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
Sundays Readings: Zep 2:3; 3:12-13; Ps 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10; 1 Cor 1:26-31; Mt 5:12a; Mt 5:1-12a THE PEOPLE OF GOD’S KINGDOM In our Gospel reading from Matthew, we hear the Beatitudes, the stirring opening to the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is proclaiming the coming of the kingdom of God, and begins by considering what…
Sunday’s Readings: Is 8:23—9:3; Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14; 1 Cor 1:10-13, 17; Mt 4:12-23 or 4:12-17 GOD’S LOVING CARE Two readings today refer to the northeast region of ancient Israel: “the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali.” Upon hearing these names, some of us might consult maps and determine exactly where these regions lie.…
Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 49:3, 5-6; Psalms 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10; 1 Corinthians 1:1-3; John 1:29-34 OUR STRATEGIC GOAL As a Church, we now move into Ordinary Time. “Ordinary” comes from the Latin root for “order,” which is why we line the Sundays up on the calendar and count them—with “ordinal” numbers—one by one. The…
Sunday’s Readings: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalms 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13; Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6; Matthew 2:1-12 ALL SHARE IN THE PROMISE Picture a nativity scene in your mind’s eye. The scene likely includes figures arriving on camels, some elaborately dressed, with jeweled boxes containing precious gifts. These magi arrived from distant lands to pay homage to the…
Sunday’s Readings: Is 9:1-6; Ps 96: 1-2, 2-3, 11-12, 13; Ti 2:11-14; Lk 2:1-14 WHAT ALL THE WAITING HAS BEEN FOR Today’s readings are as familiar to most of us as the carols we sing and the commercials that overwhelm this holiday season. Often Christmas finds us tired, struggling with preparations and expectations. What we…
Sunday’s Readings: Nm 6:22-27; Ps 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8; Gal 4:4-7;Heb 1:1-2; Lk 2:16-21 BLESSINGS Today’s readings include another account of the story of Jesus’ birth. The reading from the book of Numbers reminds us that we are blessed. We are looked upon with kindness and grace. The psalm and Galatians remind us of the…
Sunday’s Readings: Micah 5:1-4; Psalms 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45 GOD WANTS TO BE ONE WITH USWhat great lengths God will go to in loving and saving us! Think of the most outlandish circumstance you might conceive. That seems to be what the Lord is saying to Ahaz in today’s first reading. “A…
Sunday’s Readings: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121122.cfmIsaiah 35:1-6,10; Psalms 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11 THE ONE FOR WHOM OUR HEARTS LONG Put yourself in the scene of today’s Gospel passage. John the Baptist is in prison. He has heard stories of what Jesus is doing, and wants reassurance that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. John’s disciples and…