PAN DE LA SEMANA

  15 th Sunday Year C July 14, 2013 YOU ONLY HAVE TO CARRY IT OUT We all suffer from some type of paralysis at some point. We are often petrified in our fears, in our uncertainties, in our mistrust, and in our lingering suspicions. We dare not lift a finger most times to help. “What if the fellow is just pretending to be sick and needy?” “What if the beggar banging at my door is really a poseur out to pull a fast one on me?” We all are potential good Samaritans. We all dream somehow of being like Mother Teresa of Calcutta, or any other great saint we hear about or read about. But, too sad, too bad, all we do oftentimes is engage in wishful thinking. All three readings speak about possibilities. The first reading from Deuteronomy speaks about the “word” as being very “near to us” – within reach, at arm’s length, readily available to those who would simply reach out and do not much else. The second reading speaks about a God so noble and...

Catholic Homily/Sunday Reflections 30 th Sunday in Ordinary Time(B) October 25, 2009 Clarity seems to be the banner-headline of today’s liturgy. Mark the evangelist, for the brevity of his account, shines out in at least this one aspect – the clarity of detail about a blind man whom he took pains to record by name – Bartimaeus! Blind persons tend to lose their identity and individuality in this cruel world. People often just refer to the handicapped as the “blind man,” the “limping girl,” or the “one-eyed swordsman,” or any other unsavory appellation other than their own names. Somehow, it is almost like as if people with marked handicaps lose their right to be unique, to be worthy of being known, to be treated as individual persons. But if Mark was clear on the name, I must add that the one he named for posterity showed even greater clarity … on two counts. First, Bartimaeus called on Jesus as “Son of D...