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SUNDAY REFLECTION (Mk 7:18, 14-15, 21-23)

   The Gospel passage addresses how the Pharisees and scribes were upset because Jesus’ followers didn’t follow the tradition of washing their hands before eating. They were more concerned about it because the Pharisees believed this washing was necessary to stay “pure” and “clean”. However, Jesus tells them that they are focusing too much on these man-made rules; they are misguided by it, but Jesus explains that it is not what we do outside but rather what really matters is what is inside our hearts; this includes our thoughts, intentions, and actions that come from within and what really makes a person unclean and impure isn’t how they don’t wash before eating but the bad thoughts and actions that come within their hearts.         In essence, Jesus is teaching us to prioritize our inner transformation over external conformity. Reminding us that purity comes from having a good heart. As 1 Samuel 16:7 says, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lor
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SUNDAY REFLECTION (Jn 6:60-69)

        The gospel for today highlights the challenging nature of Jesus' teachings, and the importance of faith in truly understanding and accepting them.       Many of Jesus' own disciples found his words about the necessity of his body and blood for eternal life to be "hard" or difficult to accept. This shows that we humans tend to struggle with concepts that go beyond our natural understanding while Jesus’ teachings often had a deeper spiritual meaning that only Jesus or God knows. This also shows that faith is necessary in order to fully accept Jesus’ teachings, and that it is not enough to simply hear the words - we must also be willing to put our faith in them.      Ultimately, this gospel reminds us that following Jesus requires willingness and faith to understand the challenging truths of his teachings, and to rely on God's Spirit to guide our understanding. It's a call to a deeper level of commitment, beyond the surface level of discipleship. - Adrian
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SUNDAY REFLECTION (Matthew 20:1-16)

       In the parable of Jesus, that the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who woke up early that hires workers for his vineyard. The landowner and the workers agreed on a silver coin for the day, when the landowner went out at nine in the morning, he saw idlers in the square so he said to them, “You, too, go to my vineyard and I will pay you what is just.” So they went. The land owner went out midday and the afternoon and did the same thing.      Finally he went out at the last working hour and he saw others standing there and he said to them, “Why do you stay idle the whole day?” They answered, “Because no one has hired us.” The landowner said, “Go and work in my vineyard.” And so they did.      When the evening came, the landowner told his manager to call the workers and give them their wages, beginning with the last and ending with the first. Those who worked at the last working hour they were given A silver coin each. When it was the turn of the first they thought they wou
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SUNDAY REFLECTION (Matthew 15: 21-28)

       Jesus The Messiah, “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatever you lose on earth shall be loosed in heaven, who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.” Since Peter was the one who recognized Jesus as the son of the Living God, He is now the handler of the keys if the kingdom of God.      Many of us still do not believe totally about God’s faithfulness and love to us. But there are still who believe but do not follow in God’s Ten (10) commandments. They will only call God’s help and mercy when they have obstacles and trials come in their ways like emergencies, dreaded diseases and in depression. And when they can overcome those mentioned challenges in life, they forgot God even to thank Him for surpassing all those life’s suffering.      This calls us all Christians and believers of Christ to sill hang on to our faith to God in sadness, loneliness, gladness and joyful moments in our lives. We should recogniz
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SUNDAY REFLECTION (Matthew 15: 21–28)

  The story of the Canaanite woman's encounter with Jesus is found in today's gospel. This chapter represents a number of significant topics: such as faith, modesty, and the applicability of Jesus' message to all people. A Canaanite mother begs Jesus in this text to help her daughter who is being tormented by a demon. The woman persists, kneeling before Jesus and pleading, "Lord, help me!" At first, Jesus appears to ignore her, telling her that His primary focus is on the "lost sheep of Israel," but He later seems to change His tune, telling her that it is not right to take the children's bread and give it to "dogs," a reference to non-Jews. The woman's response is crucial to the plot. She accepts her Gentile status, but ingeniously flips Jesus' example by adding, "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Her response demonstrates deep humility, unshakeable faith, and acknow
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Us and Our God Against the World

Just like when we trust God, we know that He'll always be with us through our hardships. Once we realize that it is not us against the world; rather, it's us and our God against the world, we suddenly realize that we don't have to go through this life alone. We should be accepting of others around us because we were made in God's image. We may overcome previously insurmountable obstacles if we have complete faith that someone will be there for us in our hour of need. - Charlz Racel Dela Cruz
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Repent and Come Back

  The Gospel today talks about the time when Jesus was gathered along with tax collectors and sinners. This created an issue with the Pharisees and scribes for they were surprised that Jesus welcomed sinners and was even eating with them. It was then he began to tell the story of the prodigal son. The Gospel is actually relatable to most of us, there really are times in life where we easily judge other people based on what they used to be or by who we thought they are, but have we ever thought of the fact that it is possible for people to change and repent from the things that they have done before? We may not realize it, but maybe we too are like the Pharisees and scribes who easily judged the people Jesus was hanging out with. Maybe we too sometimes think that we are the good ones but somehow it turns out we are actually worse than the people we are judging. Maybe we think too highly of ourselves to the point we sometimes forget the reason why we are doing things. Put as an example w
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