DAILY HOMILIES

As Jesus explains, the effectiveness of prayer does not depend on the number of words used but on the faith behind each word. We will be heard not because of our many words but because God is a Father who never stops loving His children.

By displaying his ability to hear from God the Father, Jesus immediately made Peter the visible head of the church. Jesus was confident that the same Holy Spirit that spoke to Peter that day at Caesarea Philippi would continue to speak to him to make the right decisions, to say the right words and carry out the right actions to move the church forward.

While Mark does not give us so much detail, he mentions the fact that “angels ministered to Jesus.” When we face temptations, we must never forget to call for help from above. In every temptation, there are angels at your side waiting to celebrate when you say “no” to the devil. Call them to help you; never trust in your own strength. To win the battle against sin, prayer is non-negotiable.

Rather than exert your energy on pointing fingers at others, use it to develop yourself. Become the change you would like to see in others. Don’t stop at verbally condemning evil, let your actions also do the talking for you.

We should never be discouraged to carry out this type of fasting because as much as it is a huge risk to help others, it is even a greater risk to care only for yourself. Do you remember the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus? Jesus says: “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:40)

Most of us Christians today only pretend that we love God. We worship God just for the benefits we gain from God. We are like one who marries a person because he/she is rich. When the money is no more, they leave! If you truly love someone, you would sacrifice everything for that person. No wonder, in today’s Gospel passage, we hear Jesus saying to us, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)

No matter what the past has been, now is the time to return back to God and this return must take place in your heart, not merely in your external appearance.

n the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus basically told us that as Christians, we are called to be the Noah’s of this world when He said: “You are the salt of the earth… (and) You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:13-14). Salt preserves. Noah, by his goodness, preserved the entire world from going extinct. Be good! Be different!

Remember that no one has it all. Never wish to have anything that belongs to another because you do not know the troubles the person may be going through.

sin is worse than Leprosy and must be treated as such. Leprosy was such a dreaded disease that it was seen as a curse; a disease that only God could cure. In the same way, we must never joke with sin but avoid it all cost. It is true that only God can cure us of our sinfulness but we must first hate sin so much as to break off from our comfort zones to present ourselves to Jesus with complete faith and trust.

Hunger and suffering in our world today is a direct consequence of sin at the beginning. Nonetheless, in Jesus Christ, we come to realize that all hope is not yet lost. People came to spend time with Jesus and he could see they were hungry physically and he decided to feed them miraculously with just seven loaves and few fishes.

In every temptation, Satan presents that which we think is lacking in us. To Adam and Eve, Satan presented the possibility of becoming like God. When Jesus was hungry, Satan asked him to turn stones to bread. When you are broke, Satan will tempt you with money. Satan always tries to take advantage of our wants, tastes and expectations.