“Making clear-cut and distinct choices in our Christian life!”

(Based on Phil 4:10-19 and Lk 16:9-15 – Saturday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2)

Luciano Pavarotti was an Italian tenor
(Tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range is one of the highest)

Pavarotti gained worldwide fame for the quality of his tone, and eventually established himself as one of the finest tenors of the 20th century

He was trained under a professional tenor in his hometown in Italy.

Meanwhile, he had also enrolled in a teacher’s college.

On his graduation, he asked his father: “Shall I be a teacher or a singer?”

“Luciano”, said his father, “‘if you try to sit on two chairs, you will fall between them.
For life, you must choose one chair!”

He followed his father’s advice…choosing the chair, to become a singer…
… and went on to be a successful one!

Pavarotti would later say: “I think whether it’s laying bricks, writing a book – whatever we choose – we should give ourselves to it.

Commitment, that’s the key.
Choose one chair.”

The Gospel of the Day presents this Call of the Lord to make a clear-cut and distinct choice in our Christian life…
… “choosing just one chair!”

Jesus says: “No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other or, be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Lk 16: 13)

More than any time before, the world faces this deep-rooted problem of a “divided heart”

There is a constant dialectic (tension) between serving God and serving mammon!

We say we obey God…
… but we fail to abide by His commandments and teachings in the Church!

We say we love God…
… but we fail to express this love in a faithful lifestyle of prayers and devotions.

We say we serve God…
… but we fail to extend His love and compassion to our people in need.

We say we honour God…
… but we fail to witness to His Gospel values and dilute them to serve our petty interests.

Let’s not be afraid to look at the naked face of reality staring at us today…

Most people today serve something besides God…
… sin?
… music?
… sports?
… money?
… themselves?
… power and positions?
… cravings of their bodies ?

Am I also serving something else instead of God?

In the Old Testament, one of the greatest accusations made against the people of Israel was: The Sin of Idolatry…
… abandoning the Living and True God and rendering worship and honour to some non-living thing as a god.

Though, as Christians, we may not be explicitly worshipping some idol or running after some gods or crazy over some magical mantras…
… it is not a bad idea to examine our conscience and check whether we really have formed some gods in our lives and thus entering into “practical” idolatry….

Maybe I am too much attached to my electronic gadgets like the phones, TV, music players, cameras…and use them way beyond my “need”!

The idol of gadgets?

Maybe I am too much obsessed with my looks, my styles, my clothing and food habits, my make-up styles…and “over-conscious” than the minimal requirements!

The Idol of the Self?

Maybe I am crazy about gaining over-popularity through an “n” number of picture displays and posts on many social networking sites…and “get totally upset” when I fail to receive the expected appreciations and “likes”!

The Idol of Attention-seeking?

Maybe I am too much occupied with my work, business and other undertakings, that I fail to give attention to my family, my community, the needs of my own spiritual self etc…and lose out on the little joys and happiness of life!

The Idol of Money and Work?

There could be many more idols in our life..

The Idol of Laziness…
The Idol of Bad Habits…
The Idol of Power-obsession…
The Idol of Immoral Lifestyles…
The Idol of losing a Sense of Sin…
The Idol of Criticizing and Judging…

The Gospel of the day places a great choice before us…

Choose to be with God or to follow other idols?
Choose to obey His laws and commandments or to stray away from His paths?

We cannot serve both God and other things…

One leads to life… the other to death.

Which side are we on?

Yes… Choose one chair!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

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📖 Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE AND RECONCILIATION

“Those who approach the sacrament of Penance…
… obtain pardon from God’s Mercy for the offense committed against him
… and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins

… and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labours for their conversion. (CCC # 1422)