For a Christian, humility is absolutely indispensable. Without it, there is no self-knowledge, no repentance, no faith, and no salvation. Thomas Edison, the famous inventor of the early 20th century, is truly a humble man at heart. This inventor of the phonograph and incandescent lamp once said to his assistant: People call me a great inventor. I’m no inventor worth talking about. When I think that I can’t even build the simplest being that could think and speak, or at least do something on its own, I know that there is only one true inventor. At that, he pointed his finger heavenward.

Like every male Jew, Jesus goes to Jerusalem several times to celebrate the great Jewish feasts. For every male Jew, it is a dream to visit the Temple in Jerusalem upon reaching maturity. They fulfill the commandments (mitzvot) and join in festivals like Passover. The Psalms often sing the words of Yahweh: I will set my king on Zion, my holy mountain. Zion is called the fairest of all the heights and the joy of all the earth. The only Temple of the Jewish religion stands on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. People from all over the world long to go there to worship and offer sacrifices to the one true God. Jesus also travels to Jerusalem. One day, He would give his life there.

I come to set the earth on fire. Fire symbolizes many things: First, there are destructive fires that cause significant damage to property, homes, buildings, and other structures. And forest fires, like the Dragon Bravo Forest Fire at Grand Canyon National Park, which started on the 4th of July, 2025, and has burned approximately 141,000 acres. It is now the largest wildfire in the Grand Canyon area managed by firefighters. Second, the benefits of fire for cooking food for the hungry, providing heat for those in the cold, purifying waters, and giving light to homes where there is no electricity. Lastly, fire ignites combustion engines that help transport people and material goods. But the fire that the Lord speaks of is the radical decision to change our life’s direction, the fire in the heart of the believer.

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.

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, found only in 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 self-absorption. 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.

When we visit a place of pilgrimage, such as a shrine, a church, or an Adoration chapel, we often find ourselves praying with unusual intensity. It is not the place that gives the grace of the SPIRIT to pray more intensely. The prayer intensity is also due to our identification with those places as being in the presence of God. Thus, we feel a certain closeness to the divine.

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

The Gospel this Sunday is famously known as the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan saw the wounded stranger and treated him with mercy and compassion. The action of the Samaritan should be a way of life for every disciple, where everyone, especially those in need, is treated with kindness. “If we want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” Once we overcome our indifference to our neighbor, we come up against another challenge: doing something to help those in need.

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 or about themselves, but in God and His Kingdom.

Coming back from a successful mission, Jesus asked the Apostles this question: Who do people say that the Son of Man is? Then, Jesus followed it with another question: But who do you say that I am? Peter answered with his famous confession of faith: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Everybody was stunned. Where did Peter get this answer? Before they could process everything that was happening, Jesus enlightened them and said, Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly FATHER.

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 God’s blessings forty-one times, he was able to celebrate Mass and receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. How did this happen? One day during his captivity, he received a package from his mother, a bottle of Alka-Seltzer and a medicine bottle marked “pabulum vitae” (food of life). It took a little while before the missionary realized that his mother sent him a real treasure: between the Alka-Seltzer tablets were forty-one hosts, while the medicine was wine.

Christians are baptized using the formula: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And before receiving the sacrament, they respond to a three-part question when asked to confess the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit with the firm: I do. The faith of all Christians rests on the Trinity (CCC. 232). Today, we celebrate the most central mystery of our faith: God’s mystery, the Holy Trinity.

Pentecost is the coming of the Holy Spirit that sets our spirits free. It is the Holy Spirit that removes the costumes and the masks we wear, and brings out the real goodness and freedom in each one.

In His Farewell Address, right after the last supper, Jesus promised to send the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in His name. At this time, the Apostles did not understand everything that Jesus revealed to them. However, the events of the Last Supper, His Resurrection, and the various 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.

Today is Ascension Sunday. At the first Ascension Moment, Jesus ascended into heaven and lifted the spirit of the disciples, their hopes, and dreams. He drew them to Himself and led them to a new level of life and discipleship with purpose and mission. He empowers them to become His witnesses and blesses and fills them with joy, praise, and courage. Along with the mission from the Lord are the power and protection of the Holy Spirit. Because, to be on a mission is learning to rely more on God’s power and less on our own.