22ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

First Reading: Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29 | Psalm: Psalm 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11 | Second Reading: Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a

Gospel: Luke 14:1, 7-14

Reflection:

A blessed Sunday to us all. Jesus speaks of the importance of humility. It means that we need not to seek glory for ourselves. If we do the right things, fulfill our obligations, and complete our tasks with good intentions, then it is God Himself who will exalt us in His time. There’s a reward in heaven that awaits us, and we should only choose one. If we desire glory on earth, then our reward will no longer be in heaven. If we desire glory in heaven, then we must learn the value of being forgotten and unrecognized here on earth. Does this have a negative implication? No, but it is simply means that we are not focused on what we could get when we serve God and others. What matters to us is just to serve and do the right thing and to be content with that.

While we are here, it is important that God be recognized first in all things that we do. We must know that all the good things in us are from God. Our intellect, our talents, abilities, and even our very lives come from God. When we glorify Him and please Him in all we do, we are also being satisfied. Our life purpose is being fulfilled and we become genuinely happy and peaceful in life. When we fill our lives with God, He fills us from within but when we fill our lives with ourselves, we became lost and agitated. We were not created to seek worldly desires and honor. We were created by God to love and to be selfless by giving ourselves including our time, effort, and resources to others. Therefore, it is those who serve the most that shall be exalted above all because they have been true to themselves and the mission for which God created them. Their happiness is everlasting on earth until heaven that no amount of money can buy. Amen. +

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Marga de Jesus, OLA Social Communications Ministry