I was a cradle catholic. In other words, I have been raised in our Catholic faith since birth. In my college years, I encountered a group which told me that only 144,000 (one hundred and forty- four thousand) will be saved and they showed me a passage from the Book of Revelation to support this claim. I immediately believed them and started attending their prayer services. As we gathered together every week to pray and pray and pray, (which is perfectly fine with me), I realised that there was something missing: “What was the fruit of all my prayers?”…

I believe today’s Gospel reading is one of the most shocking statements of Jesus. Often, we hear that Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and so what does it mean when Jesus speaks about fire and division? Is there any significance or meaning behind His words?…

When St. Pope John XXIII initiated the process of Vatican II, he proposed the process of discernment known as SEE, JUDGE and ACT. It seems that St. Pope John XXIII might have learned this way of discernment through today’s three parables:

1. The Wedding Banquet and the Servant (vv. 35-38)

2. The Arrival of the Thief (vv. 39-40)

3. The Faithful and Unfaithful Servants’ Attitude (vv. 41-48)…

Today’s parable is entitled “The Parable of the Rich Fool.” The parable was an answer to this person who wanted Jesus to tell his brother to give his share from their ancestral inheritance. In the meantime, let’s set aside the title of the parable and quickly go over the parable itself…

The heart of the Gospel passage is PRAYER and for certain, prayer is the heartbeat of Christian life. As we have heard earlier, Jesus did not only teach His disciples the Lord’s Prayer, but He also explained to them the value of prayer using two examples. The first was about a person who went to a friend in a time of need to seek help for another friend; the second also connotes persistence, and that is to ask; to knock, and to find. Putting together everything, we find that Jesus’ prayer is actually an RSVP…

The two prominent characters in today’s Gospel passage are Martha and Mary. Throughout the centuries, these two characters symbolize the two ways of serving in Church, which are more commonly known as “ora et labora” (to pray and to work). Martha, who is busy with many things, stands for the active life, whereas Mary, who is peacefully sitting at the feet of the Lord and listening to Him, represents contemplative life in the Church. Which character or way of life do you think brings one closer to Jesus?…