One day, I was reading my Facebook page as I always do at certain times of the day and I saw this beautiful quote, “God doesn’t say NO to our prayers. God has three answers, either he says, YES, AT A LATER TIME, or I HAVE A BETTER IDEA.

How did you encounter Christ? This was a common question when I was a seminarian when we were asked about our vocation story. I was amazed when some seminarians told their story to hear that they had encountered Christ in a sort of spectacular way.

The Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls; when he finds one of great value, he goes and sells everything he owns and buys it.

When I would return to the United States for my home visit, my brother and I would spend a day at the cemetery visiting the graves of our parents and other family members.

The Gospel reading for the 5th Sunday of ordinary time, challenges each one of us: to go out to the world; to become salt and light for the world. Jesus uses the image of salt and light, to describe the transforming impact of God’s work in our lives and how to impact other people’s lives.

There are some really beautiful, powerful words and images offered us in this morning’s readings: how God sees the vast, immense universe around us, and all that exists in it.

As we approach the end of the liturgical year, the word of God accompanies us in the ascent of Jesus to Jerusalem, where the Lord will celebrate his “exodus,” that is, the Paschal Mystery of his death and resurrection.

It is the Holy Spirit who gathers us into the cry of all creation and of all humanity thirsting for salvation. Distracted by the daily concerns of life, we do not know what is really essential to ask. And so, the Spirit nourishes in us the question and hope of the true good that God has prepared for us.

Throughout his Letter to the Romans, Paul maintains that it is useless to rely on the Law of Moses, since it does not free humanity, but rather enslaves and condemns humanity.

The passage from Paul offered in today’s liturgy is at the very heart of his Letter to the Romans. Behind the statement that the human person needs to be redeemed, there is the conviction that guilt taints our relationship with God.