Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 15, 2017 – Year A
Readings: Is 25:6-10A / Ps 23 / Phil 4:12-14, 19-20 / Mt 22:1-14
by Rev. Salvador Añonuevo, Pastor

On your way to our sanctuary, you must have noticed the tables and displays of the different ministries of Holy Name of Mary. Just as our Holy Mother Church asks us to make an inventory of our God-given talents and find time during the week, month, or year to share them with the Mystical Body of Christ, this Sunday we are also beginning the Joyful Living, Grateful Giving program. In the next few days you will receive a letter from your pastor regarding the details of this campaign and how we can all participate in the mission of the Church.

But today, and especially during the short period of silence after we receive Our Lord’s blood, body, soul, and divinity in Holy Communion, let us ask ourselves questions like, “What are the blessings that the Lord God has given me this past year?”

In this program, our focus is not on what we can give, but our focus is on what we have received. From there we can ask ourselves what we can give back to the Lord for His goodness to us. You can list your blessings on a piece of paper or a small notebook, or type them on your smart phone, tablet, or iPad as soon as you get home. If we make a habit of listing the things that we are grateful for, it will make a big difference in the joy we experience in our lives. Counting our blessings instead of our problems will make our lives worth living.

You must have heard the saying, “God’s gift to you is your life.” But what you do with it is your gift to God. The fact that we are all here in the sanctuary of Holy Name of Mary at this very moment is great news – that means the Lord God has given us not only the gift of life, but the gift of faith.

The greatness of God’s love for each of us can’t be measured, and I am sure that most of us are aware that He is the ultimate source of our time, our talents, and our treasures. It has been said that you can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.

The Lord Jesus didn’t just say He loves us, but He gave us life that we may live. He died for us, that we may have eternal life. As we continue on our journey toward our ultimate destiny in heaven, He gave us the gift of His Church to guide us, the scriptures to enlighten us, and the sacraments to nourish us. He came that we may have life and have it in all its fullness. All the heavenly hosts are rejoicing, because our presence here in this Mass is an expression of our love for Him.

Let us ask for the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, God’s Mother and our own mother, that we may be able to see the hope to which we are all called, that we may listen and respond to Our Lord’s invitation to be a part of His mission, that we may see with eyes of our faith the many gifts that the Lord God has given us, and that we may make use of the formula of real and lasting happiness, which is as simple as Joyful Living and Grateful Giving.