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Showing posts from September, 2016

"If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead." -Luke 16:31

The Gospel today is taken from Luke 16: 19-31. Humility, as defined in the dictionary, is the quality or state of not thinking you are better than other people. But for us Christians, humility is something more. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit for us to live a life as how God planned it for us. It is the gift that connects us not just to other people, but to God as well. All of us possess this gift within us. However, like the rich man in Jesus’ parable, some of us fail to apply this gift in our lives. Every one of us has experienced certain situations in our lives that we shine and excel. For example, having high scores in the exams, winning competitions or being commended by teachers, classmates, friends or even family members because of something that we have done. And because of the praise that other people give us, we are sometimes blinded by pride because we think highly of ourselves. We think highly of ourselves to the point that we look down upon others because they

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." -Luke 16:10

The gospel today is taken from Luke 16:1-13. Jesus talks about a steward who cheated on his master. Here are some lines that Jesus said after telling the parable:  “The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones.  If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth?  If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?  No servant can serve two masters.  He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and mammon.” Trust is seldom given; most of the time, it is earned. We are called to trust and have faith in God for He is our gracious Father and our Almighty Creator. We are also taught to trust in His divine providence from the moment we wake up and the time before we sleep. We pray the

"I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance." -Luke 15:1-32

In the gospel, Jesus said, "I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance." Jesus cited three parables: The Lost Sheep, The Prodigal Son and The Lost Coin. These three parables have the same message, and that is even the lost ones can still find their way back to God. Even though they once lost their way to God, they still managed to return to Him in regret of what they did wrong and ask for forgiveness. What is important is that they have realized their wrong acts and repented to God. After reading the gospel, I have realized that even if a sinner commits a sin, he or she still has the right to repent his or her sins and enter the heaven above with God for God and his angels will be happy for a sinner to realize and repent his or her wrong doings. God will more likely rejoice and celebrate if a sinner has come to Him and has decided to change to be