Do you remember last week's Gospel or the one before? Have you read this week's Gospel before coming to Mass? When was the last time you opened your Bible and meditated on a Psalm, Proverb, or one of Jesus' parables?

In a more and more secular world, a key question for us Christians is: how can we strengthen our personal relationship with God? How can we love GOD? For Jesus Christ, the first and greatest commandment is "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:36-37). How can we obey God's First and Greatest Commandment? To love God, we need to know HIM. To know God, we need to know JESUS, who is both GOD and MAN. While we are on earth, we will never be able to fully know God. We can achieve this full knowledge of God only when we are totally with HIM in Heaven. However, while on earth WE CAN KNOW GOD THROUGH HIS WORD.

JESUS IS THE WORD OF GOD: "In the beginning was THE WORD, and the Word was with God, and THE WORD WAS GOD" (John 1:1). While on earth, we are blessed that we can know God through HIS WORD. St Jerome said that "to ignore the Bible is to ignore Jesus Christ". The New Testament is all about JESUS and the entire Old Testament is fulfilled in the New Testament. We do not need to become Bible Scholars. But we need as a minimum to FOCUS ON SUNDAY READINGS AT MASS

Two weeks ago, we meditated on five keywords of JESUS: "I have come to SET THE EARTH ON FIRE". Jesus' words can set OUR HEARTS ON FIRE. Have your hearts been burning when reflecting on Jesus' words?

Last week, we meditated on THE NARROW GATE, the only entrance into Heaven: Jesus Christ HIMSELF. Are your eyes focused on the Narrow Gate of Jesus? or on the broad, wide-open gate of the secular world?

This week's readings are focused on HUMILITY, the greatest of all virtues. We know that the opposite of humility is PRIDE. Pride is the mother of all vices. It leads us to think only about ourselves. Through the Book of Sirach (3:17-18), God invites all of us to be humble: "My child, conduct your affairs with humility and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts. Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God." . To be humble is to consider everyone to be more important than ourselves.

In today's Gospel (Luke 14: 1, 7-14), Jesus is dining at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He notices that the people who had been invited were choosing the places of honor at the table. He therefore, tells them a parable about a wedding banquet, recommending guests to go and take the lowest place, so that when the host comes to you he may say: my friend, move up to a higher position. In contrast, if you choose the place of honor, a more distinguished guest than you may have been invited and the host may ask you to give up your place of honor and take the lowest place. Jesus concludes this parable by affirming: "EVERYONE WHO EXALTS HIMSELF WILL BE HUMBLED! BUT THE ONE WHO HUMBLES HIMSELF WILL BE EXALTED".

Throughout his life on earth, THE WORD OF GOD, JESUS GOD-MAN, is the greatest example of humility. Though HE is GOD, HE humbles himself to become man. He accepts the humiliation to be crucified so that he can take away our sins. Once he returns to Heaven, HE humbles himself by making himself small again in every EUCHARIST so that we can eat HIS FLESH and drink HIS BLOOD and gain eternal life (John 6:54).

May GOD help all of us to focus on HIS WORD! May the HOLY SPIRIT help us to understand God's Word and guide all our choices and decisions!

One in Christ,


Fr. Alain