Fr. Samuel Hakeem, OP

Jesus said that although the the Good News was hidden from the wise and the learned, it was revealed to the childlike. "The learned" had too many expectations about how God would exactly fulfil this promise and so could not see that it was being fulfilled differently than their expectations. The childlike have no expectations and are thus free to see what is and trust it, even it they do not understand it fully. That is the childlike faith we should have.

A centurion asked Jesus for a cure for his servant, and Jesus used it as a sign to his disciples that his salvation was beyond simply saving Israel, but was for the saving of all the nations. Can we see beyond our own needs to the greater gift God is offering in Jesus?

St. Paul advises us to to stand against the power of the devil. God unites, the devil divides. In this election season, we must not give in to division, even though we must in truth acknowledge differences. The key is to see that God created us all to be united. Then we are motivated to to get to know one another and come to understand our various motivations and opinions, so we can love one another despite our differences.

Jesus said that the gate to heaven is narrow. The Good News is that there is a gate, and further, we know what it is—to act out of our love of God. Such motivated actions will not only lead us to heaven, they will draw others tp follow.

The Book of Ecclesiastes reminds the young to enjoy the life they have so that they can remember their blessings when they are old. But in every age, remember the God who blesses us, and the ultimate blessing to which he is calling us.

Jesus revealed to his disciples that he had to suffer and die for the salvation of humanity, but what they missed is that he was to suffer for them. Do we each see that Jesus did not merely suffer for humanity in general, but for us individually? That changes things.