17TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME A

-

CHOOSING THE BEST



 

The recent lockdowns due to the corona virus revealed the new face of young people today

 

…Carefree, fun-seekers, “tiktokers,” crazy for Netflix, addicted to social media

 

…averse to online class, armed with hateful texts and negative comments

 

To observe them was to lose hope in the future. Are these the people who will tackle the next worldwide pandemic… with their ignorance? With their indifference?

 

But as the crisis continued, many young people began to think…

 

… about their future, about their parents, about the country

 

Some of them learned to earn money through online jobs… to help their parents find a way… to prepare for the opening of classes once more.

 

Could this be the start of change… and hope for society?

 

In the first reading today, we read about the young king Solomon (1 Kings 3) who, when God appeared to him in a dream asking what he wanted, gave the most amazing answer.

 

Not long life, riches, victory or power. Instead he asked for wisdom to govern other right.

 

This pleased the Lord and he gave Solomon a heart so wise and understanding… a wisdom that has no equal.

 

In life, God allows us to make many choices… some easy  and others difficult.

 

To choose between a good thing and an evil thing… between the right and wrong is easy.

 

Choose the good… follow what is right. The other path is dangerous and harmful.

 

But sometimes we have to choose between one good thing and another.

 

To rest or to work… to study or to relax… to make things happen or to wait for the proper time… to share or to save for the future…

 

Between two or more good things, the Lord invites us to discover what for us will be, “the treasure buried in a field,” or “the pearl of great price.”

 

What will give our lives the meaning, the purpose, the fulfillment we truly desire.

 

What will give our hearts true peace, joy and rest.

 

In making choices we are not as wise as Solomon. Many times we make wrong choices because our knowledge is limited.

 

Maybe if we learn to think deeply, to reflect seriously and to pray sincerely, we will have the insight we need to make the best choices in life.

 

Let us ask the Holy Spirit that in making choices, we will pick the ones that make him happy, that pleases him, and that contributes to our salvation.

 

Please share with a friend.

 

 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

HOLY MASS IN FILIPINO (TAGALOG)

-
Image
ANG BANAL NA MISA PAMBUNGAD NA AWIT Pari:    Sa ngalan ng Ama, at ng anak, at ng Espiritu Santo. Bayan: Amen P.         Sumainyo ang Panginoon. B.        At sumainyo rin. P.         Mga kapatid, aminin nating ang ating mga kasalanan upang tayo’y maging marapat sa pagdiriwang ng banal na paghahaing ito.             Sinugong Tagapagpagaling sa mga nagsisisi,             Panginoon, kaawaan mo kami. B.        Panginoon, kaawaan mo kami. P.        Dumating na Tagapag-anyayang mga makasalana’y magsisi,             Kristo, kaawaan mo kami. B.         Kristo, kaawaan mo kami. P.         Nakaluklok ka sa kanan ng Diyos Ama para ipamagitan kami             Panginoon, kaawaan mo kami. B.         Panginoon, kaawaan mo kami. P.         Kaawaan tayo ng makapangyarihang Diyos,             Patawarin tayo sa ating mga kasalanan,             At patnubayan tayo sa buhay na walang hanggan. B.        Amen. GLORIA/ LUWALHATI
Read more

SIMBANG GABI DAY 1: READINGS AND REFLECTIONS

-
Image
FIRST DAY: DECEMBER 16   (from the book: Where is the Child?by Fr. R. Marcos (Makati: StPauls);  pls responsibly acknowledge source when using publicly)   fr tam nguyen's photo First Reading: Isaiah 56:1-3, 6-8   Thus says the Lord: Observe what is right, do what is just, for my salvation is about to come, my justice, about to be revealed.   Hay is the one who does this, whoever holds fast to it: Keeping the sabbath without profaning it, keeping one’s hand from doing any evil. The foreigner joined to the Lord should not say, “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people”; Nor should the eunuch say, “See, I am a dry tree.” And foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, to become his servants—All who keep the sabbath without profaning it and hold fast to my covenant, them I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will
Read more

SIMBANG GABI DAY 2: READINGS AND REFLECTIONS

-
Image
SECOND DAY: December 17   (from the book: Where is the Child?by Fr. R. Marcos (Makati: StPauls);  pls responsibly acknowledge source when using publicly)   fr tam nguyen's photo   First Reading: Genesis 49:2, 8-10   Jacob called his sons and said [to them]: “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob, listen to Israel, your father. “You, Judah, shall your brothers praise—your hand on the neck of your enemies;the sons of your father shall bow down to you. Judah is a lion’s cub, you have grown up on prey, my son. He crouches, lies down like a lion, Like a lioness—who would dare rouse him? The scepter shall never depart from Judah, or the mace from between his feet, until tribute comes to him, and he receives the people’s obedience.”     A.             Short Background on the First Reading   1. Who was Judah? Judah was one of the twelve sons of Jacob (or Israel). Jacob was considered the father of the nation of Israel and his twelve sons were cons
Read more