My Homilies for "Year A, C, & D" of the Church's Liturgical Year.
References: BIBLE Books, Chapters & Verses here Online!
Year A
(2007-2008)
27th Ordinary Sunday (Readings: Is 5:1-7; Phil 4: 6-9; Mt 21: 33-43)
Jesus, in today's Gospel, tell the chief priests and elders a parable taken from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, which was our first reading. It is a rather obvious reference to the Jewish people, which his audience fully understood. He refers to the numerous times, since the very first covenant between God and Abraham, that the Chosen people have turned away from God to sin. Moses and all the Prophets time after time called the Jewish nation back to God, called on them to repent and mend their ways. But again and again, they fell back into their sinful ways. Then God, just like the owner of the vineyard, sent his Son, Jesus, hoping that they would "respect my son." But Jesus knows that he will suffer the same fate as the son of the vineyard owner - death.
Jesus then asks them what they think will happen to the murderers. They give the right answer - "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death." But they still don't get it. They are the wretched men. They are the ones who are rejecting the Son of God. Jesus says, "Didn't you ever read scripture?" "Don't you get it?" Jesus is the cornerstone being rejected by the builders, the Chosen people of the House of Israel. He concludes by telling them that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from the House of Israel and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
That's us! By our Baptism into Christ we have become the Chosen people, the People of God. Jesus created a new covenant between humanity and God through himself. By our Baptism we become sons and daughters of God, sisters and brothers of Jesus and heirs to the Kingdom of God. Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God calls all people to Himself. He pours out His love and favor on all. All that He asks in return is that we open our hearts to receive that Divine love and grace.
Notice though, that Jesus tells the chief priests and elders that while the Kingdom will be given to another people, it is a people who will produce the fruit of that Kingdom. This is not a gift without responsibility and response on our part. Jesus calls us to make the Kingdom come here and now. As followers of Christ and people of the New Covenant, we have a responsibility to make Christ present in our world. The fruit of the Kingdom is, as Jesus commanded us, to love God totally and our neighbor as ourselves. But, just like the Jewish people, we too fall over and over again into sin. Through the merits of his death and resurrection, over and over again he forgives us and calls us back to Him. He calls us to bear the fruit of the Kingdom.
We live in a world of violence, hatred, prejudice and bigotry. We see all around us suffering and want. We see injustice and poverty, lack of hope in a better future for so many. What are we, as followers of Christ, doing about it?
St. Paul, in the second reading, tells us to keep on doing what we have learned and received and heard and seen. We know what should be done. If we don't, then we better find out! This is what God expects of each one of us. God gave each and every one of us specific talents and He expects us to use them for the good of all. Each one of us was put on this Earth by God for a reason. We need to discern what that reason is and then do it, use those talents. If we do, St. Paul assures us, "The God of peace will be with you."
This week as we go about our daily tasks, let's keep in our mind the words of the Alleluia verse sung before the proclamation of the Gospel today. "I have chosen you from the world, says the Lord, to go and bear fruit that will remain".
**********************
25th Ordinary Sunday: Is 55:6-9; Phil 1:20-24, 27; Mt 20:1-6
MONEY, ENVY, & GOD'S GENEROSITY
Why many relationships & friendships failed or broke up? Why couples fight sometimes and many ended in divorce? Why good friends & also close relatives would become bitter enemies? Why are there labor unrests? Aside maybe from other reasons, the obvious reasons to all these are: grumbling/complaining about money, jealousy or envy for people who seem to have more, & not being contented of God’s gifts to us. Thus, 3 points summed up Jesus’ parable in today’s Gospel: Money, Envy & God’s Generosity.
First, money. Jesus’ parable is a story of labor unrest because of money. Greed for money triggered the workers who were hired in the morning when they complained & protested that they were paid the same wage as those hired in the afternoon. “A gross injustice! That’s unfair!” they complained.
Actually, the issue here is not about the practice of justice or injustice, or about fairness or unfairness.
The issue is the vast difference of human beings’ thoughts & ways compared to God’s thoughts & ways. The Lord made it clear in the 1st Reading when He said: “my thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are not your ways” (Is 55:8). And He added, as “heavens are as high above earth so high are my ways above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts.”
What are God’s thoughts/ways as revealed by Jesus in today’s parable? They are God’s unlimited & unconditional kindness, mercy and generosity, much more than any human being can be.
And what are human beings’ thoughts & ways that prevent us from seeing, understanding & imitating God’s kindness, mercy, forgiveness & generosity? We mentioned already: Love of money and the problem in attitude which is JEALOUSY / ENVY & that of not appreciating God’s given blessings we already have.
In the pursuit of money, we have a capitalistic mind that have been oriented in merit system or reward-based economy that says, “You get what you deserve. Nothing comes free. You want something? Work for it. People should be paid for what they are worth.” So we think that God too will act in the same way towards us.
Second is ENVY. Envy also drives the first workers to complain/grumble. Like them, we grumble because we feel envious of the good fortunes of others who care nothing about God while we who work hard, trying to be good are lagging behind. We may claim to be better off morally, yet they are better off than us financially, socially, & in every natural way.
Envy/jealousy/covetousness never brings us true happiness, contentment & peace of mind & heart, like those workers.
What then should be the best attitude? Simply this: Instead of complaining to God & being envious at what gifts others have, we should count our numerous blessings and be grateful to God for those blessings we possess. More importantly, we should compensate what we lack by improving & excelling in those we already have.
I really like that saying w/c goes: “I was always complaining that I have no shoes, until I saw somebody who has no feet.”
Third, GOD’S GENEROSITY, which is the gist/essence of this Sunday’s Gospel.
“Are you envious because I am generous?” God’s generosity utterly transcends human generosity. God’s generosity implies that the skills, talents, or the blessings we have received are gifts and not deserved, not rewards.
Therefore, unless we do not rethink and change our ideas of fairness and come to accept God’s ways of being so generous, kind and merciful, we will never stop carping, grumbling & being envious like the workers in Christ’s story, & we will never rise from our adversities & deficiencies.
After all, we are all late-comers in the vineyard of the Lord, but for Christ there are no “first & last” for those who are trying their best to imitate God’s kindness and generosity.
Feast: TRIUMPH OF THE CROSS (Num 21:4-9; Phil 2:6-11; Jn 3:13-17)
There is a popular expression and a song that goes, “I’d do anything for you….” It is used as part of a marriage proposal, but some couples don’t mean it seriously for life.
The expression, I’d do anything for you was far closer to reality when you held your babies. People will do anything for their children because they love them so much. That might mean working two jobs, and saving all you can for their college.
There are few limits to what you would do for your children. Even when you choose some “me time” it is basically to help you be a better Mom or Dad.
The way you all fell about your children when you say, “I’d do anything for them,” gives us a faint ideas of how God feels about us.
He’d do anything for us. And he did.
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son so that all who believe in him might not perish but may have eternal life. John 3:16
God gave his Son to us as a complete Gift. He was completely ours to treasure, to find the Father through, or, sadly, to ignore and even to put to death.
And human beings did put Jesus to death in the most horrible way possible, execution through the torture that was crucifixion.
Today we celebrate this special feast, the Exultation of the Holy Cross. The Son joined the Father’s love in doing anything for us. The feast is the exultation of the cross because it is a demand that we recognize that his symbol of death & misery has become a way of life & victory.
Jesus’ death on the cross restored our capacity to have eternal life. The power of the cross is that, on the Cross Life Destroyed Death, & Love destroyed hate.
This is totally counter cultural. Our culture asks us to accept the absurdity that physical might, military superpower, & financial strength are the signs of a powerful nation or a powerful person. But who were the most powerful people of the last century? Perhaps you might think of Hitler, Stalin, Marcos (Phils.), Saddam, & others.
Two of the most powerful people of the last century were both poor & were lovers of all that is right & just: Mahatma Ghandi & Blessed Mother Theresa. Ghandi shamed the mighty British Empire into giving India independence. Blessed Mother Theresa shamed us all into recognizing our responsibility towards the poorest of the poor. We also should add the great Pope, the late John Paul II to those who conquer through the cross. JP II’s life demonstrated the Power of the Cross.
This feast, the Triumph of the Cross, reminds us of why we wear or should wear a cross. We should never wear a cross as a piece of jewelry, even if we wear a gold cross. We should wear a cross as a sign that we are committed to Christ’s way, the way of sacrificial love. We should wear a cross as a sign that our ideal is to choose that which brings love into the world regardless of the personal cost. Love & love alone defeats hatred and, ultimately, death.
We should wear a cross as a personal reminder that even when the cost of one of our sacrifices seems terribly high & even when we can not see & may not see the good that has come from the sacrifice, we still have the faith that the power of the Cross, the power of Sacrificial Love will prevail.
We should wear the cross as a sign of our commitment to a living faith & our hope that even if we die, as we probably will, we still share the eternal of God.
We should wear the cross as a statement to ourselves & to others. The statement is simple: this is how God loved the world.
23rd Sunday in Oedinary Time (Ez 33:7-9; Rom 13:8-10; Mt 18:18-20)
LOVE Is Genuine Concern For Others
Love. What a beautiful topic/theme of my first Sunday Mass with you as we are celebrating the mystery of Christ’s love – the Eucharist. “What is true Love?”
Love can be expressed & understood in many ways, sometimes confusing & even distorted. But let us take only one definition of love & reflect on it – the kind of love Jesus presented in today’s Gospel & emphasized by St. Paul in the 2nd Reading. That is, LOVE IS GENUINE CONCERN FOR THE WELFARE OF OTHERS. Or simply: LOVE is GENUINE CONCERN.
Examples: (1) There was once a manager in an office who had been drinking & smoking heavily. Everybody was talking, even snickering, behind his back. Because he was the boss, nobody would dare broach the problem to his attention. He was heading over the precipice. Until one day a guy mustered enough courage to approach him. Instead of talking about him, he dared talk TO him. “Sir, we’ve observed that you’re drinking & smoking too much,” he began. “Don’t you see you’re killing yourself? If you don’t stop, you’ll destroy yourself, your career, your family & us.”
Somehow that jolted him to his senses; it proved to be a “shock therapy.” Embarrassed & remorseful, the manager took the painful steps to rehabilitate himself. He joined the Alcoholic Anonymous, & learned to kick off no only his drinking habit but even his smoking. He had changed because someone had the guts to stand up to him.
(2) A man was seen constantly w/ another woman who’s not his wife. His friends gossiped, talked, even joked as he drifted to extramarital affair. Poor guy, his marriage broke up. All the friends could say was, “I could see it coming for a long time,” but they never moved a finger to call his attention. Do they love him as their friend? No! Because they didn’t show any act of concern for him to become better Christian.
Many of us have the notion that loving someone means always agreeing or not hurting his/her feelings. But true love & friendship also means criticizing and disagreeing when a loved one goes off the right path because you are deeply concern.
And because you are deeply concern, sometimes the best service or help you can do to a person you love is to criticize or disagree w/ him/her when s/he is not doing right. We give constructive criticism to prevent molehills of problems into becoming mountains, or minor repairs into becoming major ones.
Christ in today’s Gospel says, “If your brother sins against you, go & show him his fault” (Mt 18:15). Thus, in teaching us about responsibility for others, Christ says that part of loving concern is to correct the faults of others.
In the 1st Rdg, the Lord warned prophet Ezekiel that if he does not correct or warn people to renounce their sinful ways, He, the Lord, will hold him responsible….
“If you do not warn the wicked to renounce his ways, then he shall die for his sin, but I will hold you responsible for his death” (Ez 33:8). This warning was meant not only to Ezekiel but also to us & those who neglect their Christian responsibility to help another person to move away from evil ways.
Fraternal correction is necessary to “warn” another person ‘to renounce his/her wicked ways.’ The Gospel message teaches us, however, that when we have to correct people, like a spouse, a child, a friend, a co-worker, a boss, it should not be harsh & oppressive, but in a gentle manner & in the spirit of charity & concern. As the writer Frank Clark puts it, “Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man’s growth without destroying his roots.”
Christ warns: “Keep it between the two of you.” In effect, He is saying: ‘keep you mouth shut if you don’t have something good to say about the other person. Don’t ever gossip.’
To be concern, it is not easy to speak out. But it is usually better to risk having a friction & solve a problem, rather than allow it to fester till it explodes (like a volcano!) or pushes the couple farther & farther away, & the next thing they talk about is divorce.
When we correct others out of genuine concern because we love them, we have to be ready & humble enough to be corrected or criticized in return, simply because none of us is perfect. And because none of us is perfect we all need fraternal corrections. That is what I like you to do – disagree & criticize me in a positive way if/when you see/think I’m doing something not right.
Finally, inspired by Christ’s message to love with genuine concern, St. Paul in the 2nd Reading says that when we love other people we must carry our obligations – especially our obligation to fulfill the commandments as he summarized “in this single command: YOU MUST LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,” that is: ‘You must have a loving concern for the welfare of your neighbor, of others as you have a loving concern for yourself.’ LOVE IS GENUINE CONCERN.
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Jer 20:7-9; Rom 12:1-2; Mt 16:21-27)
THREE REQUIREMENTS
3 requirements for following Christ we just heard from Him this Sunday’s Gospel. What are they?
He said, “Whoever whishes to come after me must, number one, RENOUNCE HIMSELF; number two, TAKE UP HIS CROSS; & number three, FOLLOW ME.” Let’s try to have a clear understanding of what Jesus meant by these three requirements.
The 1st requirement: “Renounce himself” or herself, or what we call ‘self-renunciation’ or ‘self-denial’. We always hear this word self-renunciation from the spiritual talks, from homilies, recollections or retreats. But how do some people apply it? Only partially. For example, during the days of Holy Week, some people would say, “Now that this a time of fasting & abstinence, I will deny myself of meat; I will deny myself of drinking too much wine or beer or of some sticks of cigarettes.” But then, after Holy Week, back to same old ways.
For Christ, self-renunciation is CONSTANT - a constant opportunity to die to self in little ways everyday in 365 days a year – to die to our pride, to our selfishness, to our lust for pleasure & power, to our excessive drinking, eating, smoking, to drug addiction, gambling & gossiping. This is what Jesus meant in the Gospel when he also talked about losing life, but gaining life in the process. Because for Him, self-denial is death to self w/c, in fact, the entrance to a higher life.
There is a sure backlash whenever we choose evil over good/divine will. Yes, we lose our name, our peace of mind, our values, our character, and even our souls. As Jesus said: "What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and ruins his life?" Hence, self-renunciation is, that I say NO to myself, in order to say YES to Christ, for only Him “will reward each one according to his/her behavior.”
The 2nd requirement of Christ is: “Take up his cross.” As Christians we know what the “cross” is all about. It symbolizes sacrifices & sufferings – sufferings which are inevitable or brought by natural calamities & inflicted pains caused by people or by our own doing.
When Jesus said, “Take up your cross”, in effect, He is saying to us, ‘But as Christians, if you wish to be followers of mine, you have to embrace the INEVITABLE & INFLICTED sufferings, the way I humbly did.’
But like Peter ‘judging by man’s standards’ we, as humans, have the tendency to choose the easy way out. We try to avoid the difficult way of sacrifices & sufferings if possible, as clearly expressed by Peter but condemned by Jesus as something satanic, “Get behind me, Satan!... the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.”
The 3rd & final requirement is, “And follow me.” You might ask me, “Father, if I practice self-renunciation, if I take up my cross, isn’t it, automatically, I am already following Christ?” No. Not automatically & not necessarily. Why? Because you might be doing the good thing but with the wrong motive.
For instance, I say to myself, “Now that I’m ordained to the Priesthood, I will do all my best in exercising my priestly ministry; I will perform with dedication & sacrifice all my pastoral works & activities.” That’s great! What I am doing as priest is wonderful! Very sublime!
But then, if I have wrong reason/s for doing my obligations, like saying to myself: “So that I become popular! So that the parishioners will believe in me! So that they will praise & appreciate me or sympathize with me! So that they will like me and invite me to their houses! And so that they will not forget me!”
You see? With these motives, I cannot say that what I am doing is in order to follow Christ. I am actually promoting not Christ, but myself. I must just even be fulfilling my “need to be needed, my need to be praised or appreciated.” Although, of course, we priests need to be appreciated sometimes as you, parishioners, need to be appreciated by your priests.
Our good work, our generous act, or our great sacrifice is NOT a way of following Christ if accompanied with selfish-motive!
Hence, for Jesus, renouncing ourselves constantly, carrying our cross daily in the right spirit or with the right motive, makes us His true followers and will surely merit us eternal life. In the words of St. Paul: “If you suffer w/ Christ, you will also rise with Him.”
And, in the today’s Second Reading St. Paul gives us how we live our faith in conformity to Christ’s 3 requirements:
"I beg you through the mercy of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God…. Do not conform to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind so that you might judge what is God's will, what is good, pleasing and perfect" (Romans 12:1-2).
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Is 22:19-23; Rom 11:33-36; Mt 16:13-20)
Why Peter?
Nicknames are given to people to describe one of their characteristics. That’s why we call some people “Shorty”, “Curly-topped”, “Skinny”, or something to that effect. When Jesus called Simon “Rock”, he was implying that he was solid & firm, like something suitable for a foundation.
Actually it is quite surprising that Jesus gave this unlikely nickname to Simon. For Peter was everything but rock-like, solid & firm. He was so weak that he did not only abandon, but denied his Master.
Peter’s weakness is likewise highlighted in the story – w/c was later made into a movie – entitled “Quo Vadis” (a Latin word for ‘Where are you going?’). According to the story, when the persecution of the early Christians broke out in Rome, Peter developed cold feet, & tried to flee leaving behind those courageous/gallant Christians to suffer & be fed to the lions for public spectacles.
As Peter sneak out thru the Via Appia, he allegedly met Jesus walking in the opposite direction. Surprised, he asked the Lord, “Where are you going?” (Quo Vadis?). Jesus replied, “To Rome…to be crucified again.”
This hit Peter like a thunderbolt. It dawned on him, albeit embarrassing, that if he must follow Christ, he must face the cross as his Master had done not too long ago. Thus, he returned to Rome and, like Christ, he was crucified – but in upside down position because he deemed himself unworthy to be crucified like Jesus.
When I was in Rome, I learned that a church called “Quo Vadis” was erected to mark the legendary spot where Peter supposedly met Christ. What’s more interesting is the fact that just across it is a restaurant (“ristorante”). The Apocryphal story goes that after meeting the Lord, the scared, indecisive Peter had to take a few shots (of wine) in there to steady his nerves, muster enough courage to return to Rome & “face the music”. Thus, the “ristorante” – and its name? “Quo Vadis!”
But why is it that Jesus chose Simon to be the solid, firm foundation of His Church & leader of His disciples?
If love and loyalty were the basis for leadership, it would have gone to John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” But Jesus chose Peter. He did it not because of the character of his strength, but the strength of his faith. Deep down Peter knew himself to be weak & imperfect, hence he was convinced that his total security could only come from a power greater than his own, God’s power.
Peter’s story illustrates how the Lord entrusted the Church He founded in the hands of the imperfect humans. The history of the Church buffeted by internal dissent & confusion from the early centuries right down to our own times, has proven Christ’s words: “And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18).
There were numerous popes & religious leaders who were paragons or models of virtues, but there were also some if not many church leaders who were totally devoid of the right qualifications to lead because of their misconduct that caused great scandals. But thru it all, the good & the bad, the Church has withstood the torrents, the tsunami or violent storms that have threatened it because it’s founded on rock.
For all the humanness of Peter, we poor mortals who have our own faults or human weaknesses, can identify with him. Like the bungling or incompetent Peter, we too can rise from our human weakness w/ the help of a higher power, w/ the help of Christ, and with God as our security.
God knows that in spite of our own faults & human weaknesses, like Peter, not as solid & firm as a rock, what matters to Him is our personal & persistent faith we put in Christ, His Beloved Son. Thus, the crucial question for each of us: Who is Christ for me? Is He the Son of the Living God for me? And if so, how does this belief affect the way I live that I may have a strong foundation?
(Is 56:1, 6-7; Rom 11:13-15, 29-32; Mtrt 15:21-28)
Story: One day, it seems, a certain curious person in heaven asked St. Peter, “Are Christians only welcome in heaven?” St Peter replied: “No, there are no Christians in heaven.” St Peter goes on: “Heaven is not meant for any particular group of people. Here, there is no distinction between Hindus, Muslims or Christians for all are welcome in heaven.”
That’s the lesson & message of the three Readings this Sunday. There Are No "Foreigners" in the Reign of God. Heaven is not meant for any particular group of people. For Heaven is open to all those whose faith in the Lord is personal, persistent and practiced daily, especially in the service of others.
In the 1st Rdng, God did tell His chosen people, “Foreigners who have attached themselves to the Lord to serve him & love his name & be his servants… - these I will bring to my holy mountain…” And referring to the Temple in Jerusalem which was a symbol of heaven for the Jews, God said, “My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples” (Is 56:7).
Thus Jesus, in response to the “great faith” of a Canaanite woman, healed her daughter (Mt 15:28) & she became one of His disciples. Although in the first place, Jesus appears to be cold, even callous to her, & insulting her as a woman belonging to the race of “dogs”.
The Israelites looked down upon the Canaanites as foreigners, pagans, and outcasts. We have people today with the same prejudice.
Following his Master, we heard of St. Paul in the 2nd Rdng who became ‘an apostle to the Gentiles (foreigners or pagans) & took pride in that service’, even ‘arousing envy’ in his own people. (Rom 11:13).
In fact, we ourselves feel envious of the faith w/c the gentile Canaanite woman put in Christ & are compelled to ask ourselves whether our Christian faith is as good as hers. Two things we can learn from her.
(1) Hers was a personal faith: when she cried out, all the disciples went to Christ and entreated him, “Send her away” (Mt 15:23), but the Lord put them off, & when the woman herself personally cried out begging for this favor, He granted it, saying, “Let it be as you desire” (Let your wish be granted) (v.28). Is our faith personal?
(2) Hers was a persistent faith: nothing could discourage her. She first met a wall of silence, but kept asking; then she met a rebuff, but she threw herself at the feet of Jesus & she was rewarded. How persevering is our faith? An old, familiar saying goes, “If at first you don’t succeed, try & try again.”
In our faith-relationship w/ God, sometimes our prayers seem to fall on deaf ears. We should remember, however, that prayer begins w/ the risk of asking or entrusting ourselves to silence, uncertainty & even rebuff. We shouldn’t be discouraged and, as in the example of that Canaanite woman, our perseverance will be rewarded.
What can we do to strengthen our faith? Faith is like a muscle; the more we exercise our muscle, the stronger it grows. So how can we exercise our faith to strengthen it, to make it more personal, alive & persevering?
So, Heaven is open to all those whose faith in Christ is personal, persistent, cheerful and practiced daily, especially in the service of others. God does not discriminate against anyone. He welcomes all who believe in him & do his will.
19th Ordinary Sunday (1 Kg 19:9, 11-13; Rom 9:1-5; Mtt 14:22-23)
Who can we turn to?
In today's Gospel (Mt. 14, 22-33) Jesus teaches us to turn to prayer as He himself did whenever He was under pressure by the crowd. Prayer, solitude and silence can help us find our bearings and strength, especially when our batteries are already low and in need of recharging.
More so, we need to turn to God in prayer when we are tossed about by waves that threaten our very lives. Who do you turn to, what do you turn to when problems overwhelm you?
When you walk through a storm, where do you seek refuge? Some stay put, and some fly away (literally, to another country!). Flight does not solve the problem. One may seek refuge in drugs, alcohol and other worldly pleasures, but the problem is just postponed and may even be compounded.
One can gather a thousand lieutenants, advisers, PR handlers to fix the problem, but they can only do so much. At the end of the day, the only road one must take is the road that leads to God's heart, and the way to walk it is on one's knees.
Full of faith Peter chooses to take a bold step to join Jesus…. But then he falters. He gets distracted by the wind & the waves, fear gets the better of him, & he forgets that Jesus is still there with him.
As he begins to sink, Peter looks up to Jesus and cries out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus does just that: he reaches out & catches Peter.
God wills that we get out of patterns of living that are not life-giving. But God never demands the impossible. Jesus comes to us, in the middle of the storm & calls us to step out to him.
The moment we falter He reaches out to us & catches us. And keeping our eyes on Him, we can walk unperturbed / undisturbed.
Peter’s example tells us that stepping out of the wind-tossed boat into the stormy unknown may be frightening & dangerous. But it may often be the one option that will lead us to wholeness & joy, to Jesus & salvation.
"Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." How consoling to hear these words of Jesus, especially these days when there's so much turmoil, noise, debates, media blitz, focused on half-truths and blatant lies. In the midst of all these, it is a consoling thought to know that God is still at the controls….
“Take courage… Do not be afraid.” It is easy to succumb to the temptation to be too comfortable with ourselves & our situation. But when we choose to step out, take a risk, & focus our attention on Jesus (our Emmanuel, God-with-us) rather than on the fear that holds us back, we will find ourselves in amazing places.
An investor who is focused on becoming rich, takes all the risks, w/c the majority fear, will attain financial freedom. An athlete who is focused on obtaining an Olympic gold medal, doing extra efforts in his/her practices will surely get it. So is a Christian who is focused on Jesus with courage, not on the fear of the threatening waves, will attain salvation.
A moment with the Lord: Lord, when we are buffeted by waves or strong wind and we start to sink, help us to turn to you in prayer, penance and good deeds. Amen.
18th Ordinary Sunday
He Gives Us All We Need
(Readings: Is 55:1-3; Rom 8:35, 37-39; Mtt 14:13-21)
THE STORY is told about a little boy who was asked to say a prayer before the evening meal. The boy looked at the food, then proceeded to eat. When his parents asked why he didn't pray, the boy answered: "I already prayed for this food at lunchtime. These are leftovers!"
In today's Gospel (Mt. 4, 13-21) Jesus said the prayer five loaves and two fish, fed the crowd of 5,000 men, after which they had lots of leftover food. It was more than a miracle. Jesus showed that the real miracle in that gathering was the miracle of sharing or of generosity - that if people share, there will be enough for everyone.
As mentioned in the three other Gospel, the marvelous generosity of the little boy, who, with his gift of five loaves & two fish, made the miracle possible. From the little boy we see that a small amount, a small sacrifice done out of love can become big when placed in the hands of the Lord.
This miracle is also about unity/union with Jesus. United with Jesus the disciples had plenty of what the people needed.
When we go to the Lord in prayer or in the Eucharist and nurture our union with Him, He feeds us and provides us with all that we need to feed the hungry, those who are searching for meaning in life, those who are searching for Him.
Sharing or generosity is not always about giving things. More often it is about giving of ourselves, of our times, our gifts. Giving things can be easy, but giving of oneself is never easy.
Accepting an assignment, for instance, to another Parish or mission somewhere is not that easy, considering the sacrifice of detaching yourself from your friends & comfortable environment you’ve been used to; and then make major adjustments to the new environment, peoples, & culture in another place. However, union with Jesus makes it possible in such a situation.
United with Christ, He provides so much that it is normal for us to be strengthened by the holiness of those whom we have fed. You parents are often edified by your children. Priests often receive experiences of holiness from their parishioners. That is the lovely cycle of Christian holiness.
We heard from the first reading from Isaiah 55. “Come to the water, all you who are thirsty. Heed me and you shall eat well.”
Sure, we often feel outnumbered. We are proclaiming a radical lifestyle to a world that has deified selfishness. Our college students are proclaiming Jesus to classmates who mock the spiritual. Our adults deal every day with work mates and neighbors who have neither concept of nor desire for spirituality. The media glorifies the scandalous and mocks the religious as we have seen & heard during the World Youth Day.
We are a minority. But we are strong. We are powerful. We have the Power of Jesus Christ. Nothing can & will stop us as long as we remain united with Him. As St. Paul said to the Romans in the second reading:
“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….”
Sisters and brothers, when we have Christ & remain united with Him, we have plenty, plenty for ourselves and plenty for others.
Let’s treasure the Special Meal, the Eucharist, always aware that it is through the Sacrificial Love of Christ on the Cross that the world is being fed, that we’re strengthened and inspired to give more of ourselves.
17th Ordinary Sunday (1 Kg 3:5, 7-12; Rom 8:28-30; Mtt 13:44-52)
THE SUMMUM BONUM
In Christian philosophy there is a something called summum bonum or the supreme good. The summum bonum is believed to be not just the best thing one could ever have but also that good which contains in itself or brings along with it all other good and desirable things, that which completely satisfies the otherwise insatiable desires of the human heart.
Today’s readings invite us to ask ourselves this important question: Among all the things I desire in life, what is the one desire of my life that once found will bring all my other legitimate desires in its train?
The gospel calls this ultimate desire of the human heart “the kingdom of God.” “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt 6:33). The kingdom of God is God’s reign in our hearts, in our lives, in our homes, in our society, and in our world.
The one who finds the kingdom of God finds everything desirable besides. That is why it is compared to hidden treasure in a field which a man finds, then goes and sells all that he has and buys the field. Or a precious pearl which a merchant finds, then goes and sells everything he has and buy this one pearl. In fact, these parables invite us not only to seek first the kingdom of God but to seek only the kingdom because with the kingdom of God comes every other good thing that we desire and long for.
Solomon in the first reading is a good illustration…. As a young king Solomon had many legitimate needs. He needed wealth, military might, fame, security, prosperity, long life and happiness. But when God asked him to ask for one thing, he asked for the summum bonnum, wisdom from above. He knew that with wisdom comes every other good thing he needed and desired. And God confirmed his choice in these words:
Indeed I give you a wise and discerning mind…. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor all your life; no other king shall compare with you. (1 Kings 3:11-13)
What then is wisdom? It is the power to judge rightly. It is the ability to take all our values in life, put them in proper order, then make correct judgments about them, based on the higher values.
Solomon knew that of all the decisions he would be called on to make, none could be more important than judging right from wrong, for when we make such judgments, we are putting in first place the kingdom of God; we are buying a treasure of great worth; we are purchasing a pearl of great price.
If God comes in your dream tonight and ask you to ask for one thing and one thing only, what would you ask for? Would you ask for wealth or success in business or love life? Would you have the wisdom of Solomon to ask for the reign of God in your personal and business life? Is the kingdom of God so important to you that you are prepared to part with unnecessary stuffs or desires you have in order to have it?
Remember, the kingdom of God is not just one among so many other good and desirable things. It is the summum bonum, the supreme good, the one and only good thing we shall ever need to achieve total satisfaction and fulfillment in life.
If you have the kingdom of God you have everything and if you don’t have the kingdom of God you have nothing.
16th Ordinary Sunday (Wisd 12:13, 16-19; Rom 8:26-27; Mtt 13:24-43)
This is the kind of a parable that can leave us with the thought, "So, what does that mean to me? I don't sow/plant weeds or wheat, so I'm not included in the message.”
That's not really true. Jesus is not only talking about seeds of grain. There are many different types of seeds..... seeds of doubt, seeds of evil, seeds of bad thoughts & feelings, or seeds of sin, and many others.
There may be other people who are sowing "bad seeds" in your life.
Young & old, all of us are vulnerable because our modern society is encouraging us to ignore the Church teachings or judgments and make our own judgments. As a result we see what is happening: divorce, broken families, gambling, pornography and all sorts of "bad seeds" are being planted all around us.
We may say, "Wait a minute. The gospel tells us to wait until the harvest and then remove the weeds." That may be a fine theory in agriculture but we all know that in our society, the longer we wait to get rid of the "seeds" of sin, the more apt we are to suffer grave consequences. Listen to the words of Jesus, "The wages of sin is death!!!"
Yes, DEATH!!!! Allowing the weeds to grow in our lives could mean the death of a relationship with family or friends. It could be a death of your education and your progress toward your career. It could also lead to the "death" of a relationship with someone you might have someday married. And, in some instances of drugs and alcohol it could literally lead to one's own death.
Those of us who are older also face problems by allowing the "weeds" to creep into our lives and our marriages. Again, alcohol, drugs, pornography and gambling are "weeds' that can ruin one's life.
Everything Jesus taught and everything He preached was for the benefit of those who would hear Him. Some listened to Him and walked away, just as there are some who can not listen to what He is saying to us each Sunday here at Mass.
We may listen to His words and think, "That doesn't apply to me! That's old fashioned. No one can make me do something I don't want to do!"
And that's true. Whether we are a teenager, a young adult, middle aged or a senior citizen, we have to make up our own minds. No one can live our lives for us. We all can recognize the "weeds" in our behavior. And, if we are to be truly happy, we have to get rid of them or our personal "harvest" will not be fruitful.
Our Lord, Jesus Christ, is a loving God and He is a fair God but he is also a just God. What will happen to those of us who don't listen & keep His words or commandments?
"The Son of God will send His angels and they will collect out of His kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into a fiery furnace. Then the righteous will shine like the Son in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear! "
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Where is the Seed Being Thrown?
(Readings: Wis 12:13, 16-19; rom 8:26-27; Mtt 13:24-43)
The Divine Sower is throwing seed. And not a few seeds. He is pouring out his Word upon us. We’ve got to do something more than just let the seed hit the ground. We’ve got to be good soil. We have to nourish the Word of God. We have to let it take root and grow.
It simply is not enough just to hear the Word of God. We have to let it grow within us to such an extent that we are covered in its foliage. It is simply not enough to go to Church. We have to be Church. It is not enough to read the Bible. We have to be People of the Word.
So we hear the words: Love one another. That’s nice. And that’s useless. Useless unless we are able to look at that person in our family, whose life has become the bane of our existence and make up our minds that we are going to end the vicious cycle of sarcasm, of silence, of nastiness, and maybe even of hatred. Let the Word of God take root and grow.
We need to pray for that father who avoids us, and look for ways that he might enjoy our presence. We need to pray for the mother who snaps at us, and find a way to ease her burdens and fears. We need to pray for that child who is both hurting and hurtful. We have to refuse to let him/her destroy himself or destroy us. Instead, we rebuild him with encouragement & re-enforcement.
It is not enough for the Word of God to be scattered into a home. It must take root. When it is nurtured by our prayers, and cared for with our charity, it will grow.
This is where St. Paul comes in. He says in the second reading, “I consider the sufferings of the present nothing compared to the glory to be revealed to us.” Maybe this appears to be one of those lost statements. Something that we shelve until a crisis hits us. Wrong. To be a Christian is to accept suffering and accept the challenge of the Cross. It is a challenge and it is suffering for us to swallow our pride…. That’s not easy. But that is how the Word of God will take root and grow.
The Divine Sower throws his Word on us to look with love and compassion on all the people in the world. We live under the constant threat of terrorism. Have any of us prayed for the terrorists, prayed that they see that their actions are only destroying themselves? Let’s be honest.
It is hard to pray for them. In fact, it is suffering; particularly if you know someone who has been killed or hurt by terrorists or who has been sent to fight radical Islam. But we have to pray for them. And that hurts. Still, the sufferings of this present life are nothing compared to the Glory that is to be revealed to us.
The Divine Sower is throwing seeds. But how can his Word take root & grow when it is thrown into a society that condones immorality, even supports immorality, in the name of freedom and political correctness?
Pornography, even in the name of art, is destroying our society. Men are treating women like objects, not like people of love. Women are letting it happen, even joining in, in the name of liberation. It takes courage and suffering to stand up against a society that has placed marriage as the step that comes after living together.
People don’t want to hear this. They mock us. They treat us with disgust and disdain. But the sufferings of this present life are nothing compared to the Glory that is to be revealed to us.
“Lord come and heal the pains of our lives, of our world” we pray. And He gives us what we need. He gives us His Word. But the Word is a seed. What are we going to do with it?
Today we pray for the courage to be good soil.
|
14th Sunday... Bridge Over Troubled Waters (Zech 9:9-10; Rom 8:9, 11-13; Mt 11;25-30) |
|
Today, a lot of problems beset us – from rising price of Petrol to rocketing prices of commodities to rice problems in the eating rice countries to natural calamities like drought, strong typhoons, earthquakes to violence compounded by political, religious, personal and family problems. Indeed these are trying moments. The words of Jesus Christ this Sunday are, therefore, very timely & consoling: “Come to me all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will give you rest” (Mtt 11:28). Experiencing weariness & finding life burdensome are part & parcel of human life... (2) Then there is the extreme kind of weariness bordering on severe depression & even suicide. From time to time we read in newspapers young & old people committing suicides because of their acute depression about lingering illness, unresolved broken relationships, mounting bills, bankrupt business, addictions to drug & alcohol problems, & so on. In the U.S. did you know that the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco has been the scene of more than 600 suicides? I was informed that the Harbour Bridge in Sydney was also the scene of many suicides before that’s why they put a special fence. For these people life has become meaningless & living doesn’t seem worthwhile anymore. Just as there are different degrees of weariness, so there are different kinds of burdens.... Jesus, often described as a friend who is “gracious & merciful, slow to anger & of great compassion” may, in contemporary parlance, be called “bridge over troubled waters.” He teaches us to cultivate RELINGUISHMENT, the ability to “let go” of our anxieties & to put ourselves in God’s hands. Too often we allow our worries & anxieties to overcome us instead of we overcoming them. We are so used to depending on ourselves that we leave no room for God’s working in our life. I can appreciate the blessings of the present & be grateful for them because I am acknowledging my dependence on God whom I know is always with me, for my life’s fulfillment. Of course, this dependence should not be an abdication of personal responsibility. When Christ said on the Sermon on the Mount, “Don’t worry,” he did not mean “Don’t work.” Or as the writer J.C. Holland puts it: “God gives every bird its food, but he does not throw it into the nest.” So, as much as we ought to depend on God for our daily needs, so must we work hard, doing our part best & let God do the rest. There are some people who work hard & become wealthy or successful & who feel proud of their so-called “my accomplishments.” But, for us Christians, working hard to success includes learning hard from Jesus to be “gentle & humble in heart.” |
|
13th Sunday Feast of Sts. Peter & Paul (June 29) Determination and Dynamism |
|
This Sunday is June 29th, the calendar feast of Saints Peter and Paul. We have an opportunity here to take a closer look at the two most dynamic saints of the primitive Church. Their feast is celebrated together because both Peter and Paul traveled to spread Christianity to Rome where they were both martyred by the Emperor Nero. They are the principal patrons of the Church of Rome. It would be hard to find two individuals who differed more. Peter was a common worker, a fisherman, with no formal education as best as we can tell. He responded to Jesus’ call to follow and then stumbled his way through the Lord’s public life, and beyond. Peter’s human weakness was highlighted at the Last Supper when he boasted that he would never lose faith in Jesus. Jesus replied that Peter would deny him three times before dawn. And Peter did deny the Lord three times after Jesus was arrested. But Peter also reaffirmed his faith in Jesus three times after the resurrection. The Resurrected Jesus asked him three times, “Do you love me, Simon Peter.” Peter said: “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you,” Jesus then told him: “Then feed my sheep…tend to my lambs…. For a day will come when others will bind you and take you to where you do not wish to go.” Peter then formally assumed the leadership of the other disciples conferred on him by the Lord, but was later dressed down by Paul when he started treating Christians who had been Jewish as better than those who had been Gentiles. Peter was so very human, even after Pentecost, he still could let his humanity get the worst of him. Still, Peter was determined to spread the faith. He traveled to Rome, the center of the world (that time), where he became the apostle of Rome or the first bishop of Rome. Because Jesus placed Peter over all the other disciples, those who assume his place as Bishop of Rome also receive his spirit, or grace or charism. The successor of Peter is Pope because the Pope is Bishop of Rome. Paul could not have differed more than Peter if he tried. Paul was an educated man. He studied at the feet of the great Hebrew scholar Gamaliel. He was one of those Pharisees who did everything possible to destroy the followers of Jesus, arresting Christians wherever he could find them and turning them over to the Jewish authorities who would imprison or kill them. But Jesus called Paul as he traveled to Damascus. After his conversion, Paul used his intelligence and determination to spread the message of the Kingdom, traveling throughout the Western section of the Roman Empire, writing the Letters to the infant churches, and completely sacrificed his life for the Kingdom of God. Two very different saints, one ignorant fisherman, the other an educated scholar, yet two very similar saints in this: they shared the determination to live and die for the Kingdom of God even if this meant that they needed to make radical changes in their lives. Even if this meant that they had to sacrifice their lives. And sacrifice their lives they did. There is some Peter and some Paul in each of us. Each of us harbors some of their inadequacies. Each of us also enjoys some of their strength. On the negative side, all of us tend to bungle through life like Peter, making great promises, taking great oaths, and then backing down when the situation becomes too tough, too demanding. How many times have we all, myself included, compromised standing for the Lord in order to prevent being mocked by the crowd. Sometimes we go through life like the firestorm that was Saul of Tarsus, convinced that our view of the world is correct and willing to destroy anyone who disagrees with us. On the positive side, there are also a lot of the good qualities of Peter and Paul in each of us. Serious about our Christianity, we all have a tremendous desire to serve the Lord in whatever way he calls us. Another quality that Peter and Paul and we have in common is dynamism. The dynamic founders of Rome received their strength from the Holy Spirit of the Father and Son. We have also received this strength, this dynamism, to some degree or other. The dynamism, the strength to lead others to God was given to us at our Pentecost, our confirmation. When we set our minds to living for the Lord, others will hear his presence calling to them from within us. That is how the Kingdom of God has spread from Peter’s fishing nets and Paul’s Hebrew studies to Rome and far, far beyond. It is the Holy Spirit, the dynamic presence of God, within you and me that has makes the Church a living reality in the world. So, ‘No matter where we are in our walk with the Lord, even if we fail miserably over and over again, God will work in us if we keep turning back to Him. We can all be transformed just as powerfully as Sts. Peter and Paul.’ Determination and dynamism, these are the marks of these great saints. May determination and dynamism, mark our lives, as we strive to continue and support the apostolic mission of the Church. Saint Peter and Saint Paul, pray for us! |
|
12th Sunday of Ordinary Time FEAR FACTOR |
|
Psychologists claim that fear is one of our most important means of human protection. When physical or psychological dangers suddenly arise, we “cut and run.” It seems to be the normal thing to do, so it must be good. Most of us, I should imagine, have secret fears like: flying on an airplane, exposure to heights, dark caves, snakes, and spiders or whatever else could suddenly end one’s life against his/her will. We also have some real fears to consider. The protection of our children (like these sch. Children) from the negative aspects of our society, or from those who prey on the weak is certainly a valid fear. Concern about providing for the future of our families is also valid as everybody at present panicked w/ the prices of basic commodities keep going up. How should we, as Christians, deal with fear, with stress, real or imposed on us by others? Today’s Gospel, from the tenth chapter of Matthew, tells us to trust in God, and be people of faith. It contains the beautiful passage about sparrows: “Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” St. Augustine, in his Classic book, City of God, presents the disaster of the sack of Rome by the barbarians and all the suffering of the people and emphasizes that the Barbarians could torture and rape and pillage and kill, but they could not desecrate the Presence of God in the believing Christian. Nor could they steal God from them. St. Augustine must have in mind that beautiful passage about the sparrows emphasizing the words of Jesus: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.” There are valid reasons for concern in our lives. Yes, we have to take care of our families, particularly our children. Yes, we have to keep bad things out of our homes to protect them and to protect ourselves. And we certainly have to be extremely careful of those with whom they come in contact with. And yes, we do need to be alert to anyone who could threaten our security, but fear? No, Our Lord tells us that we do not need to fear. The question, however, is this: What is the relationship between faith and fear? If fear for our life, for instance, or the fear of not being able to control our destiny is sometimes a reality, how can we maintain a sense of peace and tranquility? I have a sense from reading the words of Jesus that he also must often have been afraid. Given his confrontations with the Jewish and Roman authorities, he must have known that his life was constantly in jeopardy. On the night before he died, in the Garden of Gethsemani, for instance, he was so afraid of what would happen to him that blood-sweat ran down his face. And yet, despite all that, he could confidently say to his disciples on an earlier occasion: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” Or again, “Fear not, little flock, you are worth more than a whole flock of sparrows.” In other words, Jesus was telling His disciples & us is telling today: trust God, don’t be afraid, and know that whatever happens, you and I will be OK. He told this to his disciples in the Gospel who chose to proclaim the Kingdom of God even if it would lead to their death. Their deaths themselves would be a witness to the Love of God. Jesus tells also us to proclaim his Love to the world and hold fast to our Christianity, and not be concerned with the attacks of others. Good is always going to be attacked by evil. He tells us to be good parents and care for our children, protect our children, but trust in God, for our treasures, our children are His treasures, His children. And children, Jesus is telling you today: trust God as you trust your loving parents & you’ll always be OK. So then… the only thing that you and I need to be concerned with is the One thing that makes every aspect of life not just bearable but beautiful, and that is the very Presence of the Love of God within each of us. “Do not be afraid; you, we, are worth more than many sparrows.” |
|
11th Sunday of Ordinary Time JESUS WORKED WITH ORDIANRY MATERIAL |
|
Companies, corporations, institutions & big organizations strictly screen people for managerial positions. Even Church authorities also screen people for positions of leadership. Candidates are not admitted to the priesthood w/out first undergoing batteries of psychological tests, aside from moral, & health certifications. This was not the case for Jesus when He recruited & selected the first leaders of the organization He launched & that became the oldest & biggest institution of modern times – the Church w/ more or less 2.4 billion members. Jesus had many disciples or followers. From the ranks of these He picked out twelve. He called them Apostles, His first seminarians for a special formation for only 3-yr informal education. The names of the 12 are given in today’s Gospel. Who were these men & what qualifications do they have? Judging from today’s psychological & moral standards most if not all of them are not qualified for a position of leadership. The 12 men Jesus chose were just ordinary people. They came from ordinary walks of life – a number of them were fishermen. They had no special qualifications. They had some obvious weaknesses. They weren’t angels, but imperfect human beings. Far from being perfect, they possessed the same faults & failings we find in ourselves. Jesus didn’t work w/ perfect material; he worked w/ ordinary material. Peter blew hot & cold. He was emotionally unstable. At times he was as solid as rock. At other times he was more like a piece of jelly. Yet, in spite of everything, his heart was sound. And at the end of the day, it’s the heart that matters. The two brothers, James & John, were so hot-tempered that once they wanted Jesus to call down fire & brimstone on a Samaritan village that refused to accept Him. They were also opportunists full of personal & political ambitions, & wanted to have the top places in Jesus’ kingdom, thus causing dissension among the others. Mathew was member of the hated-class – a tax collector for the Roman government who made a living by the amount of money he could charge over & above what was required by the Romans. We see Mathew in Oil or Petrol companies today charging us motorists w/ higher & higher price though their multi-billion investment is even growing daily. Matt was undoubtedly a man of ability, but would project the wrong or bad image. Simon, the son of --- belong to a band of people called the Zealots whose aim was to get the Romans out of Palestine. Today Simon would be called a terrorist. Thomas earned himself a nickname, known as the Doubter. Thus, demonstrating a questionable attitude that would undermine morale. Then of course there was Judas who shows potential - a man of ability & resourcefulness, w/ keen business mind; has good PR w/ people & has contacts w/ high places. He was highly motivated and ambitious. A man who would have been highly recommended by the modern Financial Management Consultants as Jesus’ right-hand man. But Judas has not only proved himself a failure, but actually betrayed Jesus. Money becomes evil only if one is obsessed with it. Many relationships are betrayed or broken due to money matter. Anyway, there we have the 12, w/ all their human failings & psychological defects. But Jesus saw good in each one of them, even in Judas. It shows that one doesn’t have to be perfect or possess all the talents in order to be called by Christ. Some of you are more intelligent & good in public speaking than me, but why me…. Choice is a privilege & an honor, but also a responsibility. The Israelites were chosen to be the light to the nations. And the apostles too were chosen for a task – to help Christ with the harvest, to spread the Good News. Thru baptism we too are chosen, the new Israelites, to be the “salt” & “light” of the world through our “good works”, as Jesus said in Mt 5:13-16. Today Jesus depends on us – on our cooperation. In order to become an apostle or disciple of the Lord it is not necessary to be an exceptional person, much less a saint (at least not to begin with). All one needs is willingness & an open heart w/c we are all capable of. And the truth is, Jesus has many more than twelve disciples roaming the world, roaming Bathurst right now, so we have all we need to get job done. |
PENTECOST Sunday & Mother's Day
Readings: Acts 2:1-11; Ro1 Cor 12:3-7; John 20:19-23.
There was a comedy show on T.V., a wife opened the front door and, behold, her mother-in-law was on the front porch, asking, "Can I stay here for a few days?" "Of course, you can stay there," was her response, and then she shut the door.
This Pentecost Sunday we also celebrate Mother’s Day. “Peace be with you,” was the greeting of our Lord to His disciples. You know why there is no peace not only in some but in many families? One of the main reasons is: because there are children who shut the door on their mothers.
How many mothers are snubbed, forgotten or are taken for granted by their children? Worse, how many mothers are hurt by their children?
One time an elderly woman came to me, crying and telling me that, perhaps, it was better for her to die already so that she would not be a burden to her children anymore. She went on to say that her children hardly called or visited her, and if ever they did, all she heard were their complaints, their miseries and their never-ending squabbles and quarrels among themselves. I’ve heard & encountered many similar cases.
The greatest pain for any mother is to know that her children will not be all right and will not have peace with each other after she is gone. A mother does not need much to be happy.
All she needs is love and assurance from her children, her "little ones." Have you called, have you visited, have you hugged your mother lately? Better do it now, before it's too late. It was too late for me….
My mother was about 60 years old when she died. It was painful for me not to have talked and hugged her before she got sick and died. I was in 2nd year college in the Seminary, more than 600 kilometers away from her, when I received the sad news. There was a strong typhoon that time which causes mudslides & erosions on the road that delays my trip to see her body. When I arrived after two weeks her body was already buried 5 feet below the ground.
Anyhow, I still hold in my heart many lessons I learned from her. I remember most as a boy was her constant admonition to be strong, to value hard work, to endure, to be patient and God-fearing….
The important role and presence of a loving & caring mother to her children & to her family is, somehow or in anyway, like the very important role and presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church, forming and uniting us always as one big family, or as the Body of Christ.
In today's Gospel (Jn. 20, 19-23), the Lord gives His Holy Spirit to His disciples, along with His greeting "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” You know why we don't have peace in our hearts? You know why there is no peace in many families, in some countries, and in the world? That's because we shut the door on the Holy Spirit.
Too bad many of us belittle, take for granted - if not altogether ignore - the Holy Spirit and not make use of His many different gifts made available for each of us to perform our mission.
The 3 readings have a common message: that the disciples received the Holy Spirit, they were empowered to work together & sent forth. But what about us? We receive the Holy Spirit at baptism and confirmation. Through the Holy Spirit, we have all been given, as St. Paul says, “different kinds of spiritual gifts,” through which we can perform “different forms of service” “for good purpose,” & for the good of all.
St. Paul made a clear analogy when he says that our bodies are composed of many parts w/ different functions and that all of them are required for the body to work together correctly.
As members & important parts of the body of Christ, the Church, each of us is needed to make our parish work as God intends. The Holy Spirit gives us individual gifts to help build up the body of Christ.
Our challenge is to answer the question: Are we active parts of the Body of Christ? If not, the Body of Christ is not working as well as it could. If not, our parish is not doing all that Christ calls it to do.
So, let us not shut the door on our mothers whose only concern is to see us at peace, happy & living a good life; and let us not shut the door on the Holy Spirit who is empowering us to make use of our spiritual gifts which are intended to love & serve the Lord especially in our Parish community, a part of the Body of Christ.
Loneliness and the Presence Ronald Rolheiser in his book The Restless Heart: Finding our Spiritual in Times of Loneliness, wrote: “No person has ever walked our earth and been free from the pains of loneliness. Rich and poor, wise and ignorant, faith-filled and agnostic, healthy and unhealthy have all alike had to face and struggle with its potentially paralyzing grip. It has granted no one immunities. To be [part of being] human is to be lonely.” He goes on saying that today people in the West experience it with greater intensity than ever before. Jesus knows this human reality, of what is to be lonely or alone. He has to give the best answer or solution to it, which is the most reassuring words of Scripture: “Know that I am with you always until the end of time.” It is not just the disciples who felt alone when the Lord left them and Ascended to the Father. Even the busiest of Moms with a house full of children and an attentive husband feels alone in the world. How can anyone understand her fears, her struggles, her upset? Everyone compliments her, but no one realizes how tired she is. She can talk to her mother, but her mother only says it will pass. She might as well talk to the wall. That attentive and dutiful husband likewise feels overwhelmed with his responsibilities to the present and future of his family. He doesn’t want to burden his wife. She doesn’t fully understand his fear. He can try talking to his friends, but they all have quick answers without any solutions to the real problems of life. He also feels so alone. Even the most pious senior who says three rosaries a day and is crowded with his loved ones… feels very alone in the world. How can he tell them that he is afraid to die? How can he tell them that he is afraid to spend the rest of his remaining years at the Nursing Home, doing nothing, seldom be visited by relations & friends, & feeling alone? Mothers, husbands, grandpa’s and grandma’s take comfort with Christ’s, “Know that I am with you always….” For teenagers it is even worse. As they enter into maturity, their first experiences of rejection, of defeat, of questioning all they were taught as children, convince them that no one understands them. Every teenager thinks that he or she is alone. Every teenager is convinced that their experiences have never been felt by anyone else. When the teenager says, “You don’t know what it is like to be in love, Mom and Dad,” he or she is projecting onto the world a feeling that is new to him or her. Although we might chuckle at the statement, the truth is that none of us know the feelings inside the Teen. He or she is truthful in feeling alone. Even our little children, often feel very alone. How many times has the four year old climbed into Mommy and Daddy’s bed because she or he could not bear the feeling of being alone? How many times has the school age child wanted to go with Mom or Dad to the store just to be with him or her to combat the loneliness of life? The pain is greatly felt by orphaned children or children with divorced parents. Teenagers, children, take the words of Jesus & trust Him as your Big Brother who is telling you: “Know that I am with you always until the end of days.” Priests and Religious also feel alone not only sometimes…. When my Military Bishop told me just after my ordination, “Prepare yourself in a few weeks… to take further studies in Rome,” I was shocked. “Why me?” In short, it was a period of dilemmas for me. Shall I leave my country which I love so much & where I have so many friends & people that I like & who likes me? To Italy with a completely different language & culture? Partly, I realized these are questions of fear of being alone or lonely in foreign lands. The answer came to me in the forms of questions also: “Is God not enough for you? If God is not enough for you, then who exactly is the God whom you believe in & in whom you have your confidence & to whom you give your life?” (Anastasios, Orthodox Archbishop of Tirona). With that I put my trust in Christ’s words: “Know that I am with you always…” Jesus knows what it is like to be alone. Jesus, one of us, the one who died deserted by all, felt the loss of his Father’s Presence and cried out, “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?” He experienced the human feeling of loneliness. So it is not just the disciples who felt alone on the mountain of the Ascension. “Know that I am with you always until the end of days.” I don’t think that there are any more reassuring words of Scripture than those. In fact the name he is given in this same Gospel is Emmanuel, God with Us. Jesus is with us. He never leaves us alone. He didn’t ascend into heaven to leave us. He entered into the dimension of the spiritual so we could experience his presence in our spirits, our souls, and bring his presence to the world. (Fr. Joe Pelligrino) So as Jesus commanded His disciples, "Teach them to carry out everything I have commanded you,” we, too, have a mission to go out to preach through our lives, and when we think we are alone, we need to realize that Jesus is closer to us than ever before. “Know that I am with you always….”
Feast of the Lord's Ascension
Readings: Acts 1:1-11; Eph 1:17-23; Mathtt 28:16-20.
IF YOU LOVE ME, OBEY
ONCE a little boy approached his mother and said: "Mama, what are the 10 Commandments?"
"Those are the commands of God to us," the mother replied.
"Mama, you’re higher than God." The mother was startled and asked: "Why?"
"Because He has only 10 commands but you have more commands!" he said.
In the gospel message for this 6th Sunday of Easter, Jesus talks about His commandments. He says to his disciples, "If you love Me, you will obey/keep My commandments."
It is like a mother telling her child, "If you love me, do as I tell you."
Jesus makes it clear that if we really love him we will keep his commandments. He doesn’t make the mistake that many people make, of reducing love to a feeling, to a form of sentiment. There are children, young & old, who claim to love their parents, but they disappoint them and even break their hearts because they refuse to obey the most reasonable demands. They have feeling of affection, but they don’t follow through.
[2 weeks ago one mother approached me and said, ‘please pray for my 16 year old daughter. She is going with her friends who are taking drugs. She doesn’t concentrate on her studies; she stopped going to Mass. I’m trying my best as a mother but she doesn’t listen to me….’]
How much pain is inflicted on parents by disobedient children who refuse to study, who go with the wrong crowd or friends, who disregard religious or moral values or who destroy the parent’s good name? These are forms of disobedience; they are failures to observe the requirements of real love.
When Jesus says we must keep his commandments, he’s not just telling us to observe a bunch of rules and regulations. You can’t reduce the Christian life, or any true religion, to a list of do’s and don’ts.
The Pharisees tried that, and it didn’t work. They ended up with a rigid, stifling religion. But there is a place for rules: the Ten Commandments are a good start. They tell us to worship God, to respect parents, to respect life, to be sexually responsible, and to be truthful and honest.
Sometimes these commandments are hard to obey; they occasionally call for courage, unselfishness, and sacrifice. These are the tests of real love.
But the Commandments are not only demanding; they are also sometimes unclear. “Thou shalt not kill” sounds simple enough, but is it? How does it apply to abortion…to war…to stem cell research…to capital punishment?
These are not always easy questions. Sometimes good people can and do disagree. So Jesus doesn’t leave us orphans trying to figure it out all by ourselves. He sends us the Holy Spirit to guide and help us. He calls him “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept.”
By “the world” he means those people who either don’t believe in God or refuse to pay attention to God. Religion plays no serious part in their lives; they simply try to impose their views on reality. Their favorite word is “choice,” which they think takes care of everything. But exercising one’s freedom of “choice” not enlightened by faith, or not being guided by the Spirit makes oneself or a person above God’s law or commandments.
Such kind of person is like a drunken driver who ignores the traffic signs – "Danger Ahead," "Slow Down," "No Overtaking…Curve Ahead" and so on?
Once we believe that we are above God’s commandments, we become life threatening, whether it be thru abortion, the death penalty for a criminal, the waging of war or the oppression of the weaker ones.
But we are not like that; & we should not be like that; we admit our need, our limitation and we look to the Spirit for guidance as we try to know Christ’s commandments, to keep them, and thus prove our love for him.
Fr. Benjamin Earl, OP, wrote: “…life in the spirit of the Gospel law is firmly based on love for the real person of Jesus & the following of His concrete commandments. If we neglect Jesus or His commandments, we are part of ‘the world’ w/c cannot receive the ‘Spirit of truth.’”
Finally, keeping Jesus’ commandments is not only a test of our real love for him, but we also continue to remain in his love so that his joy will be in us and that our joy will be complete:
He this in John 15:10-11: “If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I kept my Father’s commandments & remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy might be in you & your joy might be complete.”
Fifth Sunday Easter: Acts 6:1-7; 1 Pet 2:4-9; John 14:1-12.
Precious in the Eyes of the Lord
Intro: [Get a dollar bill…show them…how much? If I crumple/crush/trample it… does its value/worth diminish…? Still the value is $20 bill, isn’t it…? That’s how precious we’re to the Lord.]
Though we may be crumpled/crushed by our problems, hardships or old age, or although we may feel so down or so low as the consequence of bad treatments by others who took advantaged of us, reject, discriminate & looked down upon us, or as the result may be of our own stupidity, sinfulness and self-destructive actions, our precious dignity as children of God whom He love so much still and always remains. What does St. Peter says about our dignity in our Second Reading this Sunday….
We are called living cornerstones of the Church, built into a holy priesthood. We are called a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people the Lord claims for his own to proclaim the glorious works of the one who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.
We are precious in the eyes of the Lord. We are invaluable. We are cherished. We are highly esteemed. We are loved. Why? Does God love us so much because of something or other that we have done? Why are we so precious?
Well, why do you, why do we love our children? Why are our children so precious to us? Is it because of what they do? I don't think so. Sure, there are many times that you are proud of your children's accomplishments. But you love them even without their accomplishments. When you first held them as infants you could not believe you had so much love in you. Yet, the baby did not do anything.
Why, then did you love that baby? Why do you love your children? You love them for whom they are, not for what they do. Your child is your love for your spouse, now a unique person loving you back. You see God's love in your child. You see a reflection of God's beauty in your child.
Why does God love us? Why are we so precious to Him? He loves us for whom we are, unique reflections of His love in the world. He loves us because he sees in each of us the love He has for his Son, Jesus. He loves us because each of us carries on the life of Jesus in the world.
Jesus is the rock that has been rejected by the world but has become the cornerstone of the New World. We are the living cornerstones. The Church is the building of the spirit of God. Jesus is the great high priest who was rejected by the status quo and thrown out of the Temple, crucified outside the city.
We are the holy priesthood, people carrying on the priestly presence of the Lord making God present to others and others present to God. Jesus is the Light for the World, the one who dispels the darkness of sin. We are the light of the world – those who are called to bring hope and light to a world living in fear and darkness.
We are precious to God bec