How To Be Confident

We are all human and have flaws. Even if your physical appearance or social skills aren't what you wish they were, that doesn't have to stop you from exuding self-assurance. Here's how to believe in yourself.

STEPS IN BEING CONFIDENT


1. Recognize your talents and good qualities. No matter how down you feel, try to pat yourself on the back a little and remember the things you excel at. Focusing on your better attributes will distract you from perceived flaws and boost your sense of worth. Think of your good qualities in looks, friendships, talents, and most of all, personality. Some people have certain flaws for example, they tend to hold onto their stomach when they sing. This can look awkward, but be sure to embrace it. If you're really at a high level of confidence, for example, you can even make it your signature move on stage. If you're struggling to come up with good qualities, try these tips:

• Think back on compliments from other people. Maybe they've remarked on your smile, or your ability to stay cool and collected in stressful situations. Be sure to compliment them back!

• Remember past accomplishments. It can be something other people recognized, like being at the top of your class, or something only you know about, like a quiet act of service to make life easier for someone else. Realize how great this was and consider doing it again, maybe at a higher level.

• Think about the qualities you try to cultivate. No one's perfect, but if you're actively trying to be an honorable, good person, give yourself some credit for effort. The fact that you think about bettering yourself at all says that you're humble and good-hearted, and those are positive attributes.

• Make a list. Write down everything you can think of, and refer back to it next time you're feeling down. Add to it as you remember more things you can take pride in doing.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Remember that everyone struggles with confidence. Some people are good at hiding it, but nearly every person has struggled with his or her self-confidence at one point. You're not alone!
Try not to feel like all eyes are on you, all the time. Most people are probably too preoccupied with how they appear to be constantly judging you. Breathe a sigh of relief and recognize that you don't have to be perfect all the time.

• Build your confidence by helping others. Take time to pay someone else a compliment, or do an unannounced good deed. You'll brighten their day, and you'll feel better about yourself.

• Stop comparing yourself with everyone else. Not everything is a competition, and viewing life that way will wear you out. You don't have to be smartest, prettiest, most popular person in order to be happy. If you have a strong competitive streak that you can't completely ignore, try competing with yourself instead and strive to keep getting better.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Accept compliments gracefully. Don't just roll your eyes and shrug it off — own it! Make eye contact, smile, and say "thank you." Being nice about it when someone else wants to compliment you doesn't compromise your humility; it shows that you're polite and have a secure sense of self-worth.

• Pay a compliment in return. If you're still uncomfortable taking compliments, try giving one back after you've accepted. This can help you feel like the score is "even" and you haven't been too prideful.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------


4. Don't over-apologize. Being able to say you're sorry is a good trait (and something too many people struggle with). However, be careful to say it only when necessary. Apologizing when you've slighted or inconvenienced someone is polite. Apologizing when you haven't done anything wrong, though, can make you feel subordinate and like you should be sorry. Before it slips out of your mouth, take a second to make sure this is a situation that actually needs an apology from you.
Use workarounds. You can express your sympathy or regret without actually apologizing. For instance, if you're worried about inconveniencing someone, you could say "I hope this hasn't been too much trouble" instead of automatically reverting to "I'm sorry."


---------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. Talk one notch louder than the other person. Thats a simple and an effective psychological technique to become confident. When you are talking louder your sub-conscious and unconscious mind is recording your attitude towards the situation(you are sending the signal that I'm confident whether you are with me or not) and as you make it as a habit you will feel more self control and confident. But don't be dominating.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------


6. Make a list of things that are obstacles to your confident. Take a piece of paper or computer and write all the things that you think are keeping you from becoming confident, e.g., bad grades, introversion, not many friends or no friends. Now write if the thing is valid or logical.

• Example. 'I didn't get a good grade', Explanation: Ok, so it means I will feel confident only when I will get good grades otherwise I will feel miserable and unconfident(is this logical? and isn't that extremely irrational), I thought confident means believing in yourself, when nobody else does. am I doing it?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------


7. Look the part. Or, as the saying goes, "fake it 'til you make it." If you know that you look like a confident, capable person, eventually you'll start to feel it, too. Try these tricks:

• Take care of yourself. Devote a little time each day to personal hygiene and making sure you're presenting yourself well. Shower daily, brush and floss your teeth, and groom your skin and hair.

• Dress for confidence. You don't have to buy a whole new wardrobe to feel better in your clothes. Instead, simply try to wear something clean every day. Take it a step further by doing laundry often enough that you feel like you have a choice about what to wear in the morning, instead of settling for whatever isn't dirty.

• Perfect your posture. How you carry yourself communicates a lot to other people, so make sure you're telling them that you're confident and in-charge. Keep your shoulders back, your spine straight, and your chin high. Walk with purpose instead of dragging your feet, and sit up straight.

• Smile and make eye contact. It's a subtle change, but it can work wonders on how other people perceive you. Don't be afraid to meet the gaze of someone else, and keep your grin in easy reach — both of these things can disarm most social situations and make everyone feel more comfortable.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------


8. Embrace your interests. If there's a sport or hobby you've always wanted to be good at, now's the time! Improving your skills will reinforce that you are talented, and subsequently boost your confidence. Learn a musical instrument or a foreign language, take up an art form like painting, start building projects — whatever it is that catches your interest.

• Don't get discouraged if you're not immediately awesome. Remember that learning is a process, and you're in it for the small victories and the relaxing recreation time, not to be the best ever.

• Take up a hobby you can do with a group. Finding like-minded people who share your interests can be an easy way to make friends and build confidence. Look around your community for groups you can join, or find kinship with fellow hobbyists online.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------


9. See confidence as a process, not a singular achievement. Having confidence isn't a finish line you cross once, and the process won't always move forward — there will be days when you feel like you're starting from square one. Take a deep breath, remember the self-confidence hurdles you've already cleared, and resolve to keep going. In the toughest of times, it is good to make it your duty to pat yourself on the back even if you didn't do anything.




TIPS

• It's odd, even hard at first, but imagine yourself in various situations where you display confidence, wit, or leadership. By simply picturing yourself doing such things, being self-confident becomes less of a foreign concept and you begin to believe that you can.
• Make goals for yourself, not expectations.
• Be thankful for what you have. A lot of the times, at the root of insecurity and lack of confidence is a feeling of not having enough of something, whether it's emotional validation, good luck, money, etc. By acknowledging and appreciating what you do have, you can combat the feeling of being incomplete and unsatisfied. Finding that inner peace will do wonders for your confidence.
• Listen to an inspirational or happy song that puts you in a good mood. Steer clear of sad or depressing music.
• Develop a habit of positive self-talk for 7 days. After that it will get easier. Add more of a conscious positive attitude each week for the next 3 weeks. After 30 days you have a new habit. After that, all you need to do is to maintain it.
• Retrain your inner voice. In situations where you believe you lack confidence, realize that your inner voice is telling you negative things. You need to retrain that inner voice to be positive at those times.
• When you wake up in the morning, look into the mirror and tell yourself that you've made it this far in life and you're not going to let anything or anyone put you down.
• Speak positively. When you hear yourself saying something negative about yourself, instantly replace it with a positive comment.
• Try not to worry too much of what people think of you and trust in yourself! You are the only one who truly knows yourself!
• Do something for yourself. Do one thing you have been wanting to do, but are afraid someone else will not like. Dye your hair, get that new look, have a treat that you enjoy, go on holiday....whatever you do, do it for yourself, and practice not worrying what anyone else thinks about it.

BONIFACIO - ISANG SARSUWELA (PhilStagers) : A Story of STRUGGLE, DECEPTION and FIGHT for FREEDOM

Today, I was fortunate enough to have been invited to see "Bonifacio: Isang Sarsuwela", the latest original stage musical production by Phil Stagers Foundation. Phil Stagers was also the company that brought us such historically significant theater such as "Cory sa EDSA" and "Joe: A Filipino Rockssical". This time, Atty. Vince Tanada, the heart and soul of Phil Stagers, wrote, directed and brought to life a most controversial and misunderstood Filipino Hero, Andres Bonifacio.





“It’s not the loosing that mattered, but it’s how they fought back”.
— by an anonymous old teacher in Philippine History.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2C6H6NU4vrk

Yes, Andres Bonifacio didn’t win in any battle he fought.
Yes, Andres Bonifacio died in a very shameful and bloody way.
And yes, Andres Bonifacio was never credited for all the sacrifices he did to FREE a nation.



But in the hearts of every Filipino man, Bonifacio was LOVED.
REMEMBERED.
GLORIFIED AND EMBRACED.



Because Bonifacio is the SYMBOL of every humble Filipino man. Who valued the lowly, the peasants, the poor, and the unprivileged.



Philippines, my country- ‘our’ country will always be the home of a gentle and poor family, no matter what.



Its people never valued the riches of material wealth, but it valued the beauty of a land and the love with their fellowmen. That is, the “essence” of the play Bonifacio: Isang Sarsuwela.



Another magnificent play from Philippine Stagers Foundation. This time, they presented a dark play, filled-in with a beautiful and lingering music, directed in a very careful manner and undaunted angst, and, greatly acted-out by an ensemble cast of the most precious and powerful set of young performers ever to grace the stage of the theater scene.



We predict, Atty. Vince Tanada would again be nominated, if not win, in the coming Aliw Awards for Theater for his very “ethereal-like” performance as Andres Bonifacio. In every scene, he encountered great acting challenges and demands, wowed the audience and offered a new dimension in seeing a hero more deeper and more “brain-shattering” this time around.


Did Bonifacio really choose to die to save a NATION?


He knew that he was not really safe there in Naic, Cavite when Aguinaldo invited him there. And he even convinced his most-trusted man and best friend Emilio Jacinto to leave him and go back to Manila. He knew something’s going to happen… For this blogger’s conclusion, he really chose to offer himself just to give his beloved country a CHANCE to live. And he chose to die.


That’s how great ‘one’ Bonifacio man could be.

One of the most powerful scenes in the play was when Emilio Jacinto (amazingly characterized and portrayed by no less than Mr. Patrick Libao) was crying upon learning of Bonifacio’s death. Together with Macario Sakay (acted-out with great “bloody passion” by Mr. Chin Ortega), they both shouted, did hysterics, knelt onstage and showed to the audience the greatest sad feeling of loosing a HERO. It was so heartfelt, so penetrating- it made us cry.


That was the July 13 performance of the play at SM North. A blogger watched it on its 5 P.M. show.
The audience was indeed full. Mostly students, teachers, fans and theater-lovers.


The costume design of Emy Tanada could bring you to the past. It’s very realistic, very ‘Filipino’-looking. It could really bring you back to this page in a history of the beloved Philippines back in your mind again. Just like Bonifacio in my mind.


Another great aspect of the play was the lighting of Art Gabrentina. It was experimented and blended in a very beautiful manner. Just the right tone and texture of light in every scene. It went bright only at the end of the play, ‘coz it’s where the triumph of Bonifacio was totally felt.


Jeff Ambrosio’s stage design was simple but perfect. This Bonifacio version of PSF’s play didn’t need fabulous stage props or sceneries at the back. It only needed one vision: the unison of theKatipuneros in every scene. And Mr. Ambrosio captured that feeling with his ‘minimalism’ touch.




Jordan Ladra as Emilio Aguinaldo took his role so calmly and efficiently. He was consistent in every scene, standing brave, confident and proud. A tantalizing vision onstage.


The choral ensemble cast of the Katipuneros stood-out. You couldn’t take your eyes-off on them. You’d keep on looking at them on every scene, almost empowering the male lead- Vince. They were all so GREAT. No one failed.


But Vince had its way of capturing your heart right there onstage. He could look at you straight in your eyes and would deliver a feeling. He could CONNECT. That’s why the supporting cast could never, and would never be AT PAR with his acting style.


A supporting player of PSF caught this blogger’s attention. His name was Rotsen D’Etolle. He’s among the loyal troopers of Aguinaldo who killed Bonifacio right there onstage. His emotions of acting-out his “killer-character” was so vivid, so haunting.


It’s the bloodiest and most violent play that this blogger had watched. Especially the death scene of Bonifacio. You could feel a ‘stabbing sensation’ when Vince Tanada (as Bonifacio) was being hacked and stabbed by knives by the evil men. He was in very great pain. And again, how could he so effectively portray it? Whew.


Among the women performers, it’s Ms. Jerie Sanchez’ performance as Melchora Aquino that ‘allured’ this blogger. The way she spoke her trembling lines, the way she moved in an elderly fashion, and the way she conveyed the sad emotions of an old ‘woman-hero’- was truly FELT.


As the blogger was walking away from the venue, he could still hear in his mind the beautiful music created by Pipo Cifra in this memorable play. It haunted him for nights, like an orchestra and a music created by angels that woke him up every morning. With that, we salute Mr. Cifra.



BONIFACIO IN MY MIND.

No other Philippine hero could have done a greater task. And every living Filipino man must remember the name Andres Bonifacio.

FOREVER.

How to Fix a Relationship

Let's face it: A break up is not exactly the most pleasant thing to go through. We all want to avoid it. Hopefully this guide will help you fix your relationship and help you continue with a strong and stable one.



STEPS

1. Prioritize. Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy? Prioritize the importance of your emotions and the emotions of your partners over the old broken record of "who is right and who is wrong". Are you reacting against, blaming or attacking your partner because you want to be right and don't want to be wrong? If you did something to hurt or upset your partner, it's more important to accept that your partner's feelings are important to you and your happiness. In order to attain happiness we need to understand the source of our partner's feelings and realize how our behavior has triggered their reaction, judgment or behavior.







If you truly want to be happy, then you need to address the feelings created by your actions - in both yourself and your partner. Maybe you have done nothing wrong and your partner is "over-reacting", expecting too much from you or unfairly judging your actions as something you are doing against them.

The first step is investigate the feelings of each partner and stop reacting, blaming and judging each other as "wrong" or "right".

2. List all the things that you want to change about your partner and see how these things help you to be more self-responsible, independent and loving. It's very easy to blame others or get upset with your partner over something you believe is right.







The truth is, you only have awareness of how you think and feel. Your partner's intentions and actions may be just as valid as yours but come from a different way of living and perceiving the world. When you accept that your partner is different in the way they approach life you can also see how your ways, values and sense of self is unique and can complement or conflict with your partner.

Use this difference between the two of you to gain clarity on whom you are and how you wish to live. You can then make choices about how you can work with each other's rhythm, habits and desires. Sometimes you will be incompatible in the way you wish to live, so there will need to be a compromise.

When you tolerate parts of your partner that annoy you, you create a loving, allowing space that enables your partner to see what is good and bad for the relationship. You will hope for the same loving behavior from them, but sometimes your partner may not be capable of giving that to you.

However, by creating a loving space where you create tolerance, understanding and respect for each individual, you generate the accepting environment where your partner has choices to respond in a more loving way.


3. Discover the parts of you that need help and that you are ultimately afraid of sharing. Does your fear of being vulnerable stop you from sharing and opening up with your partner? Maybe you are so grumpy, anxious or unhappy because your partner has touched on something you don't like about yourself and that brings up emotions of guilt or fear.







The ultimate fear is that your partner or loved one won't accept or love you anymore. Love from our parents and pets is often unconditional, but all other love is based on conditions and acceptance and takes time to develop trust and attachment.

Relationships that have only just started often exist with a high degree of vulnerability in case the partner discovers something about the other that makes them run away or reject the other. Relationships that have lasted for longer periods of time undergo a different unconscious tension created by small rejections of aspects of each other's personality that may not be attractive to us. These little rejections of part of your personality build up over time.

Make a list of your personality traits, talents and passions that you feel are criticized, rejected, under-appreciated or misunderstood by your loved ones. Start to ask yourself questions about these aspects of yourself. Have you been hiding these parts of yourself from fear of rejection?

Have you misrepresented these parts of yourself to others and created a bad impression of yourself to others? Sometimes we create the wrong impression because we are so scared of how people will judge us. Often we are scared to share our need to love with those closest to us and this creates the opposite response. Our partner thinks we don't want closeness and intimacy because we are so scared of saying clearly how much we desire to love and be loved.


4. Look to yourself. What are your sexual problems? Every intimate relationship over time experiences sexual problems. These problems are not due to anybody's "fault". Problems arise sexually because humans in general are not very good about talking about sex, communicating our sexual differences or creating a sexually playful and guilt-free environment in long term relationships.






Write down what you perceive as your sexual problems in the relationship. As you look back at what you wrote, determine how you contribute to the problem and how your partner contributes to the problem. No matter how innocent you think you are, you do contribute to your problem in some way. For example, you may be unable to communicate your frustration or that you do not like something.

Now, compare how you create the "problem" to how your partner creates the "problem". When you compare your perception of yourself sexually with how you perceive your partner sexually you begin to see a pattern that is inherent in the roles each of you play in your relationship's sex life. Sometime the pattern is temporary or not really a problem, but simply a phase that your relationship is moving through. Other times, the pattern is a long-standing pattern that creates an ongoing obstacle to moving forward in the relationship.Again, see the pattern as the problem, not you or your partner.

Once we see the dynamics of the roles we play in a sexual relationship you have a lot of power to enjoy those roles, to change them and to play with them. The real homework is desiring to change your sex life from a playful attitude, not a place of "I deserve to be treated" in a special way. Everyone desires to be loved, but we are uniquely individual in the way we seek that love sexually.


5. Work out what you like and how your partner can discover and understand what you like. What is intimate for you may not be intimacy for someone else. There is a book written by Mark Bryan called the Codes of Love where he outlines five "love codes" that we use to get and give love. These codes are Touch, Gifts, Words, Quality Time, and Acts of Service. The basic principle determined by Mark is that we each desire to receive love in a certain way or "code" and in general we give love in the same "code". However, our partner may desire to receive love in a different "code".







Sometimes, you may be giving your love by cleaning the house, which you think is the greatest act of love you can give and yet your partner may really be craving another form of love.

Courtship rituals help us to determine what turns our partner on. Courtship doesn't end when you have consummated with sex! In a love relationship, courtship is an ongoing dynamic that must be fed in order to keep the love relationship alive. Modern love relationships require more work in courting your partner than previous relationships. That is partly because as a culture we value intimacy more than ever. Traditional marriages in the past were often for financial convenience and continuing the bloodline of families, tribes and nations. Relationships today are more concerned with greater intimacy. If you truly desire to keep your relationship alive, you must discover how your partner truly desires to receive love. And you must aspire to give that love to them, as love is about giving as much as receiving. It is in giving your partner what they truly desire that you may find the biggest turn on in your life!




6. Stop acting from "pleasing" your partner so they will like you. It is true that being happy in a relationship comes from making the other person happy. Our desire to please the other person is also satisfying our need to please others but - sometimes - is not necessarily meeting your partner's need and desires to be loved. The irony is, a lot of energy is spent attempting to make your loved one happy according to your personal tastes, beliefs, thoughts and feelings.







Ultimately, greater intimacy is understanding what turns your partner on and off, what motivates them and what is their life purpose. You can only help your partner with their life purpose, if you also work to fulfilling your own dreams and support them from a place of loving. This love does not simply tell them how great they are but also gives feedback on where they need to improve, how they make you feel good and how they make you feel not so good.

As children we often behaved in ways to receive love from our parents and they gave us positive feedback or love when we "pleased" them. As we age we still operate by responding well to positive feedback and love. You may be trying to please your partner with the belief they will continue to like you, approve of you and not reject you.

A more stable and richer love is love that does not seek approval but comes from the desire to support another human, share in their experience and benefit from sharing in the good and bad experiences of that unique individual's life. To truly please your partner, imagine and create acts of love that are purely for them, with their interests in mind. If they do not respond as you hoped, then you will be one step closer to knowing how they are and what they like.

When you understand your partner's core likes, motivations and desires, your intimacy can support them while also affirming that your needs to be supported are also a requirement of the relationship.In a balanced relationship, each partner does not give up all his or her beliefs, ways of living for the other. It needs to feel like, and result in, a fair exchange, where one partner is supporting the other at different times but not necessarily at the same time.In a relationship that operates as an ongoing process of growth, mistakes and successes, there is the opportunity to create a loving place where you open your heart and life to encourage the person to reach their full potential. You may not always please your partner, but you can discover how to give them acknowledgment for who both of you are individually.



7. .In order to keep a relationship, you must acknowledge your desire to love your partner, despite differences, difficulties and incompatibilities. This requires you to be honest and real about your efforts to create a loving accepting environment and your partner's capabilities to join you in creating an environment that will help the relationship grow. To save a relationship from break-up, it's all in your belief about possibilities for change. Even if you believe the worst about your partner and yourself and the problems you have created between you, your fears of keeping a relationship are secondary to your desire to make the relationship grow into an opportunity to support another human and support your own desires to love.

How to Face Problems in Your Life

An idiot once discovered a secret formula for solving all his problems, for the betterment of mankind, he wrote that on a piece of paper, but unfortunately it was lying undiscovered for millions of years under the warm blanket of the mother earth Don't worry friends you don't have to go millions of years back thanks to our bright scientists,that paper has been discovered, here is a brief description of that paper for you Go ahead and enjoy them.


STEPS

1. Accept the facts. Problems are the part of life - the more you run from a problem the more it will chase you. This is ultimate reality; if you accept something it is impossible for that thing to bother you.







2. Know what your problems are. If you know your problem, it would help you to solve as wise people of the village always say ”A known enemy is much batter then an unknown friend”. Know those Damages which the problem is going to make.







3. Determine the reason or cause. A problem never arise without any reason, if the problem is there then the reason must be there, if we find the reason we are pretty close to solve it. Most of the problems of daily life arise out of silly reasons, find those and solve your problems.








4. Collect all the information, facts and data regarding and about your problem.







5. Analyse and argue. Analyse the information to find the optimum solution, argue yourself why one solution is better then others.

6. Stop worrying. Worrying is just like a revolving chair, It gives you something to do but won't take you anywhere.






7. Think Differently. Don't you think, it is important to have the right mind-set while solving a problem? It always helps to be open-minded and to have the ability to think out-of-the-box. When you have broader vision and unique ideas, you have more flexibility at your disposal which helps solving the problem better.







8. Get some advice. Two minds are always better than one. It does help to have people from various backgrounds and with various experience involved in solving a problem, it will give you support on both the grounds, moral and for the greater range of ideas that they bring to the problem-solving. As Voltaire said, No problem can stand the assault of sustained thinking.

IT 111 - PHOTO EDITING

One of our activity in our subject, IT 111 is about photo editing. We are given a picture of our classmate (Marianne Jackilou Somera) and our task is to make an output from it. Here are some of the edited pictures that was presented.

BY: FRANZ MARQ LABRADOR

BY: MANFRED BALFOUR

BY: ROSARIO MAE RIVERA

BY: RIMELYN AQUINO

BY: MARK DONALD ABENOJA  (ME)

PYM - SUNDAY BONDING

Birthday of one of our choirmate, "DINNER"

Every Sunday we, the Parish Youth Ministry, go to church, to serve God. And serving God is already part of our Sunday routine. We wake up early, prepare ourselves and go to church to sing songs of praise.

Foodtrip after the service at the church

                                                                                            It is only during Sunday that we have the time to be together for each of us have very busy schedules others are studying and others have work. That's why every Sunday we always make a way to have bonding with each other after the service in the mass. We go to different places, anywhere we want.

Me with my PYM Family

I can say that Sunday is one of the happiest the of the whole week, because aside from it is the day for God. It is also a day to be with my PYM family.


And I treasure every moment that we are together, especially when we open our problems. In times of happiness and others.

#SUNDAY#SERVICE#GOD#PRAY#PRAISE#REPENTANCE#PEACE#REFLECT#THANK#BODING#HAPPINESS#JOY

Gospel Reflection for the 22nd Sunday Ordinary Time Year C – September 1st 2013

SCRIPTURE

Now on a sabbath day he had gone for a meal to the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely. He then told the guests a parable, because he had noticed how they picked the places of honour. He said this, ‘When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take your seat in the place of honour. A more distinguished person than you may have been invited, and the person who invited you both may come and say, “Give up your place to this man”. And then, to your embarrassment, you would have to go and take the lowest place. No; when you are a guest, make your way to the lowest place and sit there, so that, when your host comes, he may say, “My friend, move up higher”. In that way, everyone with you at the table will see you honoured. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the man who humbles himself will be exalted.’

Then he said to his host, ‘When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not ask your friends, brothers, relations or rich neighbours, for fear they repay your courtesy by inviting you in return. No; when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; that they cannot pay you back means that you are fortunate, because repayment will be made to you when the virtuous rise again.’

Luke 14:1. 7-14

REFLECTION

A fellow said – ‘bad enough he was in the pub, but now I have to be beside him at Mass’. Said jocosely but the point is that everyone is invited to the banquet of Jesus like the gospel today and we never know who we might meet at Mass.

Strange Ways

Jesus has strange ways of looking on who to invite and who are the most important.
There were strict codes of place-names and seatings at this type of party. Jesus was going to cut through these. He also had upset things earlier by healing a very sick man on the Sabbath. He started talking then about who to invite. No pecking order at his invitation. The narrow door of last week has been pushed wide to let them all in.

The community of Christ doesn’t admit differences that put us down. He was always saying this, and saying it to the proud and haughty. For others, life had taught them to be humble and they could probably enjoy this feast.

Grateful for small things

Humble people are grateful for small and big things; they pray often and easily; they know they have faults no better or worse than most, and know they need God’s mercy; they love children because they are childlike at times, and they know they are not humble all the time. They don’t take themselves too seriously and are compassionate to the faults of others. They know who they are – in one way the least of all, but always loved, always forgiven, always a child of God.

Jesus said, “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. You will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Luke 14.13-14


In his advice for making guest lists, Jesus prefers those who cannot repay their hosts with a return invitation and with a place of honor at their tables. Luke wants to broaden the circle of those who eat at the tables of the elite rather than tighten the social circle. He wants our guest lists to help distribute food justly rather than cut people off as chronically inferior, deserving distance from us rather than place among us. Luke urges us to seek God’s blessings rather than honored places at earthly meals.

What places of honor might you give up? What would you lose or gain?