Gospel Reflection

October 25, 2013

Friday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

by Rev. Fr. Leo Nilo C. Mangussad, - Rector, Shrine of Mary Queen of Peace (Our Lady of Peace Quasi Parish/EDSA Shrine) 

12:15PM Mass at the EDSA Shrine

Reading 1 Rom 7:18-25a

Brothers and sisters: I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. So, then, I discover the principle that when I want to do right, evil is at hand. For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self, but I see in my members another principle at war with the law of my mind, taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Responsorial Psalm PS 119:66, 68, 76, 77, 93, 94

R. (68b) Lord, teach me your statutes.
Teach me wisdom and knowledge,
for in your commands I trust.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
You are good and bountiful;
teach me your statutes.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Let your kindness comfort me
according to your promise to your servants.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Let your compassion come to me that I may live,
for your law is my delight.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Never will I forget your precepts,
for through them you give me life.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
I am yours; save me,
for I have sought your precepts.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.

Gospel Lk 12:54-59

Jesus said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does; and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison. I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”

HOMILY

Everybody wants peace. But the problem is we seek our peace from the outside, not from the inside. As Jesus said in the Gospel, we are good at seeing things, and reading signs around us and from other people. But we cannot read the signs inside our hearts - our pains, our sufferings, our resolutions, our faith in God. The Lord is telling us to look from deep within us, for us to use our intellect to see what is happening inside of us, before we start healing others. 

Just like in the First Reading, we want to do good, but the bad continues to take over us. If we are able to master this, peace will come. We do not need to look for it; it will come, because peace must come from within us first, before it can be felt by others. 

The question we must ask ourselves is - I am very good at interpreting signs outside of me, but am I capable of interpreting what I have inside my heart?