On this day 20 years ago, I found myself inside the St. Jude Thaddeus National Shrine in Manila. I had two intentions: first, for my sister who was in labor at the moment—so she would give birth safely to our first nephew; second, to receive my monthly scholarship allowance. I was a college freshman then who depended on my allowance for meals. But it was delayed for some reason. I had been running on bread and our school’s water fountain for almost a week already. Hungry and anxious, I ran to my closest confidant, Jesus, and implored Saint Jude’s intercession as well.

When I got back to the campus, one of my classmates ushered me to the theater. I forgot that it was the Buwan ng Wika awarding ceremony. Guess what? I won the universitywide essay writing contest! To my bigger surprise, it came with a cash prize enough to tide me over the next few days. Talk about our God of provision!

I’d love to share more, but I’ve got to go. Time to celebrate our eldest nephew’s 20th birthday. God is so, so good! 

Maymay Salvosa Trinidad (christiane.trinidad@gmail.com)

Reflect

When did you experience God’s saving power and provision? Keep that memory alive. The same God who saved you then is working miracles in your life right now.

God of wonder, surprise me with Your love today. Amen.

Saint Helena, pray for us.

It is a mystery that we insist on following the path of sin, even though we know it is not a good idea. Sin cannot be justified, yet we constantly try to fool ourselves into thinking that we are making the best choices. As we study Israel’s history, we see this dynamic happening again and again. Let us learn from their mistakes; otherwise, we'll follow their path of constant repentance.

¹¹ The children of Israel offended the Lord by serving the Baals. ¹² Abandoning the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had led them out of the land of Egypt, they followed the other gods of the various nations around them, and by their worship of these gods provoked the Lord. ¹³ Because they had thus abandoned him and served Baal and the Ashtaroth, ¹⁴ the anger of the Lord flared up against Israel, and he delivered them over to plunderers who despoiled them. He allowed them to fall into the power of their enemies round about whom they were no longer able to withstand. ¹⁵ Whatever they undertook, the Lord turned into disaster for them, as in his warning he had sworn he would do, till they were in great distress. 16 Even when the Lord raised up judges to deliver them from the power of their despoilers, ¹⁷ they did not listen to their judges, but abandoned themselves to the worship of other gods. They were quick to stray from the way their fathers had taken, and did not follow their example of obedience to the commandments of the Lord. ¹⁸ Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, he would be with the judge and save them from the power of their enemies as long as the judge lived; it was thus the Lord took pity on their distressful cries of affliction under their oppressors. ¹⁹ But when the judge died, they would relapse and do worse than their ancestors, following other gods in service and worship, relinquishing none of their evil practices or stubborn conduct.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 106:34-35, 36-37, 39-40, 43, 44

R: Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

³⁴ They did not exterminate the peoples, as the Lord had commanded them, ³⁵ but mingled with the nations and learned their works. (R) ³⁶ They served their idols, which became a snare for them. ³⁷ They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. (R) ³⁹ They became defiled by their works, and wanton in their crimes. 40 And the Lord grew angry with his people, and abhorred his inheritance. (R) ⁴³ Many times did he rescue them, but they embittered him with their counsels. ⁴⁴ Yet he had regard for their affliction when he heard their cry. (R) 

Gospel | Matthew 19:16-22

Jesus outlines the empirically measurable aspects of a good life but there is more to it than this. The missing element is faith or the surrender of everything to become a disciple of Jesus. The young man walks away. Does he come back later after reconsidering his options? I hope so. Jesus will always be ready to welcome him back, as He forgives our sins and failings because of His great love for us.

Gospel Acclamation

Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

¹⁶ A young man approached Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” ¹⁷ He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸ He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; ¹⁹ honor your father and your mother; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁰ The young man said to him, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?” ²¹ Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” ²² When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Reflect:

What are the choices you’ve been making lately? 

Do these bring you closer to the Lord or away from Him?

Read the Bible in one year! Read ISAIAH 13 - 16 today.

I have always been intrigued by what happened after the last line of today’s Gospel passage. We are simply told that “when the young man heard [what Jesus told him], he went away sad, for he had many possessions.” There are a few speculations as to what happened next. Two possible scenarios are suggested: Did the man leave seemingly dejected because he knew he wouldn’t give up his possessions? Or did he leave feeling down because he had the intention to sell his possessions, give up his present life, and follow the Lord?

Many of us are like this young man in the Gospel whose heart is in the right place as he approaches—as we come to Jesus. However, like him, we also hesitate. We also look for excuses and reasons why we could not take and follow God’s way. And like this young man, we falter in our tracks. 

From time to time, we are challenged to let go of the norm that we have been comfortably used to, of what gives us security, of what we thought defines us as people of dignity and respectability. Trusting and following the Lord means to let go of these things. We are challenged to offer each and every thing to Him, including our woes, pains, and fears. Yes, we are constantly invited to let go—to make our painful goodbyes to the things of this world that hinder us from following the Lord wholeheartedly. 

The Gospel challenges us to learn how to serenely entrust ourselves and our future to God’s providence and benevolence, and to set our hearts to the Kingdom of heaven where our true treasure is. 

Fr. Ricky Montañez, AA

reflection question

Is your gaze fixed on eternal rewards rather than the passing things of this world? 

Help me to stay focused, Lord, on my heavenly goal and not let anything earthly distract me from what I need to do as Your disciple. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ___________________________________