Morning Voice

August 28, 2022. 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.  "For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Lk 14:11 A Korean proverb says: “Aim high in your career but stay humble in your heart.” And an Indonesian proverb adds: “To be a smart man you need to be humble.” One of the most biblical virtues that defines the more our relationship with God and with others is humility. The Scriptures present it as the virtue of the greats, the virtue of the children of God, the virtue that opens to blessings and so to heavenly realms. We live in a world and in societies that hold in great esteem the self and so lead to pride, envy, and the idolatry of the self. For the worship of the self many people can sacrifice anything and everything. And we make it hard to see others be blessed while we are not. Jealous and envy are the worst sins of tho...

August 21, 2022 Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time – C. Readings: Is 66:18-21; Ps 117:1, 2; Heb 12:5-7, 11-13; Lk13:22-30. “My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges.” Hebrews 12:5 An Icelandic proverb says: “He who lives without discipline dies without honor.” And an Irish proverb adds: There is no luck except where there is discipline.” Life is all about all that one gives himself as a discipline and how that leads to fulfillment and happiness. What does it mean, discipline? The dictionaries answer, that it is the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience. And somewhere else, we can read: Discipline provides people with rules to live their lives efficiently and effectively. The idea is that when a person has discipline in their life, they can make small sacrifices in the present for a bette...

August 15, 2022. Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Readings: Rv 11:19A; 12:1-6a, 10ab; Ps 45:10, 11, 12, 16; 1Cor 15:20-27; Lk 1:39-56. “A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” Rev 12:1 A German proverb says: “Who takes the child by the hand takes the mother by the heart.” And an Indonesian proverb adds: “A person who loves their mother is doing the best deed.” “We pronounce, declare and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma that the immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul to heavenly glory.” Pope Pius XII, Apostolic Constitution, Munificentissimus Deus, 44 May we start by providing a reaction and a type of answer to a common question and attack on the Catholics about Mary: where is it written in the Holy Bible about Mary's Assumption? The answer is that the Scriptures...

August 14, 2022. Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - C. Readings: Jer 38:4-6, 8-10; Ps 40:2, 3, 4, 18; Heb 12:1-4; Lk12:49-53. “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” Lk 12:49 A Scottish Gaelic proverb says: “The good speech of an ass is better than the bad word of a prophet.” And a Yiddish proverb adds: “The complete fool is half prophet.” The prophet is not a man of compromission or someone who jeopardizes his convictions for interests, but a man of contradiction. His words, his actions, and even his presence oppose the way of others. He is someone whose words burn like fire and whose actions cut like a sword. And for that, he is hated, persecuted, rejected, and wanted dead. By our Baptism, we are called to be prophets. So, invested with the mission to be the salt and light of the world. Does the salt compromise or adjust itself to the taste of the food? Is it not it that rather gives savor and taste when a meal seems insipid? Does the ...

August 7, 2022. 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. “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” Heb 11:1 A Hungarian proverb says: “A promise is a nice word, if kept then it is all right.” And a Japanese proverb adds: “Eggs and promises are easily broken.” Two weeks ago, while speaking of prayer, we said that as Christians, we live by the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. It is through the grace of those virtues we relate to God and rely on him. The word of God, on this 19th Sunday in the Ordinary Time emphasizes two of these virtues, faith, and hope. It speaks of promise, the assurance of the fulfillment of these promises, and the abidance of the people to those promises. A promise by itself is a call for hope. And faith is what nourishes and keeps burning that hope. Invested with firm faith and strong hope, one fears nothing. Without faith, no ...

August 6, 2022. 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.   “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” Lk 9:35 A Nilotic proverb says: “There is more wisdom in listening than in speaking.” And an Akan proverb adds: “Listening is the most difficult skill to learn and the most important to have.”  One beautiful message of Genesis about creation is that we are made in the image and likeness of God. This image, however, will reach its perfection only at redemption. What we are will be fully revealed and manifested only in Christ and through him. Meanwhile, while we are alive, we are urged to do something, to listen to the Son of God. Here is the message of the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. A call to pay heed and listen. The feast of the Transfiguration is a manifestation, an Epiphany of the Lord. Like any other Epiphany, it does not only lead us to the deep knowledge of God but also cal...