Farmer of Hearts - How Not to Miss God’s Voice

Coming to his senses he thought, “How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger.” (Luke 15:17) Whether we admit it or not, we are all wandering in our own distant country, away from home, in different ways and to a different extent. We have received from God countless gifts like our talents, time, and treasures. But instead of using them...

When we take gifts given to us from God and wander away from Him, we lose the tie and the relationship with the Giver. The gifts that come from God ought to be connected to Him, the Giver. A gift away from the Giver “loses” its meaning and power and ceases to be a gift. It is reduced to a mere possession. It loses its life! And this also happens to the person possessing it. Losing its life-giving...

After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation. When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So, he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of th...

On His way to Jerusalem, Jesus travelled through Samaria and Galilee. Ten lepers met Jesus there. Jesus had compassion on them, healed them as He sent them away, asking them to show themselves to the priests. However, out of the ten lepers, only one of them came back to thank Jesus and praise God. Jesus said, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine?” (Luke 17:17) Few of us woul...

Most people do not like to be told what to do, to follow others’ ideas. We like to express our own ideas, styles, and characters. We want to show ourselves and others that our ways are unique and better. That is how many people choose to build their self confidence. This pattern can slowly mold us to become competitive in nature, and to win in life. As a result, we tend to think about "me" instead...

In the past few days, we have looked at some of the major factors at play in our lives pulling us away from God, mainly our self-centeredness and selfish ambition (egoism), our doubts in God who provides us with the best, and allowing oneself to fall prey to different daily temptations. Our lives are a tug of war between the good and the evil, between choosing God or Satan. Satan, the master of de...

In life, we make a lot of decisions. While some are important, life-changing decisions, most are small choices that we make daily. According to some researchers, an average person makes about 35,000 decisions a day! So, we can say that our whole life is made up of decisions, and that these choices shape our lives. When we make important life decisions, we normally take more time to evaluate, to do...

In yesterday’s reflection, we examined our consciousness to discover the image of the younger son in each one of us. We have realized that our self-centeredness and associated attitudes and traits are some of the key factors motivating us to break ties with God. Today, we go one level deeper to find the culprit. When we were born, we trusted our parents in every aspect of our lives. We relied on t...

“After a few days , the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country.” (Luke 15:13) What motivated the younger son to leave his home, to leave his father? Believe it or not, either knowingly or unknowingly, we all seek opportunities to leave home, whether it is a physical or a spiritual departure. A part of us always hopes to explore the outside world. We are in search...

A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, “Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country…(Luke 15:11-13a) Imagine for a minute what flashes through the father’s mind the moment the son demands his share of his father’...

Perhaps we have noticed the common theme of REPENTANCE among the three parables that Jesus told in the Gospel of Luke chapter 15. After telling the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus said, “I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.” (Luke 15:7)  And after telling the parable of...

Yesterday, we talked about how Jesus handled the complaint of the Pharisees and the scribes. He responded by telling them three parables in a row, emphasizing the importance of the  message He was trying to get across —— that is, our compassionate Heavenly Father loves all sinners to such an extreme extent that He would take incomprehensible or even irrational actions by human standard to seek, to...

In the last couple of days, we saw the compassion of God for sinners and how important and precious each child is in His eyes, no matter how sinful and broken we are. We now have a glimpse of how deep our Heavenly Father’s love is for each and every one of us. His ultimate wish is for us to be with Him forever. And our repentance begins our journey home. Our life experiences make it hard for us to...

For a brief moment, imagine yourself as one of the Pharisees and scribes who grumbled, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:2) Then you hear Jesus tell the parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son (Luke 15), and reveal the nature of God’s concern and merciful love for the lost ones (sinners). How would you feel when you hear this ridiculous question from Jesu...

This is the second Lenten Season in an unprecedented global pandemic. This pandemic has disrupted our lives while awakening us in the process. As we continue to till the soil of our hearts, let us examine the wisdom of the Church’s liturgical calendar. Basically, why Lent, and how is it related to our spiritual life and growth? Advent and Lent are the seasons of preparation, symbolized by the colo...