Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time, Monday

Mon, 18 August ‘25

Judges 2:11-19. Matthew 19:16-22

Knowing and Choosing God

1. Covenant Renewal: Knowing God is a Daily Yes

The Book of Judges shows us the tragic cycle of sin and grace. The people forget God, fall into idolatry, suffer oppression, cry out, and are rescued by a judge. Yet, they fall again because they did not renew their covenant with the Lord (Judges 2:11-19).

Pastoral Application: Faith is not a one-time baptismal certificate, but a lifelong covenant. Every day we must say “yes” anew through prayer, Scripture, and sacramental life. Like Israel, if we stop renewing, we drift toward idols—today’s idols may be wealth, power, or comfort.

2. The Rich Young Man: Fulfilment Demands Letting Go

Scripture: The young man in Matthew 19 seeks eternal life. He obeys commandments faithfully, but Jesus invites him to the next step—sell what you have, give to the poor, and follow me. Sadly, he goes away sorrowful, unable to let go. The young man succumbed to ‘loss aversion fallacy.’

Church’s Teaching: The Church teaches that perfection in charity is found in detachment for the sake of the Kingdom (CCC 2544-2547). Pope Francis (Evangelii Gaudium 55) warns against “an economy of exclusion” where possessions enslave us.

Pastoral Application: The Lord’s call often seems “illogical”—to gain, we must lose; to be great, we must become small. Many today fear “loss aversion”: we overvalue what we cling to and undervalue God’s promises. To grow in holiness, we must loosen our grip on wealth, pride, and ego, trusting Christ’s greater treasure.

3. Knowing God is Costly, but Worth Everything

Scripture & Reflection: Both Israel and the young man failed because they stopped halfway: Israel would not renew its covenant; the young man would not part with his riches. To “know God” is not a one-day action but a daily journey of surrender.

Church’s Teaching: Vatican II (Lumen Gentium 42) reminds us that the path of holiness is the path of the Cross. The saints show that fullness of life comes only when we risk everything for Christ.

Pastoral Application: Each of us must ask daily: What is keeping me from fully knowing God? Is it wealth, habits, fears, or comfort zones? True discipleship requires risk. But as Jesus assures in Matthew 19:29, “Everyone who has left houses…for my sake will receive a hundredfold.” 

Conclusion

To know God is to renew our covenant daily, to let go of what enslaves us, and to embrace the costly path of discipleship. Israel’s history warns us, the rich young man challenges us, and Jesus invites us: Lose to gain, give to receive, follow to live. If we dare to let go, we discover that God’s promise is not loss but life in abundance.

In sum, today’s readings remind us that knowing God and choosing him is a daily journey. Israel forgot their covenant and fell into idolatry, while the rich young man could not let go of his wealth to follow Jesus. To know God fully, we must renew our “yes” to Him each day, detach from what enslaves us, and trust that losing for Christ brings us true gain. What we surrender in love, God returns in abundance.

Solemnity of Assumption - August 15

We are celebrating the Feast of Bl. Mother who is assumed into heaven with her body and soul. It means bodies are not mere shells, but they contain the mental and spiritual resources to care about the dignity and destiny of the whole person: body and soul.

Some people think it is enough for us to have bodily fitness. “A truly good life is like a three-legged stool: it stands strong only when physical, mental, and spiritual fitness are in balance.”

The religious priests and nuns! are we fit? what about our Religious fitness? 

I admire the good modern example of football legend Cristiano Ronaldo in sports. His fitness is incredible. At the age of 40, Maradona and Roonie became fat and old, but Ronaldo is fighting with the young adolescent players. still in the field with high physical capability, goal-scoring performance! How come?  

It is all because of self-discipline and formation. His rigorous training schedule, strict diet, avoidance of alcohol, family lifestyle, and mental fitness also contribute to his legendary status. 

The Church and the Congregation give priority attention/primary responsibility to investing money and time in the care of seminaries to provide proper formation for clerics and religious. We care about the future and care about the formation.  Our Ratio dedicates 15-20 pages only to the stages of formation. 

1. Priority of Formation: Jesus also, for three years, formed his disciples in mind, heart for the mission. He gave them spiritual formation; He taught them how to pray, He gave human formation; He taught them beatitudes on how to be poor, compassionate and meek. He accompanied them during the healings and preaching. He gave them training in mission by sending out the disciples two by two, instructing them on preaching and healing.

In Matthew chapter 7, Jesus is inviting the disciples with the parable of the wise and the fool; we should be a wise man who builds his house on the solid rock, which will survive any typhoon and flood. It is a foundational mandate for the entire Church, to focus on the formation, not exclusively for the clergy or the formation of preachers, but it refers to everyone who is coming to our communities. 

Do not compromise yourself: give for the tough life, you are under training, test, prepare yourself, learn the methods of spiritual life, prepare the plan, put your hard work to learn new things from the Church, the Congregation and people. No mediocrity, more creativity and learning every day by the Word of God and the Eucharist.  

Mary sings in the Magnificat, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord” (Lk 1:46), Mary doesn’t start with, “My mouth praises karaoke” or “My body dances zumba,” but with “My soul.” She is revealing something deeply personal: praise begins from within, not merely on the lips; this invites us into the interiority of the heart. Be true to your interior life, so God can plant His word there. As indicated by our Ratio “the Ways of the Heart”. Allowing the heart and having passion, not to follow the rules, but for goodness, 

Priority of formation in the SMD not only in the initial and ongoing formation for the priestly preparation, but also in all the aspects of staff, collaborators and ministries. 

2. Transmission of Charism and way of doing mission:

It’s important for grandparents to transmit cultural practices and traditions to the next generation because they act as living bridges between the past and the future. Because the cultural continuity will be lost. 

Modern men might be more technologically advanced than their ancestors, but that doesn’t automatically mean they are greater. They had wisdom and knowledge equal to ours. The grandparents should pass on their heritage to us; without this transmission, younger generations may become rootless, disconnected from history. 

We also have the custom and tradition for the Guanellian family, which we received from the first founder, who handed over the Institute to us, like a father hands over the dearest inheritance to his children, then some confreres who testified founder. This delivery calls for our responsibility to follow in his footsteps and to propose to our young people the validity of the examples of those who preceded us. The Guanellian prayer, the family spirit, trust in Providence and the preventive method in our apostleship are inherent in our family. We should conserve and pass it on to the next generation. This is our DNA. 

Best preparation for Mission: 

Pastoral Professionalism, cultural competence and increase your skills for the Guanellian mission. Because we need the necessary resources to create a Formation culture that can respond to the needs of today's world, both in terms of greater pastoral professionalism and in terms of greater competence in the specific fields of our mission centers of charity.

Moses and Peter are fallible leaders, but invited to remain faithful in the Lord

We make most of our decisions under the influence of human thinking and emotions; most of the time, it is done unconsciously, rather than according to God’s plan. 

Both readings reveal a powerful truth: even those closest to God—Moses and Peter—can fail to obey His will when they rely on human understanding instead of divine trust.

1. Any Leadership is fallible and towards the path of conversion until death:

• Moses disobeyed by striking the rock instead of speaking to it as God commanded. God commanded him to speak to the rock; instead, Moses struck out of human emotions like anger and impatience. Moses did not follow God's precise instructions. 
• Peter, a future leader of the Church, to whom the keys are handed over, is not able to think according to the mind of God. He tried to prevent Jesus from fulfilling His mission of suffering and death. 

Both are called, chosen and appointed by God as leaders. But they failed to see the deeper wisdom of God's plan. It is possible for any popular leaders, for the leaders are always learners. We can understand in a sense that Peter was still a disciple, not sent on a mission, so he was impatient to speak according to the mind of human beings. But Moses, just towards the end of his life, promised the land; he was supposed to be a mature leader, but he failed. We are learning until death. God is the teacher who sends his servants on his own mission.

2. Human Thinking or acting out of emotions is common/natural for leaders

Moses and Peter are doing good and well-intended actions. They did not plan and commit the errors.

• Moses thought striking the rock (as he had done before) would be sufficient. Peter thought avoiding the cross was the right thing because he wanted to care the Lord.
• Human thinking or emotion is dangerous; Moses' action reveals pride rather than humility or compassion. He spoke as if he and Aaron were the ones performing the miracle, not God.

God's ways are not our ways. Human wisdom can never replace divine instruction. Even good-intentioned actions, if not aligned with God's will, can lead us astray. Necessities for our time of silence, recollection, 

3. God's Call for Humble Obedience

Leaders like Moses and Peter show us that failure is part of the journey, but so is growth. God’s interference is not a punishment, but a correction; it is not rejection—it is an invitation to deeper trust. Holiness requires obedience, even when we don't understand. Peter, after his rebuke, would go on to become the rock of the Church. Moses, though denied entry into the Promised Land, remained God's faithful servant to the end.

Personal Reflection:

Leaders are fallible, meaning they are capable of making mistakes. This is a natural part of being human, but the Lord is inviting them to a lifelong journey of discipleship that demands humility, obedience, and faith.