Deal or No Deal? 0 comments
Jesus actually points out important elements of discipleship. Discipleship is not just about following the Commandments because, if memorizing and keeping the Commandments is the basis of being a disciple, then the rich man in the Gospel who has followed all the Commandments would have inherited eternal life.
Discipleship is about renunciation and sharing of goods and gifts with others. The rich man has kept the Commandments but has difficulty giving up his goods and sharing them with the poor.
Jesus defines discipleship as a total identity with the poor and the powerless. Discipleship is being free from material possessions and being willing to share with others with great love. In other words, discipleship is a professed faith manifested in action. But this is not an easy thing to do, especially when wealth and riches are involved.
Wealth is not a bad thing as long as it does not dominate a person and as long as it becomes a means to serve others who are in need. In fact, riches are given to some people to be shared with others because these others are their neighbors. At the end of the day, in the kingdom of God, we are all equal, all are dependent on God for salvation. In other words, it doesn’t make any difference whether one is rich or poor. However, those who have riches have the moral obligation to care for those who have nothing and failure to do this is clearly reflected in the image of the rich man in the Gospel: “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God.”
Jesus does not say that we cannot be wealthy, even the poor can also have the material things for their lives. This would mean that we should know what are the real values and priorities of our life. Wealth or property should not hinder our love for God and neighbor. God must be the first in our lives. The fulfillment of His will should be the first... deal or no deal?
Listening 0 comments
"My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it." (Lk 8:21).
But our tragedy is that we don't listen. Our ears are more at tuned to flatteries and gossips. We shout out what contradicts our plans and ideas. Our ears are closed because our hearts are far from God. We are deaf to the Word of God because it is not appealing and because many times we don't understand it or wish to understand. Yet in our prayers we expect God to listen to us. To know the will of God, it is necessary to listen. St. Paul says —"Faith comes through listening." The Father declares — "This is my Son. Hear Him." Mary is blessed because she is accustomed to keep the Words of God faithfully in her heart. We too can become blessed, be brothers and sisters of Christ by listening. "Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it."
God is writing the story 0 comments
Today’s reading is a genealogy. The strangeness of the names and the people in it should put it well beyond our interest. But in the end it is about Jesus, and that makes it an intimate subject.
It cannot be taken as history; it has an almost mathematical abstraction. There are three sections of fourteen names each. Matthew often uses the number 7, symbolizing completion. So it simplifies down to 3x14 = 3x2x7 = 6x7. Jesus then would be the first name in a seventh group of seven. At least that's someone’s interpretation.
The names have a great deal of shock-value. All ordinary human life is there: murder, treachery, incest, adultery, prostitution…. In the first list of fourteen names there are three women, an unusual feature: Tamar, Rahab and Ruth. Tamar gave birth to twins by her father-in-law; Rahab was a prostitute, and Ruth was a Moabite, a foreigner. In the second list of fourteen, there’s another woman, Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. We know how King David observed her bathing from the roof of his house, and invited her in and seduced her; then he had her husband killed, so that he could marry her. At the end of the third section a fifth woman is mentioned: Mary the mother of Jesus. It is an unedifying litany of names that leads us to Mary and Jesus. This is the world, our world, they entered.
We must also remember that this story is still ongoing, and we are in the midst of it. We are still moving toward the full realization of God’s peace. Like Micah, we do not understand fully how this part of the story will play out, or what the details will look like. Like Joseph, we may find ourselves perplexed and struggle to reach the right choices with imperfect information. But we have great comfort in knowing that God is indeed with us (Emmanuel), and He is writing the story.
[Feast day of the Birthday of Blessed Virgin Mary].
The joy you bring 0 comments
We know the story well. Young Mary, pregnant with Jesus, hastened over the Judean hills and valleys to be with Elizabeth, pregnant in her old age. Mary went quickly. She hurried to go to be someone who needed her. Mary had a good excuse not to go in that journey: her own health and preparations for birth. But she risked the road. She took time. She spent the energy. All of Mary’s life was guided by the Spirit of God. Mary knew Elizabeth needed her, and so he went.
Mary’s assumption, a triumph over death, celebrates a woman who lived her life bringing goodness to others. She is a wonderful model of faith for us.
In our world of hurry and worry, we can legitimately have plenty to do just to care for ourselves and our own business. But there are Elizabeths everywhere who need our visits. What a difference a phone call, a letter, a text message, or a “stopping by” can make to a lonely, ill or aged person. What joy we can bring to children by paying full attention to them. What happiness we offer friends and colleagues when we affirm their successes and celebrations. We need only to look and we easily find an Elizabeth today. May the Joy Mary’s visit brought to Elizabeth be the joy that your presence brings to those whom you take time to “visit” today.
To forgive is to forget? 0 comments
“To forgive is to forget” is not always true and did not come from Jesus. What Jesus said is rather clear: “Forgive seventy times seven.”
Since seven is a perfect number for the Jews, Jesus meant we must forgive each time there is a need for us to forgive. Jesus neither implied nor directly stated that to forgive is to forget.
To forgive is to remember. It is to remember that we hurt others just as others hurt us. [It hurts, you know!]. It is to remember that we need forgiveness from others just as others need our forgiveness. It is to remember that we are forgiven so we may forgive. It is to remember that God forgives us all regardless how grave and frequent our sins. It is to remember that God is Father of us all and that we are all brothers and sisters. It is to remember that not to forgive is not to be forgiven by our Father in heaven. Forgiveness flows from remembering, happens because remembering, becomes grace trough remembering.
When St. Paul wrote, “Love keeps no record of wrong,” he meant that love transcends the wrong done. He implied remembering because how can love transcend what does not exist even in memory? To transcend is not to forget but to transform moments of pain into moment of growth.
When Jesus rose from the dead, He still bore the marks of the wounds our sins inflicted on Him. Even now in heaven, Jesus in His glorified Body, bears the same reminder of our transgressions. His resurrection did not erase the image of His crucifixion. Rather, His resurrection highlighted even more the grace of His cross. It is in the light of the Resurrection that the Crucifixion should be understood and can have meaning in our lives.
Jesus remembers. He does. Ad so He forgives.
Correctio Fraterna 0 comments
Our Gospel today is about fraternal correction. The problem with many of our fraternal correction sessions is that they are not fraternal at all. Quite often, there is little, if any, brotherly in the way we correct one another. Thus, fraternal correction ends up in fraternal destruction, like a demolition project, a collapse of relationships where doors are not only closed but bridges are also burnt.
Fraternal corrections must bear three things.
First, genuine love should be the only motive for correcting the erring. It must be love between brothers; that is why it is defined as “fraternal”. Just as genuine love is its sole motive, its only goal must be authentic love as well. Genuine love means wishing the authentic good of the other.
Second, fraternal correction is not judgment day. It should not be considered as the long awaited day of verdict regarding the character of the one being corrected. Judging the other does not correct; it condemns. Judging does not fix anything; it separates the accuser from the accused. Judging closes the ears, hardens the heart, and, sometimes, even clenches the fist. Avoid judging when correcting. Say how the other’s negative behavior affects you instead. Judging says, “You are a liar!” Fraternal correction says, “When you lie, I am deeply hurt because I trust you and believe in you always.”
Third, every fraternal correction should be a “win-win” situation. We correct not to put the other down. We correct to raise the other up. We correct not to prove that we are certainly right while the other is undoubtedly wrong. We correct to have a better life together. We correct not to triumph over the other. We correct to build up one another. When the fraternal correction is over, every party should feel a winner. Fraternal correction is not for losers.
When we do fraternal correction, let us make sure that we gather in the name of Jesus. When we do so, Jesus promises two things in the Gospel today, our prayers will be granted and Jesus shall be in our midst.
Let us agree on three things: (1.) meet together in the name of the Lord; (2.) pray together for unity; and (3.) where correction is needed do so together as brothers and sisters.
This reflection is open to corrections. Please make it fraternal. Thank you!
[Wednesday 19th week in ordinary time]
The economy of God’s love 0 comments
It was a personal kind of love that Jesus Christ wanted to reach out to us. Just think … if we are that sheep that was lost, what a great joy we would feel, what a special feeling we would have and cherish to realize that the Lord goes through great lengths, great inconveniences just for us – a single individual, but loved by God nevertheless with the same great intensity as with the multitude. We are lucky that our God is a personal God, a personal Father, a Father who does not regard His children by preferences and importance. He regards each of us as important and equally deserving of His love. [Tuesday 19th week in ordinary time].
Martyrdom of St. Lawrence 0 comments
Feast of St. Lawrence
Tomato seeds had to be dried before they were planted. They seem dead. But try to plant fresh tomato seeds. After a few days they may remain untouched and fresh. But a few days later, you can see ants come and eat all the fresh tomato seeds.
The more we keep seed fresh, the more we hinder the harvest. The more we preserve them, the more tomatoes we lose. Unless the seed falls to the earth and dies, it remains a seed; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. We are like tomato seeds. We need to endure trials for us to grow. We need to risk so as to gain. We must die in order to live. St. Francis says that it is “in dying that we are born to eternal life.”
Yet no one wants to die. But as we remember St. Lawrence today, let us learn from his love for the poor. When arrested and tortured by the Roman Prefect to surrender the treasures of the Church, St. Lawrence pointed to the poor, saying, “Here are the treasures of the Church.” Let us also be inspired by his faithfulness. He was martyred for his faith through roasting. But most of all, let us follow his example of joyful sacrifice. While being roasted on a gridiron, St. Lawrence even jested saying, “Kindly turn me over. I am already cooked on this side.”
May we live out our love for the poor. May our love for Jesus be faithful. May our sacrifice love be joyful at all times. By doing so we are martyrs not by dying but by living. For martyrdom is not only about dying. Martyrdom is about living for Jesus, loving Jesus in the poor, and loving Jesus in good times and bad. Dying for Jesus is but a part of that living. Unless we live like Jesus, we cannot die for Him.
Martyrdom is not only the moment when the axe falls on a Christian’s neck. It is not only the moment when wild beasts feast on a Christian’s flesh. It is not only when a Christian is roasted alive. Martyrdom is living like Jesus.
Feed on Jesus, Feed Jesus to others, and Feed with Jesus 0 comments
I think everyone is familiar with the word: Bethlehem. “Bethlehem” is a contraction of two Hebrew words: be(y)th and lechem. Be(y)th is the genitive form of the Hebrew word for house (bayit). Be(y)th therefore means “of the house.” Lechem means "bread". Be(y)th lechem should therefore be “bread of the house”.
Of course, we know that Bethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus who today in the Gospel makes the bold claim that He is the “Bread of Life”, the “Living Bread” from heaven, infinitely better than the manna which our ancestors ate in the desert. Bethlehem is not the house of that Bread. Jesus is the Bread of that house. In such a case, anyone who belongs to the family of that house will never hunger because the Bread that feeds that household is Jesus Himself whose flesh is for the life of the world. May we always belong to that household.
Jesus identified Himself with bread, with food, for three reasons.
We must always feed on Him. By feeding on Him He becomes part of us and we become parts of Him. The more we feed on Jesus the more we become like Jesus. His life becomes our life and we receive divine and eternal life. Hunger for Jesus is the ultimate hunger that leads to real death.
We must always feed Jesus to others. We give what we receive. We receive Jesus and we give Jesus to others. Let Jesus be our gift to others always. He is the answer to the deepest hunger of our brothers and sisters. To feed on Jesus but not feed Jesus to others is spiritual greed that causes spiritual obesity that leads to real death, too.
We must always feed with Jesus. We feed on Jesus, we feed Jesus to others, and we feed like Jesus. And how does Jesus feeds? He gives us Himself. He feeds us with His own flesh. He laid down His life for us. He is the ultimate life-giver. So, to feed like Jesus, is to give ourselves to others.
Every time we are united in the celebration of the Eucharist, we eat this bread. Let us remember that Jesus feed us. And he expects us to feed Him to others and to feed others like Jesus.
In a practical way, what are the effects of eating this bread from heaven? We eat that bread by absorbing into ourselves the spirit, the truth and integrity, the love and compassion, the generosity and peacefulness of Jesus.
And how do we know we have truly eaten this bread? By the kind of people we become, by the ways in which we behave. The Second Reading (from Ephesians) gives a few examples:
not having grudges against others;
not losing our temper and shouting at people;
not calling people names;
not acting spitefully and getting our own back;
being friendly, approachable, kind, forgiving, especially to strangers and outsiders.
Yes, today, let us taste and see and experience how good the Lord is. Let him be the primary food and nourishment of our lives.
(19th Sunday in Ordinary time B)
Transfiguration, an in-between 0 comments
Somebody asked me, "Why is the Transfiguration of the Lord not popular?"
Why the Transfiguration of the Lord is not as popular as crucifixion or resurrection, or the Assumption or Christmas?
My answer is, “Because the Transfiguration is at the middle. It is not the beginning nor the end. It is the middle. Usually in life, we celebrate beginnings and endings. We do not celebrate "in-betweens." For instance, people celebrate weddings, the beginning of a couple's life, but they do not think of the loving every day that follows a wedding. We celebrate ordinations, the beginning of priestly ministry, but we do not see the struggle of everyday service that follows an ordination. We celebrate the victory of athletes but we forget the everyday discipline of training that led to the victory. We celebrate graduations but only in hindsight do we realize the rigor of everyday study, memorization, recitation and comprehension. We celebrate beginnings. We celebrate endings. How do you celebrate the in-between?
Transfiguration is not a beginning. It is not an ending. It is something in between. Transfiguration happened in between Jesus' birth and his death, in between Jesus' baptism and his resurrection, in predicting between his suffering and his actual suffering. Transfiguration happened in the middle of the public ministry of Jesus. It is a mystery that proclaimed Jesus' identity revealed to us in his birth as the Son of God and proclaimed the glory of Jesus' resurrection to be fulfilled in the future when he accomplishes the will of the Father.
Transfiguration is a process, an on-going, an in-progress, a journey. How can you capture a process? How does one hold on to a journey? And this is what Peter tried to do in the story of Transfiguration. By suggesting to build three tents, Peter wanted to capture the moment of Jesus’ glory while in Mount Tabor. He wanted to stay there and bask in the light of a glorious Jesus. He wanted to live there and be intoxicated with the majesty of the Son of God. But this is not the plan of Jesus. He refused Peter's request for they have to go down Mount Tabor and continue the journey, continue the process, continue the on-going realization of the Father's plan. Peter wanted to capture the moment. Jesus led them back to the journey that will lead them to the right moment.
Why the Transfiguration is unpopular? Because it is difficult to grab the mystery of the Transfiguration as it is a mystery of a journey. A journey which is started in order to come to an end. To begin trusting but there is still doubt. To begin serving but there is still sometimes self gratification. To begin to be good but there are still weaknesses, there are still mistakes. Commenced, but not yet complete. That’s the journey of the Transfiguration of the Lord. A process of a transformation. A journey following Christ. A journey that will not be finished until we reach the end of our lives.
Transfiguration is neither a beginning nor an end. It is an in-between. Transfiguration is a journey - a process of conversion, an on-going struggle to be faithful, a holiness in progress. It is an everyday truth where the real battle is won.
When it is right…. 0 comments
But Jesus did not answer her word. Silence.
How do you feel when you are in dire need, you ask somebody else for help and the one you ask just keep silent? Not even a word? What do you feel when you pray and it seems that God just ignore you? He keeps silent. Busy. Or He seems doesn’t care?
When our prayer is not right, God says NO.
When our timing is not right, God says SLOW
When our heart is not right, God says GROW.
When the prayer is right,
when the timing is right,
when the heart is right,
then God says GO.
What God can do with you? 0 comments
St. John Mary Vianney.
His failure to comprehend Latin lectures forced him to discontinue. But his vision of being a priest urged him to seek private tutoring. After a lengthy battle with the books, John was ordained.
Situations calling for “impossible” deeds followed him everywhere. As pastor of the parish at Ars, John encountered people who were indifferent and quite comfortable with their style of living. His vision led him through severe fasts and short nights of sleep.
With Catherine Lassagne and Benedicta Lardet, he established La Providence, a home for girls. Only a man of vision could have such trust that God would provide for the spiritual and material needs of all those who came to make La Providence their home.
His work as a confessor is John Vianney’s most remarkable accomplishment. In the winter months he was to spend 11 to 12 hours daily reconciling people with God. In the summer months this time was increased to 16 hours. Unless a man was dedicated to his vision of a priestly vocation, he could not have endured this giving of self day after day.
Many people look forward to retirement and taking it easy, doing the things they always wanted to do but never had the time. But John Vianney had no thoughts of retirement. As his fame spread, more hours were consumed in serving God’s people. Even the few hours he would allow himself for sleep were disturbed frequently by the devil.
Who, but a man with vision, could keep going with ever-increasing strength? In 1929, Pope Pius XI named him the patron of parish priests worldwide.
Here we have a humble priest, a humble country man, with very limited abilities for book learning, yet very contemplative, open to the Spirit and things supernatural, a real man of God. He was made the parish priest in a God-forgotten little town, where he could do little wrong. And no wrong he did. After a few years everyone knew where the little town of Ars was, and the learned and the great as well as the poor and the little one came to seek his counsel, absolution and help. When his ordination was discussed and one of his professors called him a “complete donkey” and wondered what he could accomplish, he said, “If Samson could defeat and kill a thousand Philistines with a donkey’s jawbone, who knows what the Lord could do with whole donkey like me?”
What God can do with you?
You are the miracle! 0 comments
However, Jesus, from whom we cannot hide anything, addressed the problem by making the disciples address the problem themselves. “There is no need to send them away. Give them something to eat yourselves,” said Jesus (Jesus must be smiling deep inside when He said this). When the problem is so real, the escaping from it becomes an easy option. I might say, “Why should I help others? After all I have my own problems!”
Shame must have covered the hearts, not only the faces, of the disciples as Jesus taught them that the answer to shortage is generosity and that problems are better confronted with childlike trust in Divine Providence rather than brushed aside with the force of human inadequacies.
We are no better than the disciples, are we?
Jesus looks straight to our eyes today as we reflect on His Living Word. He gaze is steady and His voice plain, “Is it true that there is not enough to share or it is more accurate that there is little generosity to show? Are you really aiming to solve the problem with the My help or are you really trying to escape from it with your fears?”
We cannot hide anything from the Lord. Let us be honest with our answers.
Smile, He is opening our hearts for another miracle!
You are that miracle!
Zero Revenge 0 comments
You have heard that it was said, `You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven (Mt 5:43-45).
Someone once interpreted the teaching of Jesus in this way: destroy your enemies - by turning them into friends! It is the only really effective method. If we try by other means, we will be in trouble with the law! And even if we were to get away with it, we would not escape the real damage we do to ourselves. Violence feeds on itself, it leads to more violence; and that in turn leads to still more. To talk about love is not to be so idealist; it is to be very realistic and practical. Without love, human life would be a nightmare. The love that Jesus spoke of is able to break the cycle of violence. It introduces a new element that makes everything possible.
Someone said that the ancient Romans lacked zero, and so they never developed mathematics. Zero frees up the whole system, makes all the other digits mobile, and makes mathematics possible. Without it, numbers are like traffic that is gridlocked: nothing moves. Love is like that. It is the zero response to hatred; it frees us from the depressing cycles of violence.
Treating others not as they deserve but as God wishes them to be treated - with loving-kindness and mercy - makes Christians different and distinct from others. God is good to the unjust as well as the just. His love embraces saint and sinner alike. God seeks our highest good and teaches us to seek the greatest good of others, even those who hate and abuse us. Our love for others, even those who are ungrateful and selfish towards us, must be marked by the same kindness and mercy which God has shown to us.
Proclaim: The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand! 0 comments
These words may not ring a bell in us today, but they did for the disciples. Simple and practical folks that they were, they knew of only one "Kingdom" - the earthly kingdom they were living in, the kingdom called the Roman empire with its many vassal kings, a kingdom secured by war and violence, a kingdom whose language is might and power and wealth, a kingdom whose culture is materialistic, sensual, and carnal. For them, Jesus could have sounded radical and revolutionary, indeed. He was shouting for the coming of another Kingdom, and the overthrow of the kingdom they knew of.
Jesus was then telling the disciples: "You are acquainted with the lifestyle of this earthly kingdom. You are to be the advocates of an alternative lifestyle, a new world view where God and spirit should be supreme." How do these words of Jesus challenge us now?
We can learn from our Saint Today: Barnabas. Barnabas has been seen to be a good man who encourages those with him “to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart.” Barnabas is one of those in our communities who is an “Encourager” for good, a “Catalyst” for being faithful to the Lord and working for justice in our communities.
Today we need to take time to look around us – in our communities, workplace, nation – and recognize those who are sometimes “hidden” but do God’s work daily to give dignity to all persons and to bring about justice in our lives.
Are you one of them? As you go, make this proclamation: The Kingdom of God is at hand!
A Friend or A Slave? 0 comments
Is he contradicting himself? Not at all! Friends serve because they care. Slaves serve because of duty and the fear of punishment. Jesus said, "If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love."
Do we hear this as a friend or a slave? Slaves are afraid of what will happen if they fail to keep God's commandments; they are self-protective. Friends are eager to find out what God commands, because they view the commandments from the perspective of love, as opportunities to serve; they are other-oriented.
Jesus said, "This is my commandment: Love one another the way I love you." It's the supreme commandment; call it the Commandment of Friendship. He says, "You know how I love you, my friends: I openly share with you everything that the Father tells me." His friends realize that what he shares (through scripture and through the Church) reveals the opportunities to love that we seek. Every commandment is rooted in love. Every Church teaching is based on love.
When we fail to obey, do we lose God's love? Never! Do we lose our place in his love? Yes. By living outside of his commandments, we feel unloved even while being loved.
This is slavery. We're enslaved by fear or by false beliefs or by our wounds that have caused us to think that we're not loved enough. God's commands then feel confining, and if we try to escape, we commit rebellion. Those who don't rebel accept their slavery and obey dutifully in the hope of winning God's love. Friends, on the other hand, know that God always loves them, and in this love, they are free to serve one another joyfully.
Are you obeying God like a slave or as a best friend?
[6th Sunday of Easter]
Shalom 0 comments
The Jews say, “Shalom!” – which means - “Peace!” This fine greeting too can become superficial unless we see some depth of God in it. It was not just a vague wish for the other person, “Don’t worry, be happy!” It was a prayer for full harmony with God – for salvation. If you read Numbers 6:22-26 you will find the original text in which Jews were told to greet and bless one another with ‘Peace’: “Thus you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to them, ‘The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace” (Numbers 6:22-26). This is a wonderful blessing, worth learning by heart, and using bravely on special occasions, instead of “Good luck!” It is a prayer for “the peace that the world cannot give.”
World peace begins in each heart. It has certain prerequisites:
A still and quiet conscience arising from the knowledge that one has been true to self and to God.
Working for justice, therefore one knows that all are given what is due to them as human beings.
Seeking God’s will, hence one has no fear about the future, and about eternity.
Love, therefore one can forego and transcend even the most unpleasant realities.
Not just being a peace-lover, but being a peacemaker, and a peace-giver, therefore one lives out what is celebrated in the Eucharist where we great each other “Peace be with you.”
Recognizing God’s presence in each person.
[Tuesday 5th week of Easter]
May Day 0 comments
Today is known as May Day. There has been already traditional celebration of May Day since pre-Christian time, which celebrates May Day as the end of uncomfortable winter. But May 1, is also known as International Labor Day. It was instituted in 1889. It celebrates the social and economic achievements of the international labor movement.
In 1955, Pope Pius XII established the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker to coincide with the International Labor Day. This gesture shows how the Church also values the basic rights of workers. In the Gospel we can see how, even during the time of Jesus and His Legal Father Joseph, there was the tendency to belittle manual labor. Initially impressed by Jesus’ eloquent and authoritative teaching the people later remarked: “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is he not the carpenter’s son?”
While the Communists define the value of labor in terms of political and economic considerations, the Church invites us to appreciate labor and work in terms of the following values:
VOCATION: Through labor and work, we give meaning to our existence. We realize that we are not just here to waste time and to occupy space. We have a unique role to play; we have contributions to make in the world.
SERVICE: Through our labor and work, we employ our talents and abilities not only to make a living, but to meet the need of others.
Nowadays, many people work in order to have better living. Ironically, many who work so hard but still complaining, “Ah..mahirap ang buhay.” And many people who enjoy luxury lives upon the suffering of others. I think we need to live these three values: SSS. Stewardship, Simplicity, and sharing.
Stewardship: an awareness that we do not own what we have. Our God is the Creator and he is the owner of everything. We, co-creators, are only given the responsibilities to develop, maintain, manage, it. We need to respect and accountable to our belongings and the world.
Stewardship will lead us to Simplicity. The awareness that everything we have do not belong to us and we are only the stewards of the Creator, will make us simple, because we will not focus on ourselves but God and others. We will not work hard only for the sake of ourselves. And lastly, simplicity will lead us to sharing. The simpler our life, the more we share with others. Sharing is the heart of Christianity: life given to others. Our world today really needs this spirit. Can we begin? I hope so.
Food gathers 0 comments
With His rising to new life, Jesus makes perfect the universality of His Gospel. He does not only pass beyond doors and walls: his words are now meant for all. The disciples will later be tasked by the Risen Lord to “go into the whole world.” Our first reading (Acts 8:1-8) attests to how Philip – in the power of the Lord Jesus’ Resurrection – went to Samaria and proclaimed with good results the Lordship of Jesus. In contrast, Saul – who was the apostle Paul then in his old life in Judaism – felt that God’s benevolence was only meant for Jews. He therefore was going to house to house, dragging Christians whom he thought were corrupting the old tradition of Moses.
In the Eucharist of our time, Jesus rejects no one. He makes himself available for all, for all times. It reminds us what Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you…” (Mt 11:28). Our participation in the Eucharist of the Risen Jesus should then open us to follow the example of Jesus. Food unites; food gathers people to a celebration. The Eucharistic Jesus then gathers us in communion – with God, and with each other. The Bread of Life that is Jesus should empower us to gather, to celebrate amidst our differences.
Satisfaction forever 0 comments
Having been satisfied once, the people long to be satisfied forever. Logic told them that to enjoy a steady supply of food; they should have their hands on the supplier himself. God is the Unsupplied Supplier of all good things – satisfying food and whatnot.
Jesus taught His listeners today not only that God is the source of the kind of satisfaction they yearn for but also that He Himself, the Son of God, is the very satisfaction of all their yearnings. Manna tastes less satisfying than Jesus Himself who is the Bread of Life.
In life, there is a hierarchy of values. We must learn to rank every need correctly. Our need for Jesus infinitely outranks all our other needs. In fact, our longing for Jesus guides every effort we exercise to satisfy any need we have in life. All satisfaction we work for should actually lead us to our ultimate satisfaction: fullness of life in and through Jesus.
Jesus is the Bread of Life. We are not truly satisfied until we taste Him. And when we have tasted Him all else is junk food. “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ,” (Phil 3:7-9).
Different kinds of hunger 0 comments
Just ask yourself; what do I most hunger for: health, money, love, truth, prestige, a promotion? The list can be longer and longer. Jesus discussed this issue with those who sought Him after He had multiplied the five barley loaves and so fed a huge crowd. When they rushed around the lake to catch up with Jesus, were they simply hungry again? Were they hungry for things which satisfy the body or for that which satisfies the heart and soul? Jesus then faces the crowd and when He began to speak to them, He echoes a question posed by the prophet Isaiah, “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?”
There are two kinds of hunger: physical and spiritual hunger. The physical hunger we can satisfy; we can and even should also satisfy the physical hunger of those who have not enough to eat. But only God can satisfy the spiritual hunger – the hunger for truth, for life and for love; the hunger for justice, for goodness and for holiness.
Jesus also spoke about the works of God and what we must do to be doing the works of God. His answer sounds very simple: we do the works of God when we believe in God’s Son whom He – out of love – has sent into the world to save the world. Here Jesus offers a new relationship with God who issues in a new kind of life: a life of love and service; a life of forgiveness of others which corresponds to God’s mercy and kindness; a life of holiness and purity which corresponds to God’s holiness; a life of submission and trust which corresponds to the wisdom of God. This is the work which Jesus directs us to do and enables us to perform in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Taken, blessed, broken, shared 0 comments
It comes as no surprise that meal sharing marks the appearances of the risen Lord. In his public ministry, Jesus is known for his table fellowship. He often describes the kingdom of God as a wedding banquet. He works his first sign, in John, at a wedding in Cana, turning water into wine and saving the newly married couple from embarrassment. He multiplies bread and fish to feed thousands of people. He accepts dinner invitations from Pharisees. He shares meals with friends and disciples. He eats with outcasts and sinners. His enemies call Jesus a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.
This characteristic becomes a distinguishing mark of the risen Jesus as well. At Emmaus the two disciples recognize the stranger to be Jesus when at table he takes bread, says the blessing, breaks it, and gives it to them. On the shore of Tiberias, when Jesus invites the disciples to have breakfast, they realize it is the Lord.
In today’s Gospel, the disciples remain doubtful even after the risen Jesus shows them his hands and his feet, so he asks for something to eat. Jesus then opens their minds to understand what the Scriptures say about his suffering, death, and resurrection. He declares them as his witnesses who will call people to repent and accept God’s forgiveness.
At the Eucharistic celebration, as friends of Jesus we gather around the Lord’s Table. We share the meal where we clearly experience the presence of the risen Lord who draws us together as community and brings us closer to God. The risen Jesus nourishes us with the words of Scripture and with his body and blood. We are fed to overflowing; our eyes are opened and we begin to understand how we are sent to call people to repent and accept God’s forgiveness.
The Eucharist is a foretaste for us of the ultimate messianic banquet in heaven. Until then, as Body of Christ, we witness to the Lord’s presence by proclaiming the word and sharing the meal. We are to be the body of Christ broken for the world, responding to the varied hungers and thirsts of the human race.
In an Easter sermon, St. Augustine puts the Christian challenge this way: “You are the body of Christ. In you and through you the work of the incarnation must go forward. You are to be taken; you are to blessed, broken, and distributed; that you may be the means of grace and the vehicles of the eternal (love).” Like the apostles we are also called: you are witnesses of these things!
Our Mark 0 comments
The first reading today tells us that Mark was like a son to the Apostle Peter. He was Peter’s loyal aide and Paul’s reconciled friend.
We also know that Mark wrote the shortest, oldest, and bluntest of the Gospels. He wrote the Gospel for Christians who were restless over the delay of the second coming of the Lord and were frightened by the strong and violent persecution waged against them. If you cut the Gospel written by Mark, you will discover that its very center is the verse where Jesus says, “If a man wishes to come after me, he must deny his very self, take up his cross and follow me.” Discipleship and the cross from the heart of Mark’s Gospel. Discipleship is his response to the Lord. The cross is his Good News to the world.
I wonder, after hundreds of years from now, if someone accidentally comes across anything that would identify us, what would that be? How would we be known to generations we will never know? Would they also say, “We know very little this person, but we know what he did for the Lord and what the Lord does for us now because of him.” This we now say about Mark. Could they say the same about us even long after we are gone?
It depends of what mark we leave behind.
Transcend the ordinary 0 comments
Now we shift to the story about Jesus multiplying bread, and Jesus eventually referring himself as the real Bread of life. Through these Gospel readings, we are made aware how the Sacrament of the Eucharist is our special connection with the presence of the Risen Jesus.
We become what we eat, so said St. Augustine. The Eucharist of the Risen Jesus leads us to a way of seeing things:
The Eucharist leads us to transcendence. Philip surveyed the crowd that followed Jesus and he said, “Two hundred day’s wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.” Andrew added, “There is a boy here with five barley loaves and two fish; what good are these for so many?” Jesus defied these materialistic and merely physical ways of analyzing the reality.
The Eucharist teachers us to see divine grace in the ordinary. The miracle started with details that are ordinary: a boy, an insignificant boy, barley loaves that were bread of the poor. Grace started our from these, as did Jesus’ earthly ministry which unfolded in a cave for animals in Bethlehem (not Jerusalem).
The Eucharist challenges us to fellowship. Jesus passed on the bread and fish. Many commentators maintain that this action of Jesus could have triggered a chain. Everyone started to pass on what he or she had! For some Bible scholars, this sharing of each to the other was what really multiplied the bread for all. We too, are the bread which are broken and shared that others may have life.
Enthusiasm 0 comments
The glory of the Resurrection is then an invitation for us to shine also with all the love and goodness that God has poured into our humble being. This is what being “enthusiastic” means. Enthusiasm comes from the Greek expression en (in) + theos (God). The true enthusiasm bursts forth with all the goodness and glory of God.
How dead serious… 0 comments
However, we have to claim for ourselves the plan of God. We have to correspond to his desire by also confessing our lives to him. One saint said, “The God who created you without you, cannot save you without you!” This much, too, God loves us – he respects our human freedom!
In the First reading, God sent his angel to free the apostles from the public jail. The apostles then used their God-given freedom to teach the people about the Risen Jesus.
How dead serious are we about our spiritual life and our relationship with the Lord? Are we also investing in the way God invested for our salvation?
How are we using our freedom?
Beyond my ego limits 0 comments
What “ego limits” do I have to transcend as Christians living and witnessing to the Risen Lord?
Born-Again? 0 comments
The reading for today, especially from the Gospel of John gives a good insight on my birthday. It talks also about ‘birth’. In his discussion with Nicodemus, Jesus corrected Nicodemus’ misunderstanding on the remark about birth. Nicodemus understood the remark about birth on the earthly, physical level but Jesus was speaking of greater realities and what He would call true birth and true life – God’s own life given by God. Jesus speaks about a spiritual rebirth, a “birth from above,” birth by “water and the Spirit” – by baptism.
Birth is a beginning. After nine months of growing in the mother’s womb, the child begins now to grow visible to all. Parents and relatives observe this growth with delight. What about my spiritual growth after I have been “born from above” in baptism? Is this spiritual growth visible to others and helps them to grow spiritually too? Let the Holy Spirit, whom we have received when we were “born from above” assist us in our spiritual growth.
Trusting in Christ’s Divine Mercy 0 comments
Jesus himself had instructed Sr. Faustina to have the sentence “JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU” written at the bottom of that painting. This sentence expresses the response of humble faith on the part of the sinner to the endless mercy with which God views mankind and constantly brings about the salvation of the world.
This is the mercy that brought God’s Son to become a human being and to give his life on the cross for all sinners. This is also the same mercy that led the Risen Christ to go in search of his disciples the very day he rose from death, to reassure them of his forgiving love. No revenge for having been deserted by them right when he needed their allegiance most, but only the gifts of his peace and comforting presence. No bitterness against the doubting Thomas who persisted in rejecting the witness of his companions, but only patient understanding for his weakness, and a tender desire to arouse in him faith in the Resurrection.
“My Lord and my God!” exclaimed the bewildered apostle as he felt himself overwhelmed by the love of the Man-God who had only words of mercy and forgiveness for him.
“Jesus, remember me when you enter into your reign!” had been the earnest plea of the man being executed with him on Calvary as he viewed his life as a total failure and Jesus’ mercy as his only hope. And he was not disappointed.
“Jesus, have mercy on me. I trust in you!” is the expression of complete self-surrender which all of us should address to our Savior as we realize our unworthiness and our need to be forgiven. What can save us from the devastating consequences of our sins is only God’s merciful love.
And this is what we implore, in all humility and confidence, not only on this Second Sunday of Easter, but throughout our lives, until our last moments. Like the repentant thief dying on a cross, side by side with the Innocent Victim, we place all our trust in Jesus, the King of Divine Mercy.
At the same time, we are called to live out the Divine Mercy. How? We have to begin with the truth that the identity of Christians is rooted in Christ’s obedience to the Father in His suffering, death and resurrection. And therefore, we should be in the process of imitating Christ in obedience to the Father. The second reading tells us that we who believe should love God and keep his commandments (1 John 5, 1-6). The concrete example to emulate is in the first reading: the community of believers in Acts tells us that they were one in heart and mind, as they bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus by holding all possessions in common and thus no needy person was among them. If we are to live out Divine Mercy, it is therefore inevitable that we have to work for justice: we have to make sure that our novenas and devotions to the Divine Mercy will be translated into food on the table. [*Second Easter Sunday*]
Face Jerusalem 0 comments
The two disciples in the gospel turned their backs on Jerusalem to face Emmaus, an unknown place, not even marked in the ancient maps of Israel. Jerusalem signified their crisis; Emmaus, their hopelessness. It was in Jerusalem where they saw the promised Messiah arrested, tortured, murdered. Even after having been buried, Jesus seemed to be not left in peace because His body was nowhere to be found. They had left everything to follow Jesus, even perhaps against the advice of their loved ones, but everything seemed to have ended in humiliating defeat. What would their loved ones say? What future beckoned them? Was there a tomorrow?
So the only recourse was Emmaus. Emmaus was more than a place.
It was a situation wherein the two disciples unwittingly wanted to confine themselves – a situation of hopelessness and misery, endless regrets, of not being able to move on because today’s depression blurred the reality of tomorrow’s consolation. The two could not see beyond that day. They failed to recognize Jesus. They were focused on their misery and regrets and not on the ways of the Lord.
We know the journey that these two disciples made. We have made it several times. Their story is our story. Their journey is ours, too.
But as in their case, Jesus walks with us and waits for us to recognize Him. If only we would stop and listen to Him, invite Him and break bread with Him, we, too, would turn our backs on Emmaus and face our Jerusalem. Like these two disciples we would feel that just when the world seems to be so cold to us, our hearts are actually burning.
Remember: Just as it was in Jerusalem where Jesus died, so it was in Jerusalem that Jesus rose to life again
Mary Magdalene, the first missionary 0 comments
The Lord gently made her aware that, after His resurrection, many things had changed. He entered a new mode of existence and His disciples had to learn to see Him beyond His physical appearance. If He could not be seen physically, touched by hands, He would present under signs and symbols. He was present not just for one person or a limited group of persons, but for the whole world.
The lovely encounter between the Risen Lord and Mary teaches also that whoever really loves the Lord must be ready to be sent by the Risen Lord to share the experience of having “seen” Him. We do not see Him physically. We see Him in faith. We see Him in the Church. We see him in people who are deeply touched by Him and make Him visible.
Every baptized person is supposed to be a missionary. It begins the parents who share their faith with their children and lead them to a future personal encounter with Christ in faith. A family that prays together and lives with Christ as spiritual center becomes missionary to the neighbors and relatives. So does a healthy Christian community that reaches out in love and so proclaims that Jesus is alive. A Christian who refuses to take part in corruption and cheating on the job but lives honestly and upholds Christian values “preaches”, without words, that Christ lives. But first we have to allow ourselves to experience Christ in our own lives and cease claiming Him for ourselves only.
Easter – Deal or no deal 0 comments
Today’s Gospel reflects a well-known reality: whoever encounters Christ cannot remain neutral. He is, as Simeon predicted, “a sign of contradiction.” Even after His death and resurrection Jesus continued to draw contrasting reactions to his persons. There were those who were overjoyed to encounter him and ready to bring the good news of his resurrection to others, and those who refused to believe in spite of the strong evidence; they twisted the truth with a ridiculous alibi.
The story did not end where today’s Gospel ends. Even today, there are countless faithful all over the world who accept Jesus and believe in His resurrection. But there is also an increasing number even of Christians, who do not believe in the resurrection anymore. They had not been there record the event. Actually nobody had witnessed the event, they say. For their scientific mind it is nothing but a fairy tale for children.
Yes, encountering Christ nobody can remain neutral. We have to make a clear decision – for Christ or against Him; deal or no deal! And those who try to play safe by taking no clear position are hit by the words of the Risen Lord, “I wish that you were either hot or cold. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth” (Rev 3:16).
What does it mean to make a decision for Christ, based on faith in his resurrection? It means that we must become transformed, changed people, like the apostles. We remember St. Paul who persecuted the Church. After his encounter with the risen Lord near Damascus he became the most courageous witness of Christ. Our decision for Christ should make us such witnesses, unafraid of what others might say. Not an easy task. Yes, in this world it is so hard to live the Resurrection spirituality since the triumph of good seems to be short-lived, always interrupted, it seems, by the works of evil. Precisely, this is the reason why we also keep celebrating Easter year after year. With the Easter memory renewed in us each year, may we never succumb to evil, pessimism, and negativity
Easter – Love Changes 0 comments
The four Gospels present different stories about that first Easter morning. They vary in details but all agree on the essential points: that the tomb was empty and that Jesus’ disciples have seen the Lord. We rely on this testimony of the first disciples. Resurrection, therefore, is a matter of faith. Without faith, we would say, the bones are rotten, it’s over; or: the body was stolen, as the enemies of Jesus did. Only in faith and trusting the witness of the disciples can the empty tomb lead us to confessing that Jesus is truly risen and alive among us.
The resurrection of Jesus changed the lives of the first disciples. Does it change ours, too? If not, what might be missing?
Love played a great role in those hours after the resurrection. Mary Magdalene, we read, loves Jesus so much that she cannot sleep but runs to the tomb as early as possible. Then it is the disciple whom Jesus loved who saw the empty tomb and believed. Love gives eyes to read the signs and a mind to understand. Later, Jesus would confront Peter and ask him three times, “Do you love me?” Love is the great interpreter. Love grasps the truth when the intellect gropes in the uncertain. The more we love the Lord, the more we will be able to experience the transforming power of His risen presence in our lives and in the world. With deep love for Christ, our life changes. Like the first disciples, we will experience resurrection in our lives, too. For Christ makes everything new.
Saturday of Glory 0 comments
The proclamation of the Bible for the Easter Vigil recall to us the saving and victorious acts of God: the creation of the world and of man, the abundant blessing of descendants for the old and long time childless Abraham, the liberation of Israel from the slavery of Egypt, the restoration of Israel. In the light of all these, the Resurrection of Jesus is presented as the climax of the proclamation that God indeed is “not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
This day is then best kept as time to renew our faith and hope in God’s gift of renewal and restoration.
He Chose the Nails 0 comments
Let me share with you the following reflection from the book HE CHOSE THE NAILS, by MAX LUCADO. It is my hope and prayer that his insights may help deepen our appreciation and understanding of Christ’s passion and death.
GOD’S PROMISE IN THE NAILS
Come to the hill of Calvary. Watch the soldiers shove the carpenter to the ground and stretch his arms against the beams. One pressed a knee against a forearm and a spike against a hand. Jesus turns His face toward the nail just as the soldier lifts the hammer to strike it. Couldn’t Jesus have stopped him? With a flex of the biceps, with a clench of fist, He could have resisted. Is this not the hand that stilled the sea? Cleansed the temple? summoned the dead? But the fist does not clench… And the moment is not aborted. The mallet rings and the skin rips and blood begins to drip then rush. Why didn’t Jesus resist? Because Jesus loved us, we reply. But there could be something more.
Jesus saw something that made Him stay. As the soldier pressed His arm, Jesus rolled His head to the side, and with the cheek resting on the wood He saw: a mallet, yes. A nail, yes. The soldier’s hand, yes. But He saw something else. HE SAW THE HAND OF GOD. It appeared to be the hand of a man. Long fingers of a woodworker. Callous palms of a carpenter. It appeared common. It was, however, anything but:
- These fingers formed Adam out of clay and furrowed truth into the tablets.
- With a wave, this hand toppled Babel’s tower and split the Red Sea.
- From His hand flew the locusts that plagued Egypt and the raven that fed Elijah.
THE HAND OF GOD IS A MIGHTY HAND
- Hands of incarnation at His birth.
- Hands of liberation as He healed.
- Hands of inspiration as He taught.
- Hands of dedication as He served.
- And hands of salvation as He died.
Through the eyes of the scripture, we see what others missed: what Jesus saw. He cancelled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross (Col 2:14). Between His hand and the wood, there was a long list of our mistakes, our sins. He saw the list. And since we cannot bear the thought of eternity without you, Jesus chose the nails.
- The same hand that stilled the sea stills your guilt.
- The same hand that cleansed the Temple cleanses your heart.
- The hand is the hand of God.
- The nail is the nail of God. And as the hands of Jesus opened for the nail, the doors of heaven opened for you.
GOD’S PROMISE IN THE GARMENT
Scripture often describes our behavior as the clothes we wear. garment can symbolize character, and like His garment, Jesus’ character was seamless. Coordinated. Unified. He was like His robe: uninterrupted perfection. Woven… from top. Jesus was not led by his own mind; He was led by the mind of His Father (Jn 5:19-30). The character of Jesus was a seamless fabric from heaven to earth… from Father’s thoughts to Jesus’ actions. From Father’s tears to Jesus’ compassion. From the Father’s words to Jesus’ response. All one piece. All picture of the character of Jesus. BUT WHEN JESUS WAS NAILED TO THE CROSS, HE TOOK OFF HIS ROBE OF SEAMLESS PERFECTION AND ASSUMED A DIFFERENT WARDROBE, THE WARDROBE OF INDIGNITY.
- The indignity of nakedness. Stripped before his own mother and loved ones. Shamed before his family.
- The indignity of failure. For a few pain-filled hours, the religious leaders were victors, and Christ appeared the loser. Shamed before his accusers.
- Worst of all he wore the indignity of sin. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.
The clothing of Jesus on the cross: sin of all humanity.
Every aspect of the crucifixion was intended not only to hurt the victim but also to shame him. Death on the cross was usually reserved for the vilest offenders: slaves, murderers, assassins and the like. The condemned person was marched through the city streets, shouldering his crossbar and wearing a placard about his neck that named his crime. At the execution site, He was stripped and mocked. While on the cross, Jesus felt the indignity and disgrace of a criminal.
Though we come to the cross dressed in sin, we leave dressed in Christ Himself: It was not enough for Him to prepare you a feast. It was not enough for Him to reserve you a seat. It was not enough for Him to cover the cost and provide the transportation to the banquet. He did something more. He let you wear His own clothes so that you would be properly dressed. He did that for you.
I WILL LET YOU CHOOSE
God gives eternal choices with eternal consequences. Isn’t this the reminder of the Calvary trio? Ever wondered why there were two crosses next to Christ? Why not six or ten? ever wondered why Christ in the center? Could it be that the two crosses on the hill symbolize one of God’s greatest gift? The gift of choice. The two criminals have so much in common. Convicted by the same system. Condemned by the same death. Surrounded by the same crowd. Equally close to the same Jesus. In fact they begin the same sarcasm. But one changed (Lk 23:39-43).
Much has been said about the prayer of the penitent thief, and it certainly warrant our admiration. But while we rejoice at the thief who changed, dare we forget the one who didn’t? What about him? Wouldn’t a personal invitation be appropriate for him? Wouldn’t a word of persuasion be timely? The sheep was lost innocently. The coin was lost irresponsibly. But the prodigal son left intentionally. The Father gave him the choice. Jesus gave both criminals the same.
There are times when God sends thunder to stir us. There are times when God send blessings to lure us. But there are times when God sends nothing but silence as He honors us with the freedom to choose where we spend eternity. You did not choose your gender, siblings, race, or place of birth. But the scales of life were forever tipped on the side of fairness when of planted a tree in the Garden of Eden. Any injustice in this life is offset by the honor of choosing our destiny in the next. Think about the thief who repented. However, we know a little about him. He is enjoying the fruit of the one good choice he made. When one prayed, Jesus loved him enough to save him. And when the other mocked, Jesus loved him enough to let him. He allowed him the choice. He does the same for you.
Transubstantiation 0 comments
Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle of Imus, Cavite, Philippines once preached that there were actually three transformation that happened in the first Holy Thursday:
From object to gift. Bread and wine were objects - things to be used, inanimate. But Jesus blessed these, and they became gifts - living and life-giving - for they are now Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus himself.From Master to servant. This was the pedagogy of the foot-washing that Jesus made: He is Master, but He is now master who serves the rest. His greatest service will be the laying down of his life.
From mine to yours. Jesus' life was His, now it is shed for all.
May our celebration of another Holy Thursday lead us to live the spirituality of "transubstantiation." May we see others and everything around us as "gifts." May we see ourselves as servants for others. May we always see our lives as not ours, but lives made meaningful by our outpouring to others.
