19th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Waiting and Praying

07-31-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

On many occasions in the Gospel, the Lord teaches His disciples about vigilance. For the coming of God or against thieves or those who want to harm God’s people. But this watchfulness should be translated into one’s spirit of prayer and the constancy of one’s faith.

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18th Sunday in the Ordinary Time: God is Our True Security

07-24-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

Lk 12:1321

After an interruption from someone in the crowd, Jesus shifts the focus of His teaching from not being afraid of persecution to not worrying about provisions for the future.

Jesus makes this point in the Parable of the Rich Fool proper to the Gospel of Luke. He warns them of the predicament of the rich man and about the danger of greed. When one focuses only on material wealth, it leads to selfabsorption. We need to trust God He will provide.Trust our past to God’s mercy. Trust our present to God’s love and trust our future to God’s providence.The idea of “growing rich” for ourselves is deceptive, as Scripture exposes. So, try or strive to grow rich in the sight of God, which leads to a joyful and peaceful way of life.

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17th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Our Father

07-17-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

 Lk 11:1-13

When we go to a place of pilgrimage, a shrine, a church, or an Adoration chapel, most of the time, we can pray with unusual intensity. It is not the place that gives the grace of the SPIRIT to pray more intently. The prayer intensity is also because we identify those places with the presence of God. Thus, we feel a certain closeness to the divine.

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16th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Martha and Mary

07-10-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

Lk 10:3842

The Gospel presents two sisters, Martha and Mary, depicting two individuals who are different in their disposition, which affects their belief and relationship with God. The contrasting images of the two sisters make us also reflect on our disposition and attitude toward people and to the Lord.

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15th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Loving Our Neighbor

07-03-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

Lk 10:2537

The Gospel this Sunday is famously known as the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The Good Samaritan is the one who looked with compassion upon a stranger and treated him with mercy. The action of the Samaritan should be a way of life; that sees everyone, especially those in need, with compassion. For compassion to work in us, we need to remove the focus on ourselves, our concerns and desires, and be sensitive to our surroundings and the people around us. Once we overcome our indifference to our neighbor, we come up against another challenge, doing something to help those in need.

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14th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Discipleship

06-26-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

Lk 10:112, 1720

Today, the Gospel gives us a peek at the life of the earliest Christian disciples. From the twelve intimate disciples, Jesus expanded by choosing 72 others and sending them in pairs. The large number represents a wide circle of collaboration and scope of operation, eventually throughout the world. The sending in twos is consistent with the Jewish practice that only upon the word of two witnesses is a truth established. Disciples are sent not in their name and about themselves; but God and His Kingdom.

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The Cost of Discipleship

06-19-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

Lk 9:5162

Jesus is a decisive man, His decisions are radical and total, and those who wish to be disciples need to measure up to it. The Gospel presents three characters or vocation cases that bring to light the requirements for discipleship.

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Corpus Christi Sunday: Salvific Food

06-12-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

Lk 9:11b17
For more than three years, a missionary found himself imprisoned in China. So that, for one thousand and nineteen days, he was unable to receive the Eucharist. But through the blessings of the almighty God, forty one times, he was able to celebrate Mass and receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. How did this happen? One day in his captivity, he received a package from his mother, a bottle marked AlkaSeltzer, and a medicine bottle marked “pabulum vitae” (food of life).

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Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

06-05-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

Jn 16:1215

Christians are baptized: In the name of the Father, of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And before receiving the sacrament, they respond to a threepart question when asked to confess the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: I do. The faith of all Christians rests on the Trinity(CCC. 232).On the Sunday right after Pentecost, we celebrate the most central faith mystery of all; God’s mystery, the Holy Trinity.

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8th Pentecost Sunday: The New Pentecost

05-29-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

Jn 14:15-16, 23b-26

At the beginning of His Farewell Address, right after the last supper: Jesus promised to send theAdvocate, the Holy Spirit,that the Father will send in His name. At this time, the Apostles did not understand everything that Jesus revealed to them. But the events of the last supper, His Resurrection, and the different Easter moments or appearances of Jesus slowly reveal the many facets of His divine nature; as the awaited Messiah. After appearing to them the last time at His Ascension, they now await the Paraklétos, the Holy Spirit.

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7th Easter Ascension Sunday: Faith Lift

05-22-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

Lk 24:4653

Jesus’ bodily ascension to heaven; marks the completion of His
earthly mission. Going back to His Father in heaven leaves His
disciples with the eager anticipation for the coming of the
promisedparaklétos,the Holy Spirit, at Pentecost. This solemnity
marks the special (ten or seven days) period called Ascensiontide,
the time between the Lord’s Ascension and the descent of the Holy
Spirit.

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6th Sunday of Easter: Peace of Jesus

05-15-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

Jn 14:23-29

At the second post-resurrection appearance of Jesus, He blesses the Apostles with the blessing of PEACE. The PEACE he gives is vastly different from the peace the world gives. At the Eucharist, we offer each other a sign of peace just before receiving the Holy Communion. Knowing the frightened state of the Apostle, Jesus confers to them the gift of peace: Peace be with you. In giving them the gift of His peace, He assures them that He knows their fears and the troubled condition of their hearts, so He tells them: Do not be distressed or fearful.

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5th Sunday of Easter: The Door of Love

05-08-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

Jn 13:3133a, 3435

Paul and Barnabas are back in Antioch after their successful missionary journey and tell everyone the good news of how the presence of the Lord Jesus is so apparent in the many places they visit. The Lord opens the door to the Gentiles, who are more receptive to the faith.

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4th Sunday of Easter: The Good Shepherd

05-01-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

Jn 10:27 30
We often call the fourth Sunday of Easter the Good Shepherd Sunday. Jesus says in the Gospel: My sheep hears my voice; I know them, and they follow me. At times, we wish that the Lord would give us a complete printout of how to follow Him. But then, a simple reflection of this scripture verse tells us that we are the sheep of the Lord, the follower of Jesus Christ, and He says His sheep hears His voice. Yet we do not hear His voice of instruction for us.
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