PAN DE LA SEMANA

19 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C August 11, 2013 GIRD YOUR LOINS AND LIGHT YOUR LAMPS When I was younger, I used to do a lot of climbs up mountains, both high or low. Fun climbs that lasted no more than a day didn’t take too much preparation. All one needed was a small rucksack, a day’s supply of personal water, some food to keep body and soul together for a day, and very light clothing. But things can get a little more complex when you set your sights to places higher. You need to analogically gird your loins and trim your lamps. You need a stove, or what climbers or campers refer to as a “cook set,” a sleeping bag, a tent, and a pair of good sturdy shoes, and don’t forget a set of clothes that would allow you to do what in our jargon, we also call, “layering,” as needed or as dictated by the fickle elements. But anyone who has climbed anything higher than his rooftop knows that beyond all these accouterments, equipment, or hi...

Catholic Homily/Sunday Reflection 19 th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) August 8, 2010 I would like to think of today’s liturgy as a lesson on keeping one’s sense of balance in these postmodern times all too prone to all forms of excesses and imbalances. In these confusing times marked by the pull of so many conflicting ideologies and positions on the political, cultural, philosophical, and – even – religious planes, it is very easy for all to fall for one of such extreme positions. Not even the Catholic Church is spared this particular difficulty and monumental challenge to evangelization. On the one hand, there are those of us who fall for the cut-and-dried and what appears to be a no-nonsense approach to the faith offered by modern-day milleniarists who overly emphasize an apocalyptic, if frightening, vision of impending disaster and gloom that mark the coming of the “end times.” Supported by the teachings of so-called “visionaries” that espouse doubtful theology,...