Thirty-five years ago today, Malou and I stood before God, family, and friends to say our “yes.” It was a sacred promise that has carried us through life’s seasons of joy and struggle, laughter and tears.
ALIVE IN CHRIST
To fall in love with God is the greatest of romances, to seek Him the greatest adventure, to find Him the greatest human achievement. (St. Augustine). This is my story of falling in love with God and my journey to find Him.
Saturday, October 18, 2025
Chapter 35
Wednesday, October 1, 2025
You cannot serve God and Mammon
This Sunday, the 25th Sunday in ordinary time, we continue to accompany Jesus in his journey to Jerusalem. Luke’s account of this journey started in chapter 9 and culminates in chapter 19 with the triumphant entry of Jesus in Jerusalem that we all know as the Passion Sunday or Palm Sunday.
We can say this journey is a
geographical journey from Galilee in the north to Jerusalem in the south with
his disciples. It Parallels Moses journey with the people of Israel from Egypt
to the promised land which took them 40 years
An 11-day walk that became 40
years but the prolonged journey serves as an important symbol in the narrative
of the Israelites. It’s not merely a tale of delay but a critical lesson of
faith and trust in God’s divine plan.
My study for Jesus’ journey from
Galilee to Jerusalem did not produce a definite timeline, but by foot the route
can be a 5 to 7 days walk as traditionally done by pilgrim Jews who do this 3
times a year. And Jesus for how long it took him this time took this
opportunity to teach his disciples on the truth about the kingdom of God and
how to truly live a life of discipleship. It is also a journey of the heart,
and we can say it is our journey.
Today, we find ourselves reading chapter 16 and we realize we have passed the midway point of the journey, and the lessons are becoming more intense and deliberate. Jesus in the Gospel today tells us another parable that is unique to Luke’s Gospel. Whereas the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son, also unique to Luke’s Gospel, they are among the most popular. The same cannot be said about today’s parable. Jesus tells his disciples a parable about a rich man and one of his employees or perhaps a slave or servant.
The NRSV version we use, calls
him the dishonest steward or manager. And Jesus’ words at the conclusion of the
Gospel reading is - you cannot serve God and Wealth.
The original Greek word used in
the scripture here is mammonas which is related to similar words in
Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin, all translating to “money” or “wealth.”  In biblical texts, particularly the New
Testament, the word mammon is often associated with the misuse of
wealth and the temptation of materialism. It is used to illustrate
the conflict between serving God and the pursuit of earthly riches. St. Paul affirms
this in 1 Tim. 6:10: “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of
evil.”
The Greek text of the New Testament calls the employee an οἰκονόμος (oikonomos), which means an estate manager. The role of the οἰκονόμος (oikonomos) in a large household was one of great responsibility, but also one of wealth and prestige.
In other words, he wasn’t just a
servant but a trained, trusted and duly empowered agent of his master. It was
not uncommon for the estate manager to enjoy considerable autonomy in
overseeing his master’s affairs, and also to receive a considerable commission
for his efforts. 
Scholars disagree about the
meaning of this parable. Some say he did this dishonestly at the expense of his
master. Others say that he was simply giving away his own commission. 
And this is the theological
thought I was leaning to favor. That this manager or steward was a shrewd
steward and not a dishonest steward. So the manager here is simply deducting
the amount of his own commission from the amount owing. 
This means that the manager is
being opportunistic rather than dishonest. He forgoes his own commission to win
goodwill that will serve him in his coming hour of need. This gives me some
relief because it makes more sense, since rather than rebuking him, his master
praised him for his prudence, otherwise, he would have shown the same attitude
on that master in other parables like the parable of the talents where in the
end, it is always not ending good for the servant.
We can end here brothers and
sisters. All we need to remember is to make good use of the time, talent and
treasure that God has given us and we can continue to slide in safely living
our daily or weekly lives the way we live them now.
But these words – “Dishonest
Steward” hounded me all this time. As I keep of repeating this words and
praying and writing this reflection – it has suddenly dawn on me the Lord is
actually pointing to a different form of dishonesty to me. 
Thirty years ago, a Gallup poll
called “Religion in America” demonstrated that 89% of regular churchgoers live
their lives exactly in the same way as non-churchgoers–same rate of marital
infidelity, cheating on income taxes, etc.
Don’t you think it is gross
dishonesty to come here on a Sunday looking holy and nice and then live our
lives void of God the rest of the week. God is only for Sunday, in fact there
are a bigger population of Catholics that live their lives with God for “some”
Sundays, or worst – 2 or 3 Sundays a year.
We are all stewards. We aren’t
entitled to anything, even what we “own” in the eyes of the world. Just think
about this, immediately after crossing the Red Sea, God gave the people of
Israel the Decalogue (the ten words) which we call now the Ten Commandments. 
One of the commandment is to
honor the day of rest.  The Sabath for
the Jews and now the Lord’s day for Christians. It is a reminder for them, they
are no longer slaves. In Egypt, as slaves, they work 24/7. 
This Sunday, we are also reminded
of this beautiful reality. And this parable should give us hope. Even if we are
dishonest, we can do something about that, so it is not a disaster for us in
the end.
In the first reading from Amos,
the Lord swears never to forget the way His hearers have cheated and trampled
the poor. And it is an opportune time for us to consider maybe I need to seek
God’s forgiveness in the sacrament of reconciliation. For who knows, that if I
am only here 3 times a year, when was the last time I was in the confessional.
The second reading from 1 Timothy calls us to pray for others, especially those in authority, so that we can all live lives of peace and devotion. Given the division and violence in our country today and in the world, especially in the wake of tragic assassinations and school shootings, these words take on particular urgency. God wants everyone to be saved, to know His truth, and ultimately be united in His love.
This message from Paul ties in with the Gospel lesson: the way we treat others and use our gifts determines our readiness to one day receive the true wealth and permanent gift of eternal life.
Let us pray for those who hold
positions of leadership, and for those who hate us and disagree with us. I
invite you to recognize everything you have as undeserved gifts, and to use it
all with generosity to form relationships of love—never as instruments of
hatred, violence, or selfishness. With God’s help, we can begin the
transformation of our country, our church, especially our homes which is in
such desperate need of renewal. I pray that someday, we can all enjoy the
eternal dwelling place that God has set out for us.
Saturday, July 26, 2025
On the day I called, O Lord, You answered me
Year C, 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 27, 2025 @ St. Patrick’s
(Sunday 11am, 1pm and 4pm Masses)
First Reading:                      Genesis 18:20-32
Do not be angry, O
Lord if I speak
Responsorial Psalm:          Psalms 138: 1-2a, 2b-3, 6-7ab, 7c-8 (R.3)
On the day I called,
O Lord, you answered me.
Second Reading:                Colossians 2:12-14
God made us alive
with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses.
Gospel:                                Luke 11:1-13
Ask,
and it will be given you.
On this 17th Sunday in ordinary time, the Church is asking us to reflect on this great gift. This gift is PRAYER.
The Lord says in the Gospel:
“ask,
and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will
be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches
finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
This is not a “make-good or
feel-good” statement that politicians or any public figure do to get attention.
This comes from the Lord……. Jesus himself spoke these words. And for those who
believe, these words come with a promise – God sees, hears, and feels you and
he will act accordingly.
In the first reading, we see
Abraham interceding for Sodom and Gomorrah. God’s decision to destroy these 2
cities is a response to an “outcry” (in Hebrew implies oppression and suffering),
in this case, to extreme moral corruption and injustice. 
The cities became symbols of
sin and of people who believe they are not doing anything wrong because they
have taken away God in their society and everyone decides which is good or bad.
I wonder if we can say the
same thing with what is happening in our society today.
And here was Abraham,
pleading on behalf of the righteous people of these cities – “suppose
there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the
righteous with the wicked?”  God has committed to honor Abraham’s prayer
and could have relented and turned his back. But there was none – Abraham’s
final bid – not even 10 righteous in these cities (pause).
And this is the first prayer
lesson for all of us today, my dear brothers and sisters. 
(1) God hears and acts on the
prayer of a righteous man:
·     Bible scholars observed that in Abraham’s
prayer, he uses one of the languages of God - mercy. It is that prayer: is first
and foremost about asking for mercy.
·      
Mercy for our own self but also important,
mercy for other people.
·    Abraham was not even there, but from a
distance, he pleaded and interceded for the family of Lot (wife and 2
daughters), and he was hoping there were 6 more righteous people living in
either of the cities.
Don’t we come here with prayer intentions or petitions for someone we know? We are here and offer that prayer and in doing so, we are interceding, pleading with God on their behalf.
And maybe, our city, our country and probably the world have been saved because of the intercession and pleading of righteous people, some of them maybe right here with us. And this is a good reason why it is important why need to go to Church on Sundays.
Because here, we learn the second
prayer lesson. And that is:
(2) We don’t pray alone. Seemingly
as we kneel here today, that the prayer we say is private. Something between me
and God, but it is not. Just think about this:
·       Collect
prayer: by being here, the prayer you have said here becomes the prayer of not
only the 650 +/- of who are here but of all the people present on the same
Liturgy being celebrated on this 17th Sunday in ordinary time in
every place and in every time. 
·       It
is the same Liturgy, and we are all united in prayer wherever this Liturgy is
taking place, regardless it was said 14 hours ahead in the East or 14 hours
later in the West.
·       It
is the same Liturgy and God and the heavenly realm are present in this one
Liturgy where in the mystery of God’s love unites all believers.
·       We
are talking about millions of Catholic faithful in the same Mass, partaking of
the same bread that has been broken down for us. 
·       And
even if there are only 1000 righteous Catholics in attendance this weekend over
the millions in attendance, it is still like having a thousand Abraham pleading,
interceding and praying for you and me today. (Pause).
Supposing one night on your drive
home, you see a car wreck on the road. Paramedics, police, ambulance, fire
truck are all there to attend to the crash victim, what do you do? 
If you are a good Catholic,
you make the sign of the Cross and say a prayer for the victims of this crash
and you go along.
But in case, you recognize
that the car is your son’s or daughter’s or husband’s or wife’s….. that is
another story. You will stop and run to the crash scene, not because you can do
better than the first responders, but because he or she or they are not just random
persons. 
And this is the third and
final lesson about prayer for us today……
(3) That God is not a random
person and you are not a random person to God.
In the Gospel, Jesus reveals
to us that God is first our Father (Greek: Abba)
·      
Abba is a word of endearment for a father.
Jesus taught us to call God – Abba
·      
He is not teaching us some grammar or some
historical or geographical lessons on relationships. He is trying to teach us who
we really are.
·      
If God is our Father, what are we? – we are
brothers and sisters!
Two weeks ago, we
encountered in the Gospel the man left dying after being robbed. The priest and
the Levite regard him as a random person. 
·      
The priest serves in the temple only 1x a
year and if he touches a random bloody person, he becomes ritually unclean and
will have to be isolated and do the religious ritual process of cleansing. It
was inconvenient and so the same for the Levite.
·      
The easier option is to avoid the encounter
and continue to make way and just do what they do best. 
I believe that is the same
reason why last week, Jesus commended Mary and telling Martha that Mary chose
the better part.
·      
We have forgotten who we are and when we look
around, the person sitting besides us, in front of us or behind us are not
random persons – they are our brothers and sisters.
·      
If blood siblings are connected via the same
umbilical cord coming from the same mother, we are all connected because we all
have been baptized by the same Holy Spirit.
·      And this relationship does not end when one
dies. For we die yet we live in Christ. This is what we mean in the article of
our faith that we profess every week and we will profess in a short minute, we
say: “we believe in the communion of saints.”
·    This is, if we can pray for one another here
and now, our brothers and sisters in heaven who are more alive than us can do
the same.
·    And in this Liturgy, imagine how many saints
are here right now in heaven praying for you and me.
When we understand what
actually happens when we are at Mass, nothing should bother us. The stock
market can drop a thousand points in a day, flight maybe delayed or cancelled,
favorite team can lose, plans can fall apart, lose a job, diagnosed with a big
C...etc... but our joyful outlook and deep inner peace will remain in our
hearts.
I believe God created us
with some kind of a homing device right there in our hearts. This maybe what
St. Augustine was thinking when he said that 'our hearts are restless until if
finds rest in God.'
God as our Father longs for
our voice and affection. He knows our pain and we can't hide it from Him. He is
waiting for us to come and meet Him. He awaits us in the Eucharist not just as
a random person. But as a Father to a son…as a Father to a daughter. I pray we
approach him with the same disposition in our hearts. Amen.
May God bless us all…...
 
