The verse above caught my eye in today’s Gospel. Years ago, I documented acts of kindness that I witnessed in public places. I called it the #KindnessEpidemic many years before COVID-19 hit.

My OFW friends shared that Filipinos are held in high regard in the Middle East. “When any Filipino in the community is given a promotion, we announce it on social media. Members of the group celebrate the milestone. Every achievement of any Filipino is an achievement of the Filipino community!” they said.

At our club “Rise Up! The 5am Club,” we started a campaign called “WINSday.” We note milestones of our members’ achievements. Did someone get an award, a recognition for being a top performer, or a promotion? Did someone make major progress in their health, their relationships, or a major breakthrough with their family?

We glorify the Lord with our life. When we raise each other up, we magnify the light that comes from above. All glory to God! Edwin S. Soriano (hello@edwinsoriano.com)

reflect

How can you acknowledge people’s achievements to say, “Friend, move up to a better place”?

Lord, may I recognize how people give praise to You by the way they live their lives.

St. Narcissus of Jerusalem, pray for us.

Paul’s theology of conversion patterns our lives to the death and resurrection of Christ. It is essential to be aware of this so the grace of salvation can do the same for us. There is no resurrection without first a death to sin and the flesh. We cannot draw from Jesus’ death and resurrection vicariously. We need to become one with Him.

¹⁸ Brothers and sisters: As long as in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed, in that I rejoice. Indeed I shall continue to rejoice, ¹⁹ for I know that this will result in deliverance for me through your prayers and support from the Spirit of Jesus Christ. ²⁰ My eager expectation and hope is that I shall not be put to shame in any way, but that with all boldness, now as always, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me life is Christ, and death is gain. ²² If I go on living in the flesh that means fruitful labor for me. And I do not know which I shall choose. ²³ I am caught between the two. I long to depart this life and be with Christ, for that is far better. ²⁴ Yet that I remain in the flesh is more necessary for your benefit. ²⁵ And this I know with confidence that I shall remain and continue in the service of all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶ so that your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound on account of me when I come to you again.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 42:2, 3, 5

R: My soul is thirsting for the living God.

² As the hind longs for the running waters, so my soul longs for you, O God. (R) ³ Athirst is my soul for God, the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God? (R) ⁵ I went with the throng and led them in procession to the house of God, amid loud cries of joy and thanksgiving, with the multitude keeping festival. (R)

Gospel | Luke 14:1, 7-11

The sense of and demand for entitlement or presumption of special status is the root of many evils. The Church must pave the path of humility for the rest of the world to follow. Otherwise, She will fail in its duty to live the Gospel. Humility is the only acceptable disposition that can make this happen. Christians must have a renewed commitment to humility and service so our lives will truly reflect the Gospel.

Gospel Acclamation

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart.

¹ On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. ⁷ He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table. ⁸ “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, ⁹ and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place. ¹⁰ Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’ Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table. ¹¹ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Read the Bible in one year! Read ZECHARIAH 12 - 14 today.

The call to live a life of humility is universal within the Church. It is essential if the power of the Gospel is going to be self-evident in the life of the Church. In this sense, and it is an extremely important sense, the leaders of the Church need to look very carefully at how their lives give witness to wider society. If bishops and priests live the same sort of comfortable, even semi-luxurious lives of the upper middle-class, then the Church has a big problem.

The Early Church, led by the Twelve Apostles, was able to reach out and expand its influence very rapidly. Why was this so? I think it is because there was fundamental consistency between the message of the Apostles and the lives they led. All of them, except John, were martyred, so we know they lived radical lives, given totally to the service of the Gospel. When we look at other moments of great evangelization—the monastic movement, the reforms of the mendicant friars, and so on—what we notice is men and women who seriously took the Gospel call to simplicity of life and, thus, they became witnesses to the Gospel in both word and deed.

The Church today is in danger of becoming irrelevant in its witness to the Gospel. Apart from the many scandals, it can be hard to see how the Church, and particularly its leadership, is any different from the rest of the corporate world in its methods, practices, and way of life.

The Apostles had a very simple program: know the Gospel, live it, and proclaim it. We need to be less sophisticated in our practices and more faithful to the simplicity of the Gospel as it has been given to us in the Scriptures and the witness of the life of the Church. A return to the fundamental and radical roots of the Gospel is in order—more simplicity, more trust, more faith, and more obedience to the Word of God. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

reflection questions

Does your life reflect the simplicity of the Gospel in both word and deed? Are there any ways in which you can simplify your life and so become a better, more faithful witness to the life of Jesus?

Jesus, help me to simplify my life and focus on what really matters—knowing You, following the example of Your life, and being obedient to Your will.

Today, I pray for: ____________________________________________________