Reading for the Day: Jesus is Lord

The more I read the mass readings for the day, the more I appreciate that writers write for particular audiences. I guess this is obviously true for St. Paul's epistles which were pastoral letters to address particular concerns of particular communities. It isn't quite as obvious for the Gospels but all the talk about eschatology shows that even the Gospel writers sought to address concerns of their time.

I found this footnote to today's First Reading from St. Paul's letter to the Romans:  

"To confess Jesus as Lord was frequently quite hazardous in the first century . For a Jew it could mean disruption of normal familial and other social relationships, including great economic sacrifice. In the face of penalties imposed by the secular world, Christians are assured that no one who believes in Jesus will be put to shame (Rom 10:11)". From: http://www.usccb.org/bible/scripture.cfm?bk=Romans&ch=10&v=53010009


Today it is quite fashionable to proclaim that Jesus is Lord and to praise God publicly. But during Paul's time, doing so had consequences. 

Gospel for the Day

Turning to the disciples in private he said,
"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it."


Blessed are the disciples indeed. I wonder if the disciples were aware of how lucky they were to be eyewitnesses to Jesus. But then again, maybe these things can only be appreciated in retrospect (after all, it had to take the coming of the Holy Spirit for them to understand what had happened) and being eyewitnesses did lead them a lot of them into trouble (like Stephen who was stoned to death and Peter who was crucified). 

Reading for the Day: Swords Into Plowshares

I seriously doubt that Isaiah was being apocalyptic when he wrote about the dominance of Jerusalem in the future. He says that all nations will stream towards towards Jerusalem and will be instructed in God's ways. Because of the undisputed role of Jerusalem, "One nation shall not raise the sword against another,
nor shall they train for war again". 

I guess this is part of Old Testament thinking where the God of Israel is pitted against the god of other nations. In this vision, the God of Israel dominates in the end and this leads to the end of wars and swords will be turned into plowshares.

I can't help but contrast this kumbaya vision with the conflict that Jesus said would be a result of his (continuing) presence. The way he says it, even families will be torn apart by people's belief in him. Swords are not turned into plowshares but are unsheathed. 

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword.For I have come to set a man 'against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's enemies will be those of his household.' Matthew 10:34-36

The only way Isaiah can be portrayed as speaking of something other than an earthly kingdom is if he was talking about heaven. But given the tenor of his piece, it seems it is better to attribute his thinking to incomplete/ misunderstood revelation. 

Waiting

Having started this little exercise of writing short reflections on the readings for the day in October/ November, I've quickly learned that a lot of the readings toward the end of the liturgical year have a lot to do with the end-times. The context of the Gospel writers was that they were anticipating the Second Coming within their lifetimes. I thought that the Gospel of the First Week of Advent would be Christmassy and put an end to all the eschatological talk but apparently, it continues until today.

But then again, the Gospel today might be a good transition from one season of waiting to another. Since Advent follows the end of the liturgical year, it seems we transition from waiting for the end-time to waiting for the Messiah. Or another way of looking at it is that we being the liturgical year waiting during advent and end the liturgical year watching while the disciples wait for the end time.

Reading for the Day: Drowsy Hearts and Hearts Weighed Down

Because I posted late (am out of town and not techie enough to have roaming access, will probably be late again tomorrow), this post contains two essays in one.


Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy
from carousing and drunkenness
and the anxieties of daily life..
Luke 21: 34

I have more questions than I have answers about this passage but I am drawn to it. What I find interesting is the contrast on the one hand between carousing and drunkenness on the one hand and the anxieties of daily life on the other. 

The part about carousing and drunkenness is easier to understand especially when seen in the context of Jesus' stories of rich men who enjoy their wealth and suddenly die. 

But what captures my attention more is the drowsiness of heart caused by the anxieties of daily life. How does daily life make our hearts drowsy? Maybe someone is so absorbed in daily life that they fail to notice that God is already around. Their hearts are not alert. Or maybe their daily life is so mundane that their senses have deadened and they fail to notice that God is around. Or maybe Jesus was talking (or the evangelist was talking) about disciples who have stopped waiting for Jesus to come. They have allowed themselves to be preoccupied by the concerns of daily life. 

I found a different version: 

But take heed to yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life.. 

This is a more comprehensible version of the same quote from www.mass-schedules.com. Hearts weighed down by cares of this life is more comprehensible. We may lose sight of what's important because of the cares of this life. 

What's also interesting from this quote is the word dissipation. In this case, I guess it means harmful self-indulgence but imagine if it meant lack of focus that weighs down our hearts. 


The use of the phrase "this life" is also interesting. Whatever version you choose, there is a common element of sensitivity to something more than this life and a heart that is oriented to that something more. A heart that does not indulge excessively in the pleasures of this life nor is weighed down with its cares and concerns. 


And finally this quote asks us to "take heed to ourselves", to check ourselves once in a while to make sure that neither pleasures nor the anxieties of daily life make our hearts drowsy, weighed down and overly absorbed in this life. 

Reading for the Day: Luke 21's Punch Line

The Gospel for this entire week has been based on Luke 21. 

It starts off with Jesus noticing the widow who gave her two coins to the temple. I think what's barely noticed are the next few lines from Tuesday's Gospel. (While) "Some people were speaking about
how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings." And from there Luke 21 becomes eschatological. 

In response to others' observations about the costly stones and votive offerings, Jesus says "All that you see here? The days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down." And this pretty much sets the mood for the rest of the chapter (and it goes way beyond temples that are destroyed).

But the point of all the apocalyptic scenarios is that they are a preamble to the coming of the kingdom. And here and there Jesus seems to be saying, trust me, do not be terrified, the kingdom is coming, your redemption is at hand. In today's Gospel he says, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away". That seems to seal the deal. Trust me, all of this shall pass. Redemption is at hand. 

I notice that we sometimes miss the punch line in prayer. The punch line for me of the Prayer for Generosity, for example, is "Save that of knowing that I do your most holy will" but we often get distracted by "to give and not to count the costs, to fight and not to heed the wounds, to labor and ask not for reward". The punch line for me of Take and Receive is "Give me only your love and your grace, that's enough for me" but we get distracted by "Take and Receive, my liberty, my will, my mind, my memory, all things I hold and all I own are thine, thine was the gift to thee I all resign". We are afraid we cannot do everything we say we want to do and forget that there is something basic we are asking for toward the end.

I think it is the same with the apocalyptic readings. Amidst all the warnings of catastrophe, Jesus says, "trust me, this too shall pass". Or as my mother would say, have faith. 

Reading for Tuesday and Thursday: Divine Security

Every year, I teach the concept of Human Security. Human security is a concept that was introduced to convince the United Nations to go beyond the concept of state security. State security is all about the sovereignty of states and the United Nations was established to protect state sovereignty.

Unfortunately for King Nebuchadnezzar, he was born long before an institution like the United Nations was formed and Daniel said (based on the first reading last Tuesday) that  Nebuchadnezzar's  kingdom will be replaced by three other kingdoms (so much for state security) and finally by a fourth kingdom which will be eternal. In the Gospel today, Jesus says that Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies and its desolation would be at hand and that pregnant women and nursing mothers should be very afraid.

The concept of human security was introduced because there was a need to go beyond state sovereignty. Some threats to humanity are brought about by the state (genocide or on a smaller scale: displacement), have nothing to do with state sovereignty (like disasters of the natural or manmade kind) and some problems transcend states (environment, epidemics). Human security is an approach which tries to deal with such threats to humanity. One could say that human security aims for the absence of fear from threats and deprivations.

The Gospel for Tuesday was full of threats to human security. Jesus told his disciples the end of times will be preceded by wars and insurrections, powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place. The Gospel for today says there will be signs and "nations will be in dismay perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world".

People will die of fright. What a thought.

The Gospels of the last few days seem to suggest that we need to go beyond aiming for human security but rely on divine security. Jesus seems to be saying that all of these cataclysmic events are inevitable. But in the middle of his discourse, Jesus tells his disciples not to be terrified. And the absence of fear is not because of the absence of things to be afraid of. In fact Jesus seems to be pretty good at describing everything to be afraid of.

But the source of divine security is what happens after all the cataclysmic events. "And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand." And you can go back to Daniel and his vision of an eternal kingdom.

Reading for the Day: Martyrdom

I remember a friend of mine telling us that she was bothered by the fact that she wasn't prepared to be a martyr. I don't know if she said her spiritual director told her (or I imagined telling her) she might not be called to be one. Putting it more bluntly, imagine God telling her, "Bakit? Who said I wanted you to be one?" I guess that kind of thinking qualifies as useless anxiety. 

In that sense then, persecution for one's faith and martyrdom is a special gift from God granted only to a few people and the Gospel for today reassures us that when the situation comes (if it ever does), the graces needed to get through it will be provided. 

Reading for the Day: Don't They Know It's the End of the World?

A priest recently shared in his homily that the readings toward the end of the Liturgical year tend to be about eschatology. And starting this exercise of writing short reflections based on the readings for the day at this time of the year really drives home the point. In the Gospel for the day, Jesus tells his disciples the end of times will be preceded by wars and insurrections, powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place.

Some people claim that the world will end on December 21, 2012 and I can imagine that they'll be spooked by all these readings around October/ November next year not realizing that these eschatological readings are par for the course at this time of year.

My thought for the day is more of an observation of how caught up the Gospel writers were on this talk about the Second Coming. I remember two points from my theology classes back in college. First that these writers really believed that the Second Coming was near. And second, that what they wrote was not just a historical account but also a pastoral letter (an extended parable based on events, as it were) to the early Christians. Given the frequency with which the question of the end of the world is brought up in the Gospels, I can only imagine that those early Christians must have really been in a state of anticipation but also of discouragement when the Second Coming was taking so long.

(Amusing) Story for the Day: Daniel's Diet

Daniel is most famous for surviving a night with lions. But it's the first time I've read about Daniel's successful diet.

Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered Jerusalem and conscripted "children of Israel of royal blood and of the nobility, young men without any defect, handsome, intelligent and wise, quick to learn, and prudent in judgment". One of them was Daniel.

Nebuchadnezzar "allotted them a daily portion of food and wine" from his own table. But Daniel refused to "defile himself with the king's food or wine". The chamberlain was afraid the king would scold him if Daniel and company refused to eat and became scrawny.

Daniel asked that they be fed vegetables for ten days on a trial basis. After 10 days, he asked to be compared  with the other servants who ate from the royal table.

The bible says, "After ten days they looked healthier and better fed, than any of the young men who ate from the royal table". Vegetarianism FTW :-)

Psalm of the Day: Verdant Pastures

I've been wondering if the Psalm about the Good Shepherd is false advertising. It seems the more a person's spiritual life progresses, the more difficult things become. St. Teresa of Avila is quoted to have prayed to God, "If this is the way you treat your friends, it's no wonder you have so few!"  

Sometimes you ask, where are the verdant pastures and the restful waters?  Why is it that goodness and kindness have forgotten that they are supposed to follow us all the days of our life? 

One day I thought it would be helpful to think that all these things are not a leading away from situations that create anxiety but a leading to a place inside ourselves that provides us repose despite everything that is going on outside. A place inside ourselves where goodness and kindness will forever be found. God leads us deeper into ourselves and there we will find everything that psalm promises.

Psalm for the Day: Feudal Lord II

Like I said in Feudal Lord I, one of the best take-aways I had from college was the thought that the Old Testament was revelation but was incomplete revelation. 


Today's Psalm shows this again with all this talk about enemies being turned back, stumbling and perishing before God; the enemy vanishing in everlasting ruins, their cities rooted out. 


I will be glad and exult in thee, I will sing praise to thy name, O Most High. 
When my enemies turned back, they stumbled and perished before thee.
For thou hast maintained my just cause; thou hast sat on the throne giving righteous judgment. 
The enemy have vanished in everlasting ruins; their cities thou hast rooted out; the very memory of them has perished. 
The LORD has made himself known, he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.  
Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before thee!
Psalms 9: 2 - 4, 6, 16, 19


Contrast that with Jesus in Luke 6:

But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic.

Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.

Psalm for the Day: God's Glory

These past few weeks, I have been allergic to the notion of God's Glory. I don't even start my class with the "Glory be..." anymore.

I have nothing against God and his glory nor do I begrudge him for it nor do I seek to take any of his glory away. It's just that God's glory is associated with so many things that it seems like it provides a cover for personal glory or institutional glory. Invoking the Greater Glory of God just makes the glorified persons or institutions appear magnanimous because said persons or institutions seek to redirect attention away from themselves while not really doing so.

And our idea of God's glory tends to be very far from the image of Christ on the cross. Our images of God's glory (victory, accomplishment, etc) seem really glamorous in comparison to the seeming defeat on the cross and seem loud in contrast to the intimacy of the Resurrection.

Reading for the Day: Feudal Lord I

The first reading for the day is a continuation of the story of the Maccabees. I consulted the introduction to the First Book of Maccabees and this is what is written:

"The doctrine expressed in the book is the customary belief of Israel, without the new developments which appear in 2 Maccabees and Daniel. The people of Israel have been specially chosen by the one true God as his convenant (sic) -partner, and they alone are privileged to know him and worship him. He is their eternal benefactor and their unfailing source of help. The people, in turn, must be loyal to this exclusive worship and must observe exactly the precepts of the law he has given them".


(I got that from here: http://www.prayerbook.com/Bible/OT%20Books/otmacab1.htm but it is the same text as the one in my New American Bible)

When I read that last night, I couldn't help but think that the arrangement was very feudal. Benefactor and unfailing source of help. People must be loyal and must observe exactly the precepts of the law he has given to them.

This, of course, in the context of competing gods in the world of the Old Testament.

One of the most memorable take-aways I had from college was the idea that the Old Testament was revelation but an incomplete revelation. The complete revelation was Jesus. And Jesus re-did that feudal relationship taking away all notions of protection and politics and simply saying that we should love God with all our hearts, minds and souls.

Reading for the Day: Parable of the Talents (Again)

So apparently, there are two versions of the Parable of the Talents and the two versions have notable differences.

Luke's version is more complex. He places the parable in the context of Jesus entering Jerusalem and inserts a story about a king rejected by his people. Matthew's story is much more straightforward.

Matthew's story is about "a man" who set off on a journey and left talents with his servants. Luke's version is about a king (but in another version, it is a nobleman) who tells his servants to engage in trade with gold coins while he is away.

I like the fact that Luke's version is more explicit about "engaging  in trade". Matthew's version is just about "entrusting his possessions".

Reading for the Day: Eleazar

First time I read this story.
Reproducing without commentary.
Don't know the relation to the Gospel of the day which is about Zacchaeus.


2 Mc:18-31
Eleazar, one of the foremost scribes,
a man of advanced age and noble appearance,
was being forced to open his mouth to eat pork.
But preferring a glorious death to a life of defilement,
he spat out the meat,
and went forward of his own accord to the instrument of torture,
as people ought to do who have the courage to reject the food
which it is unlawful to taste even for love of life.
Those in charge of that unlawful ritual meal took the man aside privately,
because of their long acquaintance with him,
and urged him to bring meat of his own providing,
such as he could legitimately eat,
and to pretend to be eating some of the meat of the sacrifice
prescribed by the king;
in this way he would escape the death penalty,
and be treated kindly because of their old friendship with him.
But Eleazar made up his mind in a noble manner,
worthy of his years, the dignity of his advanced age,
the merited distinction of his gray hair,
and of the admirable life he had lived from childhood;
and so he declared that above all
he would be loyal to the holy laws given by God.

He told them to send him at once
to the abode of the dead, explaining:
"At our age it would be unbecoming to make such a pretense;
many young people would think the ninety-year-old Eleazar
had gone over to an alien religion.
Should I thus pretend for the sake of a brief moment of life,
they would be led astray by me,
while I would bring shame and dishonor on my old age.
Even if, for the time being, I avoid the punishment of men,
I shall never, whether alive or dead,
escape the hands of the Almighty.
Therefore, by manfully giving up my life now,
I will prove myself worthy of my old age,
and I will leave to the young a noble example
of how to die willingly and generously
for the revered and holy laws."

Eleazar spoke thus,
and went immediately to the instrument of torture.
Those who shortly before had been kindly disposed,
now became hostile toward him because what he had said
seemed to them utter madness.
When he was about to die under the blows,
he groaned and said:
"The Lord in his holy knowledge knows full well that,
although I could have escaped death,
I am not only enduring terrible pain in my body from this scourging,
but also suffering it with joy in my soul
because of my devotion to him."
This is how he died,
leaving in his death a model of courage
and an unforgettable example of virtue
not only for the young but for the whole nation.

Reading for the Day: Place

The Gospel for the day is about a blind man who asks Jesus to have pity on him. Part of the drama here is that for some reason, it wasn't his place to do so and therefore people around him were rebuking him.

I've been thinking a lot recently about this concept of place or social location and who gets to speak and who is expected to remain silent. And here in the Gospel, the blind man was out committing some sort of social sin by calling out to Jesus.

Maybe Jesus heard the blind man the first time around but he wanted to see if the blind man would persist. And the blind man did persist despite the people telling him to shush. So Jesus stopped, healed the blind man and said that it was the blind man's faith that healed him.

Faith in what? Faith that Jesus could and wanted to heal, yes. But maybe also faith that God was accessible to anyone and everyone, even those whom society considered to be speaking out of turn. 

(Tangent to the) Reading for the Day: Katiwala

When I run out of ideas on what to post, one of the sites I refer to is www.mass-schedules.com, which, despite its generic name, is a website for the Philippine mass schedules.

The site's reflection for the day (which will disappear tomorrow) says this: "Jesus' story about a businessman who leaves town and entrusts his money with his workers made perfect sense to his audience. Wealthy merchants and businessmen often had to travel abroad and leave the business to others to handle while they were gone". 


I'll run off on a tangent from there. While the concept of "stewardship" is not new, I think the Filipino translation is more descriptive of our place relative to things: tayo'y katiwala. Katiwala evokes images of people allowed  by owners to live for free in houses that are otherwise not occupied or people in rural areas allowed by owners of land to live on and plant in that land. I'm not all that comfortable with the concept of stewardship because it denotes a certain level of co-equality with the owner and not enough of servanthood and accountability. 


The word katiwala makes it clear that we are servants and clearly not the owners of various stuff. Nothing is ours. If you believe Kahlil Gibran, even our children are not ours. Pinagkatiwala lang sila sa atin. 


The question then becomes what do we do with the things and people entrusted to us. Mapagkakatiwalaan ba tayo? And when the owner comes back, what do we as katiwala have to show for it? 

Reading for the Day/ Question for the Day

But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?
Luke 18:8

Embolism

I noticed that some priests revise the embolism by modifying anxiety with the word "useless".

So the revised embolism goes this way: "Deliver us Lord from every evil and grant us peace in our day. In your mercy, keep us free from sin and protect us from all useless anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ".

Yes, I only found out now that this part was called the embolism (interpolation). Thanks Wikipedia. And Wikipedia cites the 1913 Catholic encyclopedia which says that the embolism can be traced back to the 1st century.

Which makes perfect sense because the early Christians were anxiously waiting for "the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ" back then. The early Christians thought that Jesus would be returning soon after his ascension thus the anxiety about when He would return and why he was taking so long! 

Some of the readings these past few days have been about the Kingdom of God and this person or that asking when the Kingdom of God will come and Jesus answering with some variety of "It's not for you to know. I don't even know myself. Just be ready". I guess that's why the early Christians had to pray for protection from anxiety and had to pray that they could wait in joyful hope.

It's been tough going reflecting on these end-of-times passages because I can't relate. I don't think we think this applies to us. I certainly don't find myself waiting and easily disregard fellows like Howard Camping or others declaring that the end of the world is nigh. Maybe we'll just be a little more anxious in 2012 when the Mayan calendar supposedly ends. But I guess it's not an anxiety brought about by impatience but dread.

So maybe the lesson of the ten virgins with lamps waiting for the bridegroom applies to us more. (Matthew 25:1-3; the Gospel for last Sunday, November 6) But then again, even those virgins fell asleep. Maybe not waiting is like falling asleep. The trick is to be prepared (with oil) at anytime for when the bridegroom comes.

Reading for Tomorrow: Recognizing God

I hit a brick wall thinking about the readings for today.
But the first reading for tomorrow is beautiful and is worth posting without commentary:

Wisdom 13:1-9
All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God,
and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is,
and from studying the works did not discern the artisan;
But either fire, or wind, or the swift air,
or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water,
or the luminaries of heaven, the governors of the world, they considered gods.
Now if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods,
let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these;
for the original source of beauty fashioned them.
Or if they were struck by their might and energy,
let them from these things realize how much more powerful is he who made them.
For from the greatness and the beauty of created things
their original author, by analogy, is seen.
But yet, for these the blame is less;
For they indeed have gone astray perhaps,
though they seek God and wish to find him.
For they search busily among his works,
but are distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair.
But again, not even these are pardonable.
For if they so far succeeded in knowledge
that they could speculate about the world,
how did they not more quickly find its Lord?

Reading for the Day: Sinong Makapaghihiwalay?

There is an old song that asks, "Sinong Makakapaghihiwalay sa atin sa pag-ibig ni Kristo?" taken from Romans 8:35. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ (God)?

Well in the Gospel reading on the Cleansing of the Temple, the moneychangers and the merchants who sell their wares so that people can offer sacrifices are the ones who serve as gatekeepers to God. Sort of an entrance fee to allow people to worship, I guess. A form of economic exclusion.

Readings for the day: Kilala Kita

Because God is the witness of his inmost self
and the sure observer of his heart
and the listener to his tongue.
Wisdom 1


Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know the whole of it.
Psalm 139

I enter cynically into a session on prayer for college freshmen.

The Jesuit says, ok, let's pray over Psalm 139, better known as Yahweh, I know you are near. And I say to myself, yeah. yeah. yeah. God's love. Yadida.

But then as the passage is read, a phrase that isn't even on the text (which was in English) pops up in my mind.

Leland, kilala kita.

And that simple phrase stuns me and makes me stop (and find time to stop)

Surprised again. By definition, it comes when you least expect it.

Kilala Kita.

Bago ka pa man magsalita
alam ko na ang sasabihin mo
o ang gusto mong sabihin
at hindi mo masabi.

Alam ko rin kung bakit iniisip mong
hindi mo puwedeng sabihin ang hindi mo sinasabi.

Kilala kita.


Pinagmamasdan kita

At alam ko na kung ano ang iniisip mo 
kapag ika'y nakatunganga
o tila baga'y nawawala sa sarili mong mundo.

Pinagmamasdan kita.


Naiintindihan kita.

Nababatid ko sa 'yong mukha, sa 'yong mata, sa 'yong tindig
kung ano ang nararamdaman mo.
Kilala ko na ang iba't'iba mong ngiti na may iba't-ibang kabuluhan.
Ang iba't-iba mong katahimikan na may iba't-ibang kabuluhan.

Naiintindihan kita.


Kilala kita. 
Kilala kita. 




(first posted on Facebook; meant for Monday, November 7)

Reading for the Day: Tough Love

Jesus said to the Apostles:
"Who among you would say to your servant
who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field,
"Come here immediately and take your place at table?"
Would he not rather say to him,
"Prepare something for me to eat.
Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink.
You may eat and drink when I am finished?"
Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?
So should it be with you.
When you have done all you have been commanded, say,
"We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do."
Luke 17:7-10

Reading for the day: Descended to the Dead

"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose,
so too will God, through Jesus,
bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord,
that we who are alive,
who are left until the coming of the Lord,
will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself, with a word of command,
with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God,
will come down from heaven,
and the dead in Christ will rise first".1 Thessalonians 4:14-16


I remember when I was in elementary, our religion teacher, Sr. Gabriel kept asking us two Filipinos in her class what phrase the Filipino version of the Apostles' Creed had that the version we used in school did not. My classmate and I did not know the answer but she kept asking us. Turns out, the phrase was that "He descended to the dead". 


I also remember a story (don't remember who told the story) that during those times, it was believed that the dead were waiting for the Messiah and were stuck somewhere until the Messiah came. So when Jesus descended from the death, he "fetched" them and ascended with them to heaven. 

Reading for the Day: Dishonest Wealth

"I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,
...If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,
who will trust you with true wealth?
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,
who will give you what is yours?"


Luke 6: 9, 11-12


Question for the day: what does he mean by dishonest wealth and why should you make friends with it? Haven't read a satisfactory explanation on the internet. This link comes closest to answering the question directly: http://wordincarnate.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/unrighteous-mammon-2/