DAILY HOMILIES

When we desire to see Jesus, there is always going to be an obstacle; a stumbling block or a set-back. Zacchaeus’ obstacle was his height. Just see how he used the sycamore tree to solve this problem. What is your obstacle; your weakness or your limitation? What efforts are you making to remove whatever is preventing you from full communion with Jesus?

Like the blind man who called out to Jesus vehemently, let us go on our knees to beg for restoration. Let us not allow anyone to distract us or prevent us from calling on Jesus. Let us pray that our eyes would be open again. Let us pray that we may return to our first love.

Today, Jesus gave us another parable which is quite similar to the parable of the ten virgins, however, this time there is just one foolish servant who again ended up in a place of outer darkness; a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. How do we resemble this foolish servant? And what lessons do we learn from this parable?

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”?