VIGÉSIMO SEGUNDO DOMINGO DEL TIEMPO ORDINARIO 2025

Queridos hermanos y hermanas, las lecturas de este domingo nos invitan a ser humildes, a elegir el último asiento y a hacer obras buenas por los demás, que serán recompensadas en el cielo y no en la tierra. Permítanme hacerles algunas preguntas: ¿Han conocido alguna vez a alguien que critica todo? ¿Han invitado alguna vez a su casa a alguien que critica todo lo que tienen sin ofrecer ninguna sugerencia positiva? Cuando son invitados a una fiesta, ¿buscan el último asiento? ¿Nuestra sociedad nos anima a elegir el último o el primer lugar? ¿Hacen favores a los demás sin esperar nada a cambio? Cuando organizan una fiesta, ¿a quién invitan? ¿Siguen la recomendación de Jesús? Queridos hermanos y hermanas:

Las lecturas del Libro del Eclesiástico y del Evangelio según san Lucas nos invitan a vivir con humildad. Ser humilde significa reconocer de dónde venimos y no creernos mejores que los demás por nuestra clase social, el color de nuestra piel, nuestra religión o el barrio en el que vivimos. En el Evangelio se presentan dos puntos de vista diferentes sobre las personas. El primero es la manera en que los fariseos miran a Jesús, tratando de encontrar errores en sus palabras para criticar sus acciones sin ofrecer ninguna solución. El otro se refiere a la manera en que Jesús nos mira a nosotros y a nuestras circunstancias. El primero es meramente crítico, mientras que el segundo sana a las personas y sus circunstancias.

Aprendemos del Evangelio que Jesús observa nuestro comportamiento y nos hace propuestas para ayudarnos a ser mejores personas cada día. Hoy nos ha hecho dos recomendaciones a todos. La primera es buscar el último lugar, no el primero. Esto difiere de lo que nos enseña la sociedad, que

siempre nos aconseja ser los primeros y elegir el lugar de honor, sin importar lo que hagamos ni las personas a las que pisoteemos para lograrlo. Jesús invita a sus discípulos a ser humildes y buscar el último lugar porque, si lo hacen, podrán evitar la vergüenza de estar en el lugar equivocado y, por el

contrario, serán llevados a un lugar mejor.

La segunda recomendación se refiere a cómo debemos organizar las fiestas y a quién debemos invitar. Dijo Jesús: «Cuando organices una comida o una cena, no invites a tus amigos, a tu hermano ni a tus vecinos ricos, porque ellos te invitarán a su vez y así te compensarán. Más bien, cuando celebres un banquete, invita a los pobres, a los lisiados, a los cojos y a los ciegos. Serás dichoso, porque ellos no tienen con qué pagarte. Porque serás recompensado en la resurrección de los justos». ¿Siguen ustedes el consejo de Jesús cuando celebran una fiesta? En su vida cotidiana, queridos hermanos y hermanas, ¿qué tipo de asientos buscan?

Voy a mencionarles algunas acciones cuya recompensa mayor será en el cielo: Perdonar las ofensas de alguien. Dar comida a una persona sin hogar o pagar la comida de un desconocido Tratar con amor a alguien que te maltrata Bendecir a un mal conductor. Mirar con bondad a alguien que te mira con odio. Preparar y distribuir comidas para los pobres. Dar una donación a alguien necesitado sabiendo que no te la devolverá. Ser un instrumento de paz para aquellos que te proponen violencia a ti y a los demás. Tratar con cariño y amor a tu esposo. Reconciliarte con un amigo o familiar con quien estás distanciado. Perdonarle una deuda a quien no te puede pagar.

Hoy, queridos hermanos y hermanas, os invito a hacer cosas que no pueden ser recompensadas aquí en la tierra, pero que pueden ganar grandes recompensas en el cielo. Permítanme terminar contándoles esta historia.

“Durante la Guerra de la Independencia de Estados Unidos, se cuenta la historia de un grupo de reclutas novatos que estaban reparando una brecha en una muralla. El trabajo era demasiado pesado para el pequeño grupo que lo realizaba. Su comandante gritaba instrucciones, pero no hacía ningún intento por ayudarles. Un oficial vestido de civil pasó por allí y preguntó por qué el líder no ayudaba a los demás. Este respondió con gran dignidad: «Señor, soy cabo». El desconocido se disculpó, se quitó la chaqueta y se dispuso a ayudar a los soldados. Cuando terminaron, se dirigió al cabo y le dijo: «Señor cabo, la próxima vez que tenga un trabajo así y no tenga suficientes hombres para hacerlo, acuda a su comandante en jefe y yo volveré a ayudarle». El oficial vestido de civil era el general Washington”. Amén.

P. Luis Segura M.S.C.

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TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 2025

Dear brothers and sisters, this Sunday's readings invite us to be humble, to choose the last seat, and to do good works for others, which will be rewarded in heaven, not on earth. Let me ask you a few questions: Have you ever met someone who criticizes everything? Have you ever invited someone to your home who criticizes everything you have without offering any positive suggestions? When you are invited to a party, do you seek the last seat? Does our society encourage us to choose the last or the first place? Do you do favors for others without expecting anything in return? When you organize a party, who do you invite? Do you follow Jesus' recommendation? Dear brothers and sisters:

The readings from the Book of Sirach and the Gospel according to Luke invite us to live with humility. Being humble means recognizing where we come from and not believing ourselves to be better than others because of our social class, the color of our skin, our religion, or the neighborhood we live in. The Gospel presents two different perspectives on people. The first is the way the Pharisees look at Jesus, trying to find fault with His words and criticizing His actions without offering any solutions. The other refers to the way Jesus looks at us and our circumstances. The first is merely critical, while the second heals people and their circumstances.

We learn from the Gospel that Jesus observes our behavior and makes suggestions to help us become better people every day. Today, He has made two recommendations to all of us. The first is to seek the last place, not the first. This differs from what society teaches us, which always advises us to be first and choose the place of honor, regardless of what we do or the people we trample on to achieve it. Jesus invites his disciples to be humble and seek the last place because, if they do, they will avoid the shame of being in the wrong place and, on the contrary, will be taken to a better place.

The second recommendation concerns how we should organize parties and whom we should invite. Jesus said: “When you organize a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends, your brother, or your rich neighbors, because they will invite you back and thus repay you. But when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. You will be blessed, because they have nothing to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Do you follow Jesus' advice when you celebrate a party? In your daily lives, dear brothers and sisters, what kind of seating do you look for?

I'm going to mention some actions whose greatest reward will be in heaven: Forgiving someone's offenses. Giving food to a homeless person or paying for a stranger's meal. Treating someone who mistreats you with love. Blessing a bad driver. Looking kindly on someone who looks at you with hatred. Preparing and distributing meals for the poor. Giving a donation to someone in need, knowing they won't return it. Being an instrument of peace for those who propose violence to you and others. Treating your husband with affection and love. Reconciling with a friend or relative with whom you are estranged. Forgiving a debt from someone who cannot pay you.

Today, dear brothers and sisters, I invite you to do things that cannot be rewarded here on earth, but that can earn great rewards in heaven. Let me conclude by telling you this story.

“During the American Revolutionary War, the story is told of a group of raw recruits who were repairing a breach in a wall. The work was too heavy for the small group doing it. Their commander shouted instructions but made no attempt to help them. A plainclothes officer passed by and asked why the leader wasn't helping the others. The leader replied with great dignity, "Sir, I'm a corporal." The stranger apologized, took off his coat, and went to help the soldiers. When they finished, he turned to the corporal and said, "Mr. Corporal, the next time you have a job like this and don't have enough men to do it, go to your commanding officer and I will come back to help you." The plainclothes officer was General Washington.” Amen.

Fr. Luis Segura M.S.C.

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Jesus, the Voice of the Voiceless…

In the scene from today’s Gospel passage, Jesus, in the home of one of the chief Pharisees, observes that the guests at lunch rush to choose the first place. Jesus shares two short parables, and with them two instructions: one concerning the place, and the other concerning the reward. The first analogy is set at a wedding banquet. Jesus says: “When you are invited by anyone to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him; and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man’, and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place” (Lk 14:8-9). With this recommendation, Jesus does not intend to give rules of social behavior, but rather a lesson on the value of humility. History teaches that pride, careerism, vanity and ostentation are the causes of many evils. And Jesus helps us to understand the necessity of choosing the last place, that is, of seeking to be small and hidden: humility. When we place ourselves before God in this dimension of humility, God exalts us, he stoops down to us so as to lift us up to himself; “For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (v. 11).

Jesus’ words emphasize completely different and opposing attitudes: the attitude of those who choose their own place and the attitude of those who allow God to assign it and await a reward from Him. Let us not forget this: God pays much more than men do! He gives us a much greater place than that which men give us! The place that God gives us is close to his heart and his reward is eternal life. “You will be blessed”, Jesus says, “you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (v. 14).

This is what is described in the second parable, in which Jesus points out the attitude of selflessness that ought to characterize hospitality, and he says: “But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you” (vv. 13-14). This means choosing gratuitousness rather than self-seeking and calculating to obtain a reward, seeking interest and trying to increase your wealth. Indeed, the poor, the simple, those who ‘don’t count’, can never reciprocate an invitation to a meal. In this way Jesus shows his preference for the poor and the excluded, who are the privileged in the Kingdom of God, and he launches the fundamental message of the Gospel which is to serve others out of love for God. Today, Jesus gives voice to those who are voiceless, and to each one of us he addresses an urgent appeal to open our hearts and to make our own the sufferings and anxieties of the poor, the hungry, the marginalized, the refugees, those who are defeated by life, those who are rejected by society and by the arrogance of the strong. And those who are discarded make up the vast majority of the population.

At this time, I think with gratitude of the soup kitchens where many volunteers offer their services, giving food to people who are alone, in need, unemployed or homeless. These soup kitchens and other works of mercy — such as visiting the sick and the imprisoned — are a training ground for charity that spreads the culture of gratuity, as those who work in these places are motivated by God’s love and enlightened by the wisdom of the Gospel. In this way serving others becomes a testimony of love, which makes the love of Christ visible and credible.

Let us ask the Virgin Mary, who was humble throughout her whole life, to lead us every day along the way of humility, and to render us capable of free gestures of welcome and solidarity with those who are marginalized, so as to become worthy of the divine reward. [Synthesized from Pope Francis, Angelus, 28, VIII 16] 

Rev. Jos Rajesh Peter M.S.C

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time  Cycle C 2025

My friends, Jesus rarely had a peaceful meal with Pharisees, a sect of Judaism, devoted to the letter of the Law.  There was usually a confrontation with the Religious Leaders regarding one or more of their 613 Laws.  Many of the  Pharisees used the Laws for their own benefit and manipulated people in the process.

The original Ten Commandments given to Moses eventually grew to 613 Laws.  Many of these Laws deal with Dietary (Kosher) laws; Sabbath observances; Prayers, and how to love God and neighbor.

Today’s gospel takes place on the Sabbath – at a meal – with Pharisees.  And, of course, people were watching Jesus to see if he’s doing everything just right according to the Laws.  Undoubtedly, they were hoping he would do something “wrong” so they could call him on it.

According to Scripture Scholar and Theologian William Barclay, the Greek words for “observing him carefully” in today’s gospel are translated as "interested for sinister espionage."  Jesus was definitely under scrutiny.

Not surprisingly, there are some Catholics today who are like the Pharisees in that they carefully observe people in Church, making sure everything is done correctly.  I call them “Liturgy Police.”

• Did that person make the Sign of the Cross correctly ? 

• Did that person use their right or left knee to genuflect ? 

• Did the priest genuflect or merely bow at the Consecration ?

Without a doubt, proper Liturgy is important.  When done properly, Liturgy flows smoothly and helps those in attendance to focus on Christ Jesus.  It also helps us to look inwardly at our relationship with God and our brothers and sisters.

My friends, in today’s Gospel Reading, Jesus used the opportunity at a Sabbath meal to teach genuine humility. His two short parables taught humility at a religious event and other social gatherings:

• The first parable is addressed to one who is invited.  Seeking a place of honor is all about Ego and not about friendship and fellowship.

• In the second parable, Jesus addresses the one who invites and the method of selecting guests.  “When you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you.” Here too, Jesus goes completely against the tide, manifesting as always, the logic of God the Father. And he also adds the key by which to interpret this discourse of his. The key ? A promise: “You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”   Divine compensation is far superior to human repayment.

The best kind of giving is when the giver did not know to whom he was giving, and when the receiver did not know from whom he was receiving.  Doing a favor for someone, expecting a favor in return usually distorts relationships and is not Christian.  Quid pro quo has no place in Christianity.  Humble generosity is indeed Christian. 

My friends, as we heard in today’s gospel, Jesus encourages selfless generosity, to pave our way toward a much greater joy, the joy of partaking in the very love of God who awaits us, all of us, at the heavenly banquet. 

This selfless generosity can be done in many ways:

• Giving food and clothes for the needy

• Supporting Galilee Center in Indio and Mecca

• Visiting the sick

Throughout his ministry, Jesus taught that the most important part of life is our relationship with God and our relationship with our brothers and sisters.  He didn’t refer to the 613 Laws.  He even condensed the 10 Commandments down to the Two Great Commandments: Love God and Love one another.

“Love one another as I have loved you.”   (John 13:34)