I sat in the middle pew of the Greenbelt chapel while waiting for my turn to go inside the confessional box. I believe that God brought me there not just to confess but also to listen to the homily.

       The priest started to discuss how most people approach sin. He said that most Catholics treat sin like growing a plant. We commit sin, then we confess, then we commit the same sin again, thinking that we can confess it again anyway. I was guilty of this. I was used to telling small lies, not knowing that they can grow to something bigger. I pruned my sin like my favorite plant: lie, confess, lie, confess again. I was only trimming my sin.

       His reflection made perfect sense. True repentance only takes place when we decide to totally uproot our sin without any intention of committing it again. Whenever we ask for God’s forgiveness, He looks for a genuine surrender of our hearts to Him. By doing this, we recognize that His strength and grace are sufficient for us to overcome anything. With God’s help, I am able to live a more honest life now.

       Friend, go examine your heart. Are you like the people in the Gospel who refused to repent or do you choose to open yourself to the infinite mercy of our God? Pia Angelica Suiza (piasuiza@yahoo.com)

Jesus, in my weakness, I cling to Your mercy. I humbly ask for Your strength to be upon me as I change my ways, O God. Amen.

St. Bonaventure, bishop and doctor of the Church, pray for us.

Those who refuse to live according to the laws of God are eventually crushed. Jerusalem falls partly because of the superiority of the invading armies and partly because there is sin in the nation due to their unholy alliances with pagan nations and their gods. Sin weakens the character of a person or community to the point that it will easily give way to external pressures.

1 In the days of Ahaz, king of Judah, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, king of Israel, son of Remaliah, went up to attack Jerusalem, but they were not able to conquer it. 2 When word came to the house of David that Aram was encamped in Ephraim, the heart of the king and heart of the people trembled, as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind. 3 Then the Lord said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway of the fuller’s field, 4 and say to him: Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear; let not your courage fail before these two stumps of smoldering brands [the blazing anger of Rezin and the Arameans, and of the son of Remaliah], 5 because of the mischief that Aram [Ephraim and the son of Remaliah] plots against you, saying, 6 “Let us go up and tear Judah asunder, make it our own by force, and appoint the son of Tabeel king there.” 7 Thus says the Lord: This shall not stand, it shall not be! 8 Damascus is the capital of Aram, and Rezin the head of Damascus; Samaria is the capital of Ephraim, and Remaliah’s son the head of Samaria. 9 But within sixty years and five, Ephraim shall be crushed, no longer a nation. Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm!

R: God upholds his city for ever.

1 [2] Great is the Lord and wholly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain, 2 [3] fairest of heights, is the joy of all the earth. (R) Mount Zion, “the recesses of the North,” is the city of the great King. 3 [4] God is with her castles; renowned is he as a stronghold. (R) 4 [5] For lo! the kings assemble, they come on together; 5 [6] they also see, and at once are stunned, terrified, routed. (R) 6 [7] Quaking seizes them there; anguish, like a woman’s in labor, 7 [8] as though a wind from the east were shattering ships of Tarshish. (R)

It seems that there will always be people who refuse to surrender to the Gospel and insist on fighting it out on their own. We know that is a bad, even an impossible, course of action to take. We should do our best, through the witness of our lives and whatever other persuasive powers we may have, to try and dissuade people from taking this path.

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

20 Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. 23 And as for you, Capernaum: Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld. For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

think:  Sin weakens the character of a person or community to the point that it will easily give way to external pressures.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Ezra 1-5

A FIRM FAITH

A common denominator in today’s readings is the theme of fear and faith. In the First Reading, fear of the Syro-Ephraimite alliance causes the heart of King Ahaz and the hearts of his people to tremble “as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind.” This is because of their lack of faith in God. King Ahaz lacks faith and courage, despite the prophet Isaiah’s urgings.

       The last verse of the reading from Isaiah (“Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm!”) is a bridge to the Gospel reading. A certain play of words is noticeable. There are two forms of the same verb, aman, which means “to be firm.” (This is also the root of our word amen.) This verb is used to refer to the house of David whose throne, God has promised, shall stand firm forever. But such a privilege, Isaiah tells Ahaz, requires faith to be effective. Jesus says basically the same thing to Capernaum and the neighboring towns. They have been privileged to witness His miracles, but they have failed to respond with firm faith. So they, just like the house of David, will be liable to judgment.

       “God upholds his city for ever,” says our Responsorial Psalm. There is no menace on the part of God. In fact, should there be threats from outside (as from kings assembling for war or from disasters looming), God will still protect and defend the city. Such is the blessing for the one whose faith is firm, who leaves no room for any faintheartedness, doubt or hesitation.

       An example for this can very well be St. Bonaventure (1218-1274), our saint for today. Known as the Seraphic Doctor, his was a cheerfulness, serenity and equanimity — stemming from a deep contemplative spirit — which no human consideration could ever shake. Let his “firm faith” inspire and challenge us. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: How strong is your faith? Do you easily get shaken when problems and trials confront you?

Lord, make me rooted strongly in You so that I can face the world and all its challenges with equanimity and hope.