PAN DE LA SEMANA

17 th Sunday Year C July 28, 2013 All About Relationships! The three readings today somehow remind me of Oliver Twist and his intense, heartfelt, and plaintive request: “Please sir, I want some more!” It was a prayer like no other … a prayer poor Oliver Twist had to do when the lot fell on him to do so. It was, of course, a prayer quite unlike that of Abraham, who besought the Lord’s mercy on his own, unbidden by no one else, inspired from within and not from without, driven by charity and not by mere personal need – or, for that matter – of somebody else’s desire and want. Oliver’s request was plaintive enough, heart-rending to be sure, except to Mr. Bumble, of course, whose job it was, not to grant favors, but to make those unfortunate waifs and orphans toe the line. All hell broke loose when Oliver uttered those famous words, as far as I can remember of the musical. The prayer went unanswered, and the favor was left ungranted. The ...

16 th Sunday Year C July 21, 2013 SERVICE. SMILES. SERIOUSNESS. STUDY Abraham was not one to miss an opportunity. Seeing three men on their way towards some place else, Abraham saw the chance of a lifetime to offer some welcome and winsome service with a smile. And then some … rolls and some meat; curds and some milk … The guests surely were well provided. Martha and Mary sure knew their places. Both did not pass off an opportunity as it came their way … in the person of their friend Jesus, whom Martha, by the way, called “Lord!” The “Lord” merited some five-star quality service. This, Martha gave “gratis et amore.” The same “Lord” surely was worthy of some serious attention and personal care. This, Mary did, by sitting down right next to the Lord’s ottoman chair, gracious and generous with her listening ears, as she was gracious and winsome in her heart. Abraham and Sarah did their best to offer service and hospitality to the unex...

  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...

14 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C July 7, 2013 LIKE LAMBS AMONG WOLVES I remember an old thriller of a movie, where a man dabbles in some kind of well-thought out high level crime by joining an organized group of criminals. When the crime was done and the spoils were supposed to be divided among them, one of them, the villain, unexpectedly pulls a fast one on everybody else who, each, was left holding an empty bag. The villain, in the end, had this to say: “Amateurs should not play games with professionals!” And he made a clean escape with all the booty in hand. Amateurs, indeed, should not be playing games with professionals. Take it from one who dabbled a little with basketball during the days when psychomotor skills, not brash and braun, were all that mattered; when there was far less bruising and bone-breaking body contact necessary. Aging now, and with far less agility and far more fragility in body and bone, I ought never play tum...

--> 13 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C June 30, 2013 KILLING THE GOOSE; WORKING FOR REAL GOLD! It seems like we do have some hot-heads in the Bible … impulsive individuals who do things on the spur of the moment, and who resolve to execute the first thought that comes to mind. Well, sort of … There’s Elisha, for one … A bit on the rash side, he did not think twice about “killing the goose that layed the golden eggs.” No, I am being flippant here. He had no geese, but he had something a whole lot better. How about being a farmer and having all the animals of burden you wanted? Well, Elisha was one such happy farmer who had the wherewithal to do his work with ease, for he had a beast of burden to help him plow one for every twelve months in a year! But he was crazy enough one day when he saw not just golden eggs, but what was equivalent to more than just gold and decided to pursue it. Stricken by Elijah the prophet’s vision for him, symbolized b...

  12 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C June 23, 2013 GRACE IN WHATEVER FORM! Many years ago, the words used by Dietrich Bonhoeffer made a big dent in my mind. He talked about “cheap grace” and “costly grace.” Before I proceed, let us get it straight from his mouth: “ "cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance; baptism without church discipline; communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ." It is all too easy for all of us to look only for the former, and ignore the latter. Why not? It is nice to be comfortable and safely ensconced in our seats. It is hard to rock the boat and even  harder to suffer unnecessarily. That is not what I gather from the readings today. The first reading from Zechariah speaks about the Lord “pouring out” “grace and petition” – something pleasant and unpleasant, something that would lead to ...

11 th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C June 19, 2013 GRACE, FORGIVENESS, LOVE I was reminded of that movie some two years back: Eat, Pray, Love …   It is a story of a confused woman who went around the world trying to rediscover herself, and eventually came home to herself, and to relative peace of mind and heart by eating well in Italy, praying deeply in India, and finding what was supposed to be true love in Bali, Indonesia. So, what does this have to do with today’s readings? Not much, you say? But my Catholic, sacramental imagination shows me some important connections … Allow me to explain … Well, for a start, it was a woman that was behind the indiscretions of David. He wiggled his way to be able to do what he desired – and sinned – big time! Enough connection for you? But the gospel speaks of another woman … confused? Probably! … sinful? Definitely! In search for something great and noble? Absolutely! There you hav...