating in sensuality and corruption of body and soul. Do these activities of viewing, listening, reflecting and evaluating our lives which lead us to holiness.

God bless you.

Fr. Arlon, osa

• Ezekiel 18:25-28
• Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
• Philippians 2:1-11 or 2:1-5
• Matthew 21:28-32

Today is the first Sunday of October, the month of the Holy Rosary. I encourage everyone to please continue to recite the Holy Rosary for the reparation and for the conversion of the whole world. It is an immediate response to the many unexplained realities pulling us down to the abyss of evil. We need to get an inspiration to persevere in praying for the transformation of the world through the guidance, aid and protection of our Holy Mother Mary.

We are in the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year A. Our belief in Christianity is about relationships with God and others. What matters is how we “walk the talk” rather than mere expression of words. It is about the constancy of the things we do in the right way. Today’s readings, like the first reading from the book of Ezekiel, cites to us the word of the Lord to the Prophet Ezekiel, “You say, the Lord’s way is not fair, Hear now, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways are unfair.” What a beautiful reminder from the Lord, that it is through our inequity and wickedness that we begin to tarnish our relationship with God, but our commitment to do good preserves our life.

The second reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Philippians reminds us of this piece of advice, “Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory, rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves.” (v. 3) It expresses the fundamental attitude of imitating the humility of Jesus as the core value of our Christian lives. Jesus “humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Imitating Christ’s humility is indeed a challenge, but Jesus, both human and divine, becomes like us in all things and makes it possible to follow and imitate Him.

The gospel taken from St. Matthew is about the parable of the two sons. Beginning today, there are three consecutive Sundays where we will be hearing parables. Parables are the inspiring and earthly stories of Jesus with heavenly messages. It is interesting to know that Jesus has used ordinary and common happenings that are now happening in the world. He had grasped every opportunity to make stories which people could easily understand; however, there is a certain requirement, be first a “listener of Christ.” This parable is an opportunity for Jesus to teach the scribes and elders in Israel. There are three things I would like to delve on with this parable:

First, the two sons are required to answer, “yes or no,” to the invitation of Jesus to go and work in His vineyard. Obviously, the Scribes and elders answered a resounding “yes” because they were the first ones to hear the word of God. According to history, they were the chosen people of Israel and believed they were upright people by virtue of being recipients of God’s word. They said “yes” but did not respond to the invitations of Jesus; therefore, they never gained entrance into the kingdom. Their pride made them unable to accept Jesus, and they don’t want to belong to His mission of inaugurating the Kingdom of God.

Second, the other son responded “Nope,” to Jesus’ invitation. There were tax collectors and prostitutes. After some time, they listened to the call of Jesus seriously and then they became repented former sinners. They changed their “No” answer to a life changing “Yes” to the call of the vineyard of God.

Third, I believe that we are having lukewarm reactions to the invitation of the Lord. Maybe some of us would say “No,” when our life guarantees pleasure and comfort and when everything seems so easy and happy, unmindful of Jesus’ call to be with Him in the vineyard. However, when crises start to strike us, our negative response to God seems to be a lightning of fear and tribulation that we say, “Yes,” to the Lord.

Brothers and sisters, please let us not wait to be stricken by sickness, trials, agony, despair, brokenness, family disintegration, and natural calamities in order to change our hearts and minds to commit to Jesus. We must be realistic to be confronted with our human insufficiency and mortality. Let us deal with our lives with openness to the spirit to accept and live through the offering of Jesus’ mercy and compassion. Today’s Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9  says, “Remember your mercies, O Lord,” I often think God will be happy if we try to live moral lives. Our journey of faith would be difficult if we cannot accept forgiveness and leave behind our recurring horrible ways. It is not yet too late to change our hearts and decide to keep God’s calling to holiness. Let us remain humble in following God’s ways. God bless you.

Fr. Arlon, osa

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El Dictado del Corazón
Vigésimo Sexto Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año A

• Ezequiel 18:25-28
• Salmo 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
• Filipenses 2:1-11 o 2:1-5
• Mateo 21:28-32

Hoy es el primer Domingo de Octubre, mes del Santo Rosario. Invito a todos a que por favor sigan rezando el Santo Rosario por la reparación y la conversión del mundo entero. Es una respuesta inmediata a las muchas realidades inexplicables que nos arrastran al abismo del mal. Necesitamos inspiración para perseverar en la oración por la transformación del mundo a través de la guía, ayuda y protección de nuestra Santa Madre María.

Estamos en el Vigésimo Sexto Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, año A. Nuestra creencia en el cristianismo tiene que ver con la relación con Dios y con los demás. Lo que importa es cómo “predicamos con el ejemplo” y no una mera expresión de palabras. Se trata de la constancia de las cosas que hacemos de la manera correcta. Las lecturas de hoy, como la primera lectura del libro de Ezequiel, nos citan la palabra del Señor al profeta Ezequiel: “Tú dices: El camino del Señor no es justo. Escucha, casa de Israel: ¿Conque es injusto mi proceder? ¿No es más bien el proceder de ustedes el injusto? Qué hermoso recordatorio del Señor, que es nuestra inequidad y maldad lo que comenzamos a empañar nuestra relación con Dios. Pero nuestro compromiso de hacer el bien preserva nuestra vida.

La segunda lectura de la carta de San Pablo a los Filipenses nos recuerda este consejo: “Nada hagan por espíritu de rivalidad ni presunción; antes bien, por humildad, cada uno considere a los demás como superiores a sí mismo y no busque su propio interés, sino el del prójimo”. (v. 3) Expresa la actitud fundamental de imitar la humildad de Jesús como valor central de nuestra vida cristiana. Jesús “se humilló a sí mismo, haciéndose obediente hasta la muerte, y muerte de cruz”. Imitar la humildad de Cristo es ciertamente un desafío. Pero Jesús, a la vez humano y divino, se parece a nosotros en todo y permite seguirlo e imitarlo.

El evangelio tomado de San Mateo trata sobre la parábola de dos hijos. A partir de hoy, son tres Domingos consecutivos donde escucharemos parábolas. La parábola son las historias inspiradoras y terrenales de Jesús con mensajes celestiales. Es interesante saber que Jesús ha utilizado acontecimientos ordinarios y comunes que están sucediendo en el mundo. Había aprovechado cada oportunidad para dar ejemplos con las historias para que la gente pudiera entender fácilmente, sin embargo, hay un cierto requisito: ser primero un “oyente de Cristo”. Esta parábola es una oportunidad para que Jesús enseñe a los escribas y a los ancianos de Israel. Hay tres cosas en las que me gustaría profundizar en esta parábola:

Primero, se requiere que los dos hijos respondan “sí o no” a la invitación de Jesús de ir a trabajar en su viña. Los escribas y los ancianos respondieron con un rotundo “sí” porque fueron los primeros en escuchar la palabra de Dios. Según la historia, eran el pueblo elegido de Israel y se creían personas rectas en virtud de ser destinatarios de la palabra de Dios. Dijeron “sí”, pero no respondieron a las invitaciones de Jesús, por lo tanto, nunca lograron la entrada al reino. Su orgullo los hizo incapaces de aceptar a Jesús y no quisieron pertenecer a Su misión de inaugurar el Reino de Dios.

Segundo, el otro hijo, respondió “No”, a la invitación de Jesús y eran recaudadores de impuestos y prostitutas. Después de un tiempo, escucharon seriamente el llamado de Jesús y luego se arrepintieron ante los antiguos pecadores. Cambiaron su respuesta de “no” por un “Sí” que les cambió la vida, al llamado de la viña de Dios.

En tercer lugar, creo que estamos teniendo reacciones tibias ante la invitación del Señor. Quizás algunos de nosotros diríamos “No”, cuando nuestra vida garantiza placer y comodidad. Cuando todo parece tan fácil y feliz, sin tener en cuenta el llamado de Jesús a estar con Él en la viña. Sin embargo, cuando las crisis comienzan a golpearnos, nuestra respuesta negativa a Dios parece ser un relámpago de miedo y tribulación que decimos “Sí” al Señor.

Hermanos y hermanas, por favor no esperemos a ser golpeados por enfermedades, pruebas, agonía, desesperación, quebrantamiento, desintegración familiar y calamidades naturales para cambiar nuestros corazones y mentes y comprometernos con Jesús. Debemos ser realistas para enfrentarnos a nuestra insuficiencia y mortalidad humanas. Tratemos nuestras vidas con apertura al espíritu para aceptar y vivir a través del ofrecimiento de la misericordia y la compasión de Jesús. En el Salmo 24:4-5, 6-7,8-9 de hoy, “Descúbrenos, Señor, tus caminos.”, a menudo pienso que Dios será feliz si tratamos de vivir una vida moral. Nuestro camino de fe sería difícil si no pudiéramos aceptar el perdón y dejar atrás nuestros horribles caminos recurrentes. Aún no es demasiado tarde para cambiar nuestro corazón y decidir mantener el llamado de Dios a la santidad. Seamos humildes al seguir los caminos de Dios.

Dios los bendiga.

P. Arlón, osa

• 1 Corinthians 1:4-8
• Matthew 9:1-8

Today is the 18th Sunday after Pentecost. It is the first day of the month of October, the month of the Holy Rosary. When I first came here in 2019, I heard some people reciting the rosary, but during covid it was gone. How I wish to bring the recitation back again here. Maybe for those who come early to start the rosary at 7 AM while the priest is hearing confession, it is indeed necessary. It only takes 15 minutes to offer a communal rosary every Sunday.

The epistle today from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians narrates to us about the promise of God that, through the merits of Jesus Christ, we have clothed ourselves with the Holy Spirit as His adopted children. We become aware of doing good works simply because His words illuminate our spiritual life to be filled with every good thing, peace, joy and love.

St. Paul was able to share this truth with the Christians at Corinth who, despite being endowed with many spiritual gifts, were lacking in true spirituality and Christian maturity. Despite being empowered by the Holy Spirit of God, these Corinthian believers chose to live according to their fleshly lusts and were not walking in spirit and truth.

Nevertheless, in God’s grace and mercy, these Christians in Corinth were never
despised by the Lord, who enriched them with knowledge and commitment in Him. I believe that, like the people of Corinth, we too have been sustained and reckoned to be blameless. This tremendous promise rests solely on Christ’s perfect sacrifice, which in this Eucharist we celebrate, for we are accepted by God. We are identified with Him in His death and in His life – death to the old and embrace His life in the new and everlasting life. We are truly blessed in Christ because we are recipients of the many blessings given to all believers.

Today’s gospel reading from St. Matthew narrates to us about the healing ministry of Jesus demonstrating the unusual supernatural powers He possessed. Some men bring a paralyzed man on a mat to Jesus for healing. This is another evidence of great faith in Jesus. Today we are going to learn how Jesus is not merely an ordinary healer, but He also has the power and authority to forgive sins and clearly we understand that these attributes point towards Jesus being the true Messiah. Together we journey through this passage to understand important points.

First, Jesus has the authority to heal. He comes to liberate men from the bondage of evil. In every miracle He magnifies the glory of God, both in the physical and the spiritual healing. Jesus became known throughout Galilee, Capernaum and neighboring places to the point that nearly everyone seems attracted to Him because of His teaching and healing. Just imagine carrying the paralytic on a mat, obviously having great faith in Jesus that He could heal. Though they were not expressing their belief in the Lord, their action of bringing a friend to Jesus is proof of their faith in the Lord.

Second, Jesus says, “Have courage, son, your sins are forgiven,” (v.5). It means that Jesus has the power to forgive. For the experts of the law, it is unthinkable for Jesus having the power to forgive sins because according to their frame of mind, only God could forgive sins. Critics of Jesus entirely cannot understand that He has the authority of God because He is God. Of course, the paralyzed man needed to be healed from his paralysis, but he needed from Jesus, not just healing, but the forgiveness of his sins even more. May He set us free from evil, which is the cause of sin and all kinds of sickness in the world.

Third, Jesus says, “Get up, take up thy bed, and go into thy house.” (v.6) “And the multitude seeing it, feared and glorified God, who had given such power to men.” (v.8) The healing was witnessed by many people, and they were amazed at what Jesus did, which made them start to realize a little bit more about who Jesus was.

Jesus worked with great power, but Jesus did not do that for show. He did not have to create havoc and commotion; He manifests God’s mercy and power. The gospel of St. Matthew is pointing us to Jesus being God, for He comes to save sinners. Go to Jesus and receive forgiveness, healing of physical pain, emotional hurt, sinful addiction, psychological confusion, spiritual malady and pride. Just as the men in the gospel took their friend to Jesus, we should take others to Jesus as well. God bless you.

Fr. Arlon, osa

• Isaiah 55: 6-9
• Psalm 145:3, 8-9, 17-18
• Philippians 1:20-24,27
• Matthew 20:1-16

A week from now, the month of September will end. In two months, it’s December again. It is nice to have constant confidence in His Holy Will during these changing moments and movements in our lives. Most probably some of us are still trying to keep our 2023 resolutions, yet being in despair and feeling downhearted because we seemingly have failed to fulfill those promises. Our readings today inspire us to heed the call of God to submit to Him through our loving service.

The first reading from the book of Isaiah urges us to seek the Lord whenever we have found ourselves struggling to keep God in our hearts due to the challenges and trials we encounter. God is in control of everything, and we cannot afford to doubt our faith. The Prophet Isaiah says, “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call him while he is near.” because we believe that God’s ways are “as high as the heavens are above the earth.” Hence, God’s ways are far from our thoughts.

The second reading from the book of St. Paul to the Philippians reveals to us how much Paul loved Jesus. His ways of understanding life are completely for Jesus and when he died, it was ultimately a gain for Jesus because Paul worked hard for His kingdom. He influenced the spirituality of those communities where he ministered for Christ, to be with Christ and in Christ forming them “to conduct worthy of the gospel of Christ.” St. Paul labored much so that converts would sustain their lives from the very source of life.

The gospel parable is about the workers in the vineyard. It is a parable narrating to us the aspects of the Kingdom of God. All hired workers at different times agreed to work in the vineyard with a pay of one denarius which was the usual daily wage. However, expectations were for those who came early to receive more than the wage of late comers. This is where the problem started. How do we understand this parable according to its right perspective?

First, the “landowner” in the parable is God. We cannot fathom God’s ways which are oftentimes in conflict with our way of thinking. Humans operate according to logic, which we find in this parable as unfair treatment afforded to the workers. It must be fair. We are critical to express that the wages of the early workers need to be more than that of the workers who worked only for an hour.

We need to accept God’s ways. I believe that God is benevolent and generous in giving gifts and blessings to us. It is His gifts from the heart of God and not from others. Oftentimes, that is where the problem starts, when we are jealous of others because God is more generous. This is the point that we need to realize that Jesus’ parable highlights God’s generosity and goodness. St. Augustine viewed it that, “God is giving us gifts proportionately according to our needs.”

Secondly, the parable tells us that God invites us continuously, regardless of whether you are the first or the last, as usual God is treating us with goodness and generosity. However, God’s way to compensate us is not according to time of service rendered but it is how much we put love in all our works and service. Some believe in just having faith without practicing it, is seriously wrong. We must be truly converted and transformed disciples. Therefore, we must have firmed faith that is a portion of His gifts, we live out faithfully to serve His vineyard with much love.

Thirdly, this parable tells us that when we work in God’s vineyard, His Church, we see to it that our intention is pure in doing good things for the love of Christ. Expecting to earn merits, rewards and to manipulate God because we are doing something for Him, usually turns out a disaster because we are claiming what we think we deserve, but not according to God’s pure revealing love.

Today, we heard that everything is according to God’s love, goodness, and generosity for those who are faithfully living towards the kingdom. Here on earth, Jesus reveals the face of God as He established the new covenant, with a new method of looking at things through His eyes.

I believe that if God gives grace out of His goodness and benevolence, and when all our prayers are answered as compared to others, it is not injustice or unfair because it seems we are favored ones. Maybe others would realize that God’s greatest gift is also an unanswered prayer, and it is only that the recompense of reward has been delayed. There is no reason for us to be jealous when God’s gift is being shared to all.

God bless you.

Fr. Arlon, osa

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El Dictado del Corazón
Vigésimo Quinto Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, año A

• Isaías 55:6-9
• Salmo 145:3, 8-9, 17-18
• Filipenses 1:20-24,27
• Mateo 20:1-16

Dentro de una semana finalizará el mes de septiembre. En tres meses más, volverá a ser Diciembre. Es bueno tener confianza constante en la Santa Voluntad de Dios durante estos momentos y movimientos de cambio en nuestras vidas. Lo más probable es que algunos de nosotros todavía estemos tratando de cumplir las resoluciones que hicimos para este año 2023, talvez estamos desesperados y desanimados porque no hemos cumplido esas promesas. Nuestras lecturas de hoy nos inspiran a prestar atención al llamado de Dios a someternos a Él.

La primera lectura del libro de Isaías nos insta a buscar al Señor cada vez que nos encontremos luchando por mantener a Dios en nuestros corazones debido a los desafíos y luchas que encontramos. Dios tiene el control de todo y no podemos darnos el lujo de dudar de nuestra fe. El profeta Isaías dice: “Busca al Señor mientras puede ser encontrado, llámalo mientras está cerca”. porque creemos que los caminos de Dios son “tan altos como los cielos sobre la tierra”. Por tanto, los caminos de Dios están lejos de nuestros pensamientos.

La segunda lectura del libro de San Pablo a los Filipenses nos revela cuánto amaba Pablo a Jesús. Sus formas de entender la vida son completamente para Jesús y cuando murió, en última instancia fue una ganancia para Jesús porque Pablo trabajó duro por Su reino. Influyó en la espiritualidad de aquellas comunidades donde ministró para el Señor Jesús, para estar con Cristo y en Cristo formándolos “para una conducta digna del evangelio de Cristo”. San Pablo trabajó mucho para que los conversos sustentaran sus vidas desde la fuente de la vida.

La parábola del evangelio trata sobre los trabajadores de la viña. Es una parábola que nos narra los aspectos del Reino de Dios. Todos los trabajadores contratados en diferentes momentos acordaron trabajar en la viña con una paga de un denario, que era el salario diario habitual. Sin embargo, las expectativas eran que aquellos que llegaban temprano recibirían más que el salario de los que llegaban más tarde. Aquí es donde empezó el problema. ¿Cómo entendemos esta parábola según su perspectiva correcta?

Primero, el “terrateniente” de la parábola es Dios. No podemos comprender los caminos de Dios, que muchas veces están en conflicto con nuestra forma de pensar. Los humanos operan de acuerdo con la lógica, que encontramos en esta parábola como un trato injusto otorgado a los trabajadores. Debe ser justo. Somos críticos para expresar que los salarios de los primeros trabajadores deben ser mayores que los de los trabajadores que trabajaron solo durante una hora.

Necesitamos aceptar los caminos de Dios. Creo que Dios es benevolente y generoso al darnos regalos y bendiciones. Son Sus dones del corazón de Dios y no de otros. Muchas veces es ahí donde empieza el problema, cuando tenemos celos de los demás porque Dios es más generoso. Este es el punto en el que debemos darnos cuenta de que la parábola de Jesús resalta la generosidad y la bondad de Dios. San Agustín lo veía así: “Dios nos está dando dones proporcionalmente a nuestras necesidades”.

En segundo lugar, la parábola nos dice que Dios nos invita continuamente, sin importar si somos los primeros o los últimos, a ser tratados con amor y generosidad. Sin embargo, la forma en que Dios nos compensa no es según el momento en que creemos en simplemente tener fe sin practicarla seriamente, sino según el momento en que verdaderamente nos convertimos y transformamos en discípulos. Por lo tanto, debemos tener fe en que es una porción de Sus dones que vivimos fielmente para servir a Su reino.

En tercer lugar, esta parábola nos dice que cuando trabajamos en la viña de Dios, la Iglesia de Dios, nos aseguramos de que nuestra intención sea pura al hacer cosas buenas por amor a Cristo. Esperar ganar méritos, recompensas y manipular a Dios porque estamos haciendo algo por Él, suele resultar un desastre porque estamos reclamando lo que creemos merecer y no según el amor revelador de Dios.

Hoy escuchamos que todo es según el amor, la bondad y la generosidad de Dios para aquellos que viven fielmente hacia el reino. Aquí en la tierra, Jesús revela el rostro de Dios al establecer el nuevo pacto con un nuevo método de mirar las cosas a través de Sus ojos.

Creo que, si Dios da gracia por su bondad y benevolencia, y cuando todas nuestras oraciones son respondidas en comparación con las de los demás, no es injusticia ni injusto porque parece que somos favorecidos. Quizás otros se darían cuenta de que el regalo más grande de Dios es también una oración sin respuesta, y que la recompensa se ha retrasado. No hay razón para que estemos celosos cuando se comparte el regalo de Dios.

Dios los bendiga.

P. Arlón, osa

• Ephesians 4:1-6
• Matthew 22:34-46

Today is the 17th Sunday after Pentecost. We have inspiring readings which I would love to share with you. I always give justice to the word when I prepare and write my homily.

The epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians reminds us of our calling. Paul says, “Beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation in which you are called.” It is an urgent message that “walking” in this passage means to conduct ourselves according to our calling as adopted children of God. Hence, all we do in relation to our fellowmen must always be an expression of our unconditional love, bearing with one another in love for God, to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Moreover, St. Paul urges us to be “one,” describing the realities of the visible body of the Church that comes from one God, in three persons. How do we “walk” worthy of our calling?

When we know how to humble and deny ourselves, we begin to live and grow in unity. Indeed, the Holy Spirit is at work sanctifying us to bring new life in Christ to our souls. When this happens in our hearts more, we can reflect on a better picture of oneness and peace with God and others.

The gospel today narrates to us about a doctor of the law who asked Jesus, “Master, which is the great commandment of the law?” Jesus responded citing Deuteronomy 6:5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength,” as the greatest commandment, and He added, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” from Leviticus 19:18. It is a direct answer from the bible, it means that Jesus knew so well the content of the Scriptures.

There are three important reflection points, I need to mention.

First, I believe that Jesus presents logical reason that loving God is connected inseparably to loving other people. It is an undeniable path to manifest our love for God through which we love other people. St. John, the evangelist, says, “If anyone says he loves God but hates his brother is a liar.” (1 Jn 4:20)

It is a continuous challenge that we often encounter diverse people, who are different from ourselves, which is a great test to fulfill this greatest commandment. Jesus does not only command us to love others but to love others as we love our own selves.

Secondly, all our work has the potential to serve and therefore love our neighbors. Thus, we take the risks to make sure that all our actions are geared towards the fulfillment of God’s greatest command, “love your neighbor as yourself,” with the same measure of loving Him.

Thirdly, it is our commitment to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength in all that we do, through a relationship fully lived out in the practice of our Christian faith. Our faith should be evident in the way we live our lives, the way we conduct ourselves, the way we function on the job and the way we deal with family and friends.

Lastly, the intriguing question of Jesus to the Pharisees, “What think you of Christ, whose son is He?” It was amazing for the Jews that they perfectly knew Jesus from the scriptures that He is the Christ and the Messiah, the deliverer of Israel, who was promised to them that He would come and lead Israel to a glorious new time of peace, prosperity and safety. They believed that Jesus was the “Son of David.” They knew the record of the coming Messiah, but they did not recognize Jesus. The Jews were well-versed in the Scripture, but they did not know the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Our fidelity to embrace God’s greatest commandment is great wisdom, but accepting Jesus as a Christ or the Anointed One and the Messiah is life-changing; hence, we must live-out our faith by saying, “I Believe.”

God bless you.

Fr. Arlon, osa

• Sirach 27:30-28:7
• Psalm 103:1-2,3-4,9-10,11-12
• Romans 14:7-9
• Matthew 18:21-35

We are in the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A. Last week we heard from the news that Pope Francis made a historic visit to Mongolia with 1,450 Catholics served by three churches. The Catholic Church was there in the 13th century during the Yuan Dynasty but faded away because the communist regime took power. In 1991, due to the opening of the country to religious missionaries, the missionaries returned to rebuild the church from scratch and established diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Mongolia.

A missionary was interviewed by EWTN TV network saying that, “God precedes before the coming of the missionaries to Mongolia.” By culture they are nomadic people, but just like the time of Abraham, Moses and others who led the chosen people, God accompanies them and manifests His presence with them. This is exactly the same experience of the people of Mongolia; they are not far from encountering God, especially with the recent visit of Pope Francis. There will be enormous growth and harvest for the Church, indeed encouraging and strengthening the mission of the Church to announce the gospel to all corners of the world. We pray for our brethren throughout the world. St. Paul says, “to whom God chose to make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; it is Christ in you, the hope for the glory.” (Col 1:27)

God has come with us in history and even in our private life. The 1st reading from the Book of Sirach reminds us of a valuable lesson that we must forgive our neighbor’s injustice. Then, when we pray, we feel that we are also forgiven, which is the power of God’s grace given to each one of us.

The 2nd reading today tells us that, “None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.” Thus, I cannot imagine that our Christian life is personal, but rather it concerns too our relationship with others, for we all journey together.

Our constant interaction with others can create some friction. It is normal for we have unique personalities. That is where God’s divine command comes in, that is, to remind us to love one another. True loving means being ready to understand and pardon the mistakes of others. We must allow forgiveness to reside in us, and that forgiveness comes from the heart. People find it easy to say, “I forgive you!” but then the person cannot really forgive someone. To overcome our unforgiveness, let us remember that we are all hurt and go through the same path overcoming emotional baggage; however, a relationship that has been broken needs healing by our own humility and love and being willing to take small steps of reconciliation, one step at a time. Let us do it so that we can become a better and compassionate person. It is transforming on our part when we are willing to forgive and forget, not from the mind but from the heart. All our pains and heartaches will be healed, and all other illnesses will soon be amazingly cured.

The gospel today, taken from St. Matthew, is imbued with the genuine face of mercy with the narration about Jesus’ way of responding to Peter’s question, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him?” We must imitate God’s way and true identity as written in the responsorial Psalm 103, “The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.”

How much do we realize that we are called to be forgiving and to be merciful towards others in relation to the gospel?

First, think about God’s generous attitude towards us, that is providing an avenue for healing and comfort by way of pardoning our sins through healing and redeeming action. When we know that we are forgiven, we must be grateful to God for letting us feel how much we are loved.

Second, we are all second chancers. I know that the forgiven debtor failed to realize and to understand that the king’s attitude to forgive him is his way out to be merciful to the person who owed him as well. However, it did not sink into his heart, so he continued oppressing him with an unforgiving heart. His evil heart never changed him as a person. This should not happen. When we know that the grace of forgiveness is received, we also must be dispensers of that same grace of forgiveness. Never be stingy with the goodness we have received, for it guides us to follow a better path in our life.

Third, Jesus narrates the story considerably harsh, when He tells us the king throws the unforgiving, forgiven debtor into prison until the debt is paid. This is a figurative speech. It means that if we can hardly forgive others’ sins against us, certainly God is going to apply the same measure toward us, or else we would be imprisoned into eternal damnation, the prison of eternal fire where there is no way out for redemption.

In today’s mass, let us open our hearts to the grace of forgiveness and mercy. I believe God is always present to heal our hurts, pains and struggles, especially to accept those who are difficult to be with. The grace of God is so abundant that we cannot set a limit to forgiving.

God bless you.

Fr. Arlon, osa

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El Dictado del Corazón

Vigesimocuarto Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, año A

• Eclesiástico 27:30-28:7
• Salmo 103:1-2,3-4,9-10,11-12
• Romanos 14:7-9
• Mateo 18:21-35

Estamos en el vigésimo cuarto domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, Año A. La semana pasada escuchamos la noticia de que el Papa Francisco realizó una visita histórica a Mongolia con 1,450 católicos atendidos por tres iglesias. La Iglesia Católica estuvo allí en el siglo XIII durante la dinastía Yuan, pero se desvaneció cuando el régimen comunista tomó el poder. En 1991, debido a la apertura del país a los misioneros religiosos, los misioneros regresaron para reconstruir la iglesia desde cero y establecieron relaciones diplomáticas entre la Santa Sede y Mongolia.

Uno de los misioneros entrevistados por el canal religioso EWTN dijo: “Dios precede a la llegada de los misioneros a Mongolia”. Aunque por cultura son un pueblo nómada, al igual que en los tiempos de Abraham, Moisés y otros que lideraron el pueblo elegido, Dios los acompaña y manifiesta su presencia con ellos. Fue la misma experiencia del pueblo de Mongolia. No están lejos de encontrar a Dios, especialmente durante la reciente visita del Papa Francisco. Habrá un enorme crecimiento y cosecha para la Iglesia. De hecho, alienta y fortalece la misión de la Iglesia de anunciar el evangelio a todos los rincones del mundo. Oramos por nuestros hermanos en todo el mundo para que continúen con la misión de llevar la palabra de Dios a todos los rincones de la tierra. San Pablo dice: “A quienes Dios escogió para hacer notorias las riquezas de la gloria de este misterio entre los gentiles; es Cristo en nosotros, la esperanza de la gloria. (Col 1:27) Dios ha venido con nosotros en la historia y en nuestra vida privada.

La primera lectura del Libro de Eclesiástico nos recuerda una valiosa lección: debemos perdonar las injusticias de nuestro prójimo. Entonces, cuando oramos y pedimos perdón, nosotros también podemos ser perdonados; que es el poder de la gracia de Dios dada a cada uno de nosotros.

La segunda lectura de hoy nos dice que “Ninguno de nosotros vive para sí mismo y nadie muere para sí mismo”. Por lo tanto, no puedo imaginar que nuestra vida cristiana sea personal, sino que se refiere también a nuestra relación con los demás, porque todos caminamos juntos.

Nuestra interacción constante con los demás crea cierta fricción. Es normal que tengamos personalidades únicas. Entonces, es donde entra en juego el mandato divino de Dios, es decir, recordarnos que nos amemos unos a otros. Amar de verdad significa estar dispuesto a comprender y perdonar los errores de los demás. Debemos permitir que el perdón resida en nosotros, y ese perdón viene del corazón. A la gente le resulta fácil decir: “¡Te perdono!” Sin embargo, la persona no puede perdonar a alguien. Para superar nuestra falta de perdón, recordemos que todos estamos heridos y recorremos el mismo camino, superando el bagaje emocional. Una relación que se ha roto necesita ser curada por nuestra humildad y amor para estar dispuestos a dar pequeños pasos de reconciliación, uno a la vez. Es necesario para que podamos convertirnos en personas mejores y más compasivas. Es transformador de nuestra parte cuando estamos dispuestos a perdonar y olvidar, no desde la mente sino desde el corazón. De esa manera, todos nuestros dolores y angustias serían sanados, así como otras enfermedades sanarían asombrosamente.

El evangelio de hoy, tomado de San Mateo imbuido del rostro genuino de la misericordia con la narración de Jesús respondiendo a la pregunta de Pedro: “Señor, si mi hermano peca contra mí, ¿cuántas veces debo perdonarlo? Debemos imitar el camino y la verdadera identidad de Dios como está escrito en el Salmo responsorial 103: “El Señor es bondadoso y misericordioso, lento para la ira y rico en compasión”.

¿Hasta qué punto nos damos cuenta de nuestro llamado a ser perdonadores y misericordiosos unos con otros en relación con el evangelio?

Primero, piense en la actitud generosa de Dios hacia nosotros. Esto es proporcionar una vía para la curación y el consuelo al perdonar nuestros pecados mediante la acción redentora. Cuando nos damos cuenta de que hemos sido perdonados debemos estar agradecidos a Dios por permitirnos sentir cuánto nos ama.

En segundo lugar, todos somos una segunda oportunidad. Sé que el deudor perdonado no se dio cuenta y no comprendió que la actitud del rey de perdonarlo es su salida para ser misericordioso con la persona que también le debía. Sin embargo, no caló en su corazón, por lo que continuó oprimiéndolo con un corazón implacable. Su malvado corazón nunca le permitió cambiar como persona. No sucederá si sabemos que se recibe la gracia del perdón. También debemos ser dispensadores de esa misma gracia del perdón. Nunca seas tacaño con la bondad que hemos recibido, pues ella nos guía a seguir un mejor camino en nuestras vidas.

En tercer lugar, Jesús narra la historia con mucha dureza. Cuando Jesús nos dice que el rey mete en prisión al deudor que no perdona y que no perdona, hasta que se pague la deuda. Este es un discurso figurado. Significa que si difícilmente podríamos perdonar los pecados de los demás contra nosotros, ciertamente Dios va a aplicar la misma medida a nosotros, o de lo contrario, seríamos aprisionados en la condenación eterna, la prisión del fuego eterno donde no hay salida para la redención.

Misa de hoy, abramos nuestro corazón a la gracia del perdón y la misericordia. Creo que Dios siempre está presente para sanar nuestras heridas, dolores y luchas, especialmente para aceptar a aquellos con quienes es difícil estar. La gracia de Dios es tan abundante que no podemos poner el límite al perdón.

Dios los bendiga.

P. Arlón, osa

• Ephesians 3:13-21
• Luke 14:1-11

Today is the 16th Sunday after Pentecost. I welcome everyone, most especially our visitors today. In the opening prayer, we call upon God’s mercy so that we would continually intend to do good works. Our concern is to spend time together to adore, to worship and to be nourished by His Holy Body and Blood.

In the epistle today, from the letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians, St. Paul emphasizes the importance of prayer. He says that “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom all paternity in heaven and earth is named.” (vv.14-15) He always begins his ministry in prayer. Today we still need to know more about what prayer really does and how it benefits us, which many of us believe is necessary to start a conversation with God on how we want to be helped by Him.

Our gesture of kneeling is our ordinary custom, because we know that something is going on that is so intense and deep, especially during the consecration. It is why we bow our knees before God, our Father. Our sense of a loving relationship with our Father gives us all what we need, guidance and increasing communion. When you are disappointed in life, feel like giving up, lose heart, and are ready to quit, then remember to turn to God, our loving Father. What He desires is to allow Him to be involved with your life for you to grow, and His concern too is about your prosperity and well-being. St. Paul prayed for the Ephesians so that they would be granted that for which they have prayed. It is easy to understand now that prayer is a cry of helplessness: as in the introit today speaks: “Have mercy on me, O Lord for I have cried to Thee all the day.” We truly need God in our lives.

The gospel today from St. Luke 14:1-11 tells us about the teaching of Jesus on Humility. We will learn, from this gospel pericope, lessons which can be applied in our daily life.

First, Jesus healed again during the Sabbath, which we all know that His focus is to liberate mankind from all sickness, evil possessions and attacks, and to restore everyone to wholeness of life. In other scriptural text, Jesus desires to save rather than to destroy us. The Pharisees and Scribes misunderstood and wrongly interpret the Law. They were there closely watching Jesus but did nothing to help those who were in need; instead they overburden others to strictly comply with the law to the letter.

Second, Jesus mentions a man who was invited to a wedding and sat in “a place of honor.” (v.8). Nobody told him to take that seat, but he deemed himself worthy of sitting there. He was just presuming that he was more important than anyone else invited to that wedding. Sometimes we have the tendency to elevate ourselves rather than to humble ourselves in front of the people. We always take advantage of the opportunity to claim our rights over others in many ways. However, the teaching truth of the Lord is this: “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,” (v11) When we practice the virtue of humility, others will honor us, while pride gives shame and humiliation.

Third, the gospel today points clearly that we need to cultivate humility in our lives. How do we do that? First, think of Jesus frequently and how he sets a good example. Secondly, we must think of ourselves less often or not think of our own advantage all the time. Thirdly, we need instead to think of others often.

Cleve Staples Lewis, (1898-1963) one of the most influential writers of the 20th century and even now, has this to say, “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” Therefore, we must stop thinking of ourselves too much. I heard this from someone who took the advice of Ann Landers seriously saying, “Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful. If you want true evidence of your worth, get a cat.” It is funny but we tend to believe it.

We must remain humble. If we are always humble then we will not feel embarrassed when we are taken down, but instead we will receive recognition and be exalted by others because of coming from being unknown to being known with dignity, honor and glory. Let us continue to read this beautiful gospel, a story of Jesus which is always a blessing to everyone.

God bless you.

Fr. Arlon, osa

• Ezekiel 33: 7-9
• Psalm 95:1-2,6-7,8-9
• Romans 13:8-10
• Matthew 18:15-20

Today is the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A. It was a busy weekend for me here at St. Teresa, and I am praying that I will be given extra grace to do my job and to stay healthy to accomplish all the tasks given to me. I believe that only God can sustain us in all that we do for His glory.

We are invited again to reflect on the inspiring readings of this Sunday. We must be receptive to all these readings and to listen to God’s voice. The psalm today warns us against hardening our hearts toward God. This is a challenge!!!

The first reading from the book of the Prophet Ezekiel narrates to us God’s calling of Ezekiel to go to His people in order to encourage them to change their behavior by announcing to them that God wants them to transform their hearts and lives. This is his mission that God wants him to fulfill. As a prophet, Ezekiel received God’s warning saying, “I will hold you responsible for his death.” He faces a big responsibility to abide by God’s commands. He was a prophet of Israel who was so attentive fulfilling what God wanted him to do. He had to speak to the people about their wickedness or else they would die.

The second reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Romans is a reminder for us that we must love our neighbor as ourselves. He says, “Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.” If we are unable to love others, we need to question how we treat ourselves. Our inability to love causes us misery and resentments. We won’t be happy at all. Our unwillingness to love is the same as unwillingness to forgive.

The gospel today is taken from St. Matthew. Jesus gives practical advice to His disciples and to us about any conflict in the community. This is how Jesus is able to devise strategy for intervention with regards to personal and communal conflicts. This is important so that we would be guided and conduct ourselves as genuine followers of Christ.

First, it should not be confrontational. When we want to correct others in the context of fraternal corrections, our intention of correcting others must be pure and good rather than to demean and to utter humiliation towards them. This process of intervention takes great care to be helpful to the person; however, if that fails, do something more public in order to shed some truth of the matter.

Second, there should be no pressure to another, as if he is guilty of some mistakes or crimes so that he will admit that he is wrong and be punished. It is an exercise of love for the brother who is a sinner, or even weak and lost. Our primary intention is to embrace our brother with love and bring him back from being a sinner to a joyful person, opening up the possibility to change and to repent.

Third, the call of bringing the unrepentant to the community and to the Church is when the person does not heed the call to change despite the presence of a witness. Summoning the person, for one-on-one conversation to an assembly of the Church, is actually pointing out that the sin has broken the individual relationships with the community of believers, the Body. It is God’s desire to give importance to one sinner rather than the unrepentant others. God is manifesting the depth of His love to rescue one sinner. This is how much patience God is giving us sinners, an opportunity to be forgiven and to be loved.

Fourth, there must be no condemnation, and what we need is to pray for the grace to love the sinner and to see in him our brethren who needs to be moved by our care and love. We ask for the grace to do whatever it takes to bring the sinner to repentance and to welcome him back to our faith-community.

Whenever we are hurt or we seriously hurt others, our tendency is to do some form of revenge, but this is an old law, “an eye for an eye.” This gospel which Jesus had preached proposes love as a solution to any conflict according to the new covenant. We are also in a modern age where we express our frustrations and anger thru social media. We hear ranting, constant shouting on social media, and complete exposition of faults and denial of any accountability without asking, “who are we to judge?” There is no making efforts for justification because it remains always “Me” as the correct one and no fault, rather than to be open for reconciliation and to exercise love for the other, seeking joy, humility and peace with an open heart for dialogue and being grateful that we too are redeemed sinners.

Let us not harden our hearts to God.

God bless you.

Fr. Arlon, osa

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El Dictado del Corazón:  Vigesimotercer Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, año A

• Ezequiel 33:7-9
• Salmo 95:1-2,6-7,8-9
• Romanos 13:8-10
• Mateo 18:15-20

Hoy es el Vigesimotercer Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario, año A. Fue un fin de semana ocupado para mí aquí en Santa Teresa de Ávila. Le pido a Dios me dé la gracia para hacer mi trabajo y me de salud para cumplir con todas las tareas que se me han encomendado. Creo que sólo Dios puede sostenernos en todo lo que hacemos para cumplir su voluntad y para Su mayor gloria.

Estamos invitados nuevamente a reflexionar en las lecturas de este domingo, para que nos inspiren a vivir una vida más plena. Debemos ser receptivos a estas lecturas y escuchar la voz de Dios. El salmo de hoy nos advierte contra el endurecimiento de nuestro corazón hacia Dios. ¡¡¡Esto es un desafío!!!

La primera lectura del libro del Profeta Ezequiel nos narra el llamado de Dios a Ezequiel para ir a su pueblo a animarlos a cambiar su comportamiento, es decir, anunciarles que Dios quiere que transformen sus corazones y sus vidas. Esta es la misión que Dios quiere que él cumpla. Como profeta, Ezequiel recibió la advertencia de Dios que le dijo: “Te haré responsable de su muerte”. Se enfrenta a la gran responsabilidad de cumplir los mandamientos de Dios. Fue un profeta de Israel que estuvo muy atento cumpliendo lo que Dios quería que hiciera. Tenía que hablarle a la gente acerca de su maldad o de lo contrario morirían.

La segunda lectura de la carta de San Pablo a los Romanos nos recuerda que debemos amar a nuestro prójimo como a nosotros mismos. Él dice: “El amor no hace mal al prójimo; por tanto, el amor es el cumplimiento de la ley”. Si no podemos amar a los demás, debemos cuestionarnos cómo nos tratamos a nosotros mismos. Nuestra incapacidad para amar nos causa miseria y resentimiento. No seremos felices. Nuestra falta de voluntad para amar es la misma que nuestra falta de voluntad para perdonar.

El evangelio de hoy está tomado de San Mateo. Jesús da consejos prácticos a sus discípulos y a nosotros sobre cualquier conflicto en la comunidad. Así Jesús supo idear una estrategia de intervención en los conflictos personales y comunitarios. Esto es importante para que podamos ser guiados y comportarnos como genuinos seguidores de Cristo.

En primer lugar, no debería generar confrontación. Cuando queremos corregir a otros en el contexto de las correcciones fraternales, nuestra intención de corregir a los demás debe ser pura y buena en lugar de degradarlos y humillarlos. Este proceso de intervención tiene mucho cuidado en ser de ayuda a la persona, sin embargo, si eso no coopera, y falla, haz algo más público para arrojar algunas verdades sobre el asunto.

En segundo lugar, no hay presión sobre los demás como si fuera culpable de algún error o delito para poder admitir que se equivocó y ser castigado. Es un ejercicio de amor hacia el hermano pecador, o incluso débil y perdido. Nuestra intención principal es abrazar a nuestro hermano con amor y hacerlo volver de ser un pecador a una persona alegre y abierta a la posibilidad de cambiar y arrepentirse.

En tercer lugar, el llamado a traer a los impenitentes a la comunidad y a la Iglesia es cuando la persona no atiende el llamado al cambio a pesar de la presencia de un testigo. Después de convocar a la persona en una conversación cara a cara a una asamblea de la Iglesia, se le señala que el pecado ha roto las relaciones individuales con la comunidad de creyentes, el Cuerpo. Dios desea darle más importancia a un pecador que a los demás impenitentes. Dios está manifestando la profundidad de Su amor para rescatar a un pecador. ¡Cuánta paciencia nos tiene Dios a nosotros, pecadores, la oportunidad de ser perdonados y amados!

Cuarto, no debe haber condenación, pero lo que necesitamos es orar por la gracia de amar al pecador, de ver en él a nuestros hermanos que necesitan ser conmovidos por nuestro cuidado y amor. Pedimos la gracia de hacer lo que sea necesario para llevar al pecador al arrepentimiento y darle la bienvenida nuevamente a nuestra comunidad de fe.

Siempre que nos lastiman o lastimamos gravemente a otros, tendemos a buscar algún tipo de venganza. Pero se trata de una ley antigua, el “ojo por ojo”, en este evangelio que Jesús había predicado propone el amor como solución a cualquier conflicto según la nueva alianza. También estamos en una era moderna en la que expresamos nuestras frustraciones y enojos a través de las redes sociales. Escuchamos y escuchamos desvaríos, gritos constantes en las redes sociales, exposición completa de las faltas y negación de cualquier responsabilidad sin preguntar: “¿Quiénes somos nosotros para juzgar?” No hay manera de hacer esfuerzos de justificación porque sigue siendo siempre “Yo” como el correcto y sin culpa, en lugar de abrirnos a la reconciliación y ejercer el amor por el otro, buscando la alegría y la paz con el corazón abierto y agradecidos de que También somos redimidos, los pecadores. No endurezcamos nuestro corazón a Dios.

Dios los bendiga.

P. Arlón, osa

• Galatians 5:25, 26; 6:1-10
• Luke 7:11-16

Today is the 15th Sunday after Pentecost. In the introit prayer, we say, “Have mercy on me Oh Lord, for I have cried to Thee all day. Give joy to Thy servant for to thee, Oh Lord, I have lifted up my soul.” Truly, we must offer all our humility, our sadness, frustrations, heartaches and sufferings for the Lord because He will always heed our prayers and supplications to lift us up constantly. The Lord never plays deaf to us for He sees what is best for us.

The epistle is taken from the letter of St. Paul to the Galatians. St. Paul writes, “If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit.” He is teaching us that if we truly embrace the life of Christ, we will certainly manifest the life of the divine because the Holy Spirit has brought us into the life of Jesus by way of our attitude, how we conduct ourselves, in union with God and in whom we are aware of the indwelling of the Spirit that is at work in us. He continues that we must “Bear ye another’s burden, and so you shall fulfill the law of Christ.” I cannot imagine that our Christian life is a personal matter. It has something to do with our relationship with others; we journey with others towards the path to holiness and to Christ. We feel good when others share the load of the burden with us. It becomes easy to carry all our trials, like problems in the family, loss of job, and attacks by the devil. We can overcome them with the help of our brothers. This passage encourages us to practice the spirit of generosity, especially to those who are in need. In our work of ministering to others, we are called to reflect the attitude of Jesus to those who are poor, widowed, possessed by evil and the sick. We are obligated to extend our hands to those people.

The gospel narrates to us how compassionate He is, especially to the widow who lost her only begotten son. He was with His disciples as they went to the City of Naim. Jesus saw a funeral and was deeply moved with compassion. He approached the funeral and spoke to the dead man, “Young man, I say to thee, Arise.” The dead man sat up and began to speak. Jesus then turned him over to his mother. We are invited to learn and reflect on lessons we can derive from this story.

First, God is truly compassionate and merciful. In the scripture, it says that Jesus had shown compassion to the widow. The fact was that becoming a widow during those times had been difficult. Because of the death of her son, that woman became a second class citizen with no voice in society. Jesus knew so well about her future which would be vague and unpredictable. However, Jesus came to her rescue to make her life better by having her only son live again to take care of her.

Second, God has always been on a journey with His people, especially in times of suffering and needs. Shortly after Jesus noticed the funeral procession, He could have continued to do other business and be unmindful of what was going on. He could have been insensitive to the plight of this poor widow; however, Jesus took that big step to cancel His other plans. He could have walked away from the funeral procession, but instead He immediately responded to that grieving widow. Jesus offered comforting words, “Don’t cry.” Then He turned the atmosphere to happiness because Jesus raised her son from the dead.

Third, God certainly gives us a glimpse of what is heaven and earth for us. When Jesus manifested His power to raise the dead, it was a clear signal that Jesus is the true Messiah. He revealed His own power to defeat death. He was not concerned of His own actions with regards to His safety and comfort; He just wanted to tell us that even during His time, the promise of the resurrection had been revealed to many people thru that wonderful story of raising the widow’s son from the dead.

After the performance of this great miracle by Jesus, the widow was touched by what she saw in a positive way, maybe leading her to change and to believe in Jesus. Touching the dead body of that man, Jesus would risk being uncleaned according to the old law; however, His priority was not about being allowed to enter the temple, but it was about that human being, who certainly needed help to be restored again to her community.

In our life, we search for God’s consolation and blessings upon us. Just like this inspiring story about the widow, who we were taught would be left helpless throughout her life. Now we figure out that in our lowest point in our life, Jesus has been inserting himself to be part of our story. How many of us are able to realize that we cannot just be by ourselves to feel lonely and to suffer alone?

Today, we are given the vision that God provides, which is an opportunity to take part in our private life. There is an attitude that must permeate such a significant relationship with God for we cannot handle everything that comes our way. Our greatest source of help is God, who is all-knowing, all-powerful and ever loving. He knows what you need. Let us abandon ourselves to His care today because He truly cares.

God bless you.

Fr. Arlon, osa