Feast of the Epiphany, Year B

"They prostrated themselves and did Him homage."

1st Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 72

2nd Reading: Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6

Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12

The feast of the Ephiphany is the manifestation of the Child
Jesus to the world. It was prophesied that from Bethlehem "shall
come a ruler to shepherd" Israel. Astrologers from the East knew
this and they traveled to Jerusalem. King Herod then became
aware of this news from them, and was greatly disturbed (as this
"ruler" could be a threat to his reign). As the astrologers set
out then from Jerusalem, to follow the star...as they saw the
star come to a standstill over the place where the Child Jesus
was, they entered the house, saw Mary with the Child, prostrated
themselves, and did Jesus homage. They presented gifts of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.

Through the gospel passages that we have heard this season of
Advent and Christmas, we find many people and things leading us
to Jesus: St. John the Baptist, pointing out Jesus to us as the
Lamb of God; Samuel telling us that Jesus would bring the rise
and downfall of many in Israel; and the prophetess Anna, talking
about the Child Jesus as the Deliverer of Jerusalem. Also, now
we have a star from Bethlehem leading us to where we can find
the Child Jesus lying in the lowly manger attended to by His
Mother Mary and His foster father Jesus. We have three prophets
and a star leading to Jesus.

People we encounter in life and the signs of the times, also
lead us to Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Whenever people lead us
to a greater spirit of charity, generosity, kindness, patience,
joy, peace, goodness, and fidelity, it is for certain that we
are led to re-acknowledge Christ and His Spirit as the center
of our lives. And as the star of Bethlehem led the astrologers
from the East to the Child Jesus, wherever there is light in
our present times - that too, will also lead us to the greater
Light who is Christ. So, as we are led by others to Christ, we
too are called to lead others to Jesus - in the same way that
we have been shown the way (through acts of charity, kindness,
patience, mercy, forgiveness, peace, etc.) Even in these times
when we see patches of darkness in our world, let the Church
show us the way to the Light - Christ, our Prince of Peace.
And when we re-discover Christ as the Light of our life, it is
but fitting to pay homage to Him who is our Savior and our King.

Feast of Christ the King, Year A

34th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A - Christ the King

"He will sit upon his royal throne, and all the nations
will be assembled before him."

Matthew 25:31-40

The first time we encountered this gospel for this liturgical Year
A, was last November 2 - the solemnity of the Faithful Departed
(All Souls Day). Since this Sunday is the feast of Christ the
King, then we are given by the gospel a descriptive image of Jesus
who "will sit upon His royal throne" and judge all the nations
assembled before Him. The nations who helped the poor and the
less fortunate, will enter into His Kingdom. And the nations who
neglected to give to the sick, the hungry, the naked, the thirsty
and the prisoner, will be condemned to eternal punishment.

When we reflect on this gospel passage, we see that good deeds
done for others is the moral standard by which Christ will judge
us. And the judgment of eternal punishment does not go mainly to
the one who did bad or evil actions to others, but to those who
"neglected" to do good to the poor and the little ones (given
the context of meaning in this gospel). By the standard of this
gospel account, a serious evil is to be attributed also to
neglect, indifference to others, and lack of concern. So, our
sins of commission (our bad actions) will be compounded with an
even greater evil if we fail to do good (sins of omission).

Families who live in a provincial, rural, or suburban locale are
more fortunate in the sense that they know the people in their
area well. Families are close to one another, they help each
other, and they are there for each other in times of difficulty,
grief, sorrow, loss or tragedy. Individuals and families who
live in a very urban set-up are less fortunate in the sense that
there is a lot of anonymity, transiency, and less stability of
residence. Relationships in this set-up are often formal,
professional, short, superficial and filled with fear, mistrust,
and hostility.

There is a way however by which families in an urban set-up can
get to know each other better: through the structure of
relationships in a Catholic parish. With the basic ecclesial
formation being given by many parish priests to their
parishioners, families and individuals get to know one another
better. And a network of supportive relationships is created to
bridge the gap of indifference, anonymity, and rugged
individualism that goes with a highly urbanized area.

When the parish priest teaches well his parishioners to be
centered on Christ and the Eucharist, all families know that the
head of their household and family is Jesus. There is unity and
harmony in the family when each member lives a good Christian
life and let Jesus be the King of his heart. With Jesus
acknowledged as King, then there will be fear of doing evil and
only a seeking to please the One who has the power to judge us
if we have done good or neglected to do what we should do as
Catholics.

Let us then thank the Father for the gift of His Son Jesus, who
in many ways reveal to us that all dominion, power, glory, and
authority, belong to Him. Let us also thank the Father that our
King is One who know how to be human like us, except for sin.
And lastly, let us thank the Father for giving us a King who
serves as a model par excellence of genuine humility - a
humility exercised even to the extent of giving His life on the
cross, so that we may be saved from our sins of neglect of
others, indifference, apathy, and lack of concern and love.

On a more personal note, let us also examine ourselves very well:
in my day to day living, is Jesus enthroned as King of my heart?
Or are there other things that prevent Him to rule over my
soul? Is it anxiety over our job or finances? Or is it a
structure of relationships that causes us to lose our peace and
focus on Christ? Maybe, as the liturgical year is now at its
end, we can take more time to examine how we have lived the
year. It is not too late to confess that we have not made Jesus
the center of our life and the King of our hearts. There is
always room to progress in our spiritual life. And we can decide
for this by opting for Christ as our King and Savior all the days
of our life.

33rd Sunday Year A

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

"Come, share in your Master's joy"

Matthew 25:14-30

The 33rd Sunday Year A gospel features another parable of Jesus:
the parable of the silver pieces or talents. It is a parable
preceded by another parable (the ten virgins) and followed by
the account of the Last Judgment (in the 25th chapter of the
Gospel of Matthew). In the parable of the silver pieces, the
story is about a man who went on a journey. But before he left,
he gave silver pieces to each of his three servants, with amounts
according to each of their abilities. Entrusting these amounts
to them, he departed and expected that they invest them to make
a profit until he returns. And as the story goes on, we find
the master returning and discovering his first two servants
making use of their abilities well and providing him with a
profit. The third, however, out of fear, hid his amount under
the ground, and returned it to his master just as it was given
to him. The man was happy with the industriousness of his first
two servants, but condemned the third who did not do anything
with the silver pieces given him.

Although this parable speaks of money being invested and making
a profit out of it, if we also place it in context with the
preceding message of the parable of the ten virgins, and then
with the following account of the Last Judgment, we can see a
broader meaning to the message Jesus wants to teach us in this
Sunday's gospel. All three gospel passages speak of the the
return of the master (Master). But before his return, all are
accountable to him for the time and resources given by him.
The two parables and the Last Judgment account teach us many
lessons: first of all, to be prepared for the return of the
Master - to be on the watch, to be vigilant; second, to wisely
supply ourselves with what is necessary to comply with the
Master's requirements; third, to optimize our use of time and
resources so as to present a profitable return to be given
to the Master; and fourth, to do good and render acts of kindness
and charity to those less fortunate than we are.

So, we shall really come to share in the Master's happiness if
we are like the "wise virgins", the "industrious servants", and
the "charitable people" (the sheep in the Last Judgment account)
of which Matthew speaks of in chapter 25 of his gospel. The
special focus for this Sunday is in being industrious with our
time, talent and resources. In these times of increasing
hardship and difficulty in making ends meet for our families,
are we working harder, praying more intently, finding ways to
save money and profit, growing smarter at solving problems, and
facing life's daily challenges creatively?

Each of us has been given unique abilities and talents. What
Jesus wants of us before we face Him as our King in His judgment
seat, is that we become better than our good, and to use all
that He has given us in life as best as we could for our family
and for others. We will indeed come to share in His joy when
we can offer Him double the good He has given us in life. So
let us therefore never neglect to pray for the gifts of fortitude,
strength, perseverance, prudence, wise stewardship, generosity,
and fidelity to our responsibilities that we may truly please
our Lord with a life industriously lived in His service and His
love.