A news reporter once asked St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) if she had ever been tempted to be proud. Mother Theresa retorted with a smile, “Proud about what?” The reporter replied, “Why, about the wonderful things you have been doing for the poorest of the poor!” Then came her answer, “I never knew I had done anything, because it was God who worked in and through my Sisters and volunteers.”

Today's readings teach us that true humility and repentance for our sins must be the hallmark of our prayers. However, the central focus is on the evil of pride, the need for true humility and the role of God’s grace in our salvation.

Sirach helps us understand why the prayer of the tax collector in our Gospel resulted in his justification, while the Pharisee left the Temple unchanged: “The Lord is a God of justice, Who knows no favorites.” Although the religious man had much about which to brag, it was the tax collector’s heartfelt cry for mercy that was heard in Heaven.

Most of us have experienced drowsiness when we try to pray. This can happen when we are dealing with distressing situations and God seems to delay attending to our intentions. The human side of us manifests, and often times ends in frustration and giving up praying completely. Moses, in today's first reading gets fatigued . He grew exceedingly weary holding up his arm in order to give Joshua victory over his enemies. He had to appeal to superior power for help in order to defeat the Amalekites.

Like the Israelites of the time of Moses we too are today in a mortal struggle with dangerous enemies that threaten to kill us. Our modern enemies include among many, deprivation, oppression, alienation, and aggression. To stay safe, we must do what God’s people did in the desert. We must engage in battle with the enemy, throwing the best of our forces into the struggle, and never given up until total victory is achieved. Imitating Moses, we must hold up our hands in prayer to the God who is our source of power and will give us strength.

We all know how satisfying it is to receive a sincere “Thank you” for a service truly appreciated. The contrary also holds, of course: how hurtful it is to be consistently taken for granted, without ever a word of appreciation.

The central theme of today’s readings is gratitude – in particular, the expression of gratitude God expects from us as exemplified by today's main characters, Naaman, the Syrian General and the Samaritan.. We also have on the other hand the story of ‘the forgetful lepers’ which reveals God's disappointment and pain at our ingratitude.

Indeed, the readings encourage us to learn from Naaman and the Samaritan on how to live in gratitude to God for we too have been the greatest recipients of His choicest blessings. Their acts of thanksgiving as recorded in the Scriptures deserve some special reflection. The two cured both returned glorifying God. To understand this from a theological point of view , giving praise to God is much more than saying thanks. It’s an act of worship! Saying thanks to a good deed could be just an act of courtesy and not worship; theirs was much deeper. They both were converted and developed faith to worship God. They saw their healing as a privileged experience and that led them to conversion and giving glory to God.

Today the church takes us back to the topic on "Faith” and how it works in our lives. What comes to mind when talking about faith is Thomas Aquinas's great statement as he was quoted to have said: "To one who has Faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without Faith, no explanation is possible.” This statement cannot be less true because Faith is the nucleus of all the entire being of every Christian, and more so as it appeals more to the intellect, according to Vatican II Fathers.

In today's readings we get three dimensions of Faith. The theological virtue of Faith enables us to believe something to be true and therefore worthy of trust simply because it has been revealed to us by God. In his instructions to Timothy, Paul, who elsewhere defined Faith as, “the assurance of the things hoped for,” shows Faith operating as a believing, trusting, loving relationship with Christ. Thus, Faith is our acceptance of Jesus as the fulfillment of the promises of God. He goes further to stress the need for a living Faith in, and loyalty to, Christ’s teachings handed down to us by the Church. Finally, Christian Faith is that trusting Faith in God in action, expressed by steadfast loyalty, fidelity and total commitment to Him, resulting in our offering ourselves to Him in those we encounter, through our humble, loving service.

Last week the Church admonished us to be prudent stewards with God's given blessings. This week also is a continuation on the same subject matter. However, today's message is more of series of warnings that the selfish and extravagant use of God’s blessings, like wealth, without sharing them with the poor and the needy is a serious sin deserving eternal punishment. The Sunday readings stress the Covenant responsibility of the rich for the poor, reminding us of the truth that wealth without active mercy for the poor is great wickedness. It warns us against making money the goal of our existence.

Again, we read today from the Prophet Amos, issuing a powerful warning to those who seek wealth at the expense of the poor and who spend their time and their money on themselves alone. He prophesies that those rich and self-indulgent people will be punished by God with exile because they don’t care for their poor and suffering brothers. Much consoling is from the Psalmist of today who praises Yahweh, who cares for the poor. St. Paul redirects our attention to that which matters most as he admonishes us to “pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness” – noble goals in an age of disillusionment – rather than riches. Like Amos Jesus also gives us a warning, pointing to the destiny of the rich man who neglected his duty to show mercy to poor Lazarus. The rich man was punished, not for having riches, but for neglecting the Scriptures and what they taught on sharing his blessings with the poor.

The greatest human value that God has blessed us with is life itself. Yes, our faith has taught us that life is far more precious than the money we have, the food we eat or the clothes we wear. This faith also has taught us the place of material things in life. That possessions are only on loan to us, and in time we must leave them all behind. Job's statement of fact in the Bible refreshes our memory about life and possessions: "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away.”(Job 1:21). To drive this message home, the church selected these readings today to remind us that we are God’s stewards and that God expects faithful and prudent stewardship from us. They challenge us to use our God-given talents and blessings, like wealth, wisely to attain Heavenly bliss.

It is fundamental to our Christian faith to know again and again that God loves the just but does not ignore the sinner, for whom there is always a place in his kingdom. With the amazing warmth in His Kingdom we can always hope for a new heart and a fresh start.

Today we are invited to believe in a loving, patient, merciful, forgiving God who is actively seeking out the lost, wants their repentance and rejoices when the lost are found. We are invited to believe and celebrate a God who is eager to be merciful toward us, not vengeful and punishing but will stop at nothing until everyone is back home to Him, where abundant love awaits all. This Heavenly Father wants to save everyone through His Son Jesus, whom He sent.

”If anyone comes to me without turning his back on his father and mother, his wife and his children, his brothers and sisters, indeed his very self, he cannot be my follower,” (Luke 14 :26).

The Church is again taking us back to this unpopular theme about the cost of our loyalty to Christ our Lord. This statement above from the gospel sets a real challenge for both the preacher and the listener. As listeners, l know you will not need explanation of Christ’s words about carrying the cross, because you are more familiar with that teaching , but you definitely will need some convincing of what He meant by “hating father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters” – a teaching that seems to fly in the face of natural affection. Indeed the ways of God are mysterious! However let's see if we can get some answers from the readings.

Yes the church in its wisdom selects the first reading from the Book of Wisdom which instructs us to ask for the gifts of discernment and strength from the Holy Spirit so that we may do the will of God as His true disciples. Truly, we need this gift of divine discerning to understand what St. Paul teaches us in the second reading that detachment and renunciation are necessary for a true disciple of Christ. Also, we need same gift to understand what the Gospel is reminding us today about counting the cost of being a true disciple and follower of Christ.

The readings describe the attitudes we should have when we give and when we receive. They also reveal that only those who are humble can receive the gift of God.

That is to say humility is the prerequisite for receiving gifts. Without a humble spirit we are unable to receive gifts as gift. This is because we are too proud or we do not know how to receive with the open hearts of children.

First reading praises the person who is humble. “My son, conduct your affairs with humility and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts,” (Sir 3:17). A humble person is conscious of his own weakness, and never rejects wisdom, no matter where it comes from. Such a person will find favor with God and with his friends and neighbors. Pride however raises a barrier to God's graciousness and to communion with our fellows.

Today all three readings speak profoundly about the same thing: following the Lord means that we shall suffer. This is never a popular theme. Often we really prefer that our faith become simply a personal comfort to us in time of need. We are not really at ease with a faith that demands that we speak up in terms of truth and justice and right. Yes, we are not always comfortable with such themes because of the price to be paid. We desire, perhaps sincerely to follow the Lord, but are deeply scared of what it will cost. Can there be any compromise?

Surely, many of us could appreciate if there's a rather more simplified form of Christianity to practice than the one with the cross. However , the fact still remains that Christianity is loyalty. It is not a theory or an ideology, but it is a faith in the person of Jesus Christ who is the Son of God. It is the imitation of His life, teachings and sacrifice on the cross. Our faith is not like a dress that if we don’t like it anymore we give it to somebody or through it away. Faith is a way of life; it is our own identification card that we constantly profess in our lives.

The internet seems to provide so much information that we can easily come to the conclusion that the answer to every question is out there. That is not true. The answers to the most important and the fundamental questions of life are not on the internet. They are not out there. They are in here; can only be found in faith.

Yes, Faith forces us to accept that which is unseen, that which is spiritual.

The readings today challenge us to reflect on this most important aspect of our relationship with God: Faith. They reveal to us the necessity for trusting Faith in God’s promises and providence and also vigilant preparedness for us Christ’s followers to meet our God as Judge and Rewarder, at the time of their death.

However, there are overwhelming evidences of crisis in the life of faith of many Catholics today. Many issues have been identified to be responsible for this which include cruelties of an unjust system, disastrous love-relationship, family tensions, tragic injury or death of a friend. These and many others are seriously wounding the faith of many Catholics today. How then can a Catholic remain steadfast in the midst of all this?

Greed can spring from lack of love, and many people try to fill that void with property and celebrity. Look around you, there is ample evidence of this on every side. However, Ecclesiastes gives bad news to those who base their hopes on the perishable wealth and goods of this world, offering us a stark message: vanity of vanities, all is vanity! That all of human life is ultimately meaningless if viewed in itself, apart from God.

Today's readings talk about the futility of the greedy acquisition of wealth and power because everything and everyone is “here today and gone tomorrow.” Hence, the meaning of life cannot be found in selfishly hoarding wealth and possessions, but only in sharing these with the needy.

We are well on our way to the new buildings.

With the first 205 pledges we have fulfilled and surpassed our first threshold. Great Work! Together with funding for school and parish space, we have also supported seminarian formation, Newman Center ministry, assistance to the poor and the growth of Catholic Education across the whole diocese.

Now, we are ascending to our final goal of $4.4 million. In this phase,100% of everything raised goes straight to our local parish project.

We can be gratefully proud of this for many generations to come. Take joy in your offering as you lift up a part of what God has entrusted to you.