More Of What We Truly Need

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

02 August 2026

 

First Reading: Isaiah 55:1-3

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 145:8-9, 15-16, 17-18

Second Reading: Romans 8:35, 37-39

Gospel: Matthew 14:13-21

 

Reflection

By: Bernard Borja

 

A father asked his son what he wants for his 18th birthday. The son teasingly answered, “Maybe a red sports car.” The father took his son for a drive using their clunky old family car around the city. Tuning into his favorite FM station through the broken radio, singing his heart out loudly and off-key, he told his son, “You don’t need a fancy car to be happy.” The son cried out, “I changed my mind! I want earplugs!”

~ ~ ~

Have you ever caught yourself scrolling endlessly through an online shopping app, filling your digital cart with items you feel you must have? We convince ourselves that the latest gadget, a trendy outfit, or a new piece of furniture will finally make our lives complete. But after the package arrives and the excitement fades, we are often left feeling just as empty, looking for the next thing to desire. It is today’s epidemic of confusing our shallow wants with our actual needs. In our prayers, do we often ask for what we really need more than what we want?

In today’s readings, we see a profound example of God's true mindfulness and provision, and how he sees deeply into our hearts what we really need. In the Gospel reading, Jesus had just received devastating news: the death of his cousin, John the Baptist. He sought solitude, withdrawing in a boat to a deserted place. Yet, even during a moment of grief, Jesus still “listened” to the crowd who called upon him. As the responsorial psalm reminds us, “The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.” St. Paul beautifully echoes this enduring, unbreakable presence in his letter to the Romans: “What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us.”

Instead of asking the crowd to leave Him to His sorrow, Jesus lets them stay because he knows what they need most. The Gospel tells us, “When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.” He didn't just give them a temporary want; He provided healing and spiritual food through His word, and later, physical food through the multiplication of the loaves.

Sometimes, our wants drive us more than our needs. And we do not realize that God had already provided more of our needs. Just as a simple gesture like cleaning the house shows true mindfulness of a spouse's needs, God’s daily, silent provisions are profound gestures of His great love.

We can see this struggle between wants and needs in our everyday lives. In our families and relationships, we often want the flawless, picture-perfect smiles we see on social media— conflict-free adventures and cinematic vacations. But what we really need is the grace to forgive often, the patience to listen, and the steadfast, messy, real presence of our loved ones. God has already provided us with the capacity for this resilience. In our careers, we might desperately want a flashy job title or a higher salary, believing these will bring us respect and happiness. Yet, what we truly need is a sense of purpose, honest work that sustains our families, and the peace of mind that comes from knowing our worth is rooted in Christ, not a paycheck. In social awareness, we frequently want the satisfaction of being seen on the "right side" of an issue, especially on the internet. However, what we really need is compassion. When we witness oppression, we cannot simply "take a break" by being silent. We need the courage to stand up for justice without placing exceptions on who deserves our compassion.

God constantly nourishes us, providing not what this world tells us we want, but the eternal spiritual nourishment we absolutely need. We just need to call upon him in our honest and true hearts, believing that He knows and will provide more of what we truly need.

Prayer

Dearest Father in heaven, we thank you for keeping us in your ways and letting us turn to you in our difficult times. We thank you for looking past our shallow wants and providing exactly what we need. When we face anguish or distress, remind us that nothing can separate us from your love. Teach us to be mindful of your presence in our families, our work, and our communities. Help us to recognize the abundant blessings you have already laid before us. We pray with our dear Mother Mary, whom you have chosen to guide us, that we may always seek you in truth, AMEN. 

Disturbance in our Hearts; Authentic Desire

Third Sunday of Lent

07 March 2021 

 

First Reading:  EX 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17

Responsorial Psalm:  PS 19:8, 9, 10, 11

Second Reading:  1 COR 1:22-25

Gospel:  JN 2:13-25

 

Reflection

By: Emerson C. Maala

 

While we were having breakfast, our Spiritual Director took our attention to remind us of too many left-over foods. He made us realize the lavish lifestyle of some of our brothers. He explained to us about the expenses and instead of that we were saving, we were wasting the generosity of the people and the grace of God being poured upon us. Then he left us a question, "Is that your authentic desire?" The question resonated in my ears. I was disturbed by what our community has done about these things. We talked about it for us to come up with resolutions so that we would be able to save and use all our resources properly.

How would I become an effective pastor if my heart has inauthentic desires? If I was just thinking about myself and not the others? How would I be able to do service if I was selfish? With that disturbance, I was able to go back to my orientation. I realized  that this was not my authentic desire. It only gives me temporary joy.

In the Gospel, Jesus shows Himself in a strong prospect. Grudgingly, He drove away all the people making. His Father's temple like a market. Jesus knew the corrupt desire of each one present there, even the temple authority who only thinks for themselves. What Jesus show was not just cleansing but a replacement. He replaced the rotten hearts of the people full of inauthentic desires with a heart full of authenticity. "Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up."

In this time of Lent, Jesus reminded us about our authentic desire. Authentic means lasting that can bring us and lead us closer to Him. For us to see our authentic desire, sometimes we need a disturbance in our hearts so that we might purify our motivations to reveal what our desire authentically. For it is only through authentic desires that will bring us closer to God and with a pure heart to see Him.

 

Prayer

 

God our Father, make us see what our authentic desires is, that gives us permanent joy. Help us to desire what is pleasing to you and not what is pleasing for ourselves, in order for us to serve You and others. We ask this through Your Son Jesus Christ, who lives in our hearts forever and ever. Amen.

 

 

 

Changing the course of life

4th Sunday of Advent
December 22, 2013

Hos Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heavens!

First Reading: Isaiah 7:10-14

The Lord spoke to Ahaz and said, ‘Ask the Lord your God for a sign for yourself coming either from the depths of Sheol or from the heights above.’ ‘No,’ Ahaz answered ‘I will not put the Lord to the test.’
  Then Isaiah said:
‘Listen now, House of David:
are you not satisfied with trying the patience of men
without trying the patience of my God, too?
The Lord himself, therefore,
will give you a sign.
It is this: the maiden is with child
and will soon give birth to a son
whom she will call Immanuel,
a name which means “God-is-with-us.”’

Psalm: Psalm 23

Second Reading: Romans 1:1-7

From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus who has been called to be an apostle, and specially chosen to preach the Good News that God promised long ago through his prophets in the scriptures.
This news is about the Son of God who, according to the human nature he took was a descendant of David: it is about Jesus Christ our Lord who, in the order of the spirit, the spirit of holiness that was in him, was proclaimed Son of God in all his power through his resurrection from the dead. Through him we received grace and our apostolic mission to preach the obedience of faith to all pagan nations in honour of his name. You are one of these nations, and by his call belong to Jesus Christ. To you all, then, who are God’s beloved in Rome, called to be saints, may God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ send grace and peace.

Gospel: Matthew 1:18-24

This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him Emmanuel, a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’ When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home.

Reflection

By  Bernard M. Borja

Joseph was a man who always did what was right. This was one of the reasons why he decided to break the engagement to Mary privately. He did not want to publicly disgrace Mary. According to the law concerning purity (Deut 22:20-21), Joseph should have Mary stoned because if the child does not belong to Joseph, it must be a result of Mary having committed adultery with another. But Joseph was filled with compassion to Mary, so he decided to quietly break their engagement.

Like John the Baptist, Joseph faced a crisis in faith in preparing for the coming of the saviour.  He knew that if he can “escape” from the situation, he could go on pursuing his own desire and plans for his life. But when he learned that Mary conceived because of the Holy Spirit, and that the child will save the people from their sins, he gave up his own desire, plans, and hopes in creating his own family and having an heir of his own. He wholeheartedly accepted God’s plan to take care of God’s familyeate his own family.is own desires and accept n dreamsnew what was . Having faith that all of God’s plan is to give us joy, is much easier than surrendering our own desire and plans in life to be one with what God really wants.

God speaks to us in many ways to reveal His wonderful plans. Changing the direction of our life is one of the biggest tests we have been given when we are called by God to be one with His plans. We do not fully understand it in the beginning, but our faith tells us that His plans are always better than ours. Like Joseph, we are called to let go of our expectations in the world in order for God to be more present in us.

I have my share in being one with God’s plans which literally changed the course of my life. I started my business venture almost two years ago which helped me build bigger dreams especially in the financial aspect of my life. I can say that I have strong faith in knowing that God will prosper me especially when my businesses went on a higher level. I knew I was getting closer to reaching my goals when it became a struggle in balancing my business and relationship aspect. Then I realized that my dreams were just a small part of His plans when He called me to reach out to the people who are looking for inner peace by knowing God’s purpose for them. This was also when my purpose has been revealed to me. I have let go most of my businesses to work on God’s plan which is to share my own story of struggles in faith especially in letting go of my own desires. I was able to start pursuing my dream as an inspirational speaker and created an inspirational video series based on a very popular book, “The Purpose Driven Life”, where I share my personal reflections and experiences on how God made a difference in my life.

The season of Advent reminds us to prepare the way for the coming of our saviour, Jesus Christ. But the preparation is not by our own way but the way God want it to be. Even though sometimes it means giving up our own desires, plans, and hopes, to have a much meaningful life in the presence of God.

Prayer

Lord, grant us compassion that we may see beyond our own desire and live the life that You want us to have. May we learn to let go of our expectations in the world and put our trust fully in Your plans. We may not understand your desire for us because it can mean of giving up the things we want the most, even our dreams, but we have faith that in Your presence, we will fulfill that purpose which You have created us for. We receive your grace in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son and our saviour.

Amen.

Prayer