DAILY HOMILIES

how then are we to remain committed and happy in marriage for the rest of our lives? The answer I think is forgiveness; doing what Jesus told Peter “not seven times but seventy times seven times” – endlessly.

Come to think of it, what if God allowed all these people to offend you just to bring you to your knees and draw you to repentance? By refusing to forgive, you might just be fighting the wrong battle.

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” (Matthew 18:15)

If you want to know the power that children have, gather some kids, kneel down and ask them to lay their hands on your head and pray for you. Never disrespect children, none is without an Angel.

St. Lawrence did not simply give to the poor, his giving was at the risk of his own life. Jesus says unless a grain of wheat falls and dies, it remains alone but after it dies, it bears much fruit. Whenever we make sacrifices for God’s sake, it is always painful but we must bear in mind that our pain, like the death of the seed buried under the ground, would eventually yield a great harvest.

Stop looking at the enormity of your problems and start learning how to fix your gaze permanently on God; learn to practice being in the presence of God. Very often, when we catch ourselves asking “God, where are you?” it is because we had forgotten that He is always there with us.

As a disciple of Jesus or as a minister, do I realize the amount of expectation God places on me? For their inability to cast out the demon, Jesus called his disciples a faithless and perverse generation. I wonder what Jesus would say of our own generation today.

As Jesus puts it, we are most to be pitied if we fail to profit eternity with God. We would be very foolish if we spend our short time on earth running after vainglory, material riches and so on but do not attain eternal life.

Having witnessed the Transfiguration, Peter could then write boldly as we read in today’s second reading: “We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty..."

Apart from this woman’s persistence, another lesson we learn from her is her gentle attitude towards life.

If we seek to be pure, the washing must first begin within our very heart.

While growing up, we were told: “Say the truth and shame the devil.” This is a saying that does not apply to children only. Even as adults, even as grown-ups, we should remember that each time we tell a lie, we are giving credits to Satan, the father of lies.