Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 53:10-11, Hebrews 4:14-16, Mark 10:35-45
From the Pastor’s Desk… To Serve & Give One’s Life
The longing to be powerful is as ancient as the world. We ourselves experience it every day in the most commonplace situations, as in wanting to occupy the best or first place, in choosing the best of partners, in climbing up the ladder to a higher position at work – till we go so far as to fight for political power without a conscience, even destroying the adversary. At the root of the problem, there is always the terrible duality: an instinct for dominance and one’s ridiculous vanity.
Our own self-centeredness can infiltrate to such a point that we think we are someone special, and that we are of even more worth if we dominate other people; and if only the other person could be more brotherly! Isn’t this the question that is planted in one’s mind? If the other person would really change into being my brother: then I could overwhelm him with my dominance, even against his own person or his own goods? Couldn’t I also then speak poorly about him behind his back? Would he allow me to destroy his privacy?
For Christ, on the other hand, one is greater when he/she resigns their will to dominate others and learns to serve with a fraternal love. There are so many people around us that attract us, due to their generosity and their noble lives! One’s moral authority is born from within a heart that is in solidarity, is generous, and serves. They radiate a special authority; they need neither to threaten, to bribe, nor to flatter. Perhaps this is the most important secret of life and yet the most ignored. We live life more intensely, only when we give it away. One can only live when that person helps others to live.
What is He asking of us? The service that Christ asks of us is demanding, however it is immensely fruitful. This service implies a struggle to the death against one’s egoism and it is an exercise in humility; this is the hard part. Yet, it is also a productive service because it is our source of salvation. It is very easy for one to give something; and this happens to us also when it does not cost us anything, especially when we have an abundance. But honestly: who dares to give everything, and then to give one’s all to the others, until it hurts?
The idea alone of serving others, may scare many away. For others, it may attract them only to place themselves at the center of attention. It is an obligation of one’s conscience to assume a commitment of service.
We have to give what is alive in us: our happiness, our faith, our tenderness, our confidence, and the hope that sustains us and animates us up from within. To give one’s life in this way – is always a gesture that enriches, that helps us to live, that gives life to others, that redeems souls, and that liberates and saves people.
God bless you, Fr. Oscar
Sunday’s Readings: Amos 7:12-15; Psalms 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:7-13 CALLED BY GOD Today’s scriptures invite us to listen to two calls. The first is the call issued by the LORD to the prophet Amos, the “shepherd and a dresser of sycamores” (Amos 7:14). The second is the call the Lord Jesus issued to…
Sunday’s Readings: Ezekiel 2:2-5; Psalms 123:1-2, 2, 3-4; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Mark 6:1-6 OBSTACLES The prophet Ezekiel, Saint Paul, and the Lord Jesus share something in common in today’s scripture readings. They all experience obstacles to their ministry. Ezekiel is summoned to prophesy to the Israelites, who are “hard of face and obstinate of heart” (Ezekiel…
Sunday’s Readings: Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24; Psalms 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13; 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15; Mark 5:21-43 O LORD, BE MY HELP Today we encounter readings that draw us into the mystery of suffering and death. In the past few years we have witnessed the devastation of life and property through earthquakes and hurricanes.…
Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 49:1-6; Psalms 139:1-3, 13-15; Acts 13:22-26; Luke 1:57-66, 80 JOHN THE BAPTIST Since June 24 falls on a Sunday this year, the Church has the opportunity for a more intense celebration of the birth of John the Baptist, who is often described as the last of the Old Testament prophets and the bridge…
Sunday’s Readings: Ezekiel 17:22-24; Psalms 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10; Mark 4:26-34 THE MASTER STORYTELLER In today’s Gospel, Jesus is presented to us as the master storyteller. He loved to use parables as a tool for comparing one thing to something else. In most of his parables, Jesus revealed who God is by comparing God’s…
Sunday’s Readings: Genesis 3:9-15; Psalms 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; Mark 3:20-35 PROMISES Today’s liturgy is full of promises. The reading from Genesis promises a final triumph over the power of sin and a return to a new creation. The reading from Second Corinthians promises that all who follow Christ will have to struggle.…
Sunday’s Readings: Exodus 24:3-8; Psalms 116:12-13, 15-16, 17-18; Hebrews 9:11-15; Mark 14:12-16, 22-26 PRECIOUS BLOOD On this solemnity we focus our attention on the Body and Blood of Christ. We listen to the story of the renewal of the old covenant, which Moses sealed by splashing the blood of animals on the altar of sacrifice, as…
Sundays Readings: Acts 2:1-11; Psalms 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34; 1 Corinthians 12:3B-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23 ALL ARE SENT Fifty days after Easter Sunday we celebrate the fulfillment of all God’s promises in the feast of Pentecost, a feast that has sometimes been called the birthday of the church. One last time we are reminded that…