I like to think I’m a patient person—until I’m stuck in a two-hour meeting that could’ve been an e-mail. I like to think I’m kind—until a loud group sits next to me in a quiet coffee shop. It’s easy to think we’re one thing, but the real test is how we respond when life shakes us a little. Jesus says that a tree is known by its fruit. Good trees bear good fruit, and bad trees bear bad fruit. Then, He takes it deeper: “The mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” In other words, what naturally comes out of us—our words, reactions, and attitudes—reveals what’s already inside.

It’s easy to act good when life is smooth. But pressure has a way of exposing what’s really in our hearts. If frustration, bitterness, or pride keeps spilling out, maybe the real issue isn’t what’s happening around us—it’s what’s growing within us.

But Jesus isn’t asking us to force out good fruit. Instead, He invites us to stay rooted in Him. The more we fill our hearts with His truth, the more His love, grace, and patience naturally flow from us—because what’s inside always comes out. 

Tisha Alyssa Sanchez (caro.tisha@gmail.com)

reflect

Where in your life do you want Jesus to help you love more like Him?

Lord, You see what’s in my heart, even the things I try to hide. Help me to grow in the areas where I fall short. Change the way I think, speak, and act so that what overflows from my life reflects Your love.

Saint Ailbhe, pray for us.

First Reading | 1 Corinthians 10:14-22

The Eucharist is a meaningful ritual. When we celebrate the Eucharist, we proclaim the unity of the Body of Christ gathered at any one specific celebration. Technically, if a community is divided, it should not celebrate the Eucharist. To deprive a community of the Eucharist is a serious matter and done rarely. However, let us reflect a moment on whether or not our Eucharistic community is as united as it should be.

¹⁴ My beloved, avoid idolatry. ¹⁵ I am speaking as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I am saying. ¹⁶ The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the Body of Christ? ¹⁷ Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one Body, for we all partake of the one loaf. ¹⁸ Look at Israel according to the flesh; are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? ¹⁹ So what am I saying? That meat sacrificed to idols is anything? Or that an idol is anything? ²⁰ No, I mean that what they sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to become participants with demons. ²¹ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and also the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons. ²² Or are we provoking the Lord to jealous anger? Are we stronger than he?

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 116:12-13, 17-18

R: To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.

¹² How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me? ¹³ The cup of salvation I will take up, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. (R) ¹⁷ To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. ¹⁸ My vows to the Lord I will pay in the presence of all his people. (R)

Gospel | Luke 6:43-49

Good trees bear good fruit, and bad trees bear bad fruit. This simple principle holds true for most situations. As disciples of Jesus, let us ensure that we provide a good basis for the fruit of the Gospel in our lives. Let us cultivate a life or prayer and sacrifice. Let us learn the Word of God and honor the teachings of the Church.

Gospel Acclamation

Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him.

⁴³ Jesus said to his disciples: “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴ For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. ⁴⁵ A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks. ⁴⁶ “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command? ⁴⁷ I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them. ⁴⁸ That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who listens and does not act is like a person who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed.” 

Read the Bible in one year! Read PSALMS 91 - 95 today.

I once saw a man pay for a stranger’s groceries when she realized she forgot her wallet. When she offered to repay him, he simply said, “It’s OK. Just pass it on.” It was a beautiful reminder of how we are called to reflect God’s mercy through our actions.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells His disciples the Parable of the Merciless Servant whose master is the best example of how God is lenient with our transgressions. The servant-debtor does not ask the master to wipe out his debt, but simply to remain patient with him. He is then surprised when the master condones his debt in full. But instead of allowing that mercy to transform his own heart, the forgiven servant fails to pass it on. He refuses to extend the same concession to a fellow servant-debtor. For this, the master hands over the hard-hearted servant to torturers until he pays the whole debt. The tragic end of the unforgiving servant is a warning to us. Jesus wants us to forgive one another in the same manner God forgives us. Our ability to truly forgive begins with our deep experience of God’s overflowing mercy.

Forgiveness from the heart is not easy. This human condition puts into perspective Jesus’ response to Peter’s question on how often we must forgive our erring brother or sister: “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” Since learning is essential to our growth and maturity as followers of Jesus, we must allow God’s grace to shape us until we can truly learn to forgive from the heart

In the standards of the world, we may look like losers, weaklings, and pushovers to those whose hearts are consumed by pride, hatred, and vengeance. However, for Jesus, we are blessed: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” And we should not forget—if our recompense is not in this life, surely it will be in the next. 

Fr. Ricky Montañez, AA

reflection question

Are you willing to pass on the same mercy that God so generously gives you?

Lord, teach my heart to forgive as You forgive—freely, fully, and from the hear t. Amen.

Today, I pray for: __________________________________