DAILY HOMILIES

It is easy to pray when things are moving smoothly, but how difficult is it for us to pray when the going gets tough! In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus is telling us never to give up prayers, never to give up on God and never to give up on our faith even when it seems as if nothing is happening.

Jesus is recommending to us the wisdom of Noah. The best preparation for that day which shall take us by surprise is our obedience to the commandments of God.

This is God’s kingdom – putting smiles on people’s faces regardless of how we feel inside. This is heaven – welcoming the earth’s rejected, the sick, the imprisoned, the orphans, giving to these little ones as much as a cup of water without expecting anything in return.

Giving thanks is more than just uttering the words “thank you”. It is a way of thinking. It is having a deep sense of appreciation for one’s life just as it is now. We literally have to train our minds each day to relax from its problem-finding-mode to a gratitude-mode.

To be self-controlled is to be able to say “no” to the impulses of the flesh regardless of how strong the temptations may be. To be self-controlled is the ability to act right no matter what one feels inside. Self-control or self-discipline is not something we acquire from the blues, it is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit; that is to say, self-control is one of the manifestations of the presence of the Holy Spirit in us

To say a building or any object at all is dedicated to God is to say such can never be used for any other purpose other than for God. This is because, by the act of dedication, it becomes God’s dwelling in a special sense. Note that everything already belongs to God but then, a dedicated Church building is no longer an ordinary building; it is a place to meet God, a place to pray, a place of security and peace from the troubles of the world.

As much as purity of heart (or virginity) is required for attaining heaven, Jesus points out today, another very essential element; wisdom. In the parable of ten virgins, Jesus shows us that purity without wisdom is useless. The foolish virgins made mistakes. What were these mistakes and how do we avoid them?

In this parable, Jesus was not talking about whether what the steward did was right or wrong rather His point of emphasis was the fact that the steward prepared for his dismissal. The steward may have been dishonest but he was wise enough to make friends while he still had a chance.

Like the steward, our very life on earth is limited; someday we shall be dismissed. So the question is: “What efforts am I making to ensure that there would be people to receive me at the doors of heaven after my “dismissal”?

We often assume the church should be a place for holy people only but in reality, the church is also a hospital for the sick; a hospital that is always in need of good doctors. If we all walk away, who will save the dying?

Without adequate preparation, we are hardly guaranteed success in any venture. He who fails to plan actually plans to fail. If you rush into something without adequate and careful preparation, you would soon find yourself rushing out soon. I did not consider or assume there was a huge price to pay in the long run. Whatever is good comes at a price, even being a Christian comes at a cost and this explains why many who started so well give up along the line. Have I ever taken time to consider the cost of being a disciple of Jesus Christ?

The great challenge of the Christian faith today is that those who fill up our churches live as though God does not exist. We seek God’s blessings but we shun His counsel, we refuse to operate according to the mind of Christ. We are practical unbelievers; we don’t even believe it is possible to live holy and sinless lives, yet we claim to believe God for miracles of abundance and prosperity coming our way.