When I was young, my dad would be excited to go home and bring us our favorite donuts. Despite having a long and tiring day at work, he still finds time to surprise us and make his children happy. As I recall those beautiful moments, I can’t help but marvel at the One who sacrificed Himself for us on the cross, died, and rose again. 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that genuine discipleship can be painful as it calls for constant dying to oneself, carrying our crosses, and surrendering our desires to follow Him. But denying oneself bears positive fruits. When we follow Jesus’ footsteps, we find the best possible life, the path to what’s true and lasting—not just here on earth but for eternity. When we live our lives in selflessness and total dedication to Jesus, we will find what happiness and freedom truly mean. 

The moment we decide to follow Him, we can be confident in the glorious promise that our reward will certainly be great in heaven. Michelle Sabuga (imichelle.sabuga@gmail.com) 

Reflect:

“It is wonderful what miracles God works in wills that are utterly surrendered to Him. He turns hard things into easy and bitter things into sweet. It is not that He puts easy things in the place of the hard, but He actually changes the hard thing into an easy one.” (Hannah Whitall Smith) 

Lord, may I follow You wherever You lead me. 

Saint Bonaventure, bishop and Doctor of the Church, pray for us.

Isaiah presents to the people of Israel a list of their sins. He challenges them to correct the unrighteousness that characterizes their lives. Isaiah also calls us to repentance. What sins do we need to remove from the lives of our communities? Let us do something about them now. 

¹⁰ Hear the word of the Lord, princes of Sodom! Listen to the instruction of our God, people of Gomorrah! ¹¹ What do I care for the number of your sacrifices? says the Lord. I have had enough of whole-burnt rams and fat of fatlings; in the blood of calves, lambs and goats I find no pleasure. ¹² When you come in to visit me, who asks these things of you? ¹³ Trample my courts no more! Bring no more worthless offerings; your incense is loathsome to me. New moon and sabbath, calling of assemblies, octaves with wickedness: these I cannot bear. ¹⁴ Your new moons and festivals I detest; they weigh me down; I tire of the load. ¹⁵ When you spread out your hands, I close my eyes to you; though you pray the more, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood! ¹⁶ Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; ¹⁷ learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow. 

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23

R: To the upright I will show the saving power of God. 

8 “Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you, for your burnt offerings are before me always. 9 I take from your house no bullock, no goats out of your fold.” (R) 16 “Why do you recite my statutes, and profess my covenant with your mouth, 17 though you hate discipline and cast my words behind you?” (R) 21 “When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it? Or do you think that I am like yourself? I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes. 23 He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me; and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.” (R) 

Gospel | Matthew 10:34–11:1

We do our loved ones a disservice when we do not speak out against the sin in their lives. The loving thing to do is to challenge their sin, even if they may get angry at us. Better to suffer for doing right than to give an account of failing to do what we should have done. 

Gospel Acclamation

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. 

³⁴ Jesus said to his Apostles: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. ³⁵ For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; ³⁶ and one’s enemies will be those of his household. ³⁷ “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸ and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ⁴⁰ “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. ⁴¹ Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴² And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple—amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.” ^11:1 When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns. 

Read the Bible in one year! Read PSALMS 41 - 45 today.

True faith and discipleship is not an escape. Jesus Incarnate embraced fully the realness of worldly living, without sinfulness and without being overwhelmed. The Christian way of holiness, as Jesus Himself taught, is “being in the world” while also “being not of the world” in values and style.  

Jesus’ didactic words today tell us that challenges of faith begin in the family. Though home is supposed to be a comfort zone, in here, one may encounter differences of views on faith and morals, especially as family members begin to form their own adult minds. The call is for the Christian to be faithful to his creed, and yet to practice charity for everyone. We have to be right, without being self-righteous. 

Elsewhere, the Christian is not just a proclaimer of Gospel truth. Christians must become an occasion of blessing for people around them. We must not just be persons who do good to others; we must also allow others to do good to us (as Jesus allowed a woman to anoint Him with expensive perfume). This way, we bring out the good in people. And for these persons, let us invoke God’s rewards and benediction. 

The Ten Commandments, for example, state that we must honor our father and mother. This particular precept is said to carry a blessing: “That it may go well with you, and that you may have a long life.” Many elderly persons, however, feel awkward whenever younger ones come to assist them and offer them acts of kindness. We must recognize that there are moments when we must be occasions and opportunities for others to do good. 

Everything—including spirituality—has an active side and a passive side. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

Reflect:

How do you react to differences of views on faith and morals (on issues of politics, marriage, and family planning) at home? 

Lord God, I pray that I may be a good agent of goodness in my own family so that we may all draw closer to You. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ______________________________________