St. Paul tells us in the first reading of the mass today what we should do in relation to the others. The Church adopts his first lines in his letter to the Romans. We bring Jesus Christ in evangelizing the others. We do not propose some setup or understanding of things. Furthermore, we propose a Person! We are not a religion of the Book. We are a religion of a Person and through Him, we reach the other divine Persons, namely, the Father and the Holy Spirit.

The Prophet tells us in the first reading of the mass about that day. The Church wants us to grow our hope in going to Heaven and being with God as He makes judgment. We will sing and dance and plan in the banquet of rich food and the choicest of wines and so forth. Wow!

The Prophet Joel continues to tell us about this big Day when everyone will be gathered to witness the vindication of the good and the evil people vanquished. Joel describes the abundance of liquid from the wine press as the harvest is subjected to this treatment. Such Judgement will be like a purging of the world of all Evil because evil will be sent to its proper place.

The Old Testament prophet Joel describes in more detail the day of Judgment. And thus, we are encouraged to prepare for it. Repentance is asked of us before the Day of Reckoning comes. This repentance is shown on the outside by acts of penance, i.e., wearing sackcloth, fasting, and so forth. This consequence of internal sorry for our sins is most natural. Penance should emanate from the interior. Otherwise, it would be fake and contrived.

Pillar designates something of strength. When Samson was about to die, having been reduced to a circus entertainer since he had revealed to his lover Dahlila the secret of his superhuman strength, although blind placed his hands on the two main pillars of the structure over the Philistines as they feasted to their pagan gods. He pushed with a last push on these pillars and down fell the building, sending the death of everyone underneath. Our Lady is a pillar to us, so we can persevere as we navigate the discouraging circumstances of our times. The first reading mentions them as evil actions and said to be good instead. Criminals roam around with impunity. St. James the Apostle also faced discouragement when he went to the Iberian Peninsula, to evangelize the natives there. He was set to return to the Middle East, and the Virgin appeared on a pillar to invigorate his drooping spirits.

Today, the first reading of the mass presents to us again Jonah. This time he is furious because the Ninevites repented and God had mercy on them. What a position he has taken! God then teases him by sending him a castor plant that gave him shade at the place in the mountain he had positioned himself in to witness what God promised to do to Nineveh had they not repented. Then God let the castor oil plant perish. This again triggers Jonah to be mad. God was teasing him and teaching him something. God's mercy has precedence over everything to win back souls to God.

Today's Our Lady of the Holy Rosary feast day was instituted by Pope Pius V to celebrate Christendom's military victory over the Ottoman fleet in Lepanto, Greece. The Turks were eager to include Western Europe within its borders but were stopped in their tracks on October 7, 1571. The Holy Father asked the Catholics to pray for that battle using the Holy Rosary. That praying of the Rosary figured as one factor contributing to the victory. The mysteries of the Rosary also provide us the key to tackle each day's mysteries or battles. Everyday, I experience The Annunciation when God asks me to do something. I live my Visitation also when I am asked to help someone. The Birth of Jesus reminds me of God wanting to be born again and again in my heart. Hence, I need to afford him room, unlike the first Bethlehem where there was no room in the inn. And so on and so forth!

The three readings of the mass I said today are taken from the mass in honor of St. Josemaria Escriva. The first one hails from Genesis chapter 2 where we learn of the reason God placed man in the garden of Eden, namely, to "cultivate and take care of it". Work then is not a curse for man. It is the reason why God put us in Paradise. Before original sin, Adam and Eve enjoyed every bit of any work. Then, the other message of the lessons of the mass is that of divine filiation by which we call God our Father.

Finally, we should feel the sensation of being caught or being pursued. The Gospel tells us the miraculous catch of fish. We are those fishes caught by the net for Christ. Now that we have been captured by Christ, so to speak, we need to imitate Peter, Andrew, James and John. They left everything to catch men and that they needed not to be afraid.

We fulfill this duty by going to Mass on the Day of the Lord, i.e., on Sundays and holidays of obligation. We inherited from our Israelite brethren this part of our Mass. This part is called the Liturgy of the Word. We rise to listen to the Word of God in the Gospel of the day. Then, we should commit ourselves to living out the instructions of the Lord.

Such slavery indeed happens when we have difficulties in being attentive to the needs of others. We need to be attentive to them. This is hampered by our focus on material desires and possessions. It need not only be about things material but also non-material things, like our thoughts, our worries, our opinions, and so forth.