4th Sunday of Advent, Year B

"I am the maidservant of the Lord. Let it be done to me as you say."

Lectionary Readings for 4th Sunday of Advent, Year B
http://catholic.pcentral-online.net/lectionary/4th-advent-b.html

St. Louis-Marie de Montfort, one of the saints who had a great devotion to Mary, had this for his spiritual intuition: "God depended on a virgin for the salvation of the world" [paraphrased quote]. Mary had found so much favor in God's eyes that God depended on her fiat, her "yes", so that His Son, the Saviour of the world, may be incarnated in her. Although God depended on Mary, this does not make Mary on the level of the divine. It only means that there is a greater context for this dependence of God on her. And this context is that it was all part of the plan of God. God created her sinless [the Immaculate Conception] so that when the time comes when she will be asked by God, she will, by the gift of free will, will say "yes" to God. This is how God depended on Mary. It was because Mary had the gift of free will that God depended on her. And this gift of free will is also given to all of us who are created in the image and likeness of God.

Now, we who are called to be humble and to obedient like Mary are also called to follow her obedience to God's will. We too have been given the gift of free will to say "yes" everyday to the calls for service, to a call for greater generosity or charity, to the call for more self-surrender or more courage and gallantry, or to any other call to practice in greater and more intensity the Christian virtues. In the course of our Christian life, there will eventually and inevitably come a time when we will need to say "yes" to greater responsibilities. Usually, through the routines of what we are doing now, God is preparing us for something even greater than what we are doing. Like Mary, when the time comes for the Lord to ask us to do something great for Him, let us not be afraid, but have the faith and courage of Mary to say "yes" to the Lord and do His will. This certainly is not a matter of just saying "yes" suddenly but involves a lot of personal discernment with regard to our present life situation and seeing how it can fit with the plans or orders of those who have authority over us - those want us to accept bigger tasks and responsibilities. Eventually, let us realize that our "yes" is a "yes" to God through the established authorities He has instituted in the world.

Third Sunday of Advent, Year B

"There is one among you whom you do not recognize - the one who is to come after me"

Lectionary Readings for Third Sunday of Advent, Year B
http://catholic.pcentral-online.net/lectionary/3rd-advent-b.html

Although the gospel places John the Baptist in the center stage, we are called to discover that he represents Someone who is to come and whom John's duty is to prepare the way of the people. That is why when he was baptizing the people with water, and they asked him who he was, he said, "I am not the Christ, the Messiah". Rather, he states that "he is a voice in the desert, crying out: Make straight the way of the Lord!' " He was aware that his role is to decrease while Christ is to increase when Christ comes to be baptized by him in the river Jordan.

In the preparations for our Advent season, we are called to be like John the Baptist to our fellow Christians. By word and deed, we are called to point out the importance of Christ in our times today. Especially when people have forgotten to live a life in the spirit of Christ, this is the time when we are indeed called to live out the spirit of Christ through our simple and daily witness of family and work routines. Most often we make ourselves the point of reference of others for their source of information and knowledge, that we forget to point them to Christ as the Wisdom of God - the One whom John was leading the people to. Thus, the call for us this Advent season is to imitate the example of John by making ourselves always secondary in role to Christ and leading others to the Spirit of Christ, as He is revealed in many ways in peoples' daily family living and professional lives.

33rd Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

"Since you were dependable in a small matter I will put you in charge of larger affairs. Come, share your master's joy!"

Lectionary Readings for 33rd Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
http://catholic.pcentral-online.net/lectionary/33rd-sunday-a.html

In life, when we are given a small task to perform, we often undervalue the task and see ourselves as greater than the task. But when it comes to performing the task in actuality from day to day, given all the drudgery involved and the requirements of making improvements on the task so that its operations will be better or the results of the task will provide more production or profits, we finally realize that it takes a lot of industriousness, reliability on our part and lots and lots of hard work. When we are successful, we are 'upgraded' or promoted or given a nice title, a reward or more tasks at a higher level of responsibility plus added perks or benefits.

The gospel today speaks about these small tasks that we are given to be responsible for-- given our talents and capabilities. We may be a small business owner who was given a loan to start a small enterprise; or we may be a school teacher given a class of 30 young pupils; or we may be a religious superior given the task of formation of 10 young novices; or we may be a parish priest that need to minister to a small parish of 500 families; or we may be a young accountant of a small corporation given the task to record accurately all the accounts of the company; or we may be a small schooltown coach needing to encourage a team of young teenagers lacking confidence; or we may be a simple father or mother given the blessing of a baby boy or girl to nourish and nurture till he reaches walking stage; and many much more gifts and blessings we are given in order to "produce and to bear fruit" by our industriousness, sense of responsibility, perseverance, and other talents and giftedness that are uniquely gifted to us by God.

This gospel tells us that progressing in life; that being productive and fruitful in our endeavors; that being capable to enlargen our estates; always starts from the faithful attendance to small matters. We do not raise our stature in society by big steps. Usually, it is through small honest and trustworthy acts and responsibilities fulfilled. If we use our talents, our giftedness and our resources as best as we can, all our hard work will always pay off and those who have positions over us can promote us or those who have a higher stature in society will invite us to join his or her social circle. But the moral and message of the story is that we have to be faithful in small matters well first. Even though these small matters may be boring or routinary, but if we can be able to progress our work and endeavors, then we can take on larger matters and responsibilities. And the Lord knows and sees what we do and how we employ all the giftedness He has given us and the resources He has provided us with.

Let us therefore pray for ourselves that we may appreciate the little things that we do and always realize that they count a lot if we do them faithfully. Because if by our doing them, it influences others to goodness and fidelity and inspires them to work harder and to follow our industriousness, success in our hard work, and progress in our stature, then we will lead others to value the importance of making well our use of our talents, our resources and our life for the sake of Christ. Let us also pray for others who do not see this importance in their life and drudgingly go about working without the desire to progress or improve on one's life even if they are given small matters to take care of. Let us follow the humble and simple example of Jesus, who before He was rewarded the Resurrection through the power of the Holy Spirit, had to be born a helpless infant in a manger, live simply and quietly in Nazareth, preach and teach to a group of people, gather a large crowd and produce the miracle of the loaves, confront the powers of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, and obeyed the Father's will by taking up the Cross and giving His life to ransom us from sin. Like Jesus, who had to be faithful first in small matters as a growing child in the quiet life of Nazareth and was soon elevated to the status of a public Rabbi and Teacher and Master of His apostles, we too in our small and simple ways may follow Him and soon accept the responsibilities of a higher level so that we may serve the Lord more in our life.

32nd Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

"...keep your eyes open, for you know not the day or the hour."

Lectionary Readings for 32nd Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
http://www.pcentral-online.net/catholic/lectionary/32nd-sunday-a.html

As the liturgical year is to end, we are told that the gospels will speak mainly and mostly of the end times - about the day of the coming of the Son of Man or the day of the Lord. Jesus often speaks about the realities of the kingdom of God and of judgment in terms also of parables. This Sunday, He speaks about the 10 virgins who were to attend the wedding feast: 5 were foolish and 5 were wise. The wise virgins thought about the future and did something in order to prepare for it while the five foolish ones did not think of the future. And so, when the time came for the wedding feast to begin, the foolish virgins realized that their not preparing for the unexpected and for the sudden coming of the bridegroom was not wise.

This parable Jesus teaches to his disciples also speaks to us about preparing for the end times and for our own personal end. Although Jesus really meant the end times in which everything will be gone and His kingdom will be at hand and there will be judgment of the good and the righteous together with the bad and the evil, we can also reflect about our own personal ends. What are we doing now that will prepare for our own end in this world? And what am I doing to help others also prepare for their own finitude and end? As we carefully examine our life and how we are in relationship with God, with others, with nature and all of God's creation, we need to learn if we are indeed ready to "face God" and receive our judgment.

As we reflect our personal end, we can also reflect on the end of the world and of all time. This will surely come to pass since it was revealed to us in the Scriptures. However, Scripture tells us that even if the world and all in it shall end, the Word of God shall remain steadfast forever. And the person and reality of Christ our Lord shall always be the same yesterday, today and forever. Let us not be anxious if we sometimes feel that the world is to end because of the signs we are seeing now in our times: conflicts, wars, disasters, moral degeneration, and a general decline in many of our established and traditional values and norms. The best thing to do is to always be prepared: to be always vigilant and putting ourselves in the hands of God. A spiritual life of continuous reflection, prayer and meditation will give us the gift of wisdom to see that if we have faith in God, hope in His mercy and salvation and be repentant of our sinfulness, and be more of service to others and charitable in our ways, then when judgment day comes, we will be like the five wise virgins who prepared for our future before the Lord.

31st Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

"The greatest among you will be the one who serves the rest."

Lectionary Readings for 31st Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
http://catholic.pcentral-online.net/lectionary/31st-sunday-a.html

Jesus our Lord made this statement in the context of how he viewed the leadership of the religious leaders of His time: the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. He wanted to teach the people that leadership consists in service and that humility must reign over pride when leaders exercise their authority over others. This Jesus did not see in the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law in His time. And so He wanted to teach the people to listen only to what these religious leaders teach and not follow their example: for they do not do what they preach and teach.

Jesus was a very credible and authentic leader. When He taught this to the people of His time - especially to His apostles and disciples, He proved this teaching when the time came for giving His life to the Father. On the night before He was to die, He gathered the apostles together in a meal and celebrated the Last Supper. This Last Supper account was portrayed in the same manner in the gospel of Mark, Luke and Matthew. But in the gospel of John, there is a unique way of portraying the Last Supper: with a special focus on the washing of the feet [not present in the three other gospels]. Here, we can truly see that Jesus lived what He taught and did what He preached. He is God, but He became man just like us and took the form of a slave. He was the Master and Teacher for His apostles, but He took a towel and a basin and washed His apostles feet. This was to truly teach and lead by example that servant-leadership was what Jesus stood for.

Though we may not be in high positions of leadership, we exercise leadership nonetheless in our own ways. When we exercise leadership, let us not be tempted like the Pharisees and always look to ourselves as the authority and the source of strength. Rather, let us follow the humble example of our Lord, who took it upon Himself to be a servant to all that He may teach with impact and credibility what is really essential in Christian leadership: service, humility and leading by example.

30th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

"On these two commandments the whole law is based and the prophets as well."

Lectionary Readings for 30th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
http://catholic.pcentral-online.net/lectionary/30th-sunday-a.html

A lawyer from the group of Pharisees and Sadducees wanted to test and trip Jesus in His speech. He asked Jesus, "Teacher, which commandment of the law is the greatest?" And Jesus answered, "You shall love the Lord your God
with your whole heart,
with your whole soul,
and with all your mind.'
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'

Love is a mystery. And it is a mystery rooted in God and His love for all of us. God Himself initiated that love for us by creating us and giving us the gift of life - His Holy Spirit - which we receive when we were baptized and incorporated into His family. What He then enjoins on us is to love Him in return. Jesus summarizes this commandment of the Lord in two statements: that we love God with our whole being and that we love our neighbor as ourself.

Our love of God depends on how the intensity and degree of which we give ourselves to Him. The more we give ourself to Him, the greater is our love. And this love for Him flows over in how we treat others and ourself: in kindness, in generosity, in justice, in truth, in charity and in service.

This is not always the case. Oftentimes, it is repentance He asks of us. When we have misused our freedom to do evil and commit sin: breaking our loving relationship with Him and causing others to sin in our break of relationship with them. Therefore, all that is ask of us in times when we fail to love God as we should is to repent and seek conversion from our sinful ways. The more we move out of the darkness of sin and evil and into the light of Christ, the more we enter into a deep and loving relationship with Him as He is given to us in the Blessed Sacrament together with our brothers and sisters in the faith.

Now that we are celebrating World Mission Sunday, let us do our part as lay faithful to receive the light of Christ's love in our lives and to bring that light and love to others as well. We can do this in many ways depending on our particular situation of life, our state of life and our personal vocations. Mission and holiness is not only the responsibility of clergy and religious. Everyone who is baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, are commissioned to proclaim the gospel to all peoples, regardless of color or creed.

Lord, we pray for our missionaries, that they may be guided by Your Most Holy Spirit. Infuse in them the gifts of the Spirit that they may have the fortitude and the wisdom to discern how to bring the gospel to the people they serve. Grant also to us, your servants in the world, to bring the light of the gospel in places where it is needed most: in the family, in the business world, in all cultural forms - like the Internet, and in the political life of our communities. Amen.

29th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

"Then give to Caesar what is Caesar's, but give to God what is God's."

Lectionary Readings for 29th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
http://www.pcentral-online.net/catholic/lectionary/29th-sunday-a.html

The context of this statement of Jesus comes from the question posed to Him by the Pharisees. They wanted to test Him in order to find out whether He and His band of apostles were also paying their taxes to the Roman Empire. Jesus was aware that they wanted to"trap Him" in speech. But He responded with the statement, "give to Caesar what is Caesar's, but give to God what is God's."

Today's gospel makes us aware that there are two kingdoms: the kingdom of this world and the Kingdom of Heaven. We know that Jesus tells us that His Kingdom is not of this world. We, who desire to follow Him, know that His Kingdom resides in our minds and our hearts. But we are also citizens of our state and nation. And being citizens of our state and nation, we are obliged to follow its rules and laws, especially in relation to taxes and whatever constitution our State has.

We are called to place the Kingdom of Jesus above the kingdom of this world. This is a very big challenge indeed because oftentimes, we are torn by our consciences whether to follow the laws of the State or to follow the laws of the Church - a representation of the Kingdom of Jesus in a concrete community. There are laws in the State that are not necessarily moral when it comes to the laws of the Church. This is why in the history of our Catholic faith, eventually, there was a separation of Church and State in order to make a distinction between what belongs to the king and what belongs to God. When the system of governance was theocratic, as was in the times of the monarchies, the Church installed the king as a leader who will also lead his people to the Kingdom of God. However, when the Church began to be aware of how it was becoming worldly (especially in the time of Pope Innocent III), under the influence and inspiration of Francis of Assisi, gradually a separation of Church and State became a reality.

As people of God, we are called now to simply follow the Church's teaching and its hierarchy. They form our consciences in the right way. Whatever conscience we have that was formed by the State, must be subsumed under the moral teaching of the Church. We can then make good and wise decisions when it comes to serious direction by adding also our personal experience and discernment of our particular life situation. Although it may seem easy when Jesus said "to give to Caesar what is Caesar's, but give to God what is God's", in actual practice, this needs much prayer and discernment and the guide of a spiritual director and the counsel of people who are in a state of authority in both the institution of the Church and the institution of the State.

However, in ordinary circumstances and in situations that do not involve moral complexity, we are simply called to perform our obligations to the State and to the Church - meaning to be a good citizen of our State and to practice justice, mercy and charity as Christians and Catholics in our family and community.

28th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

"The reign of God may be likened to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son."

Lectionary Readings for the 28th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
http://www.pcentral-online.net/catholic/lectionary/28th-sunday-a.html

The Lord always preached and taught about the Kingdom of God in the form of parables, so that people may know about the Kingdom through things that are also familiar to them. He gave this parable to the chief priests and elders of the people: He told them about a king who gave a wedding feast for his son and invited many people to come to the banquet. However, those who were invited had many excuses and did not come. Others even insulted the servants of the king and killed them. The king was angry and sent soldiers to destroy those people. Then the king told his servants once more to invite anyone who can be seen by the byroads. And the wedding hall was eventually filled with guests, both good and bad. As the king then entered the hall and then surveyed the guests, he found one without a wedding garment. He then had the guest bound and thrown out of the banquet. And then Jesus said, "The invited are many, the elect are few."

This parable seems to reflect an image of a God who is very harsh and strict and very exact in his justice. But we must remember that God is not only a loving God but a just God. His justice is tempered by His mercy. There are many sides to God's reality and even though how much we may know of Him, His total reality and Person will remain a mystery for us. In this parable, the earthly king is a glimpse of what God is: just and powerful. But even though God is just and powerful, He shows how much He wants us to share in His life: like the king who, after inviting those who were invited in the first place and they refused, he still continued on his invitation and wanted people to share in the joy he has because of his son's wedding.

That is how the Lord wants of us when He calls us to the banquet of His table and altar. The Eucharist is for all of us. He invites everyone. But like the earthly situation Jesus tells of in the parable, many are too busy or do not find value in sharing in the life of Christ. We who are called and respond must be thankful that we can share in the life of God through the Eucharist. It is in the Eucharist that we are in communion with Christ and with each other. We become a Eucharistic community worshipping God who gave Himself to us in the form of consecrated bread and wine. Let us always remember that the Eucharist is a gift that we are called to be thankful for. If not for this sacrament, we would not be strengthened and nurtured in our Christian life. Christ calls all of us, but not many respond to Him. Thus only those who do, will share in the life He promises to us: a life of peace and justice and mercy and forgiveness for all our sins.

27th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

"...the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will yield a rich harvest."

Lectionary Readings for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
http://catholic.pcentral-online.net/lectionary/27th-sunday-a.html

This Sunday's gospel, we find Jesus again speak of a parable about the kingdom of God. He said that there was a property owner who leased out his property to tenant farmers and then left for a journey. When the property owner came back to get the produce of his land, the tenant farmers seized and harmed the slaves that were sent by the property owner to get the produce. The property owner reacted by sending a second force with more slaves, but the second group of slaves received the same bad treatment from the tenant farmers. Then the property owner said that if I send my son, they will respect him and give him my right to the produce of the land. Unfortunately, the tenant farmers even saw this as a greater threat to them, for the property owner's son was sure to be the inheritor of all the land and its produce. They thought evil and killed him.

Jesus was alluding this parable to the situation of the people of Israel at the time. The kingdom of God was being offered to them but they refused to receive it in their minds and in their hearts. God sent the prophets to tell them about this kingdom but Israel responded by killing these prophets. Finally, God sent His Son Jesus so that the kingdom will truly be implanted in their minds and hearts. We know what happened. Israel at the time rejected Jesus and His teaching and had Him crucified on the cross. And now, since they repudiated the kingdom and killed the son of God, that kingdom was taken away from them and given to the New Israel - those who now follow Jesus and obey His teachings.

Up to this time, the kingdom of God is still being offered to us everyday. We respond by doing the Lord's will and offering to Him the best of ourselves and the best of the fruits of our labor: both material and spiritual. We who know the value and precious treasures that are in the kingdom of God are called to share it with others by speaking to them about the Gospel in word and in deed. We may experience rejection like the slaves of the property owner in the parable or even the painful experience and suffering of death endured by Christ Himself in a particular personal experience of work, mission or ministry. But we must not give up nor be discouraged because Christ, whom the builders rejected, became the keystone of the structure. If we make Christ the keystone of our life structure, then we shall be rooted firmly in His love, His justice, His mercy and most of all, in His Spirit of service despite the pain and suffering of ministry to others or working for the family.

Let us continue to pray that we may have faith in Christ and in the kingdom He promises to us - a kingdom where love, justice and mercy shall abound and death shall be no more. May we be strengthened by His Spirit in our reception of the sacraments and our participation in the Eucharistic celebrations every Sunday. May Christ be firmly rooted as the keystone of our life that we may be firmly solid in our faith in Him and truly believe that He is our Savior and the Savior of all peoples in the world.

26th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

'No, I will not'; but afterward he regretted it and went.

Lectionary Readings for the 26th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
http://catholic.pcentral-online.net/lectionary/26th-sunday-a.html

Today's gospel is very interesting because it is another parable Jesus told the chief priests and elders. The parable is about two sons asked by their father to work in the vineyard. When the father asked his first son, the son said 'Yes' but he never went. When the father asked the second son, the son said 'No' but regretted it and went. Jesus then asked his audience who did the father's will, and they all answered, 'the second son'.

Our Christian ideal is that when we are asked to obey God's will, we say 'Yes' and do the Lord's will. Just like the example of our Lord and His Mother and all the servants of the Church who are both canonized or not canonized but live holy lives. Today's parable gives a more realistic and a more common situation in the world. When we are asked by bosses, superiors, parish priests, bishops, presidents, or leaders or persons in authority to do something, when we feel that the voice of God is in their speech, we respond either like the first son or like the second son. Our response if often imperfect. We say Yes but don't do it or we say No but do what should be done. Although the ideal is to say Yes and do what should be done, the practical situations we find ourselves in calls us to follow the example of the second son. Even though we do not like what we should do, we must follow and obey God's will through the authorities He has placed before us.

In reality and in the course of our Christian lives, we are sometimes like the first son. At another stage of life, we may be like the second son. The point that the Lord wants to convey to us is that even if we have sinned and not followed His will, we can change our ways and let our hearts return to Him and do His will of service to Him and His people. That is all He is asking of us. If we are now like the first son in our attitudes of heart or our outlook in life, then we are called to a change of mind and heart to be more like the mind and heart of His Son Jesus, who even though He may not like to undergo the Cross, said "Yes" to the Father and did His will.

Let us pray, that as we journey on in our Christian lives, we follow the Lord more and more in His ways: the ways of obedience and of doing the will of God in our lives. This takes the gift of faith and courage, which can be given to us if we invoke Christ and ask Him for help and assistance to strengthen us in our states of life and to do His will in the very ordinary responsibilities and tasks we need to do each day. Each time we do His will is a step toward the light of Christ. Every step towards Christ is a step toward the building of God's kingdom in us and in others.

25th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

"Thus the last shall be first and the first shall be last."

Lectionary Readings for the 25th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
http://catholic.pcentral-online.net/lectionary/25th-sunday-a.html

The gospel today is about a parable Jesus told his disciples. It is about the parable of an owner of an estate who hired workers to work on his property at different times of the day. When the day ended and there was the giving of the wages, those who were called to start work later in the day received a day's wage. Now, those who started early in the morning, at dawn, expected more. However, this is the clinch of the message of the parable: the owner of the estate still paid them a day's wage.

Was the owner of the estate unfair? In our business world today, that would be indeed unfair. Workers would protest for everything is kept in time - especially their time records of work. But Jesus wanted to present an image of God who is not "of the world's standards". The image of God Jesus wanted to present was an image of God who was generous with His graces and blessings. And this we see and experience in our lives as we see poor people getting richer or rich people just staying as they are. And there are other situations to this also. What Jesus also probably wanted to tell us that the Father is just and mercy in the way He is God and Creator of us all. "The last shall be first and the first shall be last." Justice, mercy, law, compassion, fairness and generosity are a creative tension in the person of our God. It is part of His mystery as One who is Lord of us all. We are called to trust in Him and His generosity to each and every one of us. What we must be thankful of is that He loves, cares, and wants what is best for us for we are all specially loved and uniquely loved just by the way we are.

Let us take more time to read again the gospel and see the richness and depth of the wisdom of the parable Jesus has told His apostle. We can gather more insights and depth of understanding when we place it in prayer and contemplation. God's ways are not our ways. This is the truth we always must know and live. That is why we are called to trust in Him with all our minds, with all our hearts, with all our souls, and with all our strength. And by our trust and love of Him this way, that love will flow towards both others and ourself.

Prayer: Lord, we pray that You grant the justice and mercy that is due us. Help especially those who are unjustly treated or those who need much mercy after a life of sin and darkness. Help us to trust in you and to let go of the standards of the world for once and believe in the standards and values of Your Kingdom. The more we have faith in You, the more we live in You. Amen.

24th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

"...unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart."

Lectionary Readings for the 24th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
http://catholic.pcentral-online.net/lectionary/24th-sunday-a.html

One of the important elements of our spirituality as Christians is to be forgiving and merciful to those who have wronged us or those who have done an injustice to our family or community. In today's gospel, we see Peter asking the Lord about the number of times we must forgive our brother. And Jesus replied, "not seven times but seventy times seven times". This reply by Jesus is simply saying that we should infinitely forgive our brother even though he has wronged us many times.

In our human experiences, whether it be in the family, in religious communities, or in diocesan structures, there is always the possibility of abuse of power or abuse of language or abuse of action. This is because our sinful humanity tends to make us dominate the other rather than to serve. When power is our goal or aim, it is most likely that we will abuse it sooner or later. But this is not what the Lord Jesus asks us to do. He asks us to serve as He did by His example of washing the feet of His apostles in the Last Supper. Also, He showed us that we can forgive even those who hurt us if we put our trust in God our Father like He did when he was scourged, mocked, nailed on the cross and left to bleed to death. But He nevertheless forgave all those who wanted His death. And we know that He was victorious in His faith because the Father raised Him by the power of the Holy Spirit on the third day.

How far we are from the One we wish to follow. In families, spouses often do not speak with one another for a long time because of a simple squabble. It could be because of differences in the way they want to raise the children or in how they want to budget the family income and savings. In religious communities, it may be because of the politics among the members of the community. One religious may want to ingratiate himself to the superior of the community and in his desire to do so, he makes his fellow religious appear bad to the superior of the community. This of course creates enmity among the brothers or priests in the community. And the same can be said for diocesan priests in relation to their parishioners or in relation to the politics in the diocese.

It all really must be based on the Lord's spirit of service and sacrifice. If we want to forgive in the way that He did, then we must follow His teaching of "denying ourself, taking up our cross, and following Him". This injunction may appear difficult and arduous, but with much prayer and gift of God's grace and blessing, we can follow His will and be faithful to the end. It will not be all the time that we can do so. And there will be indeed times when we cannot find it in our heart to forgive our brother. Wounds indeed take time to heal. And it also depends on many factors that are often beyond our control. But let us have faith that God is in control and that in the end, goodness will be victorious. That the ideal of service and not power and domination will prevail. Let us pray that we shall always have the faith to see and to believe that we will be always forgiven by the Lord for our human weakness and frailties and that we too shall have the same strength from the Lord to forgive our brother from the heart.

23rd Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

"If he listens to you, you have won your brother over."

Lectionary Readings for the 23rd Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
http://catholic.pcentral-online.net/lectionary/23rd-sunday-a.html

We often experience people correcting us or we ourselves correcting others. It could be actualized or done sometimes in our thoughts and hearts through prayer. Whatever be the way we correct others, most of the time, the reaction of the one corrected is, "who is he to say that to me?". This reaction is one of pride. It is very rare for people to accept correction because humility is very rare. It is a very important virtue but one people do not really seek for. For it is in humility (how we see ourselves before God), that we discover what is the reason for the correction.

Jesus tells us that if we see a fault in our brother and go point it out to him, it should be done amongst ourselves alone. Only when our brother refuses correction do we appeal to a third party so that there may be witnesses in the case. At this level, the "legal" situation is somewhat serious. However, if the correction is only something personal and does not really involve anything serious, we can easily appeal to God to grant us the humility to receive the correction or we can pray to God that the person we corrected will also appeal to God to grant him the gift of humility. If however, the case involves more than just the personal level, then this is something that can be taken to others. In law, it means "appealing to a higher court".

Correction is good because it helps us in our pathway to God. If we do not correct others, we will be not doing our Christian responsibility of leading others to God. On the other hand, if we ourselves do not accept correction, then our pathway to God will be blocked and we will never grow in our relationship towards Him.

Let us pray that we Christians will always pray for the gift of humility before the Lord because it is this virtue that will help us correct our brother in the right way and for ourselves to accept correction in the right way. The pathway to humility is not easy but it is made available to us through the example of Christ himself who sought more to serve than to be served. Let us always have an attitude of a servant-leader who leads others by example to serve their brothers and sisters by teaching them that the pathway to God, the pathway to Jesus, the pathway to the eternal life promised to us, is through humility and service.

22nd Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

"If a man wishes to come after Me, he must deny his very self, take up his cross, and begin to follow in my footsteps."

Lectionary Readings of 22nd Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
http://catholic.pcentral-online.net/lectionary/22nd-sunday-a.html

We who are fortunate to be in an information rich society and context sometimes forget that there are poor among us who may not even know how to read and write. They may live below the poverty line - where they have to live on a very small amount of income. There are also those who are spiritually poor: the despondent, those who are discouraged and faint-hearted, those who suffer from lack of faith or hope, etc.

How often we forget that to follow in Christ's footsteps means denying much of our self and needing to go out of our comfort zones. Though we need not be missionaries who go out into the jungles of Africa or Papua New Guinea, or go up the mountains of much of Asia, we can just go out of our ordinary routine and help the person we know who is suffering from a problem or difficulty in life.

The communicant I give to (she is a senior citizen who suffers from shingles), tells of how she would, in our present hard times, encourage a friend not to give up hope and faith in God. Her friend has many problems and suffers from many difficult situations in life. However, this sick (not really very sick since she can still drive though she wants to stay at home on Sundays to take care more of her wheelchaired sister), goes out of her way to take time to encourage this friend of her to hold on to God, to continue to go to Sunday Mass and not to abandon the Catholic faith. And, after all her positive and encouraging proddings and through the own efforts of her friend herself, her friend was able to slowly recover from her difficult situation and slowly returned to a stronger faith in God.

This gospel passage is a call for us to go out of our comfort zones. To deny ourself some conveniences in order to take up the responsibility of Christ (share in His cross to build the Kingdom), and follow Him in His desire to save people from despondency, darkness, discouragement, loneliness, and all forms of realities that choke the gift of life that God has given us. How we will do this: to deny ourself, take up our cross and follow Christ - depends on our state of life and the social environment in which we find ourselves. One thing is for sure though. If we take to sincere heart this injunction and directive of Christ, we too shall share in eternal life with Him forever in His kingdom. And we will have glimpses of this kingdom when we ourselves have acted according to His will in our daily life.

21st Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

"You are the Messiah,"..."the Son of the living God!"

Lectionary Readings for 21st Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
http://catholic.pcentral-online.net/lectionary/21st-sunday-a.html

This statement and confession by Peter was praised by Jesus because Peter exclaimed it not of his own accord but as inspired by the Spirit of God. We know that Peter is human and also has its faults. But despite all his faults and all his defects of personality and character, Jesus still chose him to be the "rock" by which the Church would be built. It was not because of Peter's merits then that Jesus chose him but because Peter had faith in Jesus as the Messiah and as the One who would save man from his sins.

Peter represents the papal leadership in our Church. Like Peter, there are popes in our history who have committed many mistakes and may even have caused shame to the Church because of their deeds. But this is because the Church is human and all its leaders, despite their being chosen by God are also human and can be subject to temptation and fall into sin. What is important though is that we continue to believe that God-in-Jesus has seen in the seat of Peter, the very foundation by which the Church would follow his teaching. We therefore are called to have the same faith in a leadership that was founded by Jesus Himself.

And what about the "Peter" in us? How is the level of our faith in Christ? There may be times when we understandably feel that our faith is weak and we trust in many other things other than God. When we do so, let us not forget that it is by the Spirit of God that Peter was able to confess that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Savior who is to save us from our sins. Therefore, if we pray for the gift of faith and genuine trust in God, we shall truly not forget that it is in God that we can really have genuine faith in the teachings of Jesus. The Spirit will strengthen us and help us to place our trust where it should really be placed.

Our level of trust in Jesus as the Savior shall grow and mature as we journey like Peter, who after he confessed in the Spirit that Jesus was the Christ, eventually learned by experience that that confession will be tested very much when Jesus became powerless in his eyes and was captured by the Roman authorities under the instigation of the Jewish religious authorities. We in our time will also be tested after we truly confess that Christ is our Savior. We will be tested many times over through various experiences which will make Christ's message appear ridiculous to us or the Catholic faith as something negative and scandalous. But we must not lose faith for if we cry out to the Lord to help our unbelief, and repent of our sinfulness, we will be restored in our faith in Christ. Each time that we are restored in our faith and in our relationship to Christ (like Peter was), we will be called to strengthen our brothers and sisters in the faith context we are living in: the family, the workplace, the parish or the community.

20th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

"Woman, you have great faith! Your wish will come to pass."

Lectionary Readings of 20th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
http://catholic.pcentral-online.net/lectionary/20th-sunday-a.html

In life, there will be many times when we will encounter problems and difficulties. We do not know what it is that will befall us for we are all under the mercy of God. It may be sickness, an early death, loss of a family member, bankruptcy, loss of a job, war, famine, economic disasters, or anything that will truly test our faith. Whenever we do so, it is good to follow the example and witness of the Canaanite woman here in the gospel for this Sunday. Her daughter is plagued with a demon and she wanted Jesus to cure and heal her daughter. Jesus' reply was: that He was only called to the House of Israel (excluding Canaanites). But the Canaanite woman knew and with faith that like the dogs that are under their master's tables, these dogs are able to eat the morsels and bits of food that fall from their master's tables. Therefore, this Canaanite woman, even though she knew that the Jewish society of that time was discriminating her, she knew with great faith that Jesus can heal her daughter. And because Jesus was amazed by such a great faith, Jesus granted her request.

Whenever we are burdened with trials and difficulties, how easy it is for us to be tempted and to give up. We often are sapped of our energy and our enthusiasm when times become hard and it is so difficult to earn a living, to get people's support, to serve a family, to keep a marriage, to gain job security, to make the business survive, to lead a parish or a mission, to fix a very difficult moral situation, etc. All these situations and many more will truly test our faith in Christ. We are therefore called to be inspired by the Canaanite woman, who despite the fact that she was powerless to ask for help in a very Jewish setting that discriminates their ethnic group, she continued on and pleaded for help from God in Christ Jesus. Perhaps, when we are indeed in dire straits for our situation or the situation of members of our family, we are called to express great faith in God and to cling totally to Him and know deep down in our heart that even though we are sinners, He is good and will always be faithful in His kindness and mercy to us.

Whatever be our situation now, let us not lose heart when things become very difficult and situations bring so much pain and hardship, but let us be called to be inspired by the example of the Canaanite woman: her faith teaches us that God answers the prayers of all - especially the least and the little people.

19th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

"Lord, save me!"

Lectionary Readings of 19th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
http://catholic.pcentral-online.net/lectionary/19th-sunday-a.html

In this gospel passage, we see an image of Christ walking on the water and bidding Peter to come unto Him. At first, Peter was able to walk a distance. However, after seeing the strong waves around him, he faltered and began to experience fear. This doubt led to his slow sinking into the waves. As he began to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Jesus at once stretched out his hand and caught him. Then Jesus remarked, "How little faith you have!" "Why did you falter?"

In our faith journey, we will experience both success and failure, victory and defeat, sickness and health, poverty and riches, and all experiences that will either strengthen or weaken our faith. In those times when we experience successes, most of us forget that it is the Lord who gave us our abilities so that we may succeed. And so we become proud and and forget the Lord. When, however, we began to experience failure again, only then will we remember the Lord and like Peter, cry out, "Lord, save me!"

We thank the Lord for the times that He gives us the gift of faith - a gift that helps us "walk on the water". But we must not forget that this faith is a gift and must be nurtured with humility, service, servanthood, sacrifice and fear of the Lord. Sometimes this gift of faith from God will help us go on even though we see obstacles and even if we see all kinds of hindrances towards our life objectives and goals. But sometimes, we may see the difficulties and the hardships and the problems and forget to focus on God who can give us that faith that will see us through all manner of difficulties. Then, in our doubting, we sink and fail to do His will.

The lesson we are taught in this gospel is to always put our focus on the Lord. We are called to look always toward Him. He is the real objective and goal of our life. If we focus on the problems and difficulties we encounter in our faith journey, we will forget the Lord and lose our faith. Keeping our eyes on Him all the time through prayer and service and humility will help us "walk in the water" and reach our destination of eternal life in Him. So if we continue to keep to our life of prayer and our life of service to the Church in our work, we shall have the faith to surmount any difficulty and we will be able to do the Lord's will to serve Him.

18th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

"All those present ate their fill."

Lectionary Readings for 18th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
http://catholic.pcentral-online.net/lectionary/18th-sunday-a.html

In the gospel for this Sunday, we see Jesus feeding the crowds who numbered about five thousand, not counting women and children. At first, before He fed them, His disciples told him about their situation: that they were in a deserted place and that there was no feed for all of them. The disciples wanted Jesus to disperse them. But Jesus said that there was no need to disperse and dismiss the crowds. He even challenged the disciples to give the crowds something to eat. But the disciples said that they have nothing with them except for five loaves and a couple of fish. So Jesus said to them to bring those loaves and fish to them. Then in a very poignant and deeply affecting way, he took the food, blessed and broke them and gave them to the disciples to give to the people. And without really being aware of what was happening, the disciples soon realized that they were able to feed the crowd and with twelve baskets with leftover food. "All those present ate their fill."

How we need Jesus in our life today when so many people are hungry and poor. If spirit of Christ were in each one of us, then we can easily work and produce in a way that will help so many people.

In the celebration of the Eucharist, some of you may have experienced the host running out or the wine running out. And there would be a few people who would not be able to receive communion. They are just requested by the pastor to make a spiritual communion. Some who are practical, especially for those ministers of communion distributing the host, find that approximating the length of the communion line will help them to apportion the host - halfing them or breaking them into many pieces so that all may receive communion. But certainly, this does not always work as the number of those who will actually fall in line for communion cannot be determined.

How we need Christ for us today. For if Christ and His spirit of generosity and service were with us, "All will have their fill." If we give up our selfish ways and self-centered ways, then we can help so many people - especially those who hunger not only physically but also spiritually - the discouraged, the depressed, the lonely, the abandoned, the elderly who are sick, and so many others. I believe the best example of one who practices charity that is truly in Christ is Blessed Mother Teresa. If we follow also her example, and go to the poor - then we will do our part in Christ's work, Christ work in the Eucharist, to make "All people have their fill."

17th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

"When he found one really valuable pearl, he went back and put up for sale all that he had and bought it."

Lectionary Readings 17th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
http://catholic.pcentral-online.net/lectionary/17th-sunday-a.html

The Kingdom of God is a reality that is beyond our human perception. Even our own limited imagination cannot possibly conceive the greatness and the majesty and the richness of this Kingdom. And yet we experience it. And we do feel it in simple ordinary experiences: in prayer, in our service to others, and in our discovery of the love of God for us.

Many of us have undergone conversion experiences. From a life without Christ to a life in Christ. This I believe is what the gospel is reminding us of what people do when they have discovered Christ and the Kingdom of God. At that point in our life when we choose Christ seriously in our lives, we, as it were, give up everything that we consider less valuable to the ultimate value who is Christ. It could be an unethical job in a disreputable company. Or it could be a friend or a group of friends who is leading us to a life of dissipation. Or it can be our materialistic ways, our consumeristic ways and our worldly ambition that could lead to the ruin of our souls. Whatever it was that we valued before we knew Christ, we now disvalue and give away in order to purchase the "pearl of great price" - Christ and His Kingdom.

Many of those around us are unaware that the Kingdom of God can be found here on earth though not yet in its fullness. Christ said that "the Kingdom of God is within you". And this is true as we steep ourselves in prayer and feel a certain oneness with all those who celebrate with us together in the Eucharist.

This gospel tells us that Jesus is emphasizing through the means of parables how valuable the Kingdom of God is. It is so valuable that those who discover it and find it are truly willing to give up their old life, to sell all their possessions, and maybe to give up worldly ambitions, in order to gain this priceless treasure. We who know this truth, continually choose the Kingdom of God everyday in our daily decisions. If we continue to do so, we shall be good examples to others, and in so doing, create that spirit that will build the Kingdom more and make it more visible on earth until it will finally come to fruition when the Lord returns.

16th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

"...collect the weeds and bundle them up to burn, then gather the wheat into My barn"

Lectionary Readings for the 16th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
http://catholic.pcentral-online.net/lectionary/16th-sunday-a.html

The Word of God is sown into the world and into the minds and hearts of every man and woman. For those whose soul is open to God, the Word makes itself anchored in their being that in time, it grows and bears fruit in their lives. Like seed that is sown on good soul, it produces wheat that can feed people and benefit a lot of those who need to be nourished also.

However, the Word of God is not the only one sown in the world. We know that there is an Evil One who sows what is contrary to the Word of God. This is the seed that produces discord and strife, pride and envy, anger and malice, violence and greed, materialism and consumerism, and all those that are contrary to the values taught by the gospel. This can be likened to someone who is an enemy of the farmer, who while the farmer was asleep, sowed weeds in his field.

Thus is the reality of our world and the life we are immersed in. We receive good from God but the enemy of God, the Evil One, seeks to sow His evil also in us. Thus we see the mystery of good and evil fighting each other in the world today. Should the evil be rooted out? Should they be exterminated? The gospel infers the message that judgment ultimately is the authority of God and that it is not good to root out the evil at this present time because the good may be brought along with it. However, when the time comes for the Lord to judge, He will be the One to collect the weeds and bundle them up to burn, then gather all the wheat into His barn.

What is asked of us today is to be aware of the reality of both good and evil that is present in ourselves and in our contemporary society. We are to make sure that we do our part to support the mission of the Church to "sow good seed" in the field of the world. Let us take on the standard of Christ and belong to His army. He will give us the strength and the power to fight those who sow weeds and bad seed in the world. We pray that we shall be faithful to the Lord and to the Church, in the state of life He has called us, by living the gospel in word and deed.

15th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

"Part of it, finally, landed on good soil and yielded grain..."

Lectionary Readings for 15th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
http://catholic.pcentral-online.net/lectionary/15th-sunday-a.html

In our gospel passage for today, we hear Jesus telling about the parable of the sower who sowed seed in four different types of ground. The first three grounds had certain characteristics associated with them that they never were able to bear fruit and yield a harvest. However, the fourth ground was of good soil and thus when the sower sowed the seed, it yielded grain of more than a hundredfold.

The gospel calls us to be like the fourth type of ground - the good soil - that when the Word of God falls into our minds and hearts, it will bear fruit in the Spirit and lead to actions of service and generosity. But it is not always like that. Most often than not, we sometimes are like the first three kinds of soil - and are unable to bear and yield a harvest. What are the things that we should do in order that we may be formed by the Lord to be the good soil that He wants us to be? I believe the answer is simple. We must have faith in His word and apply that faith in our actions towards our brothers and sisters. And faith is a gift we can receive through prayer and a very regular sacramental life. If we have faith in ourselves alone or in others alone, it could lead to a pride that may be well dangerous - as pride is a cardinal sin. But if we never forget to pray, be on our knees, and entreat the Lord who is the source of all life and the power to make us, His good soil, to yield a fruitful harvest, then we are certain that we will always be led in the right direction. Immersing ourselves constantly in prayer and in the liturgical celebrations of the Church will form us to be the good soil that we are really being called to be.

14th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

Lectionary Readings for the 14th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
http://catholic.pcentral-online.net/lectionary/14th-sunday-a.html

"...for I am gentle and humble of heart."

Today's gospel reading from the gospel of Matthew is usually associated with the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Jesus, in the many images that we know of Him, is most popularly known through this image of being gentle and humble of heart. He is the Good Shepherd who takes care of each and every one of His sheep. He is the Divine Mercy who will forgive all repentant sinners who come to Him. He is the Teacher and the One who provides the multitude with bread. He is the One who pities the crowd who seemed like sheep who have no shepherd. He is the One who was silent before Pilate's judgment seat and was meek as a lamb before those who condemned Him. Even up to the end of His life, He remained what He is: gentle and humble of heart.

How are we like Jesus in this regard? Is it not, that with all the stresses and pressures of life we are faced with, when someone makes an unkind remark at us, how easy it is for us to explode in anger, or retort in an irritated tone? Jesus' gentleness and humility stemmed from His being steeped in much prayer and obedience to the Father's will. If we too steep ourselves in prayer; if we too take time out from our busy lives and go to a lonely place to quiet down and pray, then for certain, our hearts will be purged of all its violence and hatred and anger and resentment and envy and instead be irridiated by the light of the Holy Spirit, and filled instead with the fire of God's love. Some say it is impossible to follow Jesus as He teaches us to follow Him. But we who pray for the gift of faith, hope and charity, know that with God, nothing is impossible. If we give of ourselves totally to the love of God, then the love of God will surely be poured into our hearts. But we need to obey God's will and what He teaches us through His Son Jesus: which is to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. Then, and only then, shall we be like Jesus to others too - gentle and humble of heart.

10th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

"Follow Me"

Today, we witness the call of Jesus to Matthew to follow Him. And Matthew, who may have already heard about Jesus from what he hears about Him from the people, believed in Jesus at that point of encounter and left his post and followed Christ.

When Matthew probably was hearing about Jesus and how he was very kind to all people, even to tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners, he became very interested in Jesus and His teaching. This was probably rolling in Matthew's mind and he was trying to figure out what it was really that Jesus was aiming for and what He stood for. So he went on with his regular duties at his post and continued with his life as usual. However, when Matthew heard Jesus call him to follow, that sudden encounter with the person of Christ, made Matthew finally decide to follow Christ. The mystery of a vocation and a call is always a mystery. We can never fathom nor try to analyze what it was that made Matthew finally decide to follow Christ. It has to do with Matthew's relationship with God, himself and with others whom he has always been working with and living with.

That decision to follow Christ, made Matthew welcome Jesus to his home. And his friends were also there: fellow tax collectors and sinners. This angered the Pharisees and the Scribes because they knew that it was wrong to mingle with tax collectors and sinners. But Jesus went above the law and followed the principle of charity and service to the Kingdom His Father wants Him to found and to build. Jesus did not call righteous people nor "healthy" people because He knew they would never believe Him nor follow Him. But those who were sinners and who were outcasts of society were very happy to be called by this holy rabbi and teacher who welcomed all people, even sinners, to His Kingdom. It was probably the feeling of being accepted by God Himself that made Matthew follow Jesus. Matthew knew he was a sinner. But here then comes Jesus, representing the Father and is Himself God, called him, accepted him and welcomed him to the Kingdom he has founded and will build through the foundation of the apostles.

How are we like Matthew? Are we aware of our sinfulness? Especially our pride, selfish interests and overly ambitious desires? If Christ were to come one more time to our life again; if he once more knocks at the door of our heart and opens our mind to the designs He has for us, would we like Matthew, follow Him and become His apostle and disciple for our time? We need not to anything extraordinary in following Him. It could mean just more charity, more generous service, and more prayer activities in our present lifestyle. How ready are we to "leave our post" and follow Jesus?

Corpus Christi Sunday, Year A

"If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever"

During the Last Supper, Jesus celebrated a meal together with the apostles to institute the Eucharist - the sacrament of His body and blood. The way that the group celebrated the meal was one of solemnity since Jesus knew that His time has come. His time has come to obey the will of the Father to give His life as a ransom for many. The apostles, not yet knowing fully what the meal meant, soon realized that they too were to celebrate that meal with others so that all may eat of the body and blood of the Savior.

That first Eucharistic meal in the upper room was probably a simple ritual. It is truly devoid of all the many details our present Eucharistic celebration has now. However, the spirit by which Jesus celebrated the meal is passed on to us through that institution of the Eucharist in the Last Supper and continues today as it was passed on by the apostles to those who too would be given the power and the authority to preside over the Eucharistic celebration.

We who are recipients of the Eucharistic species are fortunate that we shall gain the eternal life promised to us by Christ our Savior. It is thus important that we do not take for granted the blessings and the graces that the Eucharist can give us. More than physical food, it is the real food that we need on the journey of life. Bread is easily consumed and can easily be wasted, but the Eucharistic bread is a nourishment that fills our being with light. It brings us out of the darkness of sin and towards following the path trodded by our Lord - a path of sacrifice and service and self-denial - for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

In this feast of Corpus Christi, let us thank the Lord for the gift of the Eucharist, the sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Savior. By this sacrament, we are made into one community moving forward towards our salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let us be thankful that we are able to celebrate it in peace. There are many countries in the world were Catholics sometimes cannot be able to celebrate the Eucharist because of the peace and order situation of their country. Let us pray for countries such as this that they may find peace in the knowledge of Christ, the Prince of Peace. And let us also pray for our ministers, that they may preside well over the Eucharist, and be given the strength to be faithful in their ministry and their clerical vocation. Let us also pray for ourselves, that we continue to learn more deeply of the mystery of the person of Christ by continuously immersing ourselves in the celebration, adoration and contemplation of the Eucharist. The more we know Christ, the more we will have faith in Him. And the more we have faith in Him, the more we will be always at His service.

Trinity Sunday, Year A

"Yes, God so loved the world that He gave His only Son..."

It is Trinity Sunday. And we are called to reflect on God as a mystery of Love in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Yet, God is One. And He is a unity. A unity in Trinity. A mystery we are called to believe in faith.

God as Father, created the world and gave humankind and all living things life that they may live in peace and unity. However, sin continues to enter the hearts of humankind and in so doing, caused man to forget God and to love things rather than the Spirit. It seeks power in the world, riches in the world, and all the pleasures which the world can give. In so doing humankind is pulled into a direction that is not of God. But God does not condemn the world. In reality, He sent His Son, born of a woman. Born of a virgin. That He may save us from our sins.

And through the mystery of the Incarnation, His Son, Jesus, was given to us, so that we may believe in Him and regain the salvation that rightly belong to us as God's children. However, our salvation was regained by the sacrifice of Christ's life on the cross. He Himself taught us that what is important is not the power of this world nor the riches of this world. For the Evil One can use our desire of this to tempt us to go into a direction that is not of God. A direction of sin and darkness, rather than of grace and light.

When Jesus gave His life for us on the Cross, He showed how much God loves us; how much the Father loves us through Him. And He did not leave us orphans when He ascended back to heaven. Rather, He promised to send an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to be with us and to guide us so that we may continue to believe in Christ and His teachings. And that Spirit that the Father has sent through Jesus, is now present in the Church.

We are thus called to follow the Spirit of God, through the teaching of Christ in our daily lives. As we frequent more the sacraments and follow the teaching of the Church, we will be assured of a direction that leads us to salvation and to eternal life. Christ is the Way, the Life and the Truth. In Him lies our salvation alone. If we but believe in Jesus, we will not be condemned but receive the forgiveness and mercy of God.

Pentecost Sunday, Year A

"Receive the Holy Spirit"

In the Acts of the Apostles, we are told of the story of how before the Holy Spirit came down upon the apostolic community of Jesus, they were in a spirit of prayer and community. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He promised to the apostles that He would not leave them orphaned. Rather, He would ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit so that He would indwell in their minds and hearts and souls and grant them the courage to preach His gospel to the whole world. So, in a spirit of prayer, they awaited the time until the Spirit of Jesus descended upon them and came upon them like the sound of a strong wind and alighted upon their heads like tongues of fire.

The Spirit that the apostles received at Pentecost is the Spirit of truth - the Spirit of unity and peace and love. The Spirit comes down only when at least two or three are gathered together in prayer and in Jesus name. It is prayer that invites the Spirit to the hearts of anyone who desires Him in their lives. And it is also the presence of the Spirit in our hearts that helps us to pray as we ought: as individuals or in a community.

Today, in a world where there is so much commercialism, materialism, and too much attention to things external, people forget the reality of the Spirit - and the life of peace and love that only the Spirit of God can give. So much attention is given to things modern and to things that do not reflect our Christian values that we often forget that at our baptism, we were made to be Temples of the Spirit. Our bodies and souls are cleansed from sin and made sacred by the indwelling of the Spirit in us. The only way we can regain this life in the Spirit is if we learn to renew ourselves and begin again to live a committed life of prayer - one that looks within and sees the Spirit dwelling in our entire being - seeing Him as the One who is the source of life wherein we move, live and have our being.

Let us thank the Lord for the gift of the Spirit. For without the gift of the Spirit, we will be surely led into a direction that is not of God: a direction coming from our own sinful self, the influence of the world, and the temptations of the Evil One. Let us pray especially also to the Spirit for His guidance upon our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, that he may guide the Church into paths led by the Spirit - a path leading to the light of the Resurrection eventually to the light of Pentecost - the Light of Life.

6th Sunday of Easter, Year A

"The command I give you is this: that you love one another"

When we hear often the word love, we often associate it with the way the world usually defines it: romantic love and the love that is commercialized in the media. However, love as we know is really of God and is a mystery that we can only live out in life. It is the denying of ourselves, taking up of our cross and following Jesus in many ways in life.

Jesus commandment to us this Easter time and through all the years of our life is really simply just to love one another. And Jesus defines this Christian love by His teaching and by His actions and deeds of healing and ministering to the poor and the orphans.

The call to love our neighbor is not an easy call to follow. It is not easy because often, there are some people, who for some reason, we simply dislike. But this is exactly what we are called to do. We are called to go beyond our dislike of the person and move towards doing what is good for the person. That is why Jesus tells us that we are even called to love our enemies because with enemies, we do not even dislike the person, we may even feel hatred towards the person. And it would be really Christian if we move from hatred to an action of love.

What would be most moving is when we see or hear about stories in the war about soldiers belonging to opposite camps. There are stories of how some soldiers were kind to their opponents in the war even after they were able to defeat them in battle. Now this is what we really are called to do: to go beyond our prejudices, our dislikes, our negative perceptions of the person, and do what would be right for the person.

The parable of the Good Samaritan is also a case in point with regard to the theme of today's Gospel. Jews and Samaritans dislike each other. Jews think themselves of as being a pure race while they look down at Samaritans for mixing their race with others. However, one day, a Jew was seen as if dead by the roadside after he was laid waste by robbers. A Levite came along, and then a priest, but both of them just passed him by. However, when a Samaritan came by, he took pity on the Jew and took him and placed him in an inn where they would take care of him. This parable of Jesus truly exemplifies all what He teaches about love. Loving your neighbor. And loving your enemies.

5th Sunday of Easter, Year A

"Have faith in God, and faith in Me"

Since the beginning, Jesus has always encountered either unbelief from His own people or a lack of faith in His apostles and disciples. They sometimes misunderstand Him. At one time, because of the hard and difficult sayings He pronounced some of them went away and did not follow Him anymore.

In the gospel today, the apostles are troubled because Jesus said that He was going to the Father. We know that He will ascend into heaven and leave the apostles. But He will not leave them orphaned because He promised another Advocate for them - the Paraclete - the Holy Spirit.

Thomas wanted to know who the Father that Jesus was mentioning. Jesus pointed out that the Father they already know through He Himself - since He and the Father are one. And He further stresses that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

If we look at our present context, wherein we just had a pope elected by the college of cardinals, "Habemus Papam", we are all positive and optimistic that this will usher in a new time, a new era for the Church - perhaps a springtime - after the long hard "winter" of problems and difficulties that our most holy father, John Paul II, had to carry on his shoulders. In this new era and this new "springtime", we must not be sorrowful because John Paul II has left us. He continually tells us, as Christ also says, "Be not afraid". Christ says, "Be not afraid" because He wants us to have faith in God and to have faith in Him. When we do place our entire trust and faith in Christ, then we shall realize why He tells us that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Nothing can compare to the word and spirit of Christ.

This is certainly a time wherein we are called to greater faith in God and in Christ - whom He has sent to the world to show us that the way to Life is to deny ourself, take up our cross, and follow Him. It is not an easy way. In fact, it is a way of suffering and pain. But let us not be discouraged or frustrated or disappointed or become tired of doing good. We will have our reward if we endure and follow God's will. And that reward starts now as we will receive the Spirit of God at Pentecost - and every personal Pentecost in our life.

May the Lord God bless us all and increase our faith in Him.

4th Sunday of Easter, Year A

"I came that they may have life and have it to the full"

Today is Good Shepherd Sunday and also the Day of Prayer for Vocations.

The text of the gospel speaks of Jesus as the Good Shepherd who calls all those who know Him and hear His voice. Jesus calls us by name because He knows us. And we will follow His voice if we get to know Him more and more through the frequency we celebrate the sacraments and the regularity we do our spiritual exercises. And when Jesus calls us, it is usually to do some act of service to the Church or to the people whom we serve in society and thus are given the opportunity to tell them about the love of God for all of us. When Jesus calls the young, there is an opportunity for these young people to follow Jesus in the form of religious life or the priesthood. When a young man or a young woman hears the call of Jesus and follows Him in either of this states of vocation, he or she "will be blessed and indeed have life and have it to the full".

Those of us who have come to follow Christ in the vocation of the lay state are also called to be blessed by the Lord and have life and have it to the full. Our life will indeed be full of the Lord and this will come to us in simple blessings both in the spiritual and material realms. What is important though is that we continue to recognize the voice of our Shepherd all the time and to distinguish it from the voice of the flesh, the voice of the world, and the voice of the Evil One. Once we know the voice of the Lord, then all we need to do is to follow His will and apply it according to the particular circumstances we are in. To recognize more the voice of the Lord, it is important that we get familiar with the Scripture, with the celebration of the Eucharist, and the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation, the knowledge also of official Church teaching, and the practice of regular prayers that we have learned from our Tradition. Anything other than this may be suspect to the voice of the flesh, the voice of the world or the voice of the Evil One.

Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, is ready to go out of Himself and find the one sheep that is lost from the fold. If ever we have strayed from the fold of Jesus, Jesus Himself will go out of His way to seek us and to bring us back. And He will not be happy and rejoice unless that one sheep is back in the fold. It is because He wants to give all the fullness of His life and to share in the blessings He receives from the Father.

So whenever, we find ourselves straying a bit from the fold of the Church, let us go back to where we have always been. Let us not close our ears nor close our eyes to the presence of Christ calling us or seeking us out. And when we do encounter Him in our prayer and find ourselves called back to His fold, let us thank Him for doing so and saving us from a direction of sin and death. He is the Sheepgate of Life and He calls each one of us by name to be in His flock of Life - that we may pasture forever and be like trees that are planted by the stream and whose roots stretch out to the waters of the stream.

3rd Sunday of Easter, Year A

"Were not our hearts burning inside us..."

The death of Pope John Paul II was a great loss for the Catholic church. We thank the Lord for the gift of his person not only to the Church but also to the world. Without his personal charisma and his extraordinary penchant for mission and the stress of holiness of life, we would be without a light to guide us in this beginning of the new millenium where everything is still dark and unknown.

The loss of John Paul II was not a total loss. He left to us a spiritual legacy which we will always remember. Even if he is physically not present with us anymore, the spirit that lives in his writings and in the memories of all peoples who know him shall continue to be present and alive in us.

Isn't the death of John Paul II similar to the death of Christ in today's gospel? Two disciples who experienced seeing the death of Christ were so dejected, so discouraged, and so disheartened that they left Jerusalem and went on their way to Emmaus. Along the way to Emmaus, they met Jesus, although they did not recognize Him. Jesus was upset that these two disciples of His did not understand all that He taught and what the scriptures foretold about His rising from the dead. And so He opened up their eyes by quoting from the Scriptures and from the breaking of the bread. The disciples were heartened once more and within them their hearts burned with inspiration from the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of Life - the Spirit of Christ Himself who rose from the dead. It was this rekindling, so to speak, that sparked within them to not to continue on to Emmaus but to return to Jerusalem - back to the place where they experienced the death of Christ in order to tell the others that they have seen Jesus and that He is alive.

This gospel passage is a poignant reminder to all of us who have experienced some disheartening news, or who have felt a great loss of a loved one, or something that was so tragic that we want to leave the place where we experienced the loss. Like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, we were so discouraged that we would not want to do with anything of that past again. However, when we experience the Lord in our lives and feel His presence in our life again, the rekindling of our original inspiration to serve Him returns. We feel a new surge of life. We feel a new inspiration to strive to follow Him again in the manner taught to us by the Church. Instead of going to the direction we are headed - which is a direction of loss, grief, death, disappointment, dejection, discouragement, disheartedness, and maybe even depression, we head back to were we came from: from the original inspiration to seek life and God Himself as peace, unity and love in all His fullness. The direction of the two disciples to Emmaus was negative. Jesus does not want any one of his sheep to get lost and so He appeared to them and told them what should be. They thus, redirected their direction, and went back to a positive way - believing in Christ and in the fact and reality that He is the resurrection and the life.

At certain times of our life, we may be directed towards something negative or morose or destructive because we of a great loss or tragedy in life. But when we suddenly by the gift of God's grace find Christ alive in our mind and heart again, we feel the fullness of life pulsating in our being again. Christ lives in us once more through His Spirit. Once we do, all we need to do is to continue nourishing ourselves with the gift of His Spirit through the sacraments - especially the Eucharist and the sacrament of reconciliation and penance. By these two sacraments, we shall "always be redirected back to Jerusalem and not go to Emmaus." And when we indeed go back to Jerusalem, "our hearts will be burning within us with the fire of God's love".

2nd Sunday of Easter, Year A

"Do not persist in your unbelief, but believe!"
For us Christians following the life commitment of Christ, it is not always that we are tiptop in our faith. There are times when we feel we don't believe this or that - anything in relation to what He says in the Gospel or how the Catholic church interprets His teaching in our contemporary times. And not only that, even in our prayer life, there are times when He seems "dead" to our senses - "dead" to our feelings - as if His presence was not anymore with us.

If we look at the Gospel this Sunday, we see Thomas who learned about the rising again of Jesus from his fellow apostles. His fellow apostles actually saw the Risen Lord while Thomas did not because he was not present when the Lord manifested His Risen Self to them. For Thomas, Jesus had died. He may not have died in Thomas' memory or in Thomas' heart, but it is a fact and reality Thomas knows. Now that Jesus had risen and manifested Himself to his fellow apostles, He could not believe it because He does not believe unless He really sees what his fellow apostles had seen. For Thomas, "seeing is believing", is his truth. But, Jesus, who always loved His apostles and never wanted anyone of them to be lost from Him, took the initiative to make Thomas believe. He appeared again to the apostolic band and Thomas was now present among them. Jesus told Thomas to put his hand on his wounds. And Jesus said, "Do not persist in your unbelief, but believe". And Thomas not only believed but he expressed it openly by saying, "My Lord and my God!"

We are all like Thomas in a certain degree or in one way or another. But since the Lord loves us and does not want any of those who follow Him and truly love Him be lost in faith, He will take the initiative to tell us in many ways, "Do not persist in your unbelief, but believe". In times when we feel depressed or discouraged or bogged down with so many problems and difficulties in life, these are the times when our faith gets really tested. Sometimes we are tempted not to believe anymore that the Lord is really with us - that He lives in us and cares for us. But we only need to express ourself to others and the Lord in prayer that if only we can "spiritually" see Him again in our life, we shall have faith in Him again and follow Him committedly. And true to His word, that He will not let anyone of those the Father had given Him be lost, He will manifest His love and concern and care for us in ways we will recognize - through ordinary human experiences - through a gesture of friendship, through a welcoming smile, through the help of a co-worker, through the kindness of many people, and through the constant companionship of our spouse and our children. We are even blessed than Thomas because even if we don't physically see the Lord, we believe in Him and we hope and trust in Him with our whole life.

Now that we are strengthened by those experiences wherein we feel the Lord's presence in our life, we are then called, like the apostles, to make known to others too that the Lord Jesus cares for them and would wish them to live life in all its fullness through an openness to His Spirit. It is a gift we need to share with others too - the Easter gift of new life and renewal and rebirth and a renewed faith and trust in Christ.

Easter Sunday, Cycle A

"He saw and believed"
In the gospel, we find three persons who were involved in that first resurrection account: Mary Magdalene, Peter and the beloved disciple. Three persons, three responses and reactions. Mary was worried because she found out that the stone had been moved away and concluded that the body of Jesus was taken away. Peter and the beloved disciple heard the report from Mary and went to the tomb also. Peter's response was one of observation. He wanted to know what happened. The beloved disciple's response was one of faith. He saw and believed.

What would be our response if we place ourselves in that resurrection scene with Mary, Peter and the beloved disciple. We can use our sense imagination to enter into that gospel scene and examine what we may feel about the situation. Would we be anxious like Mary? Or observe carefully like Peter? or would we respond simply in faith like the beloved disciple?

Perhaps we can make a spiritual exercise by entering the scene ourselves and letting ourselves also get involved in what is happening in the gospel scene. And let us pray that whatever fruit we may derive by our meditation may deepen our knowledge of the mystery of Christ's resurrection and gain a deeper understanding of how much He has shown His love for us by dying on the cross so that we may turn away from our sinfulness.

Easter Sunday, Cycle A

"He saw and believed"
In the gospel we find three people who get involved in that resurrection scene of John 20:1-9. We first see Mary Magdalene who witnessed that the stone had been moved away and was worried that the body of Jesus was taken away by others. So she ran back to the apostles and reported it to them. Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved ran to the tomb to find out for themselves. We are told that the disciple whom Jesus loved arrived at the tomb first but did not enter. This was because he was young and his body was lighter and thus it was quite natural that he would outran Peter. When Peter arrived at the tomb, it was Peter who entered the tomb and saw the cloths of the Lord on the ground. Peter did not fear entering for we know he was a man who was close to the Lord in terms of authority. When the disciple whom Jesus loved saw Peter enter, he himself entered. And the gospel reports, "He saw and believed."

Three persons who were close to the scene of the resurrection. And three responses to it. Mary Magdalene's response was one of worry and anxiety. But she acted on her worry and informed the apostles. Of the apostles, it was Peter and the beloved disciple who responded to the 'problem' Mary presented to them. Peter courageously entered the tomb and saw the absence of the Lord's body and the evidence of the cloths being on the ground. If we imagine what Peter may have thought, we may surmise that he probably was puzzled as to what may have happened and the thought kept rolling over his head while he examined the cloths on the ground. But the main thing he did was to observe what was in the tomb of the resurrection itself. The beloved disciple on the other hand, "saw and believed". It was a simple response of faith.

Mary was worried. Peter observed. The beloved disciple believed.
Three responses to the resurrection of Jesus. What would have been our response if we too were part of the apostolic team and suddenly learn about the absence of Jesus' body in the tomb? Would we be worried like Mary and act in haste to solve the problem? Or would we 'examine and observe all the facts' and see what is in them like Peter? Or would we like John simply believe because of what we remember the Lord said to us that He would rise again? Maybe we can answer this question if we read again the gospel passage of John 20:1-9 and enter the scene of the gospel. Let us examine our own feelings as we place ourselves in the gospel scene. Do what I experience in entering the gospel passage by imagining myself in it close to Mary's, Peter's or John's reaction and response? Let us see for ourselves so that we may learn more about the mystery of the Lord's resurrection. And let us place ourselves in a prayerful attitude afterwards and thank the Lord that He had died for us and given us the blessing of a new life to live after all the misgivings we have caused Him.

Passion Sunday cycle A

"Clearly, this was the Son of God!"
This was the faith exclamation of the centurion and his men when the witnessed Jesus' glorious death on the cross. For after He breathed His last the earth quaked and tombs were opened. And after His resurrection, those who died rose again and went around town making their rising from the dead known.

This faith exclamation of the centurion was a faith exclamation made because He witnessed Jesus' death - a death that was not like any other death he probably has witnessed on the cross. How much this faith statement could have solved the unbelief of all those who wanted Him dead and crucified. It was because of the Pharisees and the religious leaders and all those people around them who did not believe in Jesus that caused them to be blind to the truth that He was really the Messiah sent by the Father. Only a few. Only those who saw Him up close and were touched by His life and works of healing, teaching and preaching, really believed in Him. However, there were those who were also witnesses to all these and still were to blind to see and so obstinate in their pride that a Messiah could come from humble origins.

Jesus continued on despite the unbelief of people. He had to fulfill the mission the Father had entrusted to Him. And so He went about Galilee and Jerusalem preaching about the love of the Father and teaching the Good News to the poor and the oppressed. He did great wonders and signs: healing the blind, the leper, the deaf and mute, the lame, and raising even the dead to life. However, the Pharisees and the religious authorities of that time rejected His teaching and His claim of being the Son of God. But Jesus was obedient to the will of the Father. Despite the fact that He knew that what He would continue doing will soon lead to His death, He nevertheless said, "Not My will be done, but Your will be done." And so, after the Last Supper, He gave the example of a life of service by choosing a symbol that would teach the apostles to do the same with others: the washing of the feet and the institution of the Eucharist (the sacrament of His total self-giving for all).

We are blessed because we believe in Jesus as the Messiah and as our Savior. We are even more blessed because we believe though we had not seen Him. How terrible it must be for those who already see the good works that He does and yet still do not believe. It has to take a simple centurion and his men to witness the glorious death of Jesus on the cross to exclaim, "Clearly, this was the Son of God!"

Maybe as we begin this Holy Week, we can be called to reflect on how much we believe in Jesus and how much He wishes to save us from our lack of faith and our sinfulness. It is a call now to increase our faith in Him and to see His way as still the way we need to follow in the world today. Though Christianity is being downplayed by many societies that are becoming too secularized, we are called to be the remnant: those who remain faithful to the end - those who like the Blessed Mother's example, and St. John's example, stood at the foot of the cross and was in strong solidarity with Jesus till the end.

5th Sunday of Lent Cycle A Year I

"...whoever believes in Me, though he should die, will come to life"
Many of us at times experience losses in life. They may come in the form of the loss of a loved one, the loss of employment, the loss of a relationship, the loss of a fortune, the loss of health, or any other loss that can bring real sorrow in our lives. In times such as this, we grieve and we become sorrowful. We feel a space in our hearts or in our life that was not there in the first place. And then, if we are not strong enough to endure the loss, we may lose faith.

In the gospel story, Lazarus has died. He, together with his sisters Martha and Mary, was a friend of Jesus. When Lazarus died, Martha felt the loss and expressed it to Jesus when they spoke with each other. Mary also felt the loss and her feeling of grief was intense that she cried together with the others close to their family. Jesus, overcome with compassion and love, felt the loss too. But He asked Martha if she believed in the Resurrection and Martha said, yes. She said that her brother would live again in the end time when all the dead will be brought to life. Jesus at this point wanted to bring her faith in the present when He said that this life is not in the future but now in the present: for He Himself is the Resurrection and the Life. And so, through the power of God, He raised Lazarus back to life.

Sometimes, when we are overcome with our losses and remember so much the past, we forget the gift of life that God gives us in the present. Even if we have suffered losses - the loss of anything very valuable to our life - there is hope. And that hope is realized not in the future but right now in the present through our faith in Christ as the Resurrection and the Life. If we only believe that He will always be our Life as we receive Him in the breaking of the bread during the Eucharistic celebration, we will always live in Him and death shall not be in our hearts and minds. If we believe we shall be forgiven for our sins when we ask His forgiveness and mercy, then life shall be brought back to our souls and light shall dwell in our being. Life in its fullness shall indwell in us if we but believe in Jesus who gives Himself everyday and every moment. We need only to listen to Him in much prayer and contemplation: in the silence, in the reading of the Scripture, in our adoration, and in our moments of solitude.

4th Sunday of Lent, Cycle A Year I

"I came into the world to divide it...to make the sightless see and the seeing blind."
In the gospel today, Jesus is calling all of us, especially those who are sightless, to see Him with the eyes of faith. For those of us who already have a mustard seed of faith, we are called to see Him more as the Truth, the Life, and the Way. We are called to have more faith in Him. There are times in our spiritual journey when we see ourselves as righteous and 'in the right'. When we do so in an attitude of pride and arrogance, we really blind ourselves to the truth that we are weak and sinful. We become so obsessed with the idols of power, money, fame and success that we become blind to the true God in Jesus. Often, we become so when we are too much involved in the affairs of the world that we forget that it is in Christ that we have our strength and our power in life. It will take only a sudden turn of events where we may experience the pain of others, a sickness in the family, or a sudden accident, or a tragedy that we realize how blind we were to the truth that God is really there for us and we refuse to believe that He is so and that we don't need Him. But when we realize that we are wrong and when we realize our sinfulness and our being also in the wrong despite our lawfulness in terms of obeying all the rules of our society, we still lack the love we should show our Lord. And this makes us blind. Accepting our sinfulness and swallowing our pride will make us see Christ as our Savior and Healer and Redeemer of all mankind. If we do not accept our sinfulness and our pride, then what we think that we know and what we assume that we see, really is not and we are really in the darkness. Only the light of Christ's grace can make us see. And we shall indeed see and always return to sight whenever we turn to God in humility and repentance and ask His mercy and forgiveness for the sins we have committed. Then we shall see as clear as the light of day and the light of the Spirit of God shall indwell in us forever. Just as the blind man in the gospel was healed from his blindness, so shall we be healed from our blindness when we turn to Christ alone, and to turn to Him in utter faith and ardent belief in His love and mercy.