OUR PARISH PRIEST

TEMPTATIONS IN DAILY LIFE 1st Sunday of LentB This Sunday’s gospel is very short. Its mission is to start us into thinking about the journey of Lent we just entered into. Mark describes Jesus driven by the Spirit into the desert, where he was to be tempted by the devil. In his baptism, Jesus was filled with the Spirit. But it was no guarantee to a life immune from temptations of daily life. As human beings, we live our lives in constant battle with many choices. In the Old Testament, Moses presents the people of Israel with only two choices, one for life and the other for death. Today life is much more complicated and the choices are nuanced. I like this illustration of a conversation in a restaurant. Waiter: Care for drinks, sir? Customer: What are the options? Waiter: Hard drinks and soft drinks. Customer: Get me soft drinks. Waiter: Coke or Pepsi. Customer: Coke, please. Waiter: Regular, light or zero? Customer: Regular,

TRY SOMETHING NEW Ordinary - 7th Sunday When a person is so tied up to a particular mode of acting or style of life or attitude, that person loses the capacity to inspire others. It’s what we may call, in jest, in local language – “style mo bulok!” (your style stinks!). But when a person is creative and inventive and adventurous, look at the sparks he creates around him/herself. People notice and appreciate. People are uplifted. People see traffic policemen each day but they stop to admire a dancing traffic enforcer. People may dine at any restaurant, but they choose the one with the singing waiters and cooks. Students endure any teacher but how they react to an open-minded, thought-provoking teacher. It pays to try something new. You don’t know what great things will flow from it. In our readings today, God is showing us how to shake off our contentment with our old ways and like him, enter into an adventure of a lifetime. In the Old Testame

NEW EVANGELIZATION - IN YOUR OWN WAY… how do you share your faith in Jesus to others? - by inviting my friends to join me in the various organizations in the parish - Regina Bautista - by trying to imitate Jesus’ traits, by trying my best to be a good example to other young people. even in a simple manner, if all young people will start following Jesus, the world will be a great place - Michelle Cagomoc

readers of this blog: will you answer the following simple question? in your own little way, how do you share your faith in Jesus to others? please email response to me at ramildrm@yahoo.com i wish to collect and share answers in this blog, in view of the year of faith (2012-13). thanks so much and God bless…

LOVING THE UNLOVABLE Ordinary Time - 6 Often we meet the “taong grasa” in our streets. These are the poor, homeless people wandering our roads covered in grime and dirt, often naked and ever in search of food in garbage bins. What is your reaction when you meet such a person? Surely it must be a mixture of horror, avoidance, fear and indifference. Most of us never had a conversation with such people. The Bible’s version of the homeless, dirty beggar of today is none other than the leper. He too, was avoided and despised because his scourge carried the stigma of sin and divine punishment. The Old Testament reading today advised people on how to isolate the leper in society. To be a leper in the Jewish society of Jesus’ time was not a pleasant, but a most dreadful and painful experience. It must have been a real shock for people to see that their respected prophet and teacher not only conversed with a leper but also, moved by that encounter, “touched

ALL WORK AND NO “PRAYER”? Ordinary Time - 5 We always aim for a balanced life. “All work and no play makes John a dull boy” is a famous proverb. It means that if all we do is work then we become both bored and boring. But if all we do is play and avoid work, we will never be good in what we are supposed to do. This search for balance is true even in our spiritual life. If we are too absorbed in our good works without spending time to pray then our soul becomes famished. And if we pray all the time without translating it into action, then we become escapists and hypocrites. The Gospel today presents to us Jesus as the model of real balance in spiritual life. Mark’s gospel is known to show Jesus is almost endless busy-ness, doing things with admirable speed and alacrity. And in today’s reading, Jesus goes from synagogue to Simon Peter’s house to heal his mother-in-law to crowds of waiting sick and afflicted people. Such dedication and hard work