DAILY HOMILIES

In the end, what we actually celebrate today is HOPE. Hope that as we pray for the dead, they will enter heaven, hope that if they are in heaven, they will pray for us. Hope that one day, when we too depart, there would be people around here praying for us

The truth is that there are more saints in heaven than we know of. As John says in our first reading today, the Saints are a “great multitude which no man can number.” Today’s feast is particularly interesting because it affords us the opportunity to celebrate thousands of unknown saints and those we never imagined are in heaven.

The easiest way to detect pride is when you begin to assume that no one is as good, holy, wealthy, knowledgeable or important as you are. When you assume you are the best, it means you have become blind to the existence of anyone better than you.

Jesus knew the Pharisees were not all in good terms with Him. He knew they sought ways to trap him. He knew their deep-seated hatred yet He went to eat in their homes. Jesus called them hypocrites (white-washed tombs) but He never distanced Himself from them. As a Good Shepherd, Jesus did not mind walking into the “lion’s den” to rescue the lost sheep.

Yes, we are soldiers. And the war we fight is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers. Just as the war is not a physical one, the weapons of this particular war are not also physical. To succeed in this war, we must first realize that we are on a battleground.

To be a Christian is to be born again; it is dying to something old and taking up a new identity and this new identity entails that we see ourselves as St. Paul describes; fellow citizens with the saints in heaven, pillars of God’s house where the Apostles and Prophets are part of the foundation.

Quarrels and fights in marriage are like grains of mustard seed. When these fights are not forgiven, they pile up in our memories little by little and before you know it, they affect the quality of our love for our spouse.

Are you bent over spiritually because of your sins? As a child of Abraham, is Satan still holding you captive preventing you from letting your light shine? Does immorality reign in your life? It is time to get close to Jesus today to free you from bondage.

While we must condemn stealing in very strong terms, the fact is that there is a lot of hunger in our land occasioned by a lack of sensitivity to the plights of the poor, the youths, the widows, orphans and the needy. And this is precisely the message contained in today’s readings.

Note that Jesus is not supporting what Pilate did instead Jesus seizes the occasion to teach us that sin is bad and when you really consider what Jesus’ statement, you would notice that it also includes the sin of Pilate as well. Like He did on the occasion of the woman caught in the act of adultery, Jesus has a way of bringing us all to terms with our sins rather than simply pointing fingers or casting stones at particular individuals.

As Christians, we must constantly ask ourselves: “Am I the person God expects me to be?” St. Paul, writing from prison, begs us today to lead a life worthy of our calling. And this entails that certain qualities are found in us – meekness, patience, forbearance, eagerness to maintain unity in one God.

Today, we hear Jesus saying that He has not come to bring peace but division and that He has come to cast fire upon the earth. What type of fire is Jesus talking about? As Moses witnessed in Burning Bush, this fire is one that burns but does not consume. It is a fire of the love for God in our hearts which makes us prioritize God over everything and everyone else. This is a fire that purifies us of our attachment to people as well as the things of this world.