OUR PARISH PRIEST

SET OTHERS FREE Sunday - 22 A boy desired so much to be an altar server in my parish. But for some mysterious reason, his mother objected to his dream. Soon the boy forgot his aspiration and got acquainted with a group of boys who proved to be bad influences on him. Now the mother could not control her son’s forays into a life of irresponsible affairs. She regrets that she did not allow her son to serve in church, where there was a greater chance of growing up a fine young man. The gospel today tells of the Lord Jesus revealing his dream to follow the designs of his heavenly Father for his future. Indeed, God had a plan for his Son and Jesus wants to execute this design, even if it meant unspeakable sacrifices. Hearing of Jesus’ desire, Peter remonstrates with Jesus to prevent this from unfolding. He was so vehemently against it, he will do everything to spare Jesus the event of the cross. It is easy to understand the reaction of Peter. It i

KEEPER OF THE KEY Sunday - 21 As you get older, you begin to forget certain things. Where did I put my eyeglasses? Where did I leave my watch or ballpen? In my case, I also forget if I brought my keys with me. When that happens, I have to find another house to stay in for the night! The gospel today uses the image of the key to express an important component of our Catholic faith. Jesus says to Peter: I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. First, it tells us about the important role of Peter in the life of the early Christian community. Peter embodies weaknesses – lack of faith, for instance. But Peter also embodies the exactness and accuracy of faith: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God! Jesus entrusted Peter with a mission not because he was perfect but because he was willing to learn each time how to return

MAN’S TRUE BEST FRIEND Sunday - 20 The gospel mentions a special animal – the dog. I love dogs, and many people surely also do. In the time of Jesus, the dog was certainly just a domesticated animal - not treated in an extra-special way; fed merely from the crumbs that fall from the master’s table. They were expected to know their place inside or outside the house. People who were despised were likened to dogs, beneath the dignity of human beings. The Canaanite woman, a foreigner, was easy to dispense with because she was like a dog: “Send her away for she keeps following us”, the disciples counseled the Lord. But look at dogs today. My own dogs are very choosy with their food. They cuddle up with you on the sofa and they want to be carried around. Yes, most of the time, they don’t follow me. I follow and run after them. They have special toys, clothes, hairdressers. We have spoiled our pets; now they think they are our masters. T

JESUS’ PRESENCE DISPELS ALL FEAR I saw this airplane promo ad in the newspapers and so I bought a very cheap ticket to Boracay, that world famous beach in Aklan. One the day I travelled, I realized why the fare was so low. It was typhoon season. I was afraid the flight would be cancelled. But I became more afraid when I was in the boat going to the island. The sea was rough, waves were huge and rains poured down on my face. I thought I would spend my vacation at the bottom of the sea. Today’s gospel shows us the disciples riding a boat and trying to cross to the other shore. But it was not an easy trip they had. There was no storm but they couldn’t cross because of hostile winds. The winds were so strong the boat was being tossed in the middle of the sea. There are many symbols in this narrative. The disciples refer to all of us who are journeying in life. The boat reminds us of the boat of Peter, the barque of Peter that carries the disciples – th