7th Day of Simbang Gabi 2011

December 22, 2011

And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm, he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, he has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity for ever." And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home.

Today we have heard from our Gospel that Mary sang her Magnificat. Magnificat means to magnify, to make God bigger in one's life. One would realize how big God is only when he/she has recognized how God works in his/her life. No matter how difficult it is to understand how life has been, yet one could feel the invisible hands of God giving meaning into his/her life. This was the experience of Mary. She did not know why God chose her to be the mother of Jesus. She never even aspired that such privilege of motherhood be given to her. But this act of God made her happy and she glorified the Lord. 

My dear friends, sometimes we miss to understand how God works in our lives. We forget that God's ways are different from man's ways. We want things to go the way we plan them out and sometimes we become frustrated when our plan is not working. In times of distress, we question if God really cares about us. We think our frustration is bigger than God that we try to live on our own. Little do we know that if we only see the whole picture of our life, God is doing great things for us.

Let me end with a story.

A young man was getting ready to graduate college. For 
     many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's 
     showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told 
him that was all he wanted. 

     As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited 
     signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the 
morning  of his graduation his father called him into his private 
  study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine 
son, and  told him how much he loved him. He handed his son 
a beautiful   wrapped gift box. 

     Curious, but somewhat disappointed the young man 
     opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible. Angrily, 
he raised his voice at his father and said, "With all your money you 
give  me  a Bible?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy 
book. 

     Many years passed and the young man was very successful in 
business. 
     He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his 
     father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He 
had   not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make 
     arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had 
     passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He 
needed   to come home immediately and take care things. 
When he arrived at  his father's house, sudden sadness and 
regret filled his heart. 

     He began to search his father's important papers and 
     saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With 
tears,  he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he 
read those   words, a car key dropped from an envelope 
taped behind the Bible. 
It  had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the 
sports  car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, 
     and the words...PAID IN FULL. 

6th Day of Simbang Gabi 2011

December 21, 2011

In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah,  and she entered the house of Zechari'ah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.  And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord."

It was month of July, when a man proposed marriage to a woman but the parents of the latter did not like him. They said he had many vices -smoking, drinking, gambling and womanizing. The man told her parents that he was willing to change himself. First, he was given a month to quit smoking. In August, he did quit. Then he was given another month to stop drinking liquor. In September, he also did stop. This was a good news for the woman and her parents. The woman began to love him more. Then the man was given again another month to avoid gambling and it was in October that he did avoid it. This was another good news for the woman. The only vice he left was womanizing. So the woman's parents gave him a month to prove his love by refraining from wooing other women. Finally, November came and he also did refrain. When he now asked the woman to accept him as her husband, the woman asked him to visit the church and pray from December 1 to December 25 and on Christmas day she would gladly accept him as her husband. So this news spread all over the town. The man indeed went to the church early in the morning, attended the mass and prayed privately. He was almost in the church the whole day. Now December 25 came and people who knew about the matter where standing outside the church while the man was still praying inside it. The woman and her parents arrived and waited for the man to finish his prayers outside the church. Everybody was excited. Then the man went out of the church and approached the woman. Everybody became silent as they waited to hear his proposal to the woman. The man finally said to the woman, "Sorry, I can't marry you. I now want to become a priest."

My dear friends, today we are reminded that Christmas is about good news. News is good only when we can appreciate God in every information that we get. If we can't find God in any report of events, it is not good news.

Look at what happened in CDO City and Iligan City. It was a bad news that many died because of the flood. If we look at the pictures and videos taken from those places, some would ask if God really exists and why God allowed bad things to happen during this supposedly joyful season. It is a bad news because it seems we can't find God. But as the days went by, we learn that many people try to help those victims by donating cash or kinds. There are many good things that other people do for the victims to help them cope with their situations. In every good thing being reported, we can find that it is the love of God that impels more people to help the victims of calamity. Because of the goodness of some people, we find God working through them. This is good news.

In our gospel, Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth. Mary in her visit to Elizabeth  was carrying the good news. The good news she was carrying is Jesus -the image of the invisible God. Mary was announcing that God is with us! Nothing can separate us from God now that he is with us. Nothing can stop our celebration of Christmas. This made Elizabeth happy. There was happiness in her as she found God working through and in Mary the bearer of good news.

Today, we are giving gifts not to make a good impression that we are generous. Rather, by giving gifts, people will find God in our words and works. What is the use of the gifts if we also keep an ill-feeling against the one who receives the gift. Today, we invite people to eat and drink with us to share our blessings from God. What is the use of inviting one to dine with us if he can't find God because he knows we criticize him. In everything we do, may people find God. Let us reflect on this and more.

5th Day of Simbang Gabi 2011

December 20, 2011

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, "Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end." And Mary said to the angel, "How shall this be, since I have no husband?" And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible." And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Today, we are reminded of the beauty of visiting someone. Visiting itself is of great value for both the visitor and the one visited. On the part of the visitor, he/she exerted some effort just to do the visit. On the part of the one visited, it is flattering to be given importance. Now, in our Gospel, it reveals to us that there is a greater value or the greatest value in visiting. This happens when Jesus is brought by the visitor to the home of the one who is visited, and the latter also welcomes his/her visitor as he/she welcomes Jesus. During this season, we have to understand that our caroling is a form of visiting homes. Choristers sing Christmas carols to bring Jesus in the consciousness of people. People in their homes listen to the carols as a sign of welcoming Jesus in their hearts. Christmas is not an opportunity to beg or solicit some money through singing Christmas carols. This is not a mere social activity but an act of Christianity: to bring Jesus to others and accept Jesus with others.

To end, I remember a sick couple who was in the hospital. I was asked by the parishioners to join them in visiting this couple on Christmas day. So, I brought my anointing kit and two sacred hosts. When we arrived at the hospital, I prayed over them and gave them communion. I saw how the tears fell from their eyes. After some months, both husband and wife died. But their children were so happy that they received Jesus as we visited them with Jesus.

4th Day of Simbang Gabi 2011

December 19, 2011
St. Peter/Holy Cross
Scripture: Luke 1:5-25

And there appeared to Zechariah an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechari'ah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechari'ah, for your prayer is heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth; for he will be great before the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Eli'jah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared."  And Zechari'ah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things come to pass, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." And the people were waiting for Zechari'ah, and they wondered at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple; and he made signs to them and remained dumb. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she hid herself, saying, "Thus the Lord has done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men."

Our Gospel can give us three points to ponder upon today.

1st, God works in a mysterious way. Zechariah, in the ordinariness of his life, did not expect that something extra-ordinary would happen. An angel appeared to him and announced that God heard his prayer. Though he and his wife were already old to have a child, yet their age could not hinder God to give them a child of their own.

2nd, man has greater doubts than his trust in the Lord. Zechariah was a godly man. He was a priest! He was privileged to be chosen to enter the inner court of the temple to offer sacrifice to God. Yet his role or office did not assure him of a total trust in God. He questioned what good God could do to him. Here, it shows man really wants to have what he desires according to how it has to happen that he fails to consider that God knows best on how things should happen. 

3rd, in every good thing one receives, God's name must be praised.  Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she hid herself, saying, "Thus the Lord has done to me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men." Good things happen not because people deserve it but because God is good. And it is but proper to praise Him for the many blessings one has received from God. 

These three points can help us reflect that we celebrate Christmas because we believe that God will continue to do great things for us in a mysterious way. We therefore have to be open-minded and open-hearted to the leadings of God's spirit working in us. And in this season, we have more reasons to remember the workings of God in us and praise Him with all our heart, mind and soul.

Let me end with a story.
 
In a certain locality, there is one huge bamboo. It stands tall compared to other standing tress. When people pass by, they are impressed by it's magnificence but other trees are envious of her grandeur.

One day the owner of the land went to the place where the bamboo is located. He approached the bamboo and asked her, "Bamboo, do you love me?" The bamboo replied, "Yes, I do love you." The man said, "Since you Love me, can I possibly cut you down?" The bamboo was so stunned and yet because of her love she said, "Yes." The envious trees were laughing altogether because there would be no more reason for them to get envious because the bamboo is already cut down and the passers-by would no longer behold her grandeur.
The man cut the bamboo into two pieces afterwards. At the time, it was summer. It was hot and humid. And the man made the bamboo into a drainage in which water from the river would flow to supply water to people in the village. It brought a great relief to all.

3rd Day of Simbang Gabi 2011

December 18, 2011
Pook 

“Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
   and you shall name him Jesus.
He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High,
   and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father,
   and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever,
   and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
But Mary said to the angel,
   “How can this be,
   since I have no relations with a man?”
And the angel said to her in reply,
   “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
   and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
   will be called holy, the Son of God.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
   has also conceived a son in her old age,
   and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
   for nothing will be impossible for God.”
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”

Our Gospel can give us three points to ponder upon today.

1st, life is sacred as it is from God. When the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was chosen to be the mother of Jesus, this affirms that there is no such thing as unwanted pregnancy in God 's vocabulary. Every life is created with the will of God. God has always a plan for one's life. And as long as you live, God has a beautiful plan for you.

2nd, though it is at times difficult to understand the reason why we are alive and live with many difficulties, we can appreciate and find meaning in our life only when we are aware of God's grace working in us. Angel Gabriel said it himself that there is nothing impossible with God. No matter how we experience difficulties in our finances, or work, or family, life itself remains to be a grace of God and God will do everything for us to appreciate life. God will make a way.

3rd, a life with God is a life worth living. Mary declared that she accepted the will of God for her to be the mother of Jesus. Mary could have her own plans but she gave priority to God's plan for her. God's ways are not man's ways is true all of the times.

Let me end with a story. 

Alphonsus Liguori was born in 1696. He was educated in the best school of the city, and took a Doctorate in Law at the age of 16. In 1723, he lost the first and only case of his career and feel into deep crisis. Then he heard an interior voice, saying: leave the world, and give yourself to me. Alphonsus eventually became a priest in 1726 and became popular because of his plain and simple  preaching. He once said, the penitents should be treated as souls to be saved rather than as criminals to be punished. He died in 1787 and later was declared a saint of our Catholic Church. Here we can see that in life, man's failure is God's success. A life with God is indeed a life worth living.

2nd Day of Simbang Gabi 2011

December 17, 2011
Pook Interior

In the olden times before electricity, the streets were lighted with gas lamps. Each evening a lamplighter would go around with a little flame and light one lamp after another. One evening a person was sitting in his house looking out the window. Across the valley was a street on the hillside. There he could see one lamp after another being lighted by the lamplighter as he went along. Because of the darkness, the man could not see the lamplighter, only his burning torch and the trail of lights he left behind. 

 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,  and Ram the father of Ammin'adab, and Ammin'adab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Bo'az by Rahab, and Bo'az the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse,  and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uri'ah,  and Solomon the father of Rehobo'am, and Rehobo'am the father of Abi'jah, and Abi'jah the father of Asa,  and Asa the father of Jehosh'aphat, and Jehosh'aphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzzi'ah,  and Uzzi'ah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezeki'ah, and Hezeki'ah the father of Manas'seh, and Manas'seh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josi'ah, and Josi'ah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoni'ah was the father of She-al'ti-el, and She-al'ti-el the father of Zerub'babel, and Zerub'babel the father of Abi'ud, and Abi'ud the father of Eli'akim, and Eli'akim the father of Azor,  and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eli'ud, and Eli'ud the father of Elea'zar, and Elea'zar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

In our Gospel, we have the list of the ancestors of Jesus. Some of the names are familiar to us though many are not. However, this does not matter (whether we know them or not) because what is important is that we know Jesus -the light of the world who entered into our human history through them. We may never have known them, we never have seen them, but we know they passed through this world by the trail of light that they left behind them. And let us therefore not allow to miss the opportunity of seeing the light who is Jesus. Amen.

1st Day of Simbang Gabi 2011

December 16, 2011
ARC/Mabilo

A blind man visited a friend in another village. His friend was so happy to see him as they had not met for so long a time. They began to talk about how their lives had been since they last met. They never noticed that it was already dusk and they had to end their conversation. So the blind man had to go home. But before he went out, he asked his friend if he could give him a lantern or a torch. His friend asked why does he need a light because he is blind and he cannot even use it for his sake. The blind man replied, "It is true I am blind but it does not mean I do not need the light. I need it so as to give other people a clear chance to see me and thus prevent our collision."

Jesus said to the Jews:
“You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. 
I do not accept testimony from a human being,
but I say this so that you may be saved. 
John was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. 
But I have testimony greater than John’s. 
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.”

In our Gospel, Jesus describes John the Baptist as a "burning and shining lamp" who gave light to those around him. His light is not for himself but for others so that they can see God's only son -Jesus. John's light gave warmth because it was the fire of God's love and truth. Just as natural light dispels the darkness and makes the way clear, so John''s light dispelled the spiritual darkness in people's lives and opened the way to freedom and joy in God's kingdom. 

Now we ask ourselves if we do make use of John's light to see Jesus and believe in Him as the son of God?

1st Sunday of Advent 2011

Last Thursday, I was one of the many passengers who were waiting for the plane at Kalibo airport. It was expected to arrive on time as we had to board the plane at 10:30 A.M. But it was delayed for almost an hour. When it arrived, we rushed to get inside the plane and took our seats. However, the pilot announced that we had to wait for a call from Manila to allow us to fly. After a long period of waiting, at last, it was announced by the pilot that we were going to fly. The flight began. When we were about to land at the airport, again the pilot made an announcement that we had to wait for our turn to land as there were eleven planes to make their landing first. There I realized that it takes too long to wait when you wait just as the proverbs say A WATCHED POT NEVER BOILS. It seems it takes forever to wait for something or for someone. The time seems to be too fast and everything around is so slow. Or the clock seems to be too slow to run and still everything is slower. We do not know what to do with our time while waiting and such gives us an irritable feeling somehow.
In our gospel which is taken from Mark 13: 33-37, Jesus said, “Watch; for you do not know when the time will come.” Jesus told us to wait for Him. Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead. Jesus will give the reward of eternal life in heaven for those who will remain faithful to him as they wait. But for those who will be found unfaithful and those who cannot wait for Jesus, they will be in hell.
We need to be patient and be prudent while waiting. We have to do something while waiting so as to be found worthy of eternal life. Jesus will come not according to our time, but in His time. What we can do, we have to wait and pray.

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time -A-

To hear a beloved says “I love you” is beautiful, but it is even more beautiful if a beloved loves you in deeds (actions) too. There are separated couples who would recall their experience admitting that it is easy for their beloved to say “I love you” but their actions speak otherwise.
A husband would say he loves his wife but asks his wife to understand his philandering as part of manliness. A woman would say she loves her husband yet she has the bad habit of yelling at the top of her lungs sometimes for no reason at all. There are also couples who do not pay attention to each other’s needs. One will try to explain something that is important to them, and the other will say, “yes, yes,” but will not really hear. In addition, there are couples who fall into bad habits in their fighting. Ordinarily, couples will disagree from time to time but sometimes they show no love for each other when they argue. A spouse would throw dishes instead. Still another would bring up old arguments to try to hurt the other.
In short, to say I love you is one thing, but to show it through one’s actions is another thing.
Now as a Christian, we are reminded of the same thing by our gospel that we should not just say WE LOVE, but we have to show in our actions that indeed WE LOVE. We have to walk our talk!
In Matthew 22:37 Jesus said –You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. His words clearly show the extent of the command: there is no action in the life of a person which should not be dedicated to the Lord. If we love God then show it through our actions.
But why do most of us fail to love God in our actions though we can boldly say we do love Him? Well, it is because we fall into a wrong notion of loving God.
My dear friends, before we say we love God, we examine ourselves if we recognize the love of God for us. In 1 John 4:19, it is said WE LOVE GOD BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US. Love of God always presupposes a prior experience of God’s love, and God offers most of us abundant evidence of such love, usually indirectly through the goodness of others and of our mother nature. The most concrete manifestation of God’s love for us is Jesus, which in 1 John 3:16 declares –this is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. So the proper response to our experience of God’s love is to love Him in return. God loved us first and our love for Him is a response to his amazing grace to us.
Yet our love of God does not stop there. In Matthew 22: 39 Jesus added, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. No one can therefore say he loves God unless he loves his neighbor as himself. This is tantamount to say that the more we acknowledge God's love for us the more we must love what He loves. The love we have for others gives us the barometer of how we love God through our actions. In 1 John 3:16-17, this is what God ordains us to do: This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
Therefore my dear friends; to desire to love God without loving others is a mission impossible. We must follow Jesus who loved God His Father through loving all of us. And when we experience trials and persecutions, let us be reminded of our theme for the upcoming feast of St. Jude: Remain in your love of God like St. Jude who chose life rather than death. It means that we can show our love for God even in the most undesirable circumstances by choosing to live and not give up life. God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us (Romans 5:5). Let our love conquers all!

Grace of God

In most of our life's pains, we realize there is a person who hurts, a person who is hurt, good people who help, and a God who heals." For those who are emotionally hurt because of what their spouses have done against them, hopefully this book can help them in their journey towards their own healing through the path of forgiveness and reconciliation. The thoughts and insights found in this books are fruits of my interaction with people I met as well as products of some books and related literatures I read. The examples, exercises, and stories presented here can easily guide you to reflect on your own situation. Though the personal stories here are all real, names and some details of the events are changed to protect the person's privacy. Those stories are used for pastoral purposes only and should not be used for any legal purpose.



ISBN 978-971-004-090-2

SIZE – 5.5 x 8.25"

WEIGHT – 200g

PAGES – 184

PRICE – Php 185.00

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time A

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time A

God’s ways are not our ways. It is not always easy to understand the ways of God.
In the Gospel parable today (Matt 20:1-16) we see the workers failing to understand why those who worked just one hour received the same wages as those who worked all day. This made those who worked hard in the heat all day became jealous of those who worked for only one hour and yet got the same pay. For them, the landowner is UNFAIR!!! And we can also say the same against the landowner –that he is unfair. The word “unfair” is easy for us to understand because in one way or the other we ourselves experienced being treated unfairly. We cannot deny that in our world, there are more people who are victims of UNFAIR TREATMENT. There are many of us who know of qualified people whose promotion is denied instead it is given to less qualified people. But the landowner justified himself, “I am not unfair!” He said –“I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?” How come did he say this? Well, if we read again our Gospel for today, we will realize the landowner is right in saying he is not unfair. It is said, “A landowner went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.” Here the first batch of workers had agreed upon a set wage: a full day’s work for a full day’s pay. And yes, they were paid according to what they had agreed. What is unfair about this? Thus, the question is not about fairness but of envy. The first batch who worked hard in the heat all day was ENVIOUS of those who worked for only one hour and yet got the same pay. And their envy is expressed by saying “that’s not fair”. They did not realize that their experience of “unfairness” is actually the experience of envy. They felt themselves victimized and they could not see/appreciate the generosity/goodness of the landowner.
Now, we go to reflect on one of the most difficult questions of faith –Is God unfair? It reminds us of our senseless attempts to understand why some people seemingly have been in a better position than others going through life. Why does God apparently give more blessings to others but not to some? Why are there times when God seems to show partiality towards corrupt individuals while letting the innocent ones suffer?
We approach this question from our own light but the answer lies elsewhere. In other words, from our perspective, God seems to be unfair. And because we focus more on our feeling that God is “unfair”, we do not realize that we actually miss the mark of His generosity/goodness every day of our lives. If God was “fair” (balanced with an eye for an eye) we would all be condemned. “For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23).
If others have more than you it does not mean that God loves them more while He loves you less. No matter what good fortune comes to others it really doesn’t matter because as followers of Jesus our aim is to use everything for the glory of God. In any case it would be foolish to be envious of others because we only see the outside and we never know what lies behind their success. And so instead of being envious and jealous of those who have been in a better position in life than us there is a better perspective; to be grateful for what we have.
Our Bible teaches us that we are to give thanks to God at all times in all circumstances.
In Ephesians 5:20 we read, “Always and everywhere give thanks to God who is our Father.”
In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 we read, “Be happy at all times; pray constantly and for all things give thanks to God, because this is what God expects you to do in Christ Jesus.”
In Colossians 3:17 we read, “Whatever you say or do, let it be in the name of the Lord Jesus, in thanksgiving to God the Father through him.”
So even when others prosper or have more success or better chances, what can we do? We can give thanks to God for the blessings he has given to them and the blessings he has given to us. God deals differently with each of us because God loves each of us in the way that God knows best for us and his kingdom. The attitude to have is one of trust in God –whether He is fair or unfair by man’s definition. We need to listen to God who says:
“Yes, the heavens are as high above earth
as my ways are above your ways.
my thoughts above your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)

Ascension Sunday

In our Gospel, it gives us a scene in which Jesus finally takes leave of his disciples. How will the disciples react on this? How will they respond to the loss of someone whom a bond was formed? Well, in our personal experience, we grieve after suffering a significant loss. While grieving is difficult, it must not immobilize us. Sad to say, most people who have lost someone they love experience sleeplessness, depression, and fatigue. Jesus probably knows this. So before he departs to his Father, he leaves his disciples with responsibilities though their grief has not yet subsided. Jesus knows that before grief will overwhelm his disciples, he wants them to begin the day by looking for reasons to hope. Jesus gives them comforting and motivating perspective. Jesus entrusted to his disciples a task and then he assured them of his divine assistance, saying –Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
My dear friends, our grief reveals our inclination to the past, but as it passes, it can open doors to a better future. And so for Jesus, we have to do something though we grieve. We do not just sit down and do nothing. We cannot afford to waste our time when we know we cannot take back what we have lost. We have to convince ourselves that it is time to move on. Life must go on. Just like the disciples, we need to listen to the last message of Jesus, and then our grief will soon turn to hope.
Moreover, we have to learn from this Gospel that in one way or another, we will be going to face the reality of losing someone we love. And so to avoid guilt and regrets later, we have to do our best for the people we love while with them.

6th Sunday of Easter –A–

God is love. If we are going to make a summary of what the Bible says from the Old Testament to New Testament, we get this simple message “God is love.” God created the world out of love. When sin entered the world, God still loved the world. For He so loved the world that He gave us His only son Jesus Christ to redeem the world. Moreover, God sent Jesus not only to show how He loved us but also to teach us how to love Him and our fellow men. Jesus gave us the greatest commandments, i.e., to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind and to love your neighbor as you love yourself.
Now in the Gospel of John 14:15-21 Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” He just reiterates to us the importance of love. We obey Jesus because we love Him and we love others because it is His commandments. He means that we have to live in love and acts with love. In short, in all things we have to show love. By saying this we are reminded by the Church to undergo a formation of our hearts. We have to train our hearts to love or at least to be loving in our ways.
If we only notice, we created noble professions for the service of man. We have doctors, nurses, engineers, lawyers, etc. But before one can engage in any specific profession, he or she must undergo a formation or training. After some years of training, one has to pass the board exam or bar to be admitted to the chosen profession. Thus we have produced many doctors, nurses, engineers, lawyers, etc. who are experts in their field. However, seldom can we find doctors, nurses, engineers, or lawyers who are loving in their ways as they deal with people. Doctors would prescribe some medicine to their patients without showing any care. Nurses would check their patients but they do not bother to listen to their cries. Lawyers would treat their clients depending on the clients’ financial capacity to pay them. We have professionals who are trained intellectually but they treat people as objects. This is so because they are not trained to love or to be loving. This is ironic because most of the professionals are Catholics in our country. They suppose to show love in everything they do. But we have to accept the fact that to be a Catholic is separate from being a lawyer, a nurse, or a doctor in our present setting. That is why it is not surprising that a politician once declared “I am a congressman who is a Catholic but I am not a Catholic congressman.” It means I can choose to love or not as I can choose to be a congressman, a lawyer, a doctor or not. This should not be the case! The message of our Gospel is plain and clear. Whether one is a doctor, a nurse, a lawyer or not, he/she must love or be loving as he/she is a Catholic –a lover of Jesus Christ. In saying that we love Jesus, we become Catholics. Being Catholics, we must love and show love in all our ways. Amen.

Homily for a missing person

The inn that shelters for the night is not the journey’s end.
Our Mass for today does not put an end to our quest or search for (Name), but it gives us a “shelter for the night”. Our celebration of the Mass reminds us Christians that if we do not know what to do when someone we love is missing, we have to stick close to Jesus. Our Mass also reminds us that whenever a tragedy strikes us, the more we have to fix our eyes on Jesus. But why should we stay close to Him? Can we not just tell Jesus that we wonder if He really cares at all about us? Can He not make miracles happen and bring us back (Name) to our family/community?
My dear friends, this is what I mean when I said that our Mass gives us a “shelter for the night” –only God can give us hope during the darkest hour of our lives and so not despair.
First, instead of questioning the goodness of God, our Mass makes us aware that before Jesus faced His suffering; He celebrated the first Mass with His disciples. In His solemn celebration, Jesus has given a new meaning to suffering. It means when we suffer, we are participating in the sufferings of Jesus Christ. St. Paul said, "Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, for I fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ." (Col:24).
Second, when we suffer, Jesus also carries the burden with us, and then we know we are NOT ALONE in our suffering. Like St. Paul, we can say, "With Christ I am nailed to the cross. It is now no longer I that live but Christ Who lives in me" (Gal 2:19-20). When it is no longer the “I” that live but Jesus Christ is now living in us, then we see our suffering as a moment of conversion, that is, for the rebuilding of goodness in our family/community. In sharing the same experience of suffering, the pain of losing (Name), it must bring the family closer to God and to each other. This is the time to strengthen the bond as a family because you know how it hurts to lose someone in the family. We cannot afford to lose another one. To borrow the words in John 11: 50, Caiaphas the high priest said, “You don't realize that it's better for you that one man should suffer/die for the family/people than for the whole family/nation to be destroyed."
Lastly, we pray for (Name) wherever he may be that God will be merciful on him. But for us who are hoping and waiting for (Name), let us face our emptiness comforted by the words of St. Paul in the Second Letter to the Corinthians: "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. Yes my dear friends, each of us carries in our hearts the loss of a beloved, so that his/her life may also be manifested in our actions. Amen.

5th Sunday of Easter –A–

"I came out of Bataan and I shall return", this is the famous speech of Douglas MacArthur which was first made at Terowie, a small railway township in South Australia on March 20. For some Filipinos, these words gave them hope during World War II that someone would save them from their predicament. But for other Filipinos, they knew MacArthur abandoned his troops while they were written off by the Japanese.

“I shall return” –these words, in fact, suggest that one is about to be left behind, he or she has to face the “unknown”, and this is a frightening experience. Fear is there as one anticipates whether the promise to return will be fulfilled or not by the other. Fear is there because one does not know what will happen between the time of the other’s departure and his or her coming back. Fear is there because even as adults, one is really afraid of the “unknown” like a child who fears to go in the dark. What can make one keep going day by day during such time is his or her hope. Hope makes one know how to wait, while patiently enduring trials.

However, what will be the basis of our hope? –what shall we depend upon? Most often, we rely on the promise made by the person. We hope that he or she will do what he or she has told us. Yet how many times have we been frustrated by unfulfilled promises or empty promises? Our hope is in vain. There are many wives who are totally abandoned by their husbands though the latter promised to love until death. There are many children who have been out of school because of peer pressure and have forgotten their promise to their parents to study and finish their school. There are those who promise to pay what they owe but you cannot find their whereabouts anymore. In the course of time, it has become clear that one’s hope is diminishing.

So what shall we do? Do we have to abandon our hope? Well it is but timely to evaluate our life and give ourselves a new basis, a new foundation on which our hope can stand. We have to place our hope on what can stimulate our energies to endure all things while waiting. Our hope can only be for Jesus. He said in John 14: 1-12, “Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me.” Jesus is the foundation of our hope. He alone can guarantee us of the possibility of the happening or arriving of what we are awaiting. Our hope in Jesus is necessary for us to be able to “receive what is promised”. A wife can hope that her husband will change his mind and return to her as she hopes in the Lord. Parents can hope that their children will finish their studies as they pray to Jesus for their guidance. This same hope in the Lord can help us face our fear; face the “unknown” especially when our beloved one says “I shall return”. Moreover, our hope is always certain in Jesus. When no one listens to us any more, Jesus still listens to us. When we can no longer talk to anyone or call upon anyone, we can always talk to Him. When there is no longer anyone to help us deal with a need, he can help us. When we are placed in a solitary confinement, we are never totally alone because we can still pray and talk to Jesus. We have to remember then every time we are troubled, pray to Jesus and put our hope in Him, only in Him. Amen.

4th Sunday of Easter –A–

Today’s trend is on consumption and consumerism. Consumption and consumerism reflect that one’s quality of life depends on the quantity of one’s financial assets, savings or money. If one has enough money, then he can buy what he wants. In getting what he wants, he can live a quality life. Adversely, if one has no money, then he cannot buy anything. If he cannot buy any thing, then his life is miserable. This trending has also affected the way we live with our faith. In the church, those who have money can make a list of their intentions and forward it to the parish office to be read within the mass. Those who lack money seldom make a list of their intentions to be prayed over during the mass. In some parishes, there are many couples who are not married in the church. They say it is expensive and they cannot afford to pay the expenses for a church wedding. For them, they have to spend what they earned for something else. It is all about money.
It is true that we need money especially that consumption and consumerism are at a high cost. But today’s Gospel reminds us that our life must not be based on the money that we have but on God who has everything in His hands. In John 10:11-18, Jesus said, "I am the Good Shepherd; I know mine, and mine know me." This is what some Catholics forget. Though we may not have enough money, we can rely on God for our needs. We think of the world which sells us air as we use our electric fan, but we forget to think of God who has given us, rich and poor, air for free. We think of the world which sells as water as we buy a bottled water, but we forget about God has provided us water for free. Yes, God is a good shepherd. He knows what we need and He knows how limited we are, thus He provides us what is best for us. We need only to trust Him. Our life cannot depend on money because money may come and go. It is only in God that we can entrust our life because He is constant, He will always be with us as our Good Shepherd.

3rd Sunday of Easter -A-

How quickly we fall back from nothing to nothing when everything we build is destroyed in an instant. We think life is a simple product of chances and luck; you are lucky if your life is “up” and you are sorry when it is “down”. In Luke 24: 13-35, the two disciples discussed about Jesus. Jesus lived a good life but died a terrible death. For them, it was a sad fate or destiny, a bad ending for a good beginning of one’s life. Worst, the body of Jesus was missing instead of seeing it laid down in the tomb to rest. The disciples could not do anything to prevent what had happened. Life is indeed beyond one’s control. In this kind of mentality, one’s future depends on pure luck or chances. In this kind of mentality, one lives in the randomness of the world events. It will only lead one to think: Why work so hard today if in the future, you will lose everything that you have earned? Why be good today if in the future people will destroy your name or reputation? Drink and be merry for tomorrow we will die.
It is at this point that Jesus drew near and walked with the two disciples. Jesus knew that only when the future is certain as a positive reality does it become possible to live the present as well. So He explained that everything happened according to the will of God. It is not pure luck and chances which ultimately govern the world and mankind, but a personal God. And if we know this God, then truly pure luck or mere chances no longer have the last say; rather it is the will of God. This explanation of Jesus is not only “informative” but “performative”. That means: Jesus does not merely communicate things that can be known—it is one that makes things happen and is life-changing. The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life. Jesus teaches the essential art: the art of being authentically human—the art of living and dying. He shows us the way to live according to the will of God. He also shows us the way beyond death. Everything that is happening in our world is in God’s hands.
By saying this, we can say to ourselves that Jesus knows even the path that passes through the valley of death; He has conquered death, and He has returned to accompany us now and to give us the certainty that, together with him, we can find a way through. Our life is not a product of pure luck or chances; it is not a result of accidents and coincidence but of God’s divine providence.

3rd Sunday of Lent “A”

Today is the third Sunday of Lent. The Church reminds us to grow in faith. However, we cannot talk about growing in faith without first talking about faith. More so we cannot talk about what faith is without talking about what is revelation. Faith and revelation go together.
Revelation is the unveiling of God of Himself to man. It is a Divine initiative to tell man His will. Faith is the response of man to God’s revelation. Faith makes us believe and accept God as his ultimate meaning of his life.
This is what our Gospel tries to show us today. Here we find Jesus initiates a conversation with the Samaritan woman. It reminds us of God, that He always takes the first move. He reveals himself, his will.
Now we go to the response of the Samaritan woman. Remember that faith is a response of man to the revelation of God. And here we can find three different responses of the Samaritan woman to Jesus. These different responses make us know the stages of faith.
First, she called Jesus “Jew” –this is the first stage of faith. This is faith based on a natural knowledge of God. We know God through our parents, catechists or others. We believe in Him because it is what others tell us to do so. But in the real sense, God is a stranger for us.
Second, she addressed Jesus “Sir” as she later said Jesus is a prophet. This is a faith based on the contemplation and study of believers especially with the scripture or theological research which deepens knowledge of revealed truth.
Third, she indirectly implicates the Jesus is the Son of God. This is the supernatural sense of faith. We never stop to welcome, to penetrate more deeply and to live more fully from the gift of Divine Revelation. This is the stage wherein we can say that everything that is happening around is in accordance with the will of God and we accept everything as He is the meaning of our life.

2nd Sunday of Lent "A"

Today is the second Sunday of Lent. Lent is the season for prayer, fasting, abstinence and alms-giving. And for today, we have our Gospel (Matthew 17:1-9) which reminds us of the importance of prayer.
First, Jesus prays. He does not only pray but he has a favorite place to pray –a mountain.
Second, Jesus takes with him Peter, James and John and leads them up a high mountain. Here Jesus wants to build a community of disciples who pray. This means that they seal their relationship with prayer and they are related to each other though prayer.
Third, Jesus is transfigured before the three. There is a change in the appearance of Jesus. This is the effect of prayer. When you sincerely pray, your prayer radiates that what is inside you will be manifested outside you. This is what love means too. Yes, a person can love, but if he is unable to communicate such love, it will not reflect on the appearance of the person.
Fourth, there is distraction whenever you pray. You see Peter is distracted when he sees Jesus is transfigured. He forgets to focus on what Jesus wants them to do on a mountain –that is to pray.
Fifth, a voice from heaven is heard saying “Listen to him” (to Jesus). It means that we have to focus on our prayer. We do not need to say something but to allow God to speak to us.
Then at the end of the Gospel, Jesus told them about his impending death. Here it reminds us that when a person prays, he can be able to accept anything even death. Jesus tells us that we can pray before we die, and we can pray while dying. Our prayer will help us accept whatever future there may be for us. So my dear friends, let us always pray!

1st Sunday of Lent "A"

In an animated film Madagascar 1, Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Gloria the hippo and Melman the giraffe live together at New York's Central Park Zoo. Marty tries running away from the zoo, hoping to live in the wild. But when Alex, Gloria and Melman break out of their cages too, they get caught and end up being zoo transferred. But they all accidentally end up on Madagascar where they meet King Julien and the lemurs. Later in the wild, Alex starts to see his friends and the lemurs as food, and tries to eat them. In one instance we can hear this conversation between Alex and Marty:

Marty the Zebra: Oh, c'mon! Do I look like a steak to you?
Alex the Lion: Yeah!
Marty the Zebra: See I told you I don't look like no... wait, what'd you say?

When Alex begins to turn on his friends and the lemurs, unable to overcome his instincts and hunger, King Julien bans him to the far side of the island. But at the end Alex shows how he has overcome his predatory nature. And then the penguins help Alex satisfy his meat craving through sushi instead of steak.

Here we find a story of how a lion can overcome his instincts and hunger for the sake of his relationship with the zebra. As a Catholic, we can find a similar message from our Gospel today. We are called to overcome temptations for the sake of our relationship with God.

In today’s gospel, after Jesus was baptized “the Spirit immediately led him into the desert to be tempted by the devil…” (Matthew 4:1-11). Jesus was tempted three times but he resisted because he knew who he is in relation to God. He is the son of God and he would never put this into risk. Though he was tempted, he never sinned. His relationship with God is above all there is. This is also our call. We need to resist temptation not for anything else but to show we value our relationship with God. He is our Father as revealed by Jesus, and we are his adopted children through baptism. We can face temptation because we know who we are before God and we value our relationship with Him –we are his children. We will not allow then to strain our relationship with him by succumbing to temptations.

9th Sunday in OT

The story follows three pigs sent out into the world by their mother. Each of them builds a house to protect them from the hardships of the world, but along comes a big bad wolf. One by one, the wolf blows each house down until he comes to the last pig's house, which was built on a strong foundation of brick. The wolf is unable to even scuff the brick house and attempts to sneak in through the chimney. The pigs are ready for his entrance, placing a pot of boiling water in the fireplace. When the wolf leaps into the chimney, he lands in the pot and the pigs make a stew out of him.

In our Gospel, Jesus told the story of the builders with a lesson: When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm for ever (Proverbs 10:25). He reminds us of the kind of foundation we have to build our lives upon. It will determine whether we can survive the storms of life or not. Builders usually lay their foundations when the weather and soil conditions are at their best. It takes foresight to know how a foundation will stand up against adverse conditions. Building a house on a flood plain, such as a dry river-bed, is a sure bet for disaster!

So what kind of foundation are you building your life on? If we make the Lord and his word the rock and foundation of our lives, then nothing can shake us or keep us from God's saving presence and help. The Lord Jesus and his word must be the sure foundation of your life!

8th Sunday in Ordinary Time A

Isidore was born to very poor parents in Madrid, about the year 1070. He was in the service of the wealthy Madrid landowner Juan de Vargas on a farm in the vicinity of Madrid. Juan de Vargas would later make him bailiff of his entire estate of Lower Caramanca.
Every morning before going to work, Isidore was accustomed to hearing a Mass at one of the churches in Madrid. One day his fellow-laborers complained to their master that Isidore was always late for work in the morning. Upon investigation, so runs the legend, the master found Isidore at prayer while an angel was doing the plowing for him.
My dear friends, in today’s Gospel Jesus said we cannot serve two masters. It is either we love one and hate the other. He told us that we have to choose whom to serve best –and it is God. In our story, St. Isidore chose God first. It is God who helped him then in his works.
In our modern world we can say it is now possible to serve two masters without hating or loving the other. We are in the world of multi-tasking so to say. We can do many things at the same time. We can browse through our computer to make our thesis while chatting with a friend in the facebook, and at the same time watching some shows on the television and holding our cellular phone to read the text messages. But this is not what Jesus intends us to answer. He wants us to prioritize God above all else. Although we can do the multi-tasking in our day-to-day activities, Jesus wants us to realize that in spiritual life, we have to fix our gaze on God. There shall be undivided attention to give to God and God shall be the master of our life. We can set aside other things or forget about anything but never about God. And in doing so, God will provide us with everything we need.
Jesus admonishes us His followers to put away anxiety and preoccupation with material things and instead to seek first the things of God – his kingdom and righteousness. Anxiety robs the heart of trust in the mercy and goodness of God and in his loving care for us. God knows our needs even before we ask and he gives generously to those who trust in him. Who is your master – God or mammon?

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time A

A FARMER, who bore a grudge against a Fox for robbing his poultry yard, caught him at last, and being determined to take an ample revenge, tied some rope well soaked in oil to his tail, and set it on fire. The Fox by a strange fatality rushed to the fields of the Farmer who had captured him. It was the time of the wheat harvest; but the Farmer reaped nothing that year and returned home grieving sorely.

My dear friends, revenge, hatred, anger, or grudge is not good for us. It is like a fire that is burning in us and consumes us. But what can we do? If someone hurts us, it is not easy to treat him well. Retribution or getting even seems to be the most common response to wrongdoing. How can one forgive someone who destroys your reputation and keeps doing it? It is our tendency to say, "Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot." [Dt. 19:21.]

In today’s Gospel, Jesus commands each disciple to love one’s enemy. And this seems to be difficult for us to follow. But if we are going to understand what Jesus means by saying this, we will realize it is not as hard as it seems to follow.

When Christ said, “Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you,” He was not asking us to have nice feelings towards an enemy. He was saying that we should not seek revenge. If revenge, hatred or grudge dwells in us, then we are dwelling in sin. And if we live in sin, then we lose our soul and it is the devil that wins.
When Christ said, “Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you,” Jesus was not asking us to condone to what is evil? Shall we allow the culprit to escape? Loving an enemy does not mean forgetting everything about the wrongdoings. No. There must be justice and at the same time we ask God that the culprit will be sorry for his wrongdoings and reform. We have to win the soul of our offender over the devil.

Perhaps the example of Pope John Paul II can provide us a picture of this “love of enemies”. Although the Pope had forgiven Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish who had attempted to assassinate him on May 13, 1981, Agca remained in jail for years to atone for his crime.