‘A tiny bit’: reading and reflecting on the Gospel

Reginald Tamayo’s reaction (“Scripture-based homilies needed,” Letters, 4/26/13) to TJ Burgonio’s news report (“Priests blame boring sermons, 2nd collections,” Page 1, 4/12/13) is laudable. He is not putting the blame on what he thinks is possibly ailing our Church; instead, he offers a practical solution (coming from the Catholic people) to a seeming concern of the Catholic Church.

And I agree with him because more than three years ago, it dawned on me that my family was not getting as much from the Gospel as we should—not only because of “boring homilies,” but at times because the priest was a foreigner with an accent hard to understand, or because the church’s public address system was not very good.

And if my husband and I and our two children here in the Philippines were not getting as much from the Gospel as we should, what more with my two other children abroad? I did not want them to lose out on the Word of God. So I thought of using the Internet to reach out to all of my children here and abroad and my husband; and I started writing the “Sunday Gospel Reading and Reflections” every week, days in advance, adding some reflections on the reading, incorporating Bible truths gleaned from Bible studies, and how they are relevant to our present life. This way, I thought, when they attend Sunday Mass, they would already have an idea of what the priest would be talking about.

This project is a work in progress, and is spreading out to more people, thanks to Chita G. Monfort who asked that I share it with the members of the Prayer Warriors of the Holy Souls worldwide, of which I am one. For members with no Internet facility, we have compiled the first year’s sharings, equivalent to one liturgical calendar of the Church, into a book.

For readers who would like to see if a copy of this compilation would be worth their time, it would be our pleasure and privilege to send them these weekly Sunday Gospel Reading and Reflections as well.

We are Catholics. Like Tamayo said, let us do our tiny bit in support of our faith!

God bless!

—ESTHER M. GACUTAN,

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