“Mahiwaga, pipiliin ka sa araw araw.” This is a line from a song of my favorite band, Ben&Ben. It’s about choosing the person that one loves.

Today, we do our best to be accepted and chosen by others. We aspire to please people, adjust, and even wear masks and pretend just to be accepted by the group.

But in our key verse today, our all-knowing Jesus chose Judas. As a God who goes before us, He already knew what would happen. And still, He chose Judas, the one who would betray Him—the one He prayed for, fed, and whose feet He washed. 

There are a lot of times when I am Judas. 

I betrayed the faithfulness of Jesus.

But I thanked Jesus that despite these sins, He still accepts me, embraces me, loves me, and still chooses me.

Philip Roland Sumera (philipsumera@gmail.com)

reflect

Do you feel lost or like an outcast? Remember that Jesus left the 99 for the one that went missing.

_{Lord, You see our sins and yet You still love us so much. Thank You, Jesus. Amen!}

Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles, pray for us.

First Reading | Ephesians 2:19-22

Saint Paul says that we are members of God’s household. God is truly our Father and we are His beloved children. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we become adopted children of God and coheirs of the eternal Kingdom with Jesus, His Son. Today, let us live in joy and love as children of the heavenly Father.

¹⁹ Brothers and sisters: You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, ²⁰ built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone^{. 21} Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; ²² in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 19:2-3, 4-5

R: Their message goes out through all the earth.

² The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. ³ Day pours out the word to day, and night to night imparts knowledge. (R) ⁴ Not a word nor a discourse whose voice is not heard; 5 Through all the earth their voice resounds, and to the ends of the world, their message. (R)

Gospel | Luke 6:12-16

Simon and Jude are listed among the last three Apostles, just before Judas who betrayed Jesus. We do not know much about their lives or ministries as Apostles. But we do know that Jude is the saint we pray to for hopeless cases and that through his intercession, God acts in wonderful ways. Let us, therefore, never give up hope for those we pray for, but persevere and entrust them to the intercession of this special saint for difficult cases.

Gospel Acclamation

We praise you, O God, we acclaim you as Lord; the glorious company of Apostles praise you.

¹² Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. ¹³ When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, ¹⁵ Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, ¹⁶ and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

Reflect:

What desperate prayer do you have?

Read the Bible in one year! Read JOB 14 - 17 today.

Kapuso at Kapamilya!

Filipinos are the new denizens of the world, present in more than a hundred countries. Years ago, while on tour with siblings somewhere in a Turkey port, I saw a sign at a café in Tagalog: “Bawal kuhanin ang silya at ilipat sa ibang lugar.” (Do not transfer the chairs elsewhere.) 

Levity aside, everyone who has a relative abroad (that seems like most Filipinos) may have heard sob stories of their kin finding it hard to live in a foreign land. That was what I gathered while working with migrants in Europe almost four decades ago. Working abroad—adjusting to a different culture, being far from home and loved ones, learning how to live and work with people who may or may not have any respect for people of a different skin color, and having to learn a foreign language—is not exactly a walk in the park. 

That must have been the same bitter experience of the ancient Israelites while on exile in Egypt. They were pining for home, for all things familiar, while they sat by the rivers of Babylon crying their hearts out.

That was what Filipinos did everywhere—meeting on Thursday afternoons in Italian cities and sharing familiar comfort food with each other; congregating in every place possible in Hong Kong, in Singapore, on weekends; sharing voice messages of relatives back home in cassette tapes; and so on.

Homesickness is real. But so is the experience of homecomings! Such joy is reflected in Paul’s words: “You are no longer strangers and sojourners.” This is Christian hope in concrete, made real and attainable by the One who paid for what we hope for with His passion, death, and resurrection. We are now members of the household of God—kapuso at kapamilya ni Kristo!

Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

reflection question 

How do you feel being called a member of God’s household? 

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for paving the way for us to become part of Your heavenly household. Amen.

Today, I pray for: _____________________________________