"Judas, indeed had no concern for the poor; he was a thief and as he held the common purse, he used to help himself to the funds. But Jesus spoke up, 'Leave her alone. Was she not keeping it for the day of my burial? The poor you always have with you but you will not always have me'."
As I listened at the gospel reading, my initial reaction was, 'indeed Judas was really greedy for money'. I was therefore surprised with the opening salvo of the priest who gave the homily. "Before we cast judgment upon Judas let us first understand that he was one of the twelve apostles carefully chosen by Jesus. Jesus believed in him. Jesus saw his potential. He must have been a good person at the start."
I remembered how Jesus spent the whole night in prayer and communion with the Father before he chose the twelve apostles among his many disciples. Judas for sure was one of the disciples. He was one of those who believed in Jesus that is why he was closely following Jesus and became one of the candidates to become an apostle.
The priest further elaborates, "however, in his life he made a lot of bad decisions. When entrusted with the funds, he even went to as far as stealing from it. And later, we know that he indeed sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver and his life ended in tragedy.
For our part, Jesus believes in our potential as well. He sees the goodness in us. May we learn to make the right decisions and the right choices in our lives. May we become like Mary who always make the right choice."
I realized that this was the same Mary whom Jesus commended for choosing the right thing when she opted to sit and listen to Jesus while Martha complained of how much work she had to do and was not being assisted by Mary. Mary simply did these things out of love and gratitude in her heart. I think this is what makes Mary an extraordinary disciple of Jesus. She was simply moved by love for Jesus so that even the actions that were judged as "inappropriate" (sitting at the foot of Jesus while others were busy serving the Lord and wasting her money on expensive perfume to anoint the Lord's feet instead of giving it to the poor) were justified. She was justified by love.
Apparently all our actions on earth will only be judged by LOVE. All the efforts we make in doing "good things" like building an orphanage, preaching to the people, organizing different ministries may be viewed as mere shadows if all these things are done not out of love but merely out of obligation to fulfill ones Christian duties. The woman who does nothing but simply stares at the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament with much love in her heart may come out more justified than the one who gave money to the poor with a grudge in her heart. No wonder St. Paul speaks with so much passion about LOVE as the greatest gift of all other gifts in 1 Corinthians 13: 1-3. He stresses that speaking the language of men and even of angels, that inspired preaching, that knowledge and the ability to understand all secrets, even the faith to move mountains, giving away everything and even giving up the body to be burned is of little value in God's sight if the person has no love.
St. Paul then exhorts on how to have LOVE in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7. The practice of the following will bring more good on earth than the practice of all other gifts mentioned above:
Be patient.
Be kind.
Do not be jealous.
Do not be conceited or proud.
Do not be ill-mannered, selfish or irritable.
Do not keep a record of wrongs.
Do not be happy with evil. Be happy with the truth.
Do not give up on people. Continue to believe and to hope and to be very patient with people.
That is LOVE.
At the end of our lives, our works of inspired messages, the gifts of speaking in strange tongues, our gifts of knowledge will all cease. Only LOVE remains and will stand before the throne of God. Only with LOVE will we be justified in the eyes of God.
As I listened at the gospel reading, my initial reaction was, 'indeed Judas was really greedy for money'. I was therefore surprised with the opening salvo of the priest who gave the homily. "Before we cast judgment upon Judas let us first understand that he was one of the twelve apostles carefully chosen by Jesus. Jesus believed in him. Jesus saw his potential. He must have been a good person at the start."
I remembered how Jesus spent the whole night in prayer and communion with the Father before he chose the twelve apostles among his many disciples. Judas for sure was one of the disciples. He was one of those who believed in Jesus that is why he was closely following Jesus and became one of the candidates to become an apostle.
The priest further elaborates, "however, in his life he made a lot of bad decisions. When entrusted with the funds, he even went to as far as stealing from it. And later, we know that he indeed sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver and his life ended in tragedy.
For our part, Jesus believes in our potential as well. He sees the goodness in us. May we learn to make the right decisions and the right choices in our lives. May we become like Mary who always make the right choice."
I realized that this was the same Mary whom Jesus commended for choosing the right thing when she opted to sit and listen to Jesus while Martha complained of how much work she had to do and was not being assisted by Mary. Mary simply did these things out of love and gratitude in her heart. I think this is what makes Mary an extraordinary disciple of Jesus. She was simply moved by love for Jesus so that even the actions that were judged as "inappropriate" (sitting at the foot of Jesus while others were busy serving the Lord and wasting her money on expensive perfume to anoint the Lord's feet instead of giving it to the poor) were justified. She was justified by love.
Apparently all our actions on earth will only be judged by LOVE. All the efforts we make in doing "good things" like building an orphanage, preaching to the people, organizing different ministries may be viewed as mere shadows if all these things are done not out of love but merely out of obligation to fulfill ones Christian duties. The woman who does nothing but simply stares at the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament with much love in her heart may come out more justified than the one who gave money to the poor with a grudge in her heart. No wonder St. Paul speaks with so much passion about LOVE as the greatest gift of all other gifts in 1 Corinthians 13: 1-3. He stresses that speaking the language of men and even of angels, that inspired preaching, that knowledge and the ability to understand all secrets, even the faith to move mountains, giving away everything and even giving up the body to be burned is of little value in God's sight if the person has no love.
St. Paul then exhorts on how to have LOVE in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7. The practice of the following will bring more good on earth than the practice of all other gifts mentioned above:
Be patient.
Be kind.
Do not be jealous.
Do not be conceited or proud.
Do not be ill-mannered, selfish or irritable.
Do not keep a record of wrongs.
Do not be happy with evil. Be happy with the truth.
Do not give up on people. Continue to believe and to hope and to be very patient with people.
That is LOVE.
At the end of our lives, our works of inspired messages, the gifts of speaking in strange tongues, our gifts of knowledge will all cease. Only LOVE remains and will stand before the throne of God. Only with LOVE will we be justified in the eyes of God.
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