Jim was part of the men’s group I led in our prayer group. He always shared openly about his life during our one-to-one meetings. He expressed his desire to be part of a Christian group. He also told me about his challenges in attending the activities due to his personal circumstances. I told him to just give it his best effort, be faithful, and allow God to handle the rest.

One day, Jim became very sick. He took a leave from work, but he told me that he wasn’t getting better. The next update I got was he was being rushed to the hospital. We kept in touch via text during his confinement. He told me that he felt sad and afraid. He felt that his faith was decreasing. I continued to encourage him. We prayed together over the phone before we hung up. He sent me a message right after. “I can read the Bible online using my phone to increase my faith. Thank you!”

Two days after our last chat, Jim’s sister told me he passed away the previous night. Our last conversion was evidence that Jim’s faith remained till the very end. Jim “ran to win” (1 Corinthians 9:24). Alvin Fabella (alvinfabella@yahoo.com)

reflect

Are you tempted to give up your faith because the obstacles are too much? Don’t give up. Jesus never gave up on you.

Lord, help me to persevere and be faithful to the end.

St. Peter Claver, priest, pray for us.

Paul has embraced the mission of proclaiming the Gospel. He will do this until his dying day. We see this in Paul’s commitment to the Gospel and what he endured in proclaiming it. He has run a marathon many times over and not just a couple of short sprints. Indeed, he has run the race until the end.

¹⁶ Brothers and sisters: If I preach the Gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it! ¹⁷ If I do so willingly, I have a recompense; but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship. ¹⁸ What then is my recompense? That when I preach, I offer the Gospel free of charge so as not to make full use of my right in the Gospel. ¹⁹ Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible. ²² I have become all things to all, to save at least some. ²³ All this I do for the sake of the Gospel, so that I too may have a share in it. ²⁴ Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. ²⁵ Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. ²⁶ Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. ²⁷ No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 84:3, 4, 5-6, 12

R: How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!

³ My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. (R) ⁴ Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest in which she puts her young—your altars, O Lord of hosts, my king and my God! (R) ⁵ Blessed they who dwell in your house! Continually they praise you. ⁶ Blessed the men whose strength you are! Their hearts are set upon the pilgrimage. (R) ¹² For a sun and a shield is the Lord God; grace and glory he bestows; the Lord withholds no good thing from those who walk in sincerity. (R)

Gospel | Luke 6:39-42

Once again, Jesus reminds us to leave the judgment to Him. We can judge the nature of a person’s act as right or wrong, but let us leave the judging to Jesus. He is more merciful and understanding than we will ever be. Also, He can read the motivation or intention of the person’s heart.

Gospel Acclamation

Your word, O Lord, is truth; consecrate us in the truth.

³⁹ Jesus told his disciples a parable: “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰ No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher. ⁴¹ Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own? ⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’ when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.”

Read the Bible in one year! Read JEREMIAH 7 - 10 today.

A man had a dream where he saw an angel holding a torch on his right hand and a pail of water on his left. He asked the angel what the torch and the pail of water were for. The angel responded, “With this torch, I will burn the mansions of heaven and with this pail of water, I will put out the fires of hell.” The man asked, “Why?” The angel responded, “Then we will know who it is who really love God.”

Many Christians endeavor to be good because they fear the fires of hell. For others, it is the mansions of heaven. In any endeavor—be it personal, political, economical, or spiritual—people are usually driven by two motivations: the fear of punishment and the joy of reward. While both motivations can be legitimate starting points to achieving a goal, they do not suffice in the realm of the spiritual life. Here, the person of Jesus is the central goal. Everything else is secondary. In fact, if Christ is not the central goal, everything else can be a distraction.

In today’s First Reading, Paul uses the imagery of an athlete, a runner in a race. He undergoes the rigor, the demand and discipline of training to win a crown. A crown that is, after all, perishable: “Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown. . . .” That is not enough. Paul reminds the Church in Corinth that a Christian is different. He runs for “a crown that is imperishable.”

In my last year in the seminary prior to ordination, my spiritual director told me, “Ordination is not the goal of your long formation. It is configuration in Christ. If the imitation of Christ is not your main goal, do not apply for ordination.”

This year, I am celebrating my twenty-sixth year in the priesthood. As I get older in the priesthood, I feel all the more the thug of power, ambition, and success. I still get distracted by so many things in the race of life. That is why until now, I constantly remind myself, “If Christ is not the prize you are aiming for, you are running the wrong race.” Fr. Joel O. Jason

reflection question

Whatever race you are running, is intimacy with Christ a part of your goal?

Lord, thank You for the many dreams that inspire me. Thank You for my many successes. May all of them find its finality in You. Amen.

Today, I pray for: _______________________________________________