WAKE UP, SLEEPY HEAD!

Thursday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time
Mt 24:42-51

Some people are described in Tagalog this way: Madikit lang ang likod, tulog agad! They are people who fall asleep rather fast and easy. While some people are described this way, there are also people who are seen sleeping in any possible position and in any possible venue. There are those who can sleep while seated and those who can sleep even while up on their feet! And they can do it almost anywhere – inside the church, in a theatre, in a public transportation, in a bathtub, in the classroom, in the office…and yes, believe it or not, even in the senate!

While some people fall asleep easily and quickly, there are also people who are difficult and too slow to be wakening up. They are said to sleep like a log. In Tagalog, we say, “Naku, daig mo pa ang mantika kung matulog!” Sometimes their beds are already burning but these “logs” can hardly feel the heat as they continue snoring. Alarm clocks are embarrassed by this kind of sleepers.

But there are also those who are rather light sleepers. Again in Tagalog, they are described as “mababaw kung matulog” or “tulog-lamok”. They wake up at the slightest movement inside the room. Sometimes they even answer a question when asked even as they sleep. They also do not need alarm clocks because their biorhythm is on even before the alarm sets off.

Which among these three kinds of people are we?

“Stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming,” Jesus warns us in the Gospel today. But how can we hear His warning if we are already sleeping and we sleep like a log?

By the way, are you still there reading this reflection or have I already lost you in dreamland?

Hoy, gising!!!

CURSE OR BLESSING?

Wednesday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time
Mt 23:27-32

We like to bless and be blest. We believe in blessings.

Some curse and are cursed. Others seem to be curses in themselves.

There are two types of people who seem to be curses in themselves. Both the First Reading and the Gospel today talk about them.

In the First Reading, they are those who refuse to work. St. Paul is dismayed as he writes, “Those who do not work should not eat.” Laziness is a curse. Lazy people are curses to other people. Admonish them to work, give them work, teach them how to work, and you dispel the curse.

In the Gospel, the accursed are the hypocrites. Jesus sheds off His meek-and-mild image and shouts, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites!” Hypocrites are like whitewash tombs, clean in the outside but full of dead man’s bones in the inside. Hypocrites are not only accursed; they are curses to other people, too. Unmask the hypocrite and you drive away the curse.

No one wants to live with a lazy fellow. No one wants to be identified with hypocrisy. Everybody likes blessings instead. Let us fight our own laziness and repent from our own hypocrisy. Let bless one another. Let us work hard. Let us be sincere always. Let us be blessings ourselves.

The choice is always ours. If we make a wrong choice, woe indeed we are.

A FUNNY STORY OF THE HEADLESS

Memorial of The Beheading of John the Baptist
Mk 6:17-29

The Gospel today gives us the account of why and how John the Baptist lost his head. I cannot help but smile when I read this story. Sometimes I can even imagine Mark the Evangelist grinning as he wrote this narrative. It is almost comic!

John the Baptist, who, as the story tells us, lost his head, is the only person in the Gospel today who has a head after all. All the characters in this account are headless. King Herod was headless because he was so stupid to swear that he would give to Herodias’ daughter anything even half his kingdom. How could he be such a moron? Herodias’ daughter was headless because she could not make her own decision about what to ask from the king. She even had to ask her mother about it and make her mother’s decision hers simply because she had none of her own. How could she be such a loser? Herodias was already headless even before this incident because she did not mind living in with her husband’s brother, even as she remains married to her husband. Perhaps, she had beauty; but she had no brains. The guests of King Herod were all headless, too, because not one of them protested against the murder of John the Baptist. No one, at least, tried to advise the king that it was all right and more honorable to take back his bad oath. The headless king cannot keep a company except that which was headless too.

John alone had the head to know whom to trust: God alone. John was the only person in the story who had the head to know and live by what is true, moral and godly. Funny, they were all headless except John. Sad, they had John beheaded too. But the Lord keeps the story of John the Baptist in our heads so that we may follow the heroic faith of John.

LATE HAVE I LOVED YOU

Memorial of St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Mt 23:8-12

Today is the memorial of St. Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. Very few Catholics – and even non-Catholics – do not know him.

St. Augustine was born in Tagaste, Africa around the year 354. In the early years of his life, he followed the example of his mother, St. Monica, but later fell into a licentious way of life. In one of his famous writings entitled, “Confessions”, he said, “My sins increase like a rolling snowball.” With tears, his pious mother, constantly prayed for his conversion until at age thirty-three he was deeply moved by a sermon of St. Ambrose in Milan and was baptized. St. Augustine went to Africa and was elected bishop of Hippo. For thirty-four years, he guided his flock, instructing it with sermons and many writings. He was relentless in fighting the heresies of his time and defending the Faith carefully and convincingly through his writings. In the year 430, St. Augustine passed away.

Below is an excerpt from St. Augustine’s book, “Confessions”. It may well be our confession too.

“Late have I loved You, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you!
You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for You.
In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created.
You were with me, but I was not with You. Created things kept me from You;
yet if they had not been in You they would not have been at all. You called,
You shouted, and You broke through my deafness. You flashed, You shone,
and You dispelled my blindness. You breathed Your fragrance on me;
I drew in breath and now I pant for You. I have tasted You, now I hunger and thirst
for more. You touched me, and I burned for Your peace.”

Anyone who thinks that it is too late to return to the Lord must think again.

EXPECTATIONS HURT

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jn 6:60-69

Many years back I saw the movie “Joy Luck Club”. A scene between a mother and her daughter stuck in my mind. The mother considered her daughter a failure because her daughter did not become any of the things she wanted her to be. “I hate it when you hope, mother,” the daughter said. The mother did not utter any word but looked at her daughter with a blank stare. The daughter continued, “Because when you hope and I can’t deliver, it hurts.”

The expectations we create on others, when not delivered, can hurt either us or them. When the expectations of the Jews concerning the Christ were not fulfilled according to their categories, who got hurt? Was it Jesus or the Jews?

Today, many Jews who started following Jesus, thinking that He would fulfill their idea of what the Messiah should be, went away one by one. There was a fall out in the company that Jesus was keeping all along. Many could not accept His teaching about Him being the Bread of Life from heaven, that unless they eat His flesh and drink His blood they would have no life in Him. They found His claims intolerable. They complained. They were upset. They went away.

Perhaps Jesus was hurt as much as the Jews were hurt, if not more hurt than they were. It often hurts more when you are the one left behind and abandoned. But Jesus did not take back His words. He is the Bread of Life. His Body is meant to be eaten. His Blood should be drunk. The Jews, as well as we today, must consume Him so that we may have eternal life.

That Jesus stood His ground on His claims meant that He was convinced of what He said. He did not run after those who turn away because His teaching was difficult to accept. He did not bargain and compromise for a watered-down demand. He is the Bread of Life – take it or leave it.

But there were also those who, drawn by the Father to Jesus, stuck it out with Him despite His hard claims concerning His identity. Simon Peter stood as their spokesman: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life, and we believe; we know that You are the Holy One of God.”

How about us? Do we want to go away too? If we do, Jesus will be hurt. But we hurt our selves all the more.

THE BEST PREACHER

Saturday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time
Mt 23:1-12

The best preacher is the best witness. The best homily is the preacher’s life. The best pulpit is here and now.

Pope Paul VI wrote, “Modern man no longer listens to teachers but to witnesses. And if he listens to teachers it is because they are first witnesses.”

When we were baptized, we began to share in the prophetic mission of Christ. We are called to be prophets. To be prophets is to be agents of evangelization. To evangelize is to penetrate the world with the presence of Jesus. That presence must be our presence in the world. By what we preach, by how we live, is our presence the presence of Jesus in the world today?

What we preach and how we live are intimately related with each other. The former flows into the latter while the latter flows from the former. We must live by what we preach and what we preach must define the life we lead.

The challenge is for us to preserve a positive relationship between our preaching and our living. We cannot expect others to believe what we preach when our lives do not reflect our teaching. We cannot lead others by mere words, no matter how inspiring and correct they are. We lead others by the lives we lead. Shining examples, not eloquent words, announce the Good News of Jesus to the world better and louder.

Once a woman came to me. She was very worried over her friend who stopped going to the Catholic Church but started to join a Fundamentalist group. “What must I do to save my friend, Father?” she asked me. “The more essential question,” I told her, “is not what you must do, my friend.” She looked at me intently, but with a rather confused look on her face. “You do not need to save your friend at all. Christ already did that for her,” I continued. “You mean to say, I should do nothing and just let her leave our Church and be a Born Again?” she asked further. “The more essential question, my friend,” I told her, “is not what you must do but what you must be.” “And what must I be, Father?” she asked. “You must be a good Catholic in word and deed,” I replied.

Have you preached to someone today?

A HANDICPPED LOVER

Friday in the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
Mt 22:34-40

Highest, tallest, smallest, shortest, biggest, latest, newest, fastest, farthest, dearest, purest, holiest, earliest, soonest, friendliest, cleanest, slowest, keenest, oldest, youngest, longest, widest, greatest, etc. Do you recognize what these words are? Yes, they are, of course, adjectives. But what kind of adjectives are they? Superlatives! They are the highest in rank in the hierarchy of adjectives. A rank lower to them is called “comparatives”.

“Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?” asked one of the Pharisees. The Master answered thus, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: you must love your neighbor as yourself.” Can there be two superlatives of the same adjective? In love, there is. The greatest of a love so great is love of God and love of neighbor. “On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also,” concluded the Master.

It is not enough to love God and be indifferent to our neighbor. Our love for our neighbor cannot be an excuse to love God less. The two go together as a person is not complete with only one ear, one eye, one arm, one hand and one foot. A whole person has a pair of each of these body parts. When a pair is missing, the person is said to be handicapped. Love for God without love for neighbor is a handicapped love. The same is true with love for neighbor without love for God. Just as a handicapped person cannot reach its fullest physical potential so is love not whole if it were love for God that is bereft of love for neighbor or vice versa.

Our love should have ears, eyes, arms, hands and feet for both God and neighbor. Just as we listen to God so should we listen to our neighbor. As we see God, we should not be blind to our neighbor. We embrace God and neighbor together in one crossing of our arms. If our hands work for God, so should they serve our neighbor. The feet that run towards God must also be feet that run towards the neighbor. Through this, we observe the Law and fulfill the Prophets. Love of God and love of neighbor is the foundation of the Law and the vision of the Prophets.

When we pray, let us reflect on our folded hands. Should we have only one hand, would we not have a clench fist instead?

NATHAN EL

Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle
Jn 1:45-51

There is little we know about Bartholomew. In the story about how he met Jesus, he was not even called “Bartholomew”, but Nathanael. Because in Hebrew, the word “bar” means son of, Bartholomew indicates whose son Nathanael was. He was “bar Tholomei”, the “son of Tholomei”. This is how we commonly refer to him nowadays. If Nathanael’s father were alive with us today, he would indeed be a “proud” father. He sired an apostle of Jesus. And we all remember that apostle by his father’s name!

If my father were still alive today, he would be seventy-one years old. I saw him walked down the aisle of the Manila Cathedral with overwhelming joy on the day of my ordination to the priesthood. Eleven years since then, I sometimes wonder if he is still beaming with joy in heaven for having sired a priest of the Lord. But, aside from relatives and close friends, very few people remember my father.

If I were Nathanael, I would be called “Barcarlos”, “Roberto Barcarlos”, “Roberto son of Carlos.” But I am not Nathanael, and people call me “Father Bobby”. But both Nathanael and I are gifts of God to our fathers even before we are their gifts to Him.

“Nathan” means “gift” in Hebrew. “Nathan-el” is “gift of God”. Nathanael and I are gifts of God. Apostles and priests are exactly that.

You, too!

FULL OF GRACE

Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lk 1:26-38

Mary is queen not because she is the wife of Christ the King. Mary is queen because she is the mother of Christ the King. But it was not from Mary that Christ Jesus, her Son, received His kingship. Rather, it was because Christ Jesus is King that Mary is queen. Mary participates in the kingship of her son.

Just as in all Marian feasts, the truth affirmed by today’s celebration is about Jesus more than about Mary. Jesus is Lord and Ruler of all creation. His kingship is not delegated to Him, but His from all eternity. Because His kingship is inherent in Him and not a delegated role, Jesus can make anyone He so desires to participate in His royalty. He desires Mary, His mother, to be queen. Thus, the queenship of Mary is at the service of Christ just as Mariology is always a function of Christology.

Mary’s queenship underlines her participative role in the kingly ministry of her Son, Jesus. It is a queenship that is far from lording over. Like the kingship of Jesus, it is a ministry, a role of service, a position taken by Jesus and symbolized by His washing of the feet of His disciples during the Last Supper. Mary’s queenship is not absolute power. Like the obedience of her Son, she submits her entire will to the holy will of the Father. It is a queenship that does not confine her far from the rest of humanity. According to the pattern of her Son, she remains in our midst and makes access to her always available to us. Mary is not only our queen; she is our mother, too.

Mary is the most unlikely person to attribute queenship to her self. She calls her self “the maidservant of the Lord” instead. But those who regard themselves lowly are exalted by the Most High. Thus, the Almighty has done great things for her, and we join her proclaim, “Holy is His name!”

The queenship of Mary is not about crown, scepter and throne. It is, as always, about Jesus. And the crown of Jesus is made of thorns, His scepter is a nail on each hand and foot, and His throne is the cross. What an absurdity! But graces are absurdities in life, don’t you think so? And Mary is full of grace.

THE IMPERFECT PERFECTIONIST

Monday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
Mt 19:16-22

I confess: I am a perfectionist. I want everything perfect. Because nothing in this world is perfect, sometimes I easily get impatient when imperfection manifests itself.

But I am not perfect. I am an imperfect person who will settle for nothing but the perfect. Because I am not perfect myself, my own imperfection hurts me the most.

Who does not want to be perfect anyway? If Jesus were to ask us the question implied in His advice to the man in the Gospel today, we would almost certainly say, “But, of course, Lord, we want to be perfect.” And His suggestion for us to do is just the same: “If you wish to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” Having heard so, will we also go away sad, for we are a people of great wealth?

To be perfect means not to be a slave to anything. I confess: sometimes I live by my wants rather than by my needs. To be perfect means to deny one’s self so as to serve the other’s needs. I confess: sometimes I preserve my self and expect others to serve me. To be perfect means to have treasure in heaven. I confess: sometimes I am lured by earthly conveniences. To be perfect means to let go. I confess: sometimes I would rather stay because I am afraid to risk. To be perfect means to follow Jesus. I confess: sometimes I want Jesus to follow me instead. But, unlike the man in the Gospel today, I will not go away sad. I choose to remain with Jesus with the confident hope that He will teach me how to let go and be perfect like Him.

Will you stay with us?

TASTES GOOD!

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jn 6:51-58

Today we say, in response to the Psalm, “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” We can see goodness. But can we taste it? We see goodness in a word, in a gesture, and in a thought. But can we taste goodness in a word, in a gesture or in a thought? We see the goodness of a person. But do we taste his goodness? Is it not more correct to say we feel the goodness of a word, of a gesture, and of a thought? And we do experience the goodness of a fellow human being.

In the Lord, however, goodness can both be seen and felt. We see the goodness of the Lord in His unconditional love for us. We also taste the goodness of the Lord because He became food for us in the Holy Eucharist.

“I am the Living Bread…,” so says the Lord in the Gospel. He is not only the Light of the world, not only the Vine, and more than just the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is also food for everlasting life. He Himself is our Life.

Because food achieves its purpose only when it is eaten, the Lord must be consumed. Thus, when given a choice between the celebration of the Holy Eucharist and the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, celebrate the Mass. When ask if we want a Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament or a reception of Holy Communion, receive Holy Communion. Jesus wants to be consumed more than stared at. He meant Himself to be food for the life of the world.

As I write this reflection, there is an issue in the Shrine I am presently assigned to. The issue concerns the re-opening of the Adoration Chapel. The chapel was closed for renovation for sometime now, but the renovation has not started yet. Why should it begin when the Blessed Sacrament in the Adoration Chapel is often left unattended, without adorer to keep watch and pray? Our Perpetual Eucharistic Adorers (PEA) do not seem to understand what “perpetual” means. Why should the Adoration Chapel be re-opened when the Shrine is opened from 6:00 AM through 10:00 PM anyway? The same Jesus who once waited for visitors inside the Adoration Chapel is the same Jesus who continues to wait inside the Shrine. Jesus exposed in a monstrance is the same Jesus hidden in the tabernacle. Why expose Jesus in the Adoration Chapel when there is not a single soul exposed to the Lord inside the same chapel? I can only smile as the debates continue. We must have forgotten that Jesus wishes to be consumed more than to be stared at. So sad, often there is also no one in the chapel to stare back at Him.

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. Remember to taste, not only to see. His goodness taste always better than seeing His goodness.

Jesus always tastes good. Consume Him!

WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN?

Mt 19:13-15
Saturday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time

A number of times I overhear a mother tell her child as I pass by, “Don’t be naughty; Fr. Bob will be get angry at you.” What?!

I am very much saddened by the way some parents or guardians make us, priests, appear like monsters to their children or wards. Many elders often recourse to dropping our names and making our images dreadful when children refuse to obey them. Sometimes it works, other times it does not. But at all times it is totally wrong to do so because priests are supposed to be images of Jesus, not of some monster ready to strike dead any defiant child.

“Let the children come to me,” said Jesus in the Gospel today. He continues to say the same thing to us through our priests. “Do not hinder them,” Jesus ordered His disciples who stood between Him and the children. He still commands us the same today.

So, where are the children?

The blame for their absence, however, falls not only on the elders. We, priests, can be just as guilty as the elders. Perhaps, we have not really become like Jesus to them.

FROM THE HEART, NOT FROM THE LOINS

Friday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time
Mt 19:3-12

I wonder if there are still eunuchs today. Eunuchs used to be servants of the queen who are literally made incapable of impregnating the female species. Eunuchs those days were even made to lose their sexual drive. It can be easily understood the reason why those servants were intentionally made eunuchs. If I were born during that period, I would not even dream of serving in the queen’s court.

Of course, there were those who were not made eunuchs but were born already incapable of inseminating a woman. They were not serving in the queen’s court but they were born sterile, if not impotent. They were not called eunuchs but they practically suffer the same handicap. There are still men born this way today. I suppose I am not born this way but I do not have a way to find out because I decided to be a “eunuch” already.

I said earlier that I would not even dream of serving in the queen’s court but I did not say I would not decide to be a eunuch. I have decided to serve in the Lord’s court and I embraced the life of a celibate. For all practical purposes, I am a “eunuch” myself. I offered to the Lord everything, including my faculty to beget children in this world through marital union. I do so with a clear appreciation of the beauty and grace of the married life but also with the desire to be totally available to the Lord in the work of His ministry. I chose to be a celibate for the Kingdom.

It is not whether we are celibate or married that determines our greatness in the Kingdom of God. It is the quality of our service, for whether celibate or married, we are all His servants. Celibates and married people are called to holiness of life. Holiness of life is the perfection of charity. Celibates and married people are therefore called to serve with love. The more loving their service is the greater they are in the Lord’s court. That kind of love comes from the heart, not from the loins.

JESUS REMEMBERS, JESUS FORGIVES

Thursday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Mt 18:21-19:1

“To forgive is to forget” is an overly romanticized saying. It is a confusing cliché. To forgive is to forget…forget what? Forget that we have been hurt? Forget that we have been forgiven? Forget what?

If forgetting comes before forgiving, then how can we forgive when we do not remember what has to be forgiven? If forgetting comes after forgiving, then how do we learn from the wrong that has been forgiven? If forgetting comes with forgiving, forgetting does not necessarily mean forgiving.

“To forgive is to forget”, an overly romanticized saying that is not always true, did not come from Jesus. What Jesus said is rather clear: “Forgive seventy times seven.”

Since seven is a perfect number for the Jews, Jesus meant that we must forgive each time there is a need for us to forgive. Jesus neither implied nor directly stated that to forgive is to forget.

To forgive is to remember. It is to remember that we also hurt others just as others hurt us. It is to remember that we need other’s forgiveness just as others need our forgiveness. It is to remember that we have been forgiven so that we may forgive. It is to remember that God forgives us regardless how grave and frequent our sins are. It is to remember that God is Father of us all and that we are brothers and sister to one another. It is to remember that not to forgive is not to be forgiven by our Father in heaven, as we pray in the Lord’s Prayer. Forgiveness flows from remembering, happens because of remembering, becomes grace through remembering.

When St. Paul wrote, “Love keeps no record of wrong,” he meant that love transcends the wrong done. He implied remembering because how can love transcend what does not exist even in memory? To transcend is not to forget but to transform moments of pain into moments of growth, a shameful incident into a humbling experience, memories that hurt into lessons of grace.

When Jesus rose from the dead, He still bore the marks of the wounds our sins inflicted on Him. Intriguing, right? Even now in heaven, Jesus, even in His glorified Body, bears the same reminder of our transgressions. Say that again please? His resurrection did not erase the image of His crucifixion. Rather, His resurrection highlighted even more the grace of His cross. It is in the light of the Resurrection that the Crucifixion should be understood and can have meaning in our lives.

Jesus remembers. He does. And so He forgives.

FRATERNAL CORRECTION

Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Mt 18:15-20

The problem with many of our fraternal correction sessions is that they are not fraternal at all. Quite often, there is little, if any, brotherly in the way we correct one another. Thus, fraternal correction ends up in fraternal destruction, like a demolition project, a collapse of relationships where doors are not only closed but bridges are also burnt.

Fraternal corrections must bear three things.

First, genuine love should be the only motive for correcting the erring. It must be love between brothers; that is why it is defined as “fraternal”. Just as genuine love is its sole motive, its only goal must be authentic love as well. Genuine love means wishing the authentic good of the other.

Second, fraternal correction is not judgment day. It should not be considered as the long awaited day of verdict regarding the character of the one being corrected. Judging the other does not correct; it condemns. Judging does not fix anything; it separates the accuser from the accused. Judging closes the ears, hardens the heart, and, sometimes, even clenches the fist. Avoid judging when correcting. Say how the other’s negative behavior affects you instead. Judging says, “You are a liar!” Fraternal correction says, “When you lie, I am deeply hurt because I trust you and believe in you always.”

Third, every fraternal correction should be a “win-win” situation. We correct not to put the other down. We correct to raise the other up. We correct not to prove that we are certainly right while the other is undoubtedly wrong. We correct to have a better life together. We correct not to triumph over the other. We correct to build up one another. When the fraternal correction is over, every party should feel a winner. Fraternal correction is not for losers.

When we do fraternal correction, let us make sure that we gather in the name of Jesus. When we do so, Jesus promises two things in the Gospel today, our prayers will be granted and Jesus shall be in our midst.

Let us agree on three things: (1.) meet together in the name of the Lord; (2.) pray together for unity; and (3.) where correction is needed do so together as brothers and sisters.

This reflection is open to corrections. Please make it fraternal. Thank you!

SHE'S HOME NOW!

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lk 1:39-56

When I was a little boy, there was a period in my life when I never left my mother’s side. I would always tag along with her wherever she went. I remember at least one incident when I threw into tantrums because my mother had to go away by herself, leaving me home. Perhaps the impact of that childhood experience is such that I can still picture in my mind how I looked and acted that day.

It is really different when mother is close by. Of course, when she leaves home she will also return eventually. When she leaves home, she does not really totally leave it. When she leaves home, she is physically absent but she is very much present in spirit. But being present in body is certainly different from being present in spirit. Mother is gone until she is physically back. After some time of being absent, even if the absence is but a fraction of an hour, it never fails to ring a bell of joy to hear someone announce, “She’s home!”

The Most Blessed Virgin Mary is home now. She is with the Most Blessed Trinity – her Father, her Son and her Spouse – in both body and soul. Perhaps, on the day she was assumed into heaven, the angels announced, “She’s home now!” We can only imagine the explosion of joy in heaven. We can only envision the divine ecstasy of the Triune God.

Now it is the Mary’s turn to wait. Our Blessed Mother waits for us in heaven. What has been fulfilled in her is a trustworthy promise to us. We will have our own assumption day. We will be home someday. We will live with her, with the angels, with the saints and, most of all, with God forever not as spirits but as embodied spirits. We will be in heaven, body and soul, eventually. We will see God with our eyes, hear Him with our ears, smell Him with our nose, touch Him with our hands, and interact with Him with all our physical, as well as spiritual, faculties. We will be home someday.

This is the truth that the Blessed Mother’s assumption reminds us. We believe not only in the resurrection of the body, as we profess in the Apostles Creed; we also believe in the assumption of the body and soul as it happened to the Blessed Mother. Thus, we must prepare not only our souls but our bodies as well for that great homecoming. Respect for our bodies should be guided by the promise of the assumption.

We will be home someday. When that day comes, it will be the Blessed Mother’s turn to tell Jesus, “They’re home now, my Son! They’re home now at last!”

THE MUSIC WE PLAY

Memorial of St. Maximillian Mary Kolbe, Martyr
Jn 15:12-16

Today is the memorial of St. Maximillian Mary Kolbe. Pope John Paul II declared him as “The Martyr of Charity. Instead of the prescribed readings and Psalm for the Monday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time, I kindly propose to your reflection the readings and Psalm indicated for the Mass of St. Maximillian Kolbe.

Maximillian Mary Kolbe was born in Poland in 1894. He joined the Franciscans and consecrated himself to Mary Immaculate. He undertook an intense apostolic mission in Europe and Asia through the Militia of the Immaculata that preached through the print media. During the holocaust, he was arrested and confined at Auschwitz. One day when one of the prisoners escaped the concentration camp, the Nazis decided to execute several men in exchange for the escapee. Maximillian was not chosen for execution. Instead, he chose to be executed in exchange for a father of a large family. The Nazis could not believe the “foolishness” of Maximillian and gave what he requested. The father of a large family was spared – and even lived to see the day of Maximillian’s canonization – while Maximillian was thrown into solitary confinement. For days, Maximillian, together with several chosen inmates, was not given any food or drink while he encouraged them in the faith, heard their confession and led them in prayer. Finally, Maximillian was martyred through lethal injection in 1941. Aside from being the “Martyr of Charity”, Pope John Paul proclaimed St. Maximillian Mary Kolbe the “Patron of Our Suffering Century”.

The martyrdom of St. Maximillian Mary Kolbe is a shining example of the words of the Lord in today’s Gospel: “Greater love no man has than to lay down his life for his friends.” Today our homily is his life and his love. Of him, the psalmist rightly declares, “Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His faithful ones.”

Let me just share with you a story I recall whenever I think of St. Maximillian Mary Kolbe.

It is dawn and the cold breeze of a new day fills the courtyard of a prison in Portugal. A prisoner stands right at the center, facing the firing squad. The prisoner is a priest. He is sentenced to death because he opposes the slave trade that the Portuguese government implements in one of its colonies. As the dawn breaks, the prisoner’s spirit remains intact. Death is imminent but fear for it the prisoner seems to have nothing.

One moment flows to another, death nears and an officer approaches the prisoner. “Any last request?” the officer asks the prisoner in Portuguese. “Just one,” says the prisoner, “I wish to play my flute for the last time.” The prisoner is given his flute. The firing squad is stood at ease. With his flute, the prisoner plays a melody.

The courtyard of the prison is filled with music that sounds all the more beautiful in such a strange place. The officer feels something strange deep within him: the more the music plays, the more absurd his task seems to be. Immediately, the officer orders the prisoner to stop playing, lest the strangely beautiful music carries him away and he totally abandons his duty to execute the priest. He blindfolds the priest-prisoner and, walking to a safe distance, gives the command: “Ready! Aim! Fire!” Instantly, the priest dies.

But not his music. The music lingers on even long after the priest dies. Confused, the officer and the executioners cannot help but wonder: “in the face of certain death, where does the music come from?”

Where do you think, my friend?

THE BREAD OF THE HOUSE

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jn 6:41-51

For a time, I translated the word “Bethlehem” as “house of bread”. When I reviewed my Hebrew and re-examined the word, I realized that my translation was inaccurate, if not completely wrong.

“Bethlehem” is a contraction of two Hebrew words: be(y)th and lechem. Be(y)th is the genitive form of the Hebrew word for house (bayit). Be(y)th therefore means “of the house” and not “house of”. Lechem means "bread". Be(y)th lechem should therefore be “bread of the house”.

Of course, we know that Bethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus who today in the Gospel makes the bold claim that He is the “Bread of Life”, the “Living Bread” from heaven, infinitely better than the manna which our ancestors ate in the desert. Bethlehem is not the house of that Bread. Jesus is the Bread of that house. In such a case, anyone who belongs to the family of that house will never hunger because the Bread that feeds that household is Jesus Himself whose flesh is for the life of the world. May we always belong to that household.

Jesus identified Himself with bread, with food, for three reasons.

We must always feed on Him. By feeding on Him He becomes part of us and we become parts of Him. The more we feed on Jesus the more we become like Jesus. His life becomes our life and we receive divine and eternal life. Hunger for Jesus is the ultimate hunger that leads to real death.

We must always feed Jesus to others. We give what we receive. We receive Jesus and we give Jesus to others. Let Jesus be our gift to others always. He is the answer to the deepest hunger of our brothers and sisters. To feed on Jesus but not feed Jesus to others is spiritual greed that causes spiritual obesity that leads to real death, too.

We must always feed with Jesus. We feed on Jesus, we feed Jesus to others, and we feed like Jesus. And how does Jesus feeds? He gives us Himself. He feeds us with His own flesh. He laid down His life for us. He is the ultimate life-giver. To feed on Jesus and to feed Jesus to others but not to feed like Jesus is likewise a danger that causes real death either to the one we feed or to both the fed and the feeder.

Jesus is the true Bethlehem. May He always be the Bread of your house.

SIZE DOES NOT MEAN STRENGTH

Saturday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time
Mt 17:14-20

Why do evil men prosper while the righteous suffer? This is our question. But it is not only ours. The Prophet Habakkuk (cf. Hb 1:12-2:4, the First Reading today) asked the same question even before we were born. Today, he questions God, “Why do You look on while men are treacherous, and stay silent while the evil man swallows a better man than he?”

But God answers, “See how he flags, he whose soul is not at rights, but the upright man will live by his faithfulness.” Jesus advises us today through the Gospel, “Have faith. Even if your faith is the size of a mustard seed…’nothing would be impossible for you.’”

It takes an unwavering faith to continue believing in doing what is good when what is evil seems to be winning. It demands for solid faith to live uprightly when unrighteousness seems to be even rewarded. It requires faith – strong faith – in God as evil men prosper while the righteous suffer.

Unwavering, solid and strong faith – that is the kind of faith we need. Our faith may be small – as small as a mustard seed – but if it is steadfast, determined and sturdy, our faith will carry us through the unjust ways of the world. The size of our faith in God does not determine its strength. And we need to be strong to continue believing in God just when everything, including believing in Him, seems to be absurd.

The question of the Prophet Habakkuk remains our question today. The answer of God is the same answer He gives us. The advice of Jesus does not change: Have faith…even the size of a mustard seed.

I SAW THE PROOF!

Memorial of St. Clare, Virgin
Mt 19:27-29

I received the special grace of venerating St. Clare of Assisi during my latest pilgrimage to Assisi. I still remember vividly how I stood dumbfounded before the incorruptible body of St. Clare, knelt in deep prayer, and went around viewing the exhibit of a number of her personal effects, including her beautiful locks, and correspondences. I recalled how suddenly the saint became even more real to me.

Born in 1193, Clare came from Assisi. She belonged to a wealthy family but left everything in exchange for life of poverty and penance. She became a friend and disciple of her fellow citizen, Francis. She had a deep devotion to the Holy Eucharist and is said to have saved her city from invading barbarians by raising the Blessed Sacrament over them. Thus, her statue clad in a nun’s habit with the Blessed Sacrament. She founded a religious order for women that followed strict monastic rules, particularly those pertaining to penance and poverty. After a holy and austere life, she passed away in 1253.

Saints are real. Clare of Assisi is real. Sainthood is real for you and for me. Living the life that Clare lived, marked with self-embraced poverty and penance, may sound rather impossible. But it is real and possible. Clare’s life testifies to this reality but God’s grace provides the possibility. I saw the proof with my own eyes.

TOMATO SEEDS

Feast of St. Lawrence, Martyr
Jn 12:24-26

When I was yet a kid, I could not understand why tomato seeds had to be dried before they were planted. Dry seeds seemed dead seeds to me. But when planted, the dried tomato seeds sprouted after a few days and eventually became tomato plants that later on produced more tomatoes, and, of course, even more tomato seeds.

Once I planted fresh tomato seeds in a plant box under a shade. I was worried about drying the seeds, as I mentioned earlier. Dry seeds were dead seeds to me. For a few days, the tomato seeds I planted remained untouched and fresh. But a few days later, something happened. The ants came and ate all my fresh tomato seeds!

Fresh tomato seeds remain fresh tomato seeds until ants come and digest them. But dry tomato seeds yield a rich harvest of tomatoes. The more we keep the seeds fresh the more we hinder the harvest. The more we preserve them the more tomatoes we lose. Unless the seed falls to the earth and dies, it remains a seed; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.

We are like tomato seeds. We need to endure trials for us to grow. We need to risk to gain. “No pain, no gain,” they say. We must die in order to live. St. Francis tells us, “…and in dying that we are born to eternal life.”

Everybody wants to growth, to gain and to glow with life. But no one wants to die.

If only tomato seeds could speak, perhaps they would express their preference for the sun, for the earth, for death because the only way for them to live and bear fruit is for them to dry under the sun, to fall to the earth, and to die. Thank God, we are not tomato seeds, lest someone might just keep us fresh and plant us under a shade. When that happens, our end could possibly be in the digestive tract of some ants.

As we remember St. Lawrence today, let us learn from his love for the poor. When arrested and tortured by the Roman Prefect to surrender the treasures of the Church, St. Lawrence pointed to the poor, saying, “Here are the treasures of the Church. The poor are the true treasures of the Church. Let us also be inspired by his faithful love for Jesus. He was martyred for his faith in the Lord, martyred through roasting. But most of all let us follow his example of joyful sacrifice. When being roasted to death on a gridiron, St. Lawrence even jested his executioners, saying, “Kindly turn me to the other side. I am already cooked on this side.”

May we live our love for the poor. May our love for Jesus be faithful. May our sacrificial love be joyful at all times. By doing so, we are martyrs not by dying but by living, for martyrdom is not only about dying. Martyrdom is about living for Jesus, loving Jesus in the poor, and loving Jesus in good times and bad. Dying for Jesus is but a part of that living. Unless we live like Jesus, we cannot die for Him.

Martyrdom is not only the moment when the axe falls on a Christian’s neck. It is not only the moment when wild beasts feast on a Christian’s flesh. It is not only when a Christian is roasted alive. Martyrdom is living like Jesus.

Tomato seeds do not become martyrs. They become tomato fruits. But we do become like Jesus. We are martyrs.

HEAR HER LISTENING

Wednesday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time
Mt 15:21-28

Nancy Astor, though born in the United States, was the first woman to belong to the British House of Commons. Majority of the British parliament were hostile to her when she became its member in 1919. The reason for the unfriendly attitude of her colleagues towards her was not her being an American but her regularly interrupting other speakers. It was her way of making her presence felt in the House. She always had something to say, especially on issues involving women’s rights. Once rebuked for her unceasing interventions, she objected saying, “But I have been listening for hours before interrupting!” A fellow legislator whispered to her, “Yes, Nancy, we have all heard you listening.”

Today, we hear another woman listening and making her presence felt. She is a Canaanite; therefore, not a Jew. She is a pagan; therefore, unclean according to Semitic standard. She is, however, the only person in the Gospels who has the wit to outwit Jesus.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is leaving Jewish territory. He withdraws from His opponents who keep on criticizing Him for allowing His disciples to break many Jewish traditions, violating laws about clean and unclean. Yet here comes a Canaanite, a pagan, and a woman who suddenly appears in front of Him, pleading for the healing of her daughter. If Jesus is trying to escape from His problem with the “clean”, He now comes face to face with the same question in larger form. This is not a lesson for Jesus. This lesson is for you and me.

It is not right to consider some people outside our pastoral concern. Jesus came to save all men and women, Jews and Gentiles alike, circumcised and uncircumcised, clean and unclean. The early Christians had to learn this early, as the first council they convoked was to resolve the issue regarding imposing ritual cleanliness by circumcision upon the Gentile converts. That was the Council of Jerusalem whose proceedings can be read in the Acts of the Apostles. The Gospel today seems to be written in support of their discernment: If we believe that Jesus Christ died for everyone, then no one is a dog. No one should be excluded from the all-embracing reach of God’s love.

The Canaanite woman in the Gospel today is very important for us who, in one way or another, serve God. She is the voice of God that questions us. She interrupts us from our rhetoric about service and love of God. She has been listening for years already. Have we heard her listening?

LET THERE BE LIGHT!

Memorial of St. Dominic de Guzman, Priest
Lk 9:57-62

The years 1200 through 1500 are commonly referred to as the “Middle Ages”. That period in world history is also often times called “The Dark Ages”. It is considered a bleak time because it was an era of wars, diseases, sufferings and immense human poverty. Islam was also the encroaching communism of that day. Sad to say, corruption pervaded even in church circles. Corruption in the Church, in fact, was its height and reformation within her was badly needed. By now, we should be less surprised about the fact that that period in Church history led to Martin Luther’s protest and the birth of Protestantism.

But to refer to the years 1200 through 1500 as “The Dark Ages” is not totally accurate. Yes, there were wars, sufferings, corruption. But there were also moments of grace. Yes, it was dark but not always. The light of grace sparked even brighter because of the darkness.

No other period in the history of the world did humanity produce countless saints than the period called “The Dark Ages”. It was the time of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Bonaventure, St. Camillus de Lellis, St. Bridget, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Robert Belarmine, St. Charles Borromeo, St. Francis Xavier, St. Clare, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, and St. Dominic de Guzman, to name just a few. These men and women outstanding in holiness are luminaries that provided the Church the light she needed in the darkest moment in human history.

When it is dark, it is not totally dark for God. He directs us through the darkness that engulfs us. He sends us luminaries. He gives us heroes and heroines. He blesses us with saints. St. Dominic de Guzman (1170-1221), outstanding in learning and holiness, founder of the Order of Preachers, is one of God’s luminaries that first shone during the Dark Ages and continues shining until today.

The statue of St. Dominic shows a dog standing next to him and biting a lighted torch. St. Dominic was the watchdog of the Church against the false teaching of his time. By his learning and exemplary holiness, he defended the teachings of the Church from heresies, particularly the Albengensian heresy. He was a hero of truth and an example of fidelity to the Catholic Church.

Today, more than ever, we need heroes and saints like St. Dominic. There is a very strong tendency today towards relativism that blurs moral truth. We need more honest people who will defend the truth that Jesus lived, died, and rose back to life for. While there is a growing regard for the Church as outmoded and her teachings as impractical, we need more people who are faithful to the Church and her teachings. Will we be those people? Can we be heroes of truth? Can we be shining examples of fidelity to the Church?

No period in the history of the world can be too dark if we dare to be heroes and saints. Let us be that light that refuses to surrender human race to an era of darkness.

Let there be light!

HE MUST BE SMILING WHEN HE TAUGHT THEM

Monday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time
Mt 14:13-21

I smile whenever I read the Gospel for today. The disciples recognized a problem: there were so many people and the food was in shortage. Notice: not that there was no food but that the food was not enough for all. It even seemed like the disciples tried to hide from Jesus the fact that they had food with them. Thus, their advice to Jesus was to dismiss the crowd. When shortage is real, the temptation to horde is very real.

However, Jesus, from whom we cannot hide anything, addressed the problem by making the disciples address the problem themselves. “There is no need to send them away. Give them something to eat yourselves,” said Jesus (Jesus must be smiling deep inside when He said this). When the problem is so real, the escaping from it becomes an easy option.

Shame must have covered the hearts, not only the faces, of the disciples as Jesus taught them that the answer to shortage is generosity and that problems are better confronted with childlike trust in Divine Providence rather than brushed aside with the force of human inadequacies.

We are no better than the disciples, are we?

Jesus looks straight to our eyes today as we reflect on His Living Word. He gaze is steady and His voice plain, “Is it true that there is not enough to share or it is more accurate that there is little generosity to show? Are you really aiming to solve the problem with the My help or are you really trying to escape from it with your fears?”

We cannot hide anything from the Lord. Let us be honest with our answers.

Smile, He is opening our hearts for another miracle!

You are that miracle.

Smile!

CONQUER YOUR MOUNTAINS

Feast of the Lord’s Transfiguration
Mk 9:2-10

CONQUER YOUR MOUNTAINS
Mk 9:2-10

Everybody loves mountains. Mountains are not only overwhelming with their height but also with their beauty.

No one ignores a mountain. By its very nature, a mountain is imposing. We can either cross it or go around it. We can conquer it or it can conquer us. Conquering a mountain means climbing it. Cursing it means being conquered by it.

Jesus faces a mountain today. He does not curse it; He climbs it. He does not take the easy way by going around it; He makes the difficult choice by crossing it. Jesus does not allow the mountain to conquer Him; He conquers it instead.

Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem today. In Jerusalem, He will die on top of another mountain. He makes the kind of “trip to Jerusalem” that does not go around chairs, as we have it in our parlor games, but crosses mountains.

Mountains are not only geographical elevations. Mountains are also crisis-situations. They may connote height but they can also denote low moments in life. Their beauty may give consolation but their challenge may cause desolation. Depending on how we respond to it, a crisis may mean grace or disgrace, blessing or chastisement, a bend or a block, a beginning or an end. Such is the same with our mountains in life.

Jesus has His own mountains in life. He is not only God; He is also truly human. He conquers all His mountains. He shows how we should conquer ours.

The Father speaks to us today, “This is My Son, the Beloved. Listen to Him.” We therefore listen to Him. He has three pieces of advice for us as regards how we should climb our own mountains in life.

Jesus speaks to us: “Climb your mountain; do not curse it. Conquer your mountain; do not let it conquer you. Hindi siya hadlang; hagdan siya.

“You have what it takes to reach the top of your mountain; but you will never know what you have until you spend it in climbing your mountain. Kaya mo ‘yan!

“Take courage! Do not fear your mountain because your fear will become another mountain in front of you. Fear can be the most difficult mountain to climb for anyone.”
His second advice is this: “You do not have to climb your mountain alone always. It is true that no one can climb your mountain for you, but it is not true that you have to climb it alone all the time. See, I climb my mountain today with three of my closest friends – Simon Peter, James, and John. You may think I tag them along so that they may see my real glory, the glory I always have even before the world began, that they may be prepared for the scandal of the cross. You are right, but that is only half of the picture. I need them too.

“Simon Peter, James, and John do not understand what awaits me in Jerusalem; they do not have to understand it now. There are times when understanding an event comes only after actually experiencing it. Most often, that is how it goes with climbing a mountain. You appreciate better it only after you have been on top of it. Simon Peter, James, and John will understand our mountain climbing today only after I have risen from the dead. That is all right because for now, all I need is their presence. It is always very frightening to die, you know. But even more frightening it is to die alone.

“Today, my three closest friends climb my mountain with me, and on top of it, to my greatest consolation, Moses and Elijah join us. Now, here is a secret: Moses and Elijah appear not only for Simon Peter, James, and John, but for me as well. Moses and Elijah affirm my identity: I am the fulfillment of all the Law and the prophets (cf. Mt 5:17, Lk 24:44, and Jn 1:45). Such an affirmation tells me that everything will be fine, for ‘in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose’ (Rom 8:28).

“When you think of me, do not forget that I am truly human even as I am truly God. Like the rest of humanity, I need the support, the companionship, the affirmation, the assurance, and the help that well-meaning friends and loved ones can give. Though I am the Son of God, this need, we have in common. When death stares straight at our eyes, this need is most especially real.

“Who told you that you have to climb your mountain alone? I did not. I climb mine today with my friends.

“Do not be proud, therefore, to accept a helping hand. Accepting that you need help is not a manifestation of weakness but of virtue. Let humility conquer your pride, lest pride becomes another mountain that conquers you. While faith – even the size of a mustard seed – can tell a mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ (cf. Mt 17:20) and indeed it happens, humility puts a mountain under your feet.”

Jesus gives us a third advice: “You are supposed to climb your mountain, not to reside on it. You go up in order to go down. Reaching the top of the mountain does not conquer the mountain. Coming down from it does. Many are mistaken by thinking that standing on top of a mountain is what mountain climbing is all about. A mountain is worth climbing only if it is possible to climb down from it.

“Simon Peter proposes to me that we settle on top of my mountain today. He wants to build three tents: one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for me. Can you imagine, while I contemplate my impending passion and death, the leader I chose for my band suggests that we embark on a housing project on top of my mountain today. Indeed, he does not know what he is saying. I told you, they do not understand yet.

“If we pitch our tents on top of my mountain today I would be deviated from fulfilling my mission, from accomplishing the task entrusted to me by my Father. My three closest friends and I go on top of my mountain today in order to go down from it so that we may continue with our trip to Jerusalem. We should not make my mountain today our permanent address. We must move on.

“Your mountain today is but one of the many other mountains you need to climb. You cannot climb the other mountains you need to conquer in your life, unless you move on. Moving on means that you should not be tied down to any of your mountains in life. Do not dwell on your mountains. Life is too short and yet the journey is far from over. Move on.

“So, be focused. Set your heart on reaching your ultimate goal: Jerusalem, where, by the way, lest you forget, you do not only die with me, but also rise unto eternal life through me, with me, and in me.”

Let us conquer our mountains together. Let us listen to Jesus. Let us become more and more like Him.

Everybody loves mountains. But only he who climbs them up and down like Jesus truly conquers them.

MOTHER AND MODEL

The Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major
Lk 11:27-28

We celebrate today the anniversary of the dedication of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, the “Mother of all Marian Churches”. This basilica is considered as the oldest church in West dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This basilica in Rome was dedicated by Pope Sixtus III to Mary, the Mother of God. It stands as a living and fitting tribute to the divine motherhood of the Blessed Virgin, a dogma defined by the Council of Ephesus in the year 431.

Though the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore may be thousands of miles from our own local church, we have three reasons in celebrating its dedication today.

First, when we celebrate the dedication of any local church, most especially of major churches, other than our own, we proclaim that there is essentially only one Church of Christ. Local churches may be many and separated from one another by physical distance, yet together they form only one Body of Christ, united by the bond of fraternal communion.

Second, in celebrating the dedication of a church, we give witness to our understanding that the Church is the People of God, more than a mere place of worship. The true Church of God is build on living stones – the baptized – who are capable of celebrating, remembering, and giving thanks.

Third, that the church, whose dedication is commemorated, is consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, such as the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, gives special meaning to our celebration. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ. She is indeed God’s mother, for Jesus is truly God and man. Because a church is God’s house, Mary, in whose womb God became flesh and first dwelt among us, is a church personified. Moreover, faithful and obedient to God’s will, Mary is the blueprint not only of creation (as St. Augustine once wrote) but also of the Church. Indeed, she is not only a church personified but also the icon of the Church already present in heaven. As individuals and as the Church, we see God’s plan for us each time we see the Blessed Virgin Mary, for in her, as in no other human being except Jesus who is both human and divine, God’s will has fully and faithfully been accomplished. Mary, the Mother of God, is both our mother and model.

There is only one Church. We are the Church. Among us, the Church, is Mary, our mother and model, the first among equals.

SACRAMENT OF GOD'S MERCY

Memorial of St. John Marie Vianney, Priest
Mt 9:35-10:1

He almost did not make it to the priesthood. He was a slow learner or so they say. He had a hard time with Latin. And during his time, a seminarian had to be fluent in Latin to be considered for ordination to the priesthood. Jean Baptiste Marie Vianney became a priest because of mercy.

God’s mercy made John Marie Vianney a priest. He became a priest not because he deserved it. He became a priest because God desired it and gave him such a very precious gift gratuitously. Jean Vianney was a priest; he is a sacrament of God’s mercy. No wonder, he devoted much of his entire priestly life dispensing God’s mercy through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. He spent very long hours in the confessional, reconciling men and women with God, and giving them spiritual advice. He was also renowned for his devotion to the Holy Eucharist. A humble servant of God, He served in parish of Ars for forty-two years until he passed from this life to the next. Pope Piux XI declared John Marie Vianney, who almost did not become a priest, as Patron of the Universal Clergy.

As Patron of the Universal Clergy, John Marie Vianney reminds priests that their priesthood is always an unmerited gift that the Lord entrusted to them. It is out of His mercy and of His mercy alone that they are priests. Because they are priests because of the Lord’s mercy, priests, by their life and ministry, must be reminders of God’s mercy to His People. They are priests; they are sacraments of God’s mercy.

Priests must always be merciful. Otherwise, they have already forgotten what they really are.

HE NO LONGER SPEAKS "CHINESE"

Thursday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time
Mt 13:47-53

If we do not do our daily scripture reading and reflection, we will not notice something different in the Gospel today. We will easily jump into conclusion that just like the Gospel readings the past days, today speaks about the Kingdom of God again. We will also simply say, “There you go again, another parable….”

But there is something different in the Gospel today: the disciples say they understand the parable! While in the past days, the Lord had to enlighten the disciples, today the disciples seem to bask in daylight. The Lord asks them, “Have you understood all this?” The disciples give Him a resounding “Yes!” Huh, finally, they got what He means! But how come?

No doubt, understanding the Kingdom of God is a gift of God in itself. The Kingdom of God is simply beyond human comprehension. However, the use of parables may bridge the gap between the immense Kingdom of God and the puny mind of man. And the closer the parable is to the actual life situation of its hearers the lesser the gap between the Kingdom of God and the human mind.

The past days, the parables were about a farmer, about the good seed and about the weeds among the wheat. But today it is about a dragnet cast into the sea. Now, for the disciples who are mostly fishermen, that rings a bell! Jesus is no longer talking “Chinese”. He speaks their language. The parable comes across because it is closer to home.

There is an important lesson to be learnt here by preachers like me. Speak the language of your people. Use examples closer to home. Talk about them, not only to them. Otherwise, the good seed may fall not only along the pathway or on rocky ground or among thorns but also on deaf ears. But the dragnet will always catch fishers of men.

TRADE-OFF

Wednesday of the 17th Week in Ordinary Time
Mt 13:44-46

Some years back when I had a very important decision to make, I consulted my three classmates who were ordained with me for the Archdiocese of Manila. Three classmates yielded three different views. Yet a common point united the three different opinions. My three classmate-priests advised me to seriously consider what I have to give up when I make my final decision on the matter at hand.

One of my classmates even talked about “trade-offs”. He meant the things that I must let go in exchange for what I can contribute for the greater good of the Church. In prayer, it dawned on me that my trade-off could be very frightening without the grace of God that supplies for my weaknesses. I realized that I had to give up everything to be able to make a good decision. I must surrender everything to the Lord and trust Him more fully. Everything – nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. My trade-off cannot be anything. My trade-off is everything.

That ‘someone’ referred to in the Parable of the Hidden Treasure and that merchant in the Parable of the Priceless Pearl knew this kind of trade-offs. They gave up everything in exchange of their great find. The Kingdom of Heaven is that hidden treasure, that priceless pearl, and nothing is worth it except everything.

Many of us fail to discover that hidden treasure, that priceless pearl, because many of us hesitate to let go of everything. We are afraid of the trade-off it requires from us. But the trade-off should not really frighten us because we can never be a loser when we trade with the Lord.

Of course, going to heaven is not like trading. Heaven is a gift gratuitously given. It is not a commodity on sale. That is why Jesus resorts to parables to explain the unexplainable, to show the invisible, to reveal what is hidden like the Kingdom of Heaven.

MORAL LIVING

Memorial of St. Alphonsus Ligouri, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Mt 5:13-19

The Gospel today speaks about moral living. This Gospel is proper to the memorial of St. Alphonsus Ligouri. This Gospel is perfect for him because Alphonsus Ligouri was given the title of Doctor of the Church for his writings on Moral Theology.

Alphonsus was born in Naples, Italy, in 1696. He was a lawyer before he became a priest. He formulated a system called “Moderate Probabilism” used in his days in resolving moral problems. He also founded the “Redemptorist”, the “Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer”.

Moral living is not only about the Ten Commandments or about a set of Church precepts or a list of Do’s and Don’ts. Moral living is believing in and living the way of Christ. Simply put, it means following Jesus, more than following the law. That is the reason why Jesus came not to abolish the Law and the prophets, but to fulfill them.