Morning Voice

September 1 2019: Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time - C READINGS:  Sir 3:17-18, 20, 28-29 ;  Ps 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11 ;  Heb 12:18-19, 22-24a ;  Lk 14:1, 7-14 An Indonesian proverb says, “To be a smart man you need to be humble.” God, our Lord finds his delight in humility. The Holy Scriptures overflow of passages showing humility as one of the greatest and divine virtues. The song of Mary, the Magnificat is itself the best-of of humility. We read on the lips of the Blessed Virgin that God “has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from the thrones, and has lifted up the lowly” (Luke 1:51-52). Mary, herself, is known as the most humble, the handmaid of the Lord. God chose this humble daughter of Zion to make of her the most “blessed among all women”. Humility, actually, is the way of the Lord. Today’s liturgy, 22 nd Sunday in the Ordinary Time C, is a canticle to the virtue of humility. The wise man, Sirach, ...

August 25 2019: Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time - C   READINGS:  Is 66:18-21 ;  Ps 117:1, 2 ;  Heb 12:5-7, 11-13 ;  Lk 13:22-30 A Kikuyu proverb says, “There is no name which cannot distinguish a child.” To be a Christian is a continual quest. It is not only about possessing and professing a strong faith or strong belonging to Christ or being baptized. It goes beyond a belonging to ask for a conversion or change of one’s life. Faith together with action is what makes one’s a Christian and can assure him salvation. We ended our meditation of the nineteenth Sunday quoting the Apostle James, “Indeed someone may say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.” (James 2:18) And James could add talking of the faith of Abraham, “You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works.” That was an invitation to culti...

August 18 2019: Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time   READINGS:  Jer 38:4-6, 8-10 ;  Ps 40:2, 3, 4, 18 ;  Heb 12:1-4 ;  Lk 12:49-53 A French proverb says, “A man who is afraid of suffering suffers from fear itself.” From cross to glory, the fate of the prophet. Human life is a succession of sufferings and joys, crosses and glories. We cannot dream of a life without sufferings, trials, misunderstandings and the like. But all these, when faced positively and with faith, lead to a greater glory. What is said of human life applies as well to spiritual life. One cannot dream that, because he has chosen to belong to Christ, he won’t face or experience anymore hardships or trials. Actually, the more one embraces the Lord’s way, the more heavier will his crosses become. Because, Christianity is the religion of the cross. The Lord would even say, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (L...

August 15 2019 - Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary   READINGS:  Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab ;  Ps 45:10, 11, 12, 16 ;  1 Cor 15:20-27 ;  Lk 1:39-56 A Danish proverb says, “He who takes the child by the hand, takes the mother by the heart.” How do you love your mother? That will sound strange as question while we are celebrating the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Some would even ask, what is the relation? Simple. The elevation or assuming of Mary in heaven is simply the expression of the filial love the Son of God has for his Mother. We all hold our mothers in great esteem and we owe them everything. How much more Jesus, for his mother! The solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, before any theological or dogmatic explanation, is the expression of a filial love for our Heavenly Mother. Many criticisms and condemnations have always been raised against Catholics regarding today’s celebration and its do...

August 11 2019: Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - C.   READINGS:  Wis 18:6-9 ;  Ps 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22 ;  Heb 11:1-2, 8-19 ;  Lk 12:32-48 A Taiwanese proverb says, “Faith is confirmed by the heart, confessed by the tongue, and acted upon by the body.” Our God is faithful a father who does all that he promises. God does not forget his covenant to save the life of the poor and of all those who set their heart and all their trust in him. He is always eager to defend the cause of the poor and does not turn a deaf ear to the cries of those who seek him. Filled with that assurance, the psalmist exclaimed, “The Lord hears the cries of the poor, blessed be the Lord” (Ps. 34:7). God hears our cries when we turn to him. What he asks in return is faith; an active faith to keep us always close to him and close to our brothers and sisters the needy. Therefore, the composite theme of this Sunday’s celebration: in one side, God’s faithfulness to h...

August 6 2019: Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord - C   READINGS:  Dn 7:9-10, 13-14 ;  Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 9 ;  2 Pt 1:16-19 ;  LK 9:28b-36 An Igbo proverb says, “Knowing but not telling it is what kills old men. Hearing but not heeding it is what kills young men.” The Son of Man is revealed to humanity and the voice of the Father attests of his divine identity. That is what we feast on today. We are celebrating a feast which is actually a theophany. Because, by definition, we call Theophany, a visible manifestation to humankind of God or a god. It a manifestation of God that is tangible to the human senses. Today’s feast opens our senses, mostly our eyes (the see) and our ears (the hear) at the intimate knowledge of Jesus true identity. For us today, that is obvious that Jesus is the Son of God. We know it by faith. But that was not as such obvious to the disciples. Though they followed the Lord and witness many of his marvelous wor...