31 August 2010 Martes ng ika-22 Linggo ng Taon
1 Corinthians 2, 10-16; Psalm 145; Luke 4, 31-37
Naniniwala ang mga tao noong unang panahon na lahat ng mga sakit nangagaling sa mga demonyo. Sa mga taga-Ehipto, may 36 na butas sa ating mga katawan kung saan labas-pasok ang mga masasamang espiritu. Ngunit ipinamalas ni Hesus na mas makapangyarihan siya sa mga ito, kaya ginamot niya ang mga inaalihan ng mga demonyo.
Sa ating buhay ngayon, ang paniniwala ukol sa mga espiritu, multo at iba pang mga elementong panlupa ay kasama pa rin sa ating buhay-pananampalataya. Totoong may mga sinasaniban ng mga demonyo, kaya sa bawat diyoseses ng mga Katoliko, may nakatalagang pari na taga-gawa ng exorsismo. Sa bawat binyag, ginagawa rin ang exorsismo. Pagkatapos ng pagku-krus sa noo, nilalagay ng pari ang kanyang kamay sa ulo ng bata, habang iginagawad ang “Prayer of Exorcism.”
Ngunit sa kabila ng lahat ng mga nakakatakot, ang pinakamahalaga ang laging alalahanin: Si Hesukristo pa rin ang pinakamakapangyarihan sa lahat. Sa Ebanghelio, may kagat ang kanyang mga salita. At ipinakita ni Hesus ito nung inutusan niya ang demonyo na lumisan sa katawan ng sinasaniban.
Ang mahina sa buhay-espiritwal o yaong nangiimbita sa kanila sa pamamagitan ng mga larong “Spirit of the Glass/Coin” at iba pa, ang siyang sinasaniban dahil binubuksan nila ang kanilang sarili sa mga demonyong ito. Huwag na huwag nating gawin ito, dahil kapag pinasakay mo ang demonyo, pipilitin niyang palitan ka sa pagmamaneho sa iyong buhay.
Kaya kung papakinggan natin ang ‘gamot’ sa mga inaalihan, iisa lamang ang sinasabi: isang matatag at malalim na pananampalataya kay Hesus. Ang Kanyang pangalan lamang, sa pamamagitan natin, ang makakapawi sa iba’t ibang “demonyong” namamahala sa ating buhay.
Probing our Base Motives
29 August 2010 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sirach 3, 17-18; Psalm 68; Hebrews 12, 18-24; Luke 14, 1-14
Today Jesus addresses our base motives. I have two points:
First, a word about humility. Humility is not low self-esteem or self-abasement. We are not to behave in a way so as to degrade or belittle ourselves. This is false humility. It is false because we use our humble behavior as a subterfuge, a ploy to be noticed by the everyone as we are led to our “prominent seats.”
We do have a graphic illustration of the meaning of the parable. President Benigno Aquino III supported Senate Bill 2187 penalizing the practice of naming government projects after public officials. He, himself, rejected proposals naming him after projects paid by and for taxpayers. The bill’s proponent is Senator Francis Escudero. Sen. Escudero said in an interview that naming projects after politicians “falsely gives an inflated sense of accomplishment” for the public officials’ constituents.” Self-exaltation must not be sought either openly or secretly.
Jesus makes the pronouncement, “Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” So, now that the bill is passed, those who want to have their names imprinted on government infrastructure are humbled as well as prohibited. They are humiliated by the truth publicly articulated by the President. Tax payers financed government infrastructures and not public officials. By putting their names on those buildings, they want us to thank them for a job they’re suppose to do and as a fulfillment of their promises during elections. And therefore, they should thank us; not the other way around. (We are even skipping the fact that they also benefitted from these projects.)
We therefore learn that it is better if people talk about what we’ve done, than talking about what we’ve done for them ourselves. We don’t use public buildings and infrastructure to advertise ourselves. Humility is letting people recognize our worth without self-promotion. And not coercing or coaxing the recognition from others.
And this lesson is also pertinent to Church officials.
Humility involves the healthy and correct love of self. Jesus commanded us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. And so it means self-awareness and appreciation: we acknowledge our abilities, dignity and honor as gifts from God. Whatever our achievements, we owe it to God and to others. So better, everything that we do should reflect and point to God who endowed us with our gifts. The limelight should also fall on others, like tax payers, who deserve excellent service.
The second point connects with the first. An unworthy motive appears in the words of Jesus to the host. There is an impression: the invitation to dinner has an expectation of reciprocity. I invite you, so you invite me the next time. The point is clear: we must do good freely, without regard for a reward. We usually say too: and leave the recompense with God. But to me, not even that. Don’t even think about that. Just serve God. Just love God.
I got this question from someone in my Q and A website:
Question: “Father what if there was no hell, and the unrepentant (who are very corrupt and evil) get off scot-free in the end? Isn't it unfair that they don't get punished, and isn't it more infuriating that they enjoy what other people had been deprived of?”
This was my answer: St. Francis Xavier SJ said that He would love God with or without heaven or hell. We love for love's sake. We love God for the sake of God. This is what we are to do in faith.
Sirach 3, 17-18; Psalm 68; Hebrews 12, 18-24; Luke 14, 1-14
Today Jesus addresses our base motives. I have two points:
First, a word about humility. Humility is not low self-esteem or self-abasement. We are not to behave in a way so as to degrade or belittle ourselves. This is false humility. It is false because we use our humble behavior as a subterfuge, a ploy to be noticed by the everyone as we are led to our “prominent seats.”
We do have a graphic illustration of the meaning of the parable. President Benigno Aquino III supported Senate Bill 2187 penalizing the practice of naming government projects after public officials. He, himself, rejected proposals naming him after projects paid by and for taxpayers. The bill’s proponent is Senator Francis Escudero. Sen. Escudero said in an interview that naming projects after politicians “falsely gives an inflated sense of accomplishment” for the public officials’ constituents.” Self-exaltation must not be sought either openly or secretly.
Jesus makes the pronouncement, “Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” So, now that the bill is passed, those who want to have their names imprinted on government infrastructure are humbled as well as prohibited. They are humiliated by the truth publicly articulated by the President. Tax payers financed government infrastructures and not public officials. By putting their names on those buildings, they want us to thank them for a job they’re suppose to do and as a fulfillment of their promises during elections. And therefore, they should thank us; not the other way around. (We are even skipping the fact that they also benefitted from these projects.)
We therefore learn that it is better if people talk about what we’ve done, than talking about what we’ve done for them ourselves. We don’t use public buildings and infrastructure to advertise ourselves. Humility is letting people recognize our worth without self-promotion. And not coercing or coaxing the recognition from others.
And this lesson is also pertinent to Church officials.
Humility involves the healthy and correct love of self. Jesus commanded us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. And so it means self-awareness and appreciation: we acknowledge our abilities, dignity and honor as gifts from God. Whatever our achievements, we owe it to God and to others. So better, everything that we do should reflect and point to God who endowed us with our gifts. The limelight should also fall on others, like tax payers, who deserve excellent service.
The second point connects with the first. An unworthy motive appears in the words of Jesus to the host. There is an impression: the invitation to dinner has an expectation of reciprocity. I invite you, so you invite me the next time. The point is clear: we must do good freely, without regard for a reward. We usually say too: and leave the recompense with God. But to me, not even that. Don’t even think about that. Just serve God. Just love God.
I got this question from someone in my Q and A website:
Question: “Father what if there was no hell, and the unrepentant (who are very corrupt and evil) get off scot-free in the end? Isn't it unfair that they don't get punished, and isn't it more infuriating that they enjoy what other people had been deprived of?”
This was my answer: St. Francis Xavier SJ said that He would love God with or without heaven or hell. We love for love's sake. We love God for the sake of God. This is what we are to do in faith.
So, does it actually matter if the corrupt and evil will get scot-free or go unpunished when the paradigm is not the juvenile reward and punishment? That is not for us to decide. It is for God to decide. Since we love God, then we will respect God's decision. Bitter medicine to swallow but true.
St. Augustine confesses: "Late have I loved You."
We do what is good because we love God. We serve God because we believe that doing good is our nature. Nothing else.
To say that we should love God so that we can get to heaven means we don't get the point or miss the real meaning of heaven. Heaven is not a place, it is the state of being with God.
Thus, when we say, we should love God so that we can go to heaven, we really this: we should love God so we can be WITH GOD.
Thus, when we say, we should love God so that we can go to heaven, we really this: we should love God so we can be WITH GOD.
The Three Field Mice
27 August 2010 Memorial of St. Monica
1 Corinthians 1, 17-25; Psalm 33; Matthew 25, 1-13
The lesson in today’s Gospel is constant watchfulness or vigilance in preparation for the coming of Christ. Here is the context of the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids.
In the Palestinian wedding, the groom sets out to the bride’s house to make the marriage contract with his father-in-law. When the groom returns to his home with his bride, the wedding feasts begins. The bridesmaids are suppose to meet the groom and the bride as they approach the house. While the groom signs the contract and asks his father-in-law for the bride’s hands in marriage, the bridesmaids are suppose to wait.
The arrival is delayed and so the foolish bridesmaids thinks that he will not arrive at night. So they make no provisions for lighting their torches, while the wise ones have. Unfortunately, the groom arrives unexpectedly and the foolish cannot find extra oil for their lamps. As they look for replenishments, the bridegroom arrives at his house, locks the door, and begins the wedding feast. When the bridesmaids returned, the groom refused entrance.
There are many ways to prepare for the Lord’s surprise visit. We may prepare for the time of our death when we meet the Lord in the next life. And so we secure our future by investing on some properties for our families. We also prepare by pursuing success in our professional lives. We even begin to plan for our children, whether we enter into educational plans or even memorial plans. But Confucius once said that success in our professional lives may not be necessarily what our heart yearns.
Let me illustrate with a story. Three field mice live in a huge track of land. Preparing for winter, the first mouse collects grain and seeds and places them in one corner of their burrow. The second mouse concerns himself with shelter from the terrible cold. And so he piles hay at their burrow. The third mouse, however, spends time watching the sky, taking a walk around the field, and if he gets exhausted, he rests under the shade.
So the two mice ridicule him, saying, “You are a very very lazy mouse! You don’t prepare for the coming winter!” But the third mouse did not dignify their comments.
When winter comes, the three mice live cozily. They have everything they want. They have food to survive them the whole winter. They are protected by the stack of hay from the severe cold. As days pass, the three become bored. And so the third mouse begins to tell them of the things and the people he saw around the field when they were gathering grains. He tells them about the little boy who played with rice stalks while his father was harvesting. He tells them of the grasshoppers in the field and the plants that turn greener as the sun rises.
The two mice then realize that the third mouse was collecting sunshine stories that would light up their lives during the whole dark season of winter.
Now let us ask you this question: How do you prepare for the coming winter of your life? What preparations have you done for the eventual coming of Christ in your life?
1 Corinthians 1, 17-25; Psalm 33; Matthew 25, 1-13
The lesson in today’s Gospel is constant watchfulness or vigilance in preparation for the coming of Christ. Here is the context of the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids.
In the Palestinian wedding, the groom sets out to the bride’s house to make the marriage contract with his father-in-law. When the groom returns to his home with his bride, the wedding feasts begins. The bridesmaids are suppose to meet the groom and the bride as they approach the house. While the groom signs the contract and asks his father-in-law for the bride’s hands in marriage, the bridesmaids are suppose to wait.
The arrival is delayed and so the foolish bridesmaids thinks that he will not arrive at night. So they make no provisions for lighting their torches, while the wise ones have. Unfortunately, the groom arrives unexpectedly and the foolish cannot find extra oil for their lamps. As they look for replenishments, the bridegroom arrives at his house, locks the door, and begins the wedding feast. When the bridesmaids returned, the groom refused entrance.
There are many ways to prepare for the Lord’s surprise visit. We may prepare for the time of our death when we meet the Lord in the next life. And so we secure our future by investing on some properties for our families. We also prepare by pursuing success in our professional lives. We even begin to plan for our children, whether we enter into educational plans or even memorial plans. But Confucius once said that success in our professional lives may not be necessarily what our heart yearns.
Let me illustrate with a story. Three field mice live in a huge track of land. Preparing for winter, the first mouse collects grain and seeds and places them in one corner of their burrow. The second mouse concerns himself with shelter from the terrible cold. And so he piles hay at their burrow. The third mouse, however, spends time watching the sky, taking a walk around the field, and if he gets exhausted, he rests under the shade.
So the two mice ridicule him, saying, “You are a very very lazy mouse! You don’t prepare for the coming winter!” But the third mouse did not dignify their comments.
When winter comes, the three mice live cozily. They have everything they want. They have food to survive them the whole winter. They are protected by the stack of hay from the severe cold. As days pass, the three become bored. And so the third mouse begins to tell them of the things and the people he saw around the field when they were gathering grains. He tells them about the little boy who played with rice stalks while his father was harvesting. He tells them of the grasshoppers in the field and the plants that turn greener as the sun rises.
The two mice then realize that the third mouse was collecting sunshine stories that would light up their lives during the whole dark season of winter.
Now let us ask you this question: How do you prepare for the coming winter of your life? What preparations have you done for the eventual coming of Christ in your life?
How Do We Use our Gifts?
26 August 2010 Thursday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time
1 Corinthians 1, 1-9; Psalm 145; Matthew 24, 42-51
The ancient form of letter writing begins with an identification. So Paul writes to the Corinthians with an introduction about himself and Sosthenes. He tells the Corinthians that he is an apostle willed by Christ. Here we see Paul coining the word, apostle and fashioned it for Christian use. He also introduces Sosthenes as a brother.
There are certain important ideas in the first reading. Paul reminds the Corinthians that they are all called to holiness and their unity is based on the same Lord. Paul states that the Corinthians share the same status “with all those everywhere who call on the Lord Jesus Christ.” This means that all Christians, wherever they are, are indebted to one another by the mere fact that they profess the same Lord.
Why is this important? The Corinthians are gifted. Paul writes that they have been “enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge.” They are proud of these gifts. However, it is these same gifts that cause division. They fail in the proper or Christian way of using them. Paul has to remind them that these gifts are from God.
Instead of fostering love among the members of the community, they have formed cliques among themselves. Some are in the group of Apollos; some with Cephas (not St. Peter); while others simply brand themselves as “belonging to Christ.” Paul reminds them that by forming sub-groups, they belittle their baptism that makes them one. Whatever diversity they have viz-a-vis their talents, it should express their being community. Diversity signifies the Holy Spirit’s actions among them: they are members of one body, but diverse in their roles and functions in the community. The various talents they have are suppose to enrich all the members of the community.
Knowing the background of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, we should therefore evaluate our attitude towards the gifts of the Lord. Are we aware of what we have? Do we use our gifts at the service of our community? Do they unite or divide us?
1 Corinthians 1, 1-9; Psalm 145; Matthew 24, 42-51
The ancient form of letter writing begins with an identification. So Paul writes to the Corinthians with an introduction about himself and Sosthenes. He tells the Corinthians that he is an apostle willed by Christ. Here we see Paul coining the word, apostle and fashioned it for Christian use. He also introduces Sosthenes as a brother.
There are certain important ideas in the first reading. Paul reminds the Corinthians that they are all called to holiness and their unity is based on the same Lord. Paul states that the Corinthians share the same status “with all those everywhere who call on the Lord Jesus Christ.” This means that all Christians, wherever they are, are indebted to one another by the mere fact that they profess the same Lord.
Why is this important? The Corinthians are gifted. Paul writes that they have been “enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge.” They are proud of these gifts. However, it is these same gifts that cause division. They fail in the proper or Christian way of using them. Paul has to remind them that these gifts are from God.
Instead of fostering love among the members of the community, they have formed cliques among themselves. Some are in the group of Apollos; some with Cephas (not St. Peter); while others simply brand themselves as “belonging to Christ.” Paul reminds them that by forming sub-groups, they belittle their baptism that makes them one. Whatever diversity they have viz-a-vis their talents, it should express their being community. Diversity signifies the Holy Spirit’s actions among them: they are members of one body, but diverse in their roles and functions in the community. The various talents they have are suppose to enrich all the members of the community.
Knowing the background of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, we should therefore evaluate our attitude towards the gifts of the Lord. Are we aware of what we have? Do we use our gifts at the service of our community? Do they unite or divide us?
When Is It Right to Pretend?
25 August 2010 Wednesday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time
2 Thessalonians 3, 6-18; Psalm 128; Matthew 23, 27-32
When a “woe” is pronounced in Scripture, it expresses one’s sadness on the state of someone or a group of people. It is also a warning of the very bad consequences to follow. Thus, a “woe” may not have the sting of a condemnation. Its goal is awareness of one’s sorry state and thus the people concerned are encouraged to end it, or else the consequences will be unfavorable.
Today’s woe is the sixth in Matthew. It contrasts a pure exterior from a rotten interior. There is a wide gap between the external appearance from the internal reality that the persons are described as “whitewashed tombs.”
Let me tell you a story.
A lawyer watches the first person enter his office. He decides to look busy, so he picks up the phone and starts talking: “Look, sir, about that deal. I think I better run down to the factory and handle it myself. Yes. No, I don’t think three million will swing it. We better have Mr. George fly from Davao to meet us here. Ok, I’ll call you later.”
He looks up at the visitor and says, “Good morning, how can I help you?”
The prospective client says, “Nothing sir. I’m here to fix your phone.”
The world today encourages us to “pretend” in a good way; to put up an image even if what one actually feels is negative. You can’t bring your problems from home into the office. So you have to put up a face, set your domestic woes aside, and work as if nothing’s bothering you. Certain jobs require you to smile, even if “your heart is aching.” Flight attendants, hotel and restaurant personnel, customer care staff all require some acting abilities. Coffee shop barristas are asked to be courteous, warm and friendly. Even priests should not let what is “happening interiorly” affect their productivity and relationship with people. And sometimes, we have to “look busy” so our work evaluation will not be deplorable.
But like the “woes” we are to be aware of what is true and authentic. We work out our personal lives so that what people see externally is a reflection of what is truly inside. St. Paul in the first reading encourages us to work, just as he did. Nothing comes to us in the silver platter. So when we want our character to be holy, we have to work for it since our interiors are sinful and malicious.
What I am saying is this: to work on an authentic self that is reflected exteriorly and interiorly means to deal with the tension between how much of our interior we have to show outside, and how much of our exterior reflects the real person. It is always a growing tension. And we have to live within that tension.
The danger to avoid is to concentrate on one end only: we become what we are pretending to be, or we become the rotten interior we have.
Either way the truth will eventually show. We will never know when we will be caught in the act. So next time you pretend you are talking to someone on the phone, check if the phone is actually functioning.
2 Thessalonians 3, 6-18; Psalm 128; Matthew 23, 27-32
When a “woe” is pronounced in Scripture, it expresses one’s sadness on the state of someone or a group of people. It is also a warning of the very bad consequences to follow. Thus, a “woe” may not have the sting of a condemnation. Its goal is awareness of one’s sorry state and thus the people concerned are encouraged to end it, or else the consequences will be unfavorable.
Today’s woe is the sixth in Matthew. It contrasts a pure exterior from a rotten interior. There is a wide gap between the external appearance from the internal reality that the persons are described as “whitewashed tombs.”
Let me tell you a story.
A lawyer watches the first person enter his office. He decides to look busy, so he picks up the phone and starts talking: “Look, sir, about that deal. I think I better run down to the factory and handle it myself. Yes. No, I don’t think three million will swing it. We better have Mr. George fly from Davao to meet us here. Ok, I’ll call you later.”
He looks up at the visitor and says, “Good morning, how can I help you?”
The prospective client says, “Nothing sir. I’m here to fix your phone.”
The world today encourages us to “pretend” in a good way; to put up an image even if what one actually feels is negative. You can’t bring your problems from home into the office. So you have to put up a face, set your domestic woes aside, and work as if nothing’s bothering you. Certain jobs require you to smile, even if “your heart is aching.” Flight attendants, hotel and restaurant personnel, customer care staff all require some acting abilities. Coffee shop barristas are asked to be courteous, warm and friendly. Even priests should not let what is “happening interiorly” affect their productivity and relationship with people. And sometimes, we have to “look busy” so our work evaluation will not be deplorable.
But like the “woes” we are to be aware of what is true and authentic. We work out our personal lives so that what people see externally is a reflection of what is truly inside. St. Paul in the first reading encourages us to work, just as he did. Nothing comes to us in the silver platter. So when we want our character to be holy, we have to work for it since our interiors are sinful and malicious.
What I am saying is this: to work on an authentic self that is reflected exteriorly and interiorly means to deal with the tension between how much of our interior we have to show outside, and how much of our exterior reflects the real person. It is always a growing tension. And we have to live within that tension.
We have to evaluate. Keep what is good in either the exterior or the interior. Prune what is otherwise.
The danger to avoid is to concentrate on one end only: we become what we are pretending to be, or we become the rotten interior we have.
Either way the truth will eventually show. We will never know when we will be caught in the act. So next time you pretend you are talking to someone on the phone, check if the phone is actually functioning.
Through the Narrow Gate
22 August 2010 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 66, 18-21; Psalm 117; Hebrews 12, 5-13; Luke 13, 22-30
Let’s put all the readings together.
First, where we are. Life has its melodrama of separations and reunions. Goodbyes are necessary in order to advance and develop. The older we are the more farewells we have said. But without life’s separations, we will be what we have been. Our growth will be stunted and our life will be stagnant. These are necessary separations and therefore are important in life.
There are also those who are lost in all sense of the word. There are stray members of the flock. There are also lost shepherds. The Gospel calls them the ones outside the door; those who are knocking when the Master has locked the doors. In other words, those who are outside do not belong to the family or the company of the Master.
Second, where we want to go. The first reading from Isaiah is a vision. It foresees all nations coming together to worship the Lord. It dreams of a grand reunion, when every one who has dispersed return and gather.
It includes those who are members of the family of God who have “left” the house to forge their own paths. This dream is already planted into our souls; we get to ‘taste’ it in some of our experiences. Those who are living and working abroad are excited to return home to their families. Those of us who left our hometowns to study and pursue our dreams oftentimes get excited when opportunities for a visit open.
But more profoundly, we hope for peace. Peace is that dream of God in the vision of the prophet Isaiah when the nations at odds, cease fighting in the realization that their opponents are actually their brothers and sisters. We stop all violence when we find what unites us than what divides.
Finally, how we are going to get there. The readings propose a methodology.
Step 1, the task. The responsorial psalm tells us what we are to do: Go out to all the world and tell the Good News. It means active witnessing both in word and in action. We have to walk our talk: we have to know and live the Good News so that we know what to offer the world.
It therefore challenges the type of faith that we have. It is not enough that we are on bended knees mouthing novenas and rosaries; it means to take an interest in really studying and reflecting the Scriptures. It is not enough that we go through the motions of religious observance and rituals, or give donations to the poor; it means being really present to them and sharing their pain. The task is to have a faith that is informed and at the same time, a faith that becomes an agent of change.
Step 2, the training. The second reading tells us how God trains us. We are to pass through the crucible of trials and sufferings, as gold is tested in fire. In a profound sense, to pray for no suffering or trial in our lives is unrealistic. God will not remove our problems from us, because He himself underwent suffering and death, not just during the passion, but even before it. He endured the ridicule of the leaders of Israel. He experienced rejection and discomfort. The letter to the Hebrews is proof that God often tests our mettle, but not tempt us to sin because that is not His nature.
That is why we pray for deliverance: that we are able to take on the challenges and succeed from it. Our trials are suppose to make us better. Consider the greatest heroes or the best professionals: they improve because they learned. The creme de la creme practices everyday. It is not an accident that sports, science, or the arts are called, disciplines. Prayer is also a discipline, even in its strictest sense. Consider, meditation or even the 30-day retreat of St. Ignatius of Loyola. As Jesuits, we have to be trained first before we are able to contemplate for an hour five times a day, and be quiet for one month.
Training is discipline. Our passion for our dreams intensifies when it is challenged. Our motivations are purified when we endure and persevere despite the odds. We form character through fire. The letter to the Hebrews gives us the imagery: “For what child is there whom his father does not discipline?”
Step 3, pass through the narrow gate in the Gospel. There are two types of gates in Jerusalem. The wider gate where all can enter; and the ‘people-only’ gate where a single person can squeeze in. In the latter, you cannot bring your baggage.
Our choices limit our options. When we were young, we have a wider array of choices. We can be whoever we want to be. We can choose from a menu of college courses and they are all possibilities. But the difficulty is to choose just one. Heraclitus once said that we cannot step twice in the same river. Once an opportunity pass, it’s gone. Whatever we choose now will determine our future.
How we start our lives will shape whatever comes. Harry Fosdick said that he who chooses the beginning of the road chooses the place it leads. In a way, we cannot have all the options all at once. In a lifetime, when we choose the field of science, our choices becomes more specific. We begin as a biology major (or a pre-med course), then we take General Medicine, and finally, we specializes in one particular field. Our choices narrows down our options. This is the passage to the narrow gate.
The same thing with faith. To go out into the world and preach the Good News will require choices. How are you to specifically and practically ‘go out to all the world and tell the Good News’? We do that in our own specific and particular way: as a priest, as a doctor, as a house-person, as a public official, etc. Our vocation and our different roles are cut-out for every unique individual--- this is how God wants us to do it. We know our general mission, but the way to do it will depend on our gifts and our individual style. We pass through the narrow gate through our specific vocation.
It is who we, what we are, what we know that preach the Gospel to the whole world. So that when all of us hear and heed the Word of God, we will begin to dream of home. And we will immediately pack our bags, excitedly gather around the table of the Lord.
Isaiah 66, 18-21; Psalm 117; Hebrews 12, 5-13; Luke 13, 22-30
Let’s put all the readings together.
First, where we are. Life has its melodrama of separations and reunions. Goodbyes are necessary in order to advance and develop. The older we are the more farewells we have said. But without life’s separations, we will be what we have been. Our growth will be stunted and our life will be stagnant. These are necessary separations and therefore are important in life.
There are also those who are lost in all sense of the word. There are stray members of the flock. There are also lost shepherds. The Gospel calls them the ones outside the door; those who are knocking when the Master has locked the doors. In other words, those who are outside do not belong to the family or the company of the Master.
Second, where we want to go. The first reading from Isaiah is a vision. It foresees all nations coming together to worship the Lord. It dreams of a grand reunion, when every one who has dispersed return and gather.
It includes those who are members of the family of God who have “left” the house to forge their own paths. This dream is already planted into our souls; we get to ‘taste’ it in some of our experiences. Those who are living and working abroad are excited to return home to their families. Those of us who left our hometowns to study and pursue our dreams oftentimes get excited when opportunities for a visit open.
But more profoundly, we hope for peace. Peace is that dream of God in the vision of the prophet Isaiah when the nations at odds, cease fighting in the realization that their opponents are actually their brothers and sisters. We stop all violence when we find what unites us than what divides.
Finally, how we are going to get there. The readings propose a methodology.
Step 1, the task. The responsorial psalm tells us what we are to do: Go out to all the world and tell the Good News. It means active witnessing both in word and in action. We have to walk our talk: we have to know and live the Good News so that we know what to offer the world.
It therefore challenges the type of faith that we have. It is not enough that we are on bended knees mouthing novenas and rosaries; it means to take an interest in really studying and reflecting the Scriptures. It is not enough that we go through the motions of religious observance and rituals, or give donations to the poor; it means being really present to them and sharing their pain. The task is to have a faith that is informed and at the same time, a faith that becomes an agent of change.
Step 2, the training. The second reading tells us how God trains us. We are to pass through the crucible of trials and sufferings, as gold is tested in fire. In a profound sense, to pray for no suffering or trial in our lives is unrealistic. God will not remove our problems from us, because He himself underwent suffering and death, not just during the passion, but even before it. He endured the ridicule of the leaders of Israel. He experienced rejection and discomfort. The letter to the Hebrews is proof that God often tests our mettle, but not tempt us to sin because that is not His nature.
That is why we pray for deliverance: that we are able to take on the challenges and succeed from it. Our trials are suppose to make us better. Consider the greatest heroes or the best professionals: they improve because they learned. The creme de la creme practices everyday. It is not an accident that sports, science, or the arts are called, disciplines. Prayer is also a discipline, even in its strictest sense. Consider, meditation or even the 30-day retreat of St. Ignatius of Loyola. As Jesuits, we have to be trained first before we are able to contemplate for an hour five times a day, and be quiet for one month.
Training is discipline. Our passion for our dreams intensifies when it is challenged. Our motivations are purified when we endure and persevere despite the odds. We form character through fire. The letter to the Hebrews gives us the imagery: “For what child is there whom his father does not discipline?”
Step 3, pass through the narrow gate in the Gospel. There are two types of gates in Jerusalem. The wider gate where all can enter; and the ‘people-only’ gate where a single person can squeeze in. In the latter, you cannot bring your baggage.
Our choices limit our options. When we were young, we have a wider array of choices. We can be whoever we want to be. We can choose from a menu of college courses and they are all possibilities. But the difficulty is to choose just one. Heraclitus once said that we cannot step twice in the same river. Once an opportunity pass, it’s gone. Whatever we choose now will determine our future.
How we start our lives will shape whatever comes. Harry Fosdick said that he who chooses the beginning of the road chooses the place it leads. In a way, we cannot have all the options all at once. In a lifetime, when we choose the field of science, our choices becomes more specific. We begin as a biology major (or a pre-med course), then we take General Medicine, and finally, we specializes in one particular field. Our choices narrows down our options. This is the passage to the narrow gate.
The same thing with faith. To go out into the world and preach the Good News will require choices. How are you to specifically and practically ‘go out to all the world and tell the Good News’? We do that in our own specific and particular way: as a priest, as a doctor, as a house-person, as a public official, etc. Our vocation and our different roles are cut-out for every unique individual--- this is how God wants us to do it. We know our general mission, but the way to do it will depend on our gifts and our individual style. We pass through the narrow gate through our specific vocation.
It is who we, what we are, what we know that preach the Gospel to the whole world. So that when all of us hear and heed the Word of God, we will begin to dream of home. And we will immediately pack our bags, excitedly gather around the table of the Lord.
Hope for the Nations
20 August 2010 Saint Bernard, abbot and doctor
Ezekiel 37, 1-14; Psalm 107; Matthew 22, 34-40
The first reading is one of the most known visions of the prophet Ezekiel. It is the vision of the dry bones in the valley or the ‘plain’ which is the same location of his call. The occasion is the time when the exiles have lost all hope in the future. The people who are proud of their history and the greatness of Jerusalem are now without hope in the horizon. They cry out, “Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off.”
In a place of a countless deaths, God puts this question to Ezekiel, “Can these bones come to life?” Ezekiel replies that the decision about life or death is in God’s hands: “You alone know that” (v. 3). God then asks Ezekiel to prophesy and the dry bones acquire flesh and spirit, and thus a horde of people have come to life.
What is the importance of this reading to us? It can have two levels of understanding.
First, we can look at the reading in a personal way. We can reflect on situations of individual or even professional despair. For example: When all things have failed; when our relationships are about to end; when we know that the thing we dread has finally become real; or when the things or people we hold on to did not deliver.
There are times when we just do not know what to do in situations beyond our control. For example, our financial obligations have siphoned all of our resources and we find ourselves working to pay off our debts. The breadwinner of the family suddenly meets an accident which debilitated him or her. Recently, a woman whose husband died in the Benguet bus accident bemoans her lost. Her husband is the only one who supports the family of four.
Second, we can interpret the reading in a communal way, which is properly its message. The numerous dry bones illustrate the situation of the entire people of Israel who lost hope. The vision emphasizes God’s promise to restore the people to a new political existence. God will grant them a new understanding of their relationship and their life in the land. And thus, the vision is not of an “individual” resurrection from the “dead” but a description of a corporate political beginning for Israel.
Thus the readings provide hope to many countries in political crisis. We know about the political crisis of Kenya and Thailand. It is predicted that the world will face a food crisis this year 2010. The war in Palestine and the Middle East continues. Pakistan barely survives the flood that killed thousands, submerged cities and destroyed properties.
Locally, the reading is very relevant especially for the Philippines. Our corrupt system has become a culture and a characteristic of our government. It has led so many Filipinos to finally give up hope, and succumb to it. We do not have to enumerate our national disappointments. (If you want, it's here.) But suffice it to say, we are indeed at the brink of hopelessness. This is the reason why, many of us have pinned our hopes on an honest president.
But then how would God revive us all to life? The Gospel summarizes and simplifies all of the commandments. Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our mind. It is indeed the first and greatest commandment. From it flows the second: We shall love our neighbor as ourselves. If we follow these commands, our ‘dried’ spirits will regain life.
However, we should notice the relationship of these two commandments. The foundation of all our loves, including that of ourselves and our neighbors, is our relationship with God. We should love God first. Whatever relationship or the manner we do things, we pattern them according to this first love. When our love is rooted in God’s, it will naturally flow to our relationship with ourselves, others and our environment. People who love God will find prayer, worship, spiritual activities like retreats and recollections important.
If we love God first and sincerely, graft and corruption will not have a place in our system. If God’s way of loving us is the pattern of our relationships, whether personal, corporate, communal, or cultural, no one will be hopeless.
I believe we have to raise our children to be always hopeful. But to have hope means to have faith. Those who have faith will never say, “Die” because God is the God of the Living. Those who have faith will always see that death and despair is not the last say in our lives.
Practically, if we always hope amidst a valley of dry bones, we will always find alternatives. Like the river that enriches a valley, water will always find a way to flow even if it has to carve boulders. And water is always formidable.
The Wicked Shepherds
18 August 2010 Wednesday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time
Ezekiel 34, 1-11; Psalm 23; Matthew 20, 1-6
The readings today are parables of shepherding. In the section from the book of the prophet Ezekiel, God declares the end of the wicked shepherds. God entrusted shepherds to take care for Israel, but instead they maligned their constituents. They failed in their responsibilities to the sheep (vv. 2-6). And thus God is coming against them to punish them and to rescue the sheep. He will then take over the responsibilities personally, becoming the Good Shepherd. He will tend the sheep, rescue the scattered flock, bring them to good pasture, seek the lost and bring back the stray to the fold. Within the fold, the wounded sheep will be healed. Verse 11 says, “For thus says the Lord God: I myself will look after and end my sheep.”
What are the faults of the wicked shepherds? They have misused their power. They have been callous to the weak sheep. They were more concerned about their own interest than the welfare of the flock under their care.
Nothing much has changed today. We still have elected leaders who finally showed their true colors once inaugurated. Power is, to me, the most potent addiction. In every corner of the globe, from religious to political leaders, power has oppressed society. They forget the responsibility that comes with the position. They inadvertently neglect to attend to the people under their care. Instead of focusing on the needs of the flock, they discover that power can satisfy their own needs.
However, many of us have adapted the paradigm of the shepherd as the image of leadership. In order to reverse the process of corruption and oppression, we have to refocus our attention to the sheep entrusted to our care. If our lives are dedicated to their needs, and all our programs are directed to respond to them, then we are assured that at the very least, we are good and concerned leaders.
We know that good intentions are not enough. It requires a stronger political will. To combat an unjust structure, a kind leader needs a battalion of soldiers who share his vision. Even in olden times, the shepherd is not alone. He is always with other shepherds. But all have the same vision: the welfare of the flock.
No wonder, every baptized Christian is called to be a shepherd. The good shepherd is the image of the ideal king. And so we are all called to be a king (aside from the call to be priest and prophet at baptism). We are all anointed for us to realize that change can never be done alone; change should be a shared and communitarian endeavor.
Let us therefore support our leaders when they try with all their might to become like Jesus, the ideal King. If we find some leaders sliding into wickedness or advocating policies that are against our conscience, it is our duty to let them know. We have to remember that participating in the law of the land is the duty of every citizen. We should not forget that the law of the land should mirror the greater Law of God.
Ezekiel 34, 1-11; Psalm 23; Matthew 20, 1-6
The readings today are parables of shepherding. In the section from the book of the prophet Ezekiel, God declares the end of the wicked shepherds. God entrusted shepherds to take care for Israel, but instead they maligned their constituents. They failed in their responsibilities to the sheep (vv. 2-6). And thus God is coming against them to punish them and to rescue the sheep. He will then take over the responsibilities personally, becoming the Good Shepherd. He will tend the sheep, rescue the scattered flock, bring them to good pasture, seek the lost and bring back the stray to the fold. Within the fold, the wounded sheep will be healed. Verse 11 says, “For thus says the Lord God: I myself will look after and end my sheep.”
What are the faults of the wicked shepherds? They have misused their power. They have been callous to the weak sheep. They were more concerned about their own interest than the welfare of the flock under their care.
Nothing much has changed today. We still have elected leaders who finally showed their true colors once inaugurated. Power is, to me, the most potent addiction. In every corner of the globe, from religious to political leaders, power has oppressed society. They forget the responsibility that comes with the position. They inadvertently neglect to attend to the people under their care. Instead of focusing on the needs of the flock, they discover that power can satisfy their own needs.
However, many of us have adapted the paradigm of the shepherd as the image of leadership. In order to reverse the process of corruption and oppression, we have to refocus our attention to the sheep entrusted to our care. If our lives are dedicated to their needs, and all our programs are directed to respond to them, then we are assured that at the very least, we are good and concerned leaders.
We know that good intentions are not enough. It requires a stronger political will. To combat an unjust structure, a kind leader needs a battalion of soldiers who share his vision. Even in olden times, the shepherd is not alone. He is always with other shepherds. But all have the same vision: the welfare of the flock.
No wonder, every baptized Christian is called to be a shepherd. The good shepherd is the image of the ideal king. And so we are all called to be a king (aside from the call to be priest and prophet at baptism). We are all anointed for us to realize that change can never be done alone; change should be a shared and communitarian endeavor.
Let us therefore support our leaders when they try with all their might to become like Jesus, the ideal King. If we find some leaders sliding into wickedness or advocating policies that are against our conscience, it is our duty to let them know. We have to remember that participating in the law of the land is the duty of every citizen. We should not forget that the law of the land should mirror the greater Law of God.
Anong Maaring Ipagyabang?
17 August 2010 Martes ng ika-20 Linggo ng Taon
Ezekiel 28, 1-10; RPsalm: Dt 32; Matthew 19, 23-30
Sabi ni Hesus sa Ebanghelio ngayon: “Mahirap pumasok ang isang mayaman sa kaharian ng langit.” Dahil dito, lubhang nagtaka ang mga alagad at nagtanong: “Kung gayon, sino ang makaliligtas?” Sinagot sila ni Hesus, “Sa mga tao, hindi ito maaari; ngunit sa Diyos, ang lahat ay nagagawa.”
Sa Jerusalem, may isang pintuang tao lamang ang makakapasok. Ito ang tinatawag na "People's Gate" at hindi mo madadala ang kahit anong gamit o hayop. Maaaring gamitin natin ito para ipaliwanag ang Ebanghelio. Maraming damit ang nasusuot ng isang mayaman. Matagal nang nauso ang tinatawag na “layering.” Kapag marami kang nakapatong na damit, tumataba kang tingnan. Hindi ka makakapasok sa "narrow gate" o sa "people's gate."
Ezekiel 28, 1-10; RPsalm: Dt 32; Matthew 19, 23-30
Sabi ni Hesus sa Ebanghelio ngayon: “Mahirap pumasok ang isang mayaman sa kaharian ng langit.” Dahil dito, lubhang nagtaka ang mga alagad at nagtanong: “Kung gayon, sino ang makaliligtas?” Sinagot sila ni Hesus, “Sa mga tao, hindi ito maaari; ngunit sa Diyos, ang lahat ay nagagawa.”
Sa Jerusalem, may isang pintuang tao lamang ang makakapasok. Ito ang tinatawag na "People's Gate" at hindi mo madadala ang kahit anong gamit o hayop. Maaaring gamitin natin ito para ipaliwanag ang Ebanghelio. Maraming damit ang nasusuot ng isang mayaman. Matagal nang nauso ang tinatawag na “layering.” Kapag marami kang nakapatong na damit, tumataba kang tingnan. Hindi ka makakapasok sa "narrow gate" o sa "people's gate."
Ang mga halos "nakahubad" lamang ang maaaring makalusot dito. Ngunit mahirap sa atin ang maging "hubo't hubad," matagal na nating ikinahiya ang ating kahubaran. Subalit, sa pinakarurok ng ating puso, ito ang pinakamalalim na hinahangad: ang mahalin sa ating tunay na pagkatao. Maraming nagmamahal sa ating mga "isinusuot" hindi sa ating katotohanan.
Maraming uri at kulay ang damit ng mayayaman. Pinagyayabang nila ang kanilang ari-arian. Hindi sila mapalagay kung hindi mo babanggitin ang kanilang hanap-buhay. Dapat tatawagin mo silang, “Dr.” o “Atty.” o “Engineer” o “Architect” atpb. Dapat alam mo din kung meron silang katungkulan sa lalawigan. Kapag di mo natawag silang “Mayor” o “Chief Engineer” --- iisipin nilang wala kang respeto sa kanila (bagaman ito’y totoo!). Iba naman ang sanhi ng pinagyayabang. Natutuwa sila kapag nalalaman ng lahat ang kanilang kaugnayan sa mga bigatin!
Dahil dito, tunay ngang mahirap iwanan ang mga nasimulan o ang pagtingin ng tao sa kanila. Mahirap hubarin ang mga kasuotan. Nakabatay ang kanilang pagpapahalaga sa sarili sa damit na kanilang sinusuot. Sa gayon, makikipaglaban hanggang kamatayan ang sinumang nagmamay-ari ng kapangyarihan.
Ngunit ang daan ng kaharian ng Diyos ay simple lamang. Walang komplikasyon. Di kailangan ang ating mga “damit” --- ang ating tunay na sarili lamang ang kailangan. At dahil dito kailangang hubarin at iwanan ang anumang pinagyayabang natin. Sa kabilang banda, meron ba tayong maipagyayabang? Lahat ay galing sa Diyos; walang ibang pinanggagalingan ang ating mga kakayahan kundi sa Kanya lamang.
At dahil dito, unti-unti ang ating pagtatanggal ng ating mga pinagyayabangan. Kailangan ang mahabang proseso upang makita ang tunay nating sarili. Tutulungan ka ng sikolohiya na unawain kung bakit hindi natin maiwanan ang ating pinagkakaabalahan.
Maraming uri at kulay ang damit ng mayayaman. Pinagyayabang nila ang kanilang ari-arian. Hindi sila mapalagay kung hindi mo babanggitin ang kanilang hanap-buhay. Dapat tatawagin mo silang, “Dr.” o “Atty.” o “Engineer” o “Architect” atpb. Dapat alam mo din kung meron silang katungkulan sa lalawigan. Kapag di mo natawag silang “Mayor” o “Chief Engineer” --- iisipin nilang wala kang respeto sa kanila (bagaman ito’y totoo!). Iba naman ang sanhi ng pinagyayabang. Natutuwa sila kapag nalalaman ng lahat ang kanilang kaugnayan sa mga bigatin!
Dahil dito, tunay ngang mahirap iwanan ang mga nasimulan o ang pagtingin ng tao sa kanila. Mahirap hubarin ang mga kasuotan. Nakabatay ang kanilang pagpapahalaga sa sarili sa damit na kanilang sinusuot. Sa gayon, makikipaglaban hanggang kamatayan ang sinumang nagmamay-ari ng kapangyarihan.
Ngunit ang daan ng kaharian ng Diyos ay simple lamang. Walang komplikasyon. Di kailangan ang ating mga “damit” --- ang ating tunay na sarili lamang ang kailangan. At dahil dito kailangang hubarin at iwanan ang anumang pinagyayabang natin. Sa kabilang banda, meron ba tayong maipagyayabang? Lahat ay galing sa Diyos; walang ibang pinanggagalingan ang ating mga kakayahan kundi sa Kanya lamang.
At dahil dito, unti-unti ang ating pagtatanggal ng ating mga pinagyayabangan. Kailangan ang mahabang proseso upang makita ang tunay nating sarili. Tutulungan ka ng sikolohiya na unawain kung bakit hindi natin maiwanan ang ating pinagkakaabalahan.
Ngunit Diyos lamang ang nakakatulong sa pag-huhubad nito. Ang bawat pagtanggal ng ating mga “damit” ay isang gawaing paulit-ulit. Kung alam nating wala tayong maaaring ipagyabang sa Diyos, madali ang paghubad. Kung alam nating lahat ay galing sa Diyos, madaling makita na ang pinakamahalaga at pinakatotoo ay ang ating tunay na sarili. Ano naman ito: ang katotohanang tayo'y mga anak ng Diyos. Ito lamang ang dapat ipakita sa lahat. Ito lamang ang nakikitang mahalaga para sa Diyos.
The Assumption of Mary in Your Words
15 August 2010 Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Revelation 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab; Psalm 45; 1 Cor 15:20-27; Luke 1:39-56
Possibilities are fueled by imagination. When we were young, our dreams were patterned from the successful people we encountered. I wanted to become a doctor, because our family doctor was wealthy. His family lived a comfortable life. In second year high school, my Biology grades were among the highest. It encouraged me to pursue the sciences which eventually intensified and confirmed my dream. Having seen many successful doctors and at the same time discovering the abilities needed to become one, I was so sure about the future (until another example replaced it: the priesthood).
This is the same in faith life. The possibility of becoming holy is fired by “the great cloud of witnesses” or the examples of many lives. Hebrews 12, 1-3 says:
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.”
We know that it is possible for sinful human beings to become holy because the proofs are the lives of the saints.
History has it that the former knight, St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, has undergone a spiritual conversion while recovering. While wounded from the battle of Pamplona, He has been given only two books available: the Life of Christ (De Vita Christi) by Ludolph of Saxony and the Lives of the Saints. These books has charged his imagination: He would also like to devote his life to God like St. Francis of Assisi and the rest of the saints.
This is the same with the Dogma of the Assumption of Mary. Mary is a human being. As someone like us, she has demonstrated that we can accept the will of God with our whole heart, mind and soul. In the Annunciation of the Nativity of Jesus, she has taken her role to become the mother of Christ. When her time to go has come, God has given her the grace to be assumed, both body and soul, in heaven.
Revelations 12, 1 says in the first reading: “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, the moon beneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head.”
The same thing is open to us. In the second coming of Jesus, the Assumption of Mary is what awaits those who have lived holy lives. In other words, we will all be assumed into heaven, both body and soul (like Mary) if we have been holy. It is called the “resurrection of the body” in the Creed we recite every Sunday.
The Opening Prayer at mass goes this way: “All powerful and ever-living God, you raised the sinless Virgin Mary, mother of your Son, body and soul to the glory of heaven. May we see heaven as our final goal and come to share her glory.”
Having said that, we have to remember that the Dogma of the Assumption is connected with the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. In the Immaculate Conception, Mary has been freed from the stain of sin in lieu of her role as the mother of Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity. And since she has done her job well, she has been rewarded with the Assumption.
We can explain it with an approximate imagery. Since our food should be clean, we have to put it in a vessel that is also clean. Since Jesus is God, God has to place Him in a womb that is also as immaculate as His Son. And so, the Church logically reasons out that Mary has been clean from her birth. This is the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
But Scripture says that death is caused by sin. Conversely, uncorrupted bodies have not been attributed to holiness. Many saints who lived very holy lives have proven that holiness can leave our bodies uncorrupted. Meaning, their bodies have not decomposed. In the Catholic faith, there are more than 250 incorrupt bodies of saints including Sts. Agatha, Catherine of Laboure, Bernadette Soubirous, John Mary Vianney, to name a few.
And so if Mary’s life has been totally freed from original sin (Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception), then she cannot physically die. This has been the reason why we believe that God had given her the grace to be assumed to heaven, not just her soul but including her body.
The question to be raised on the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary can be very simple, but will commit us to the future.
Can you imagine yourself with God? If so, do you want to be united with God in heaven? If yes, then it is pertinent that you begin to walk the steps of holiness.
How? Hebrews will say these: “We shall rid ourselves of our sins that cling to us. We should persevere in running the race with our eyes fixed on Jesus.” If we succeed, we will be a member of the cloud of witnesses who are already united with God. And the state of being with God is called, heaven.
Restoring the Value of Faithfulness
13 August 2010 Friday of the 19th Week in Ordinary Time
Ezekiel 16, 59-63; Isaiah 12, 2-6; Matthew 19, 3-12
The great Filipino hero, Dr. Jose Rizal said, “Whoever does not look back at his origins, will not be able to reach his destiny.” The Lord, particularly, in the first reading today reminds us to look back at our personal history and see how He has dealt with us from the beginning. Using the image of a girl to refer to Jerusalem, He narrates to Ezekiel what he has to “make known” to her. The Lord reminds Jerusalem of her beginnings. In the past, she was from the Land of Promise, but when she was born, she was abandoned and “thrown out on the ground as something loathsome.” The Lord then took pity and adopted her. He gave her the things she needed to restore her dignity. But in the end, she was “captivated by her own beauty” and used it like a “harlot” to be possessed by others, other than the One who actually loves her.
Jesus in the Gospel also looks back at the history of laws to answer the questions of the Pharisees about divorce. During the time of Moses, he allowed divorce because of their hardness of hearts. But now, Jesus restores the original purpose of marriage: in the beginning, the bond between husband and wife, has always been unbreakable because a commitment is sacred. Unless of course, as He qualifies, “when the marriage is unlawful.”
In our Christian faith, our relationships are to be patterned from the relationship of God and His people. In the first reading, God will still say to Jerusalem, the ‘harlot’:
“Yet, I will remember the covenant I made with you, and I will set up an everlasting covenant with you, that you may remember and be covered with confusion, and that you may be utterly silenced for shame when I pardon you for all you have done.”
And thus in the Gospel, Jesus restores faithfulness as a primary value in relationships.
Peter’s remark is our natural remark: “If that is the case, it is better not to marry.” Rephrase it today, “Marriage should be open to divorce, just in case, it wouldn’t work out.” So you have advocates of divorce.
But Jesus said, “Not all can accept this word but only those to whom that is granted.” In other words, marriage is not a vocation for everybody. Those who can’t, should not. Or, those who are not ready, even if the couple has already a child with them, they or their parents should not force then to marry. It is important that those who marry are mature enough to carry out their commitment. Conversely, those who decide not to marry and freely choose celibate life, should do so, but should also keep what he has first of all promised. No one has the right to ridicule such choice.
And why? Because our relationships should mirror the relationship of God and his people. In the marriage rite, the image used is this: “Love your wife/husband, as Christ loves His Church.” In celibate life, the image is the same. Except one’s love is not exclusive but inclusive of all.
Isn’t it that the Jerusalem in the first reading is like us, the Church? Our unfaithfulness to God does not need proof: we know how we have sold ourselves to our inordinate desires. But God continues to love us, hoping that His undying love will make us realize that the most worthy of relationships are from those who remain steadfast and constant to us.
Faithfulness is an appeal to a loftier value or to humanity’s higher ability to determine themselves freely and not be encumbered by our emotions or the desire to escape from pain. Why? Because even God experienced the pain we undergo in relationships. To reach our destiny, as Rizal points out, we have to accept and reconcile with the past, in order to move on.
Faithfulness is sometimes difficult to defend when others appeal to a lower level of value. But ask the people who advocate for divorce: at the very core of their confusion, they actually want someone to stick to them, no matter how opinionated and proud they are. It would be hurting for them to look back, that in the beginning, they were nothing.
Ezekiel 16, 59-63; Isaiah 12, 2-6; Matthew 19, 3-12
The great Filipino hero, Dr. Jose Rizal said, “Whoever does not look back at his origins, will not be able to reach his destiny.” The Lord, particularly, in the first reading today reminds us to look back at our personal history and see how He has dealt with us from the beginning. Using the image of a girl to refer to Jerusalem, He narrates to Ezekiel what he has to “make known” to her. The Lord reminds Jerusalem of her beginnings. In the past, she was from the Land of Promise, but when she was born, she was abandoned and “thrown out on the ground as something loathsome.” The Lord then took pity and adopted her. He gave her the things she needed to restore her dignity. But in the end, she was “captivated by her own beauty” and used it like a “harlot” to be possessed by others, other than the One who actually loves her.
Jesus in the Gospel also looks back at the history of laws to answer the questions of the Pharisees about divorce. During the time of Moses, he allowed divorce because of their hardness of hearts. But now, Jesus restores the original purpose of marriage: in the beginning, the bond between husband and wife, has always been unbreakable because a commitment is sacred. Unless of course, as He qualifies, “when the marriage is unlawful.”
In our Christian faith, our relationships are to be patterned from the relationship of God and His people. In the first reading, God will still say to Jerusalem, the ‘harlot’:
“Yet, I will remember the covenant I made with you, and I will set up an everlasting covenant with you, that you may remember and be covered with confusion, and that you may be utterly silenced for shame when I pardon you for all you have done.”
And thus in the Gospel, Jesus restores faithfulness as a primary value in relationships.
Peter’s remark is our natural remark: “If that is the case, it is better not to marry.” Rephrase it today, “Marriage should be open to divorce, just in case, it wouldn’t work out.” So you have advocates of divorce.
But Jesus said, “Not all can accept this word but only those to whom that is granted.” In other words, marriage is not a vocation for everybody. Those who can’t, should not. Or, those who are not ready, even if the couple has already a child with them, they or their parents should not force then to marry. It is important that those who marry are mature enough to carry out their commitment. Conversely, those who decide not to marry and freely choose celibate life, should do so, but should also keep what he has first of all promised. No one has the right to ridicule such choice.
And why? Because our relationships should mirror the relationship of God and his people. In the marriage rite, the image used is this: “Love your wife/husband, as Christ loves His Church.” In celibate life, the image is the same. Except one’s love is not exclusive but inclusive of all.
Isn’t it that the Jerusalem in the first reading is like us, the Church? Our unfaithfulness to God does not need proof: we know how we have sold ourselves to our inordinate desires. But God continues to love us, hoping that His undying love will make us realize that the most worthy of relationships are from those who remain steadfast and constant to us.
Faithfulness is an appeal to a loftier value or to humanity’s higher ability to determine themselves freely and not be encumbered by our emotions or the desire to escape from pain. Why? Because even God experienced the pain we undergo in relationships. To reach our destiny, as Rizal points out, we have to accept and reconcile with the past, in order to move on.
Faithfulness is sometimes difficult to defend when others appeal to a lower level of value. But ask the people who advocate for divorce: at the very core of their confusion, they actually want someone to stick to them, no matter how opinionated and proud they are. It would be hurting for them to look back, that in the beginning, they were nothing.
Constant Readiness
8 August 2010 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Wisdom 18, 6-9; Psalm 33; Hebrews 11, 1-19; Luke 12, 35-40 or 32-48
Have you ever experienced being caught unawares because you weren’t prepared? How many of us were surprised by the floods of Ondoy? How many of us failed a surprise quiz because we did not study? If we experienced these, we know what the readings today are talking about.
The Gospel has one point. The challenge of constant readiness for the coming of the Kingdom is at the center of the test of faith.
In parables, Jesus tells us that there is no definite time and no exact date when He will come. In the parable of the return of the Master from a wedding, the coming of the Master is certain, but the time when He does is not.
In the parable of the thief who comes in the night, the coming of the robber is not even certain. The book of Wisdom in the first reading tells us that our forefathers know for certain that there will be a time when they have to leave Egypt, but they do not know when the Lord will summon them to leave immediately. It is the same with Abraham in the second reading. By faith, Abraham do not know where God will lead him, but he has to pack his belongings and journey from Ur to the land of Canaan (see picture).
What these readings demand of us is clear: Be prepared. Be like the one who gird his loins. The long flowing robes of the East is always a hindrance to work. So someone who will be working will gather his robes and tuck them in their girdles so that nothing can encumber them in their work.
When we think about the coming of the Master, we can think of two meanings. It can mean the Second Coming of Jesus (The End of Time) or our own physical deaths. When we contemplate on our own deaths, we can also mean certain events that might happen that threaten our lives. Close to the latter are natural disasters that claimed several lives and devastated huge properties.
What then should be our attitude?
First, do not procrastinate. What we can do today, we should not postpone for tomorrow. We have to accomplish the daily task that has been given to us. No work should be left unfinished. Sometimes it is dangerous to think that we have plenty of time. Usually we find ourselves cramming.
Second, have clear and realistic goals. It is better to have a few things for the day than to have a long list that paralyzes us. When we have so much on our plate, we usually get overwhelmed. And when we are overpowered, it is easy for us to be defeated. We don’t get things done.
Finally, grab every chance you get to be better. We are to blame when opportunities come, and we don’t take them. Usually they don’t return. In other words, gird your loins and work.
Pagbabagong-Anyo at Facebook
6 August 2010 Kapistahan ng Kaliwanagan ng Pagbabagong-Anyo ni Hesus
Dan 7, 9-14; Psalm 97; 2 Peter 1, 16-19; Luke 9, 28-36
Ano ang kahalagahan ng pagbabagong-anyo ni Hesus sa Kanyang buhay? Bago sina Pedro, Santiago at Juan umakyat sa bundok, inikot ni Hesus ang iba’t ibang lugar upang maglingkod at magturo sa mga tao. Ginamot niya ang maysakit. Binigyan niya ng aral ang mga uhaw sa Turo ng Diyos. Pinakain niya ang mga nagugutom. Kung saan-saan nakarating si Kristo at ang kanyang mga alagad.
Ngunit nagkaroon ng panibagong direksyon si Hesus pagkatapos umakyat sina Pedro, Santiago at Juan sa bundok. Nagsimulang binanggit ni Hesus ang kanyang sasapiting pagdurusa at pagkamatay sa Jerusalem. At walang pag-aatubiling sinimulan Niya ang paglalakbay tungo doon.
Dalawang bagay ang matututunan natin ngayon. Unang-una, piling-pili lamang ang pinasama ni Hesus sa bundok. Sina Pedro, Santiago at Juan ang tatlo sa mga magiging haligi ng Simbahan. Napagisipan niyang tatlo lamang ang kailangang makakita ng Kanyang tunay na sarili; at sila na ang magiging saksi nito. Sa pagbabagong-anyo, pinakita ni Kristo ang kanyang pagkatao. Siya ang tinutukoy ng mga turo ni Moises at ng mga propetang kinabibilangan ni Propeta Elias. Siya ay Diyos, ang “pinakamamahal ng Ama” at dahil dito, dapat nating pakinggan at sundin Siya.
Mahalagang may mga taong nakakakilala sa atin. Isang malaking bahagi ng buhay ang matagpuan ang ating tunay na pagkatao. Nagiging panatag ang ating sarili kapag may mga taong tanggap ang lahat lahat sa atin.
Sa panahon ng bagong media, tulad ng mga social networks, nagkakaroon tayo ng bugso ng damdaming ipaskel sa internet ang ating sarili na hindi natin pinag-iisipan kung ano ang epekto nito sa lahat nang nakakakita. At kadalasan, may mga bagay na pribado sa ating buhay at hindi nararapat na makita ng madla. Maaaring gamitin ito laban sa atin. Maaaring gawing ebidensiya ito upang matanggal tayo sa trabaho o sirain ang ating pagkatao sa iba, lalo na sa ating mga pinakamamahal.
Ang pagpapakita ni Hesus ng kanyang sarili ay pinag-isipan Niyang mabuti. Hindi lahat ng tao ang pinasama Niya upang maging saksi sa kanyang tunay na pakay sa mundo. Hindi lahat ng tao ang pinili Niyang ipamalas ang kanyang pagka-Diyos. Ang kanyang mga alagad na lamang ang nagkuwento nito sa atin. At naniniwala tayo sa kanilang kuwento. Mas magandang nangagaling sa iba ang magagandang kuwentong ukol sa atin. Mas magandang may nagsasabing mabait tayo kaysa tayo mismo ang nagsasabi sa lahat na mabait tayo!
Pangalawa, ang pagkakaroon ng malinaw na direksyon sa buhay ang siyang mahalagang aral sa pangyayaring ito. Pagkatapos makipagtalastasan sa Diyos sa bundok, malinaw kay Hesus ang kanyang gagampanan upang mailigtas ang lahat. Kailangan niyang tanggapin ang daanan ng krus. Kailangan niyang harapin ang kanyang Jerusalem kung saan siya ipagkakanulo, pahihirapan at ipapapatay. Kailangan niyang daanan ang mga ito kung tunay ang kanyang hangaring iligtas ang sambayanan (syempre tunay nga ang kanyang pagmamahal!).
Marami sa atin ang may pangarap sa buhay. Alam natin kung ano ang gusto nating makamtan. Malinaw na sa atin ang gusto nating marating. Ngunit laging may pag-aayaw sa kailangang daanang pagpapakasakit. Totoong walang may gusto sa kahirapan. Walang gustong masaktan, mabigo at magdanas ng kalungkutan. Ngunit may mga masasakit na bagay na kailangang gawin, makamtan lamang ang pinakaaasam.
Kung nais natin makatapos sa pag-aaral, gugugulin natin ang ating oras sa pagbabasa. Ipagpapaliban natin ang oras ng paliliwaliw at pagpapakasaya. Kung nais nating umunlad ang ating buhay, hahanap tayo ng trabahong maayos at makakapagbigay ng tamang sahod para sa kinabukasan ng ating mga anak. Ngunit maaaring katapat nito ang pagsasakabilang bayan. Kasama nito ang labis na pagtitiis ng kalungkutan, gawa ng paghihiwalay sa minamahal. Ang Jerusalem ang simbolo ng ating “necessary pains” --- simbolo ng krus na kailangang pasanin upang makarating sa ating kaluwalhatian.
Sa pagbabagong-anyo ni Hesus, pinamalas niya sa atin ang daan tungo sa kalangitan. Nasa atin ang pagpipiling sundan ang daang ito o hindi.
Dan 7, 9-14; Psalm 97; 2 Peter 1, 16-19; Luke 9, 28-36
Ano ang kahalagahan ng pagbabagong-anyo ni Hesus sa Kanyang buhay? Bago sina Pedro, Santiago at Juan umakyat sa bundok, inikot ni Hesus ang iba’t ibang lugar upang maglingkod at magturo sa mga tao. Ginamot niya ang maysakit. Binigyan niya ng aral ang mga uhaw sa Turo ng Diyos. Pinakain niya ang mga nagugutom. Kung saan-saan nakarating si Kristo at ang kanyang mga alagad.
Ngunit nagkaroon ng panibagong direksyon si Hesus pagkatapos umakyat sina Pedro, Santiago at Juan sa bundok. Nagsimulang binanggit ni Hesus ang kanyang sasapiting pagdurusa at pagkamatay sa Jerusalem. At walang pag-aatubiling sinimulan Niya ang paglalakbay tungo doon.
Dalawang bagay ang matututunan natin ngayon. Unang-una, piling-pili lamang ang pinasama ni Hesus sa bundok. Sina Pedro, Santiago at Juan ang tatlo sa mga magiging haligi ng Simbahan. Napagisipan niyang tatlo lamang ang kailangang makakita ng Kanyang tunay na sarili; at sila na ang magiging saksi nito. Sa pagbabagong-anyo, pinakita ni Kristo ang kanyang pagkatao. Siya ang tinutukoy ng mga turo ni Moises at ng mga propetang kinabibilangan ni Propeta Elias. Siya ay Diyos, ang “pinakamamahal ng Ama” at dahil dito, dapat nating pakinggan at sundin Siya.
Mahalagang may mga taong nakakakilala sa atin. Isang malaking bahagi ng buhay ang matagpuan ang ating tunay na pagkatao. Nagiging panatag ang ating sarili kapag may mga taong tanggap ang lahat lahat sa atin.
Sa panahon ng bagong media, tulad ng mga social networks, nagkakaroon tayo ng bugso ng damdaming ipaskel sa internet ang ating sarili na hindi natin pinag-iisipan kung ano ang epekto nito sa lahat nang nakakakita. At kadalasan, may mga bagay na pribado sa ating buhay at hindi nararapat na makita ng madla. Maaaring gamitin ito laban sa atin. Maaaring gawing ebidensiya ito upang matanggal tayo sa trabaho o sirain ang ating pagkatao sa iba, lalo na sa ating mga pinakamamahal.
Ang pagpapakita ni Hesus ng kanyang sarili ay pinag-isipan Niyang mabuti. Hindi lahat ng tao ang pinasama Niya upang maging saksi sa kanyang tunay na pakay sa mundo. Hindi lahat ng tao ang pinili Niyang ipamalas ang kanyang pagka-Diyos. Ang kanyang mga alagad na lamang ang nagkuwento nito sa atin. At naniniwala tayo sa kanilang kuwento. Mas magandang nangagaling sa iba ang magagandang kuwentong ukol sa atin. Mas magandang may nagsasabing mabait tayo kaysa tayo mismo ang nagsasabi sa lahat na mabait tayo!
Pangalawa, ang pagkakaroon ng malinaw na direksyon sa buhay ang siyang mahalagang aral sa pangyayaring ito. Pagkatapos makipagtalastasan sa Diyos sa bundok, malinaw kay Hesus ang kanyang gagampanan upang mailigtas ang lahat. Kailangan niyang tanggapin ang daanan ng krus. Kailangan niyang harapin ang kanyang Jerusalem kung saan siya ipagkakanulo, pahihirapan at ipapapatay. Kailangan niyang daanan ang mga ito kung tunay ang kanyang hangaring iligtas ang sambayanan (syempre tunay nga ang kanyang pagmamahal!).
Marami sa atin ang may pangarap sa buhay. Alam natin kung ano ang gusto nating makamtan. Malinaw na sa atin ang gusto nating marating. Ngunit laging may pag-aayaw sa kailangang daanang pagpapakasakit. Totoong walang may gusto sa kahirapan. Walang gustong masaktan, mabigo at magdanas ng kalungkutan. Ngunit may mga masasakit na bagay na kailangang gawin, makamtan lamang ang pinakaaasam.
Kung nais natin makatapos sa pag-aaral, gugugulin natin ang ating oras sa pagbabasa. Ipagpapaliban natin ang oras ng paliliwaliw at pagpapakasaya. Kung nais nating umunlad ang ating buhay, hahanap tayo ng trabahong maayos at makakapagbigay ng tamang sahod para sa kinabukasan ng ating mga anak. Ngunit maaaring katapat nito ang pagsasakabilang bayan. Kasama nito ang labis na pagtitiis ng kalungkutan, gawa ng paghihiwalay sa minamahal. Ang Jerusalem ang simbolo ng ating “necessary pains” --- simbolo ng krus na kailangang pasanin upang makarating sa ating kaluwalhatian.
Sa pagbabagong-anyo ni Hesus, pinamalas niya sa atin ang daan tungo sa kalangitan. Nasa atin ang pagpipiling sundan ang daang ito o hindi.
Gusto mo bang baguhin ang iyong puso?
5 August 2010 Huwebes ng ika-18 Linggo ng Taon
Jeremiah 31, 31-34; Psalm 51; Matthew 16, 13-23
Mahalaga ang unang pagbasa sa ating buhay ngayon. Dito nagsimula ang pag-unawa na ang Diyos ay nananahan sa ating mga puso. Matatagpuan ang Diyos sa bawat isa sa atin. Ito ang ugat at sentro ng turo sa Bagong Tipan. Makikita ito sa teolohiya ni San Pablo (2 Cor 3: 1 - 5:21) at may-akda ng Hebreo (Heb 8:6 - 9:15). Dito din maaaninag ang mga turo ni San Juan Evangelista at ng turo ni Hesus sa Huling Hapunan.
Noong panahong iniligtas ng Panginoon ang mga Israelita sa Ehipto sa pamumuno ni Moises, napagkasunduan nila na ang Diyos lamang ang kanilang sasambahin, at sila nama’y magiging Kanyang sambayanan. Sa pamamagitan ng ganitong kasunduan, nilagda nila ang maraming batas bilang pagkilala sa kasunduang yaon. Ngunit, nilabag nila ang mga batas na ito. Ibig sabihin, hindi pagmamahal sa Diyos ang itinugon ng mga Israelita.
Kaya gumagawa ang Panginoon ng panibagong kasunduan: ilalagay ng Panginoon ang batas sa ating kalooban at isusulat niya ito sa ating mga puso. At dahil dito, makikilala nating lahat ang Diyos, mula sa pinakabata hangga’t sa pinakamatanda. Ibig sabihin, hindi na ganang atin ang pagtugon ng pagmamahal sa Diyos; kundi Diyos mismo ang nagbibigay ng kapangyarihan upang tumugon tayo sa Kanya. Ang kapangyarihang tumugon ng pagmamahal sa Diyos ang tinatawag nating, “grace” o biyaya. Our response of love is also a gift from God.
Dahil dito, maaaring hilingin natin sa Diyos ang isang panibagong puso (Salmo 51). Ang biyaya, ayon sa Ebanghelio ni San Juan, ay may kasamang pagpapatawad ng ating mga kasalanan at sanhi ng ating malalim na pananampalataya kay Kristo.
Dito nakabatay ang ating kahalagahan: nanananahan ang Diyos sa bawat isa. At dahil nasa kalooban natin ang Diyos, banal ang bawat isa. Tunay ngang tayo ang templo ng Espiritu Santo.
Have you ever wished someone would love you forever?
4 August 2010 Wednesday of the 18th Week in Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 31, 1-7; Resp Psalm: Jeremiah 31, 10-13; Matthew 15, 21-28
Have you ever been constantly loved; a love that grew and developed from years ago, and continues until today and forever? If you have, or wished to have someone like that, then the readings from Jeremiah will tell you about this kind of love. This is God’s love for Israel. Here is one of the most beautiful passages in Scripture. The Lord says, “With age-old love I have loved you” (Jer 31: 3).
Constancy is one of the most important aspects of true and authentic love. It is not a love “that does not change” --- it is a love that grows, develops and deepens but is not denied or withdrawn when the beloved commits a mistake or says a hurting remark. Love constantly changes because the lover and the beloved grows, both as individuals and as people in a relationship. Love is not static and stale. It is dynamic.
Constancy involves the heart. The dictionary gives us its synonyms: loyalty, faithfulness, fidelity, commitment, adherence, allegiance, dedication and devotion. It tells us that constancy is about keeping our gaze on our beloved. No other person can replace whom we love.
To love is to desire. To desire is to have some concrete preference for the beloved, the object of our love. Even God has to have some concrete hopes for every single person He loves. He has to choose Israel among many. Jesus has to choose the life of a simple and ordinary person if He is to love every one of us, regardless of status. He chooses His disciples and His constant companions like Martha, Mary, Lazarus, Mary Magdalene. And they too know Whom they love. That is why it is important to know who we are and how distinct we are from others: our uniqueness illuminates how God personally deals and cares for us.
But loving is not just about having a natural specific preference. It also involves some fondness, admiration, affection, and care. To have some of those, one invests in the relationship. And that involves time. It consists of quality moments spent being and living with the beloved. It’s indeed an “age-old” love.
Today, we remember St. John Mary Vianney, the patron of priests. But let me expand the meaning to all of us who are called to be “priest, prophet and king” in baptism. Being priests means to be in constant worship with the Lord. When we hear, read, reflect and study the Scriptures, we are practicing our priesthood. When we profess our faith and unceasingly pray for those in need, we are doing our priestly vocation. When we sing, respond and actively participate in our liturgies especially at mass, we live our priesthood.
There are times when we think that the Lord does not answer our prayers. Sometimes we feel that we have been abandoned by the Lord when tragedy befalls us. There are moments when we have the impression that we have gone too far from the Lord because of our sinfulness and returning to the Lord is a long way to go. We believe that a return to holiness is a taxing and arduous task because it would demand an overhaul of ourselves.
But then the Gospel tells us otherwise. The Canaanite woman knows what she wants and insists on having her daughter healed. She is not disappointed or discouraged by the crowd, the apostles or even Jesus. The more she faces rejection, the more her desire grows, and the more she focuses on her daughter, the more insistent she becomes. And because of that kind of faith, Jesus grants her request. With insistent and relentless prayer, the Lord purifies and forms in us a genuine faith.
The Lord loves us with an “age-old” love. And when He does, we trust that He will gather ourselves again (as healing), or bring people together again (as reconciliation), or having everyone one else united in love (as one community in worship).
On our part, the Lord trains us to focus on what we desire by intensifying them, until we discover a piece of the Lord’s heart planted in us. At the end of the day, what we most desire is also what the Lord passionately wants for us.
Gusto mong Lumakad sa Dagat?
3 August 2010 Martes ng ika-18 Linggo ng Taon
Jeremiah 30, 1-22; Psalm 102; Matthew 14, 22-36
Pinasakay ni Hesus ang kanyang mga alagad sa daong at pinauna niya ito sa ibayong dagat upang manalangin sa bundok. Samantala, sinasabukay ng mga alon sa laot ng dagat ang mga alagad, sapagka’t pasalungat sila sa hangin. Nagmamadaling-araw na ng makita nila si Hesus na naglalakad sa tubig. Hiniling ni Pedro na lumakad din siya sa ibabaw tulad ni Hesus, ngunit lumubog siya nang matakot sa tindi ng hangin. Wika ni Hesus, “Kakaunti ng iyong pananampalataya, bakit ka nag-alinlangan?”
Hindi na iba sa ating lahat ang mga unos na sumasabukay sa ating buhay. Tila ba malulunod tayo sa tindi at lakas ng ating mga dinadalang suliranin. Inaakala din natin sa gitna ng laot ng buhay, iniwanan tayo ng Diyos. Nawawalan tayo ng pananampalataya dahil hindi natin makita ang Panginoon sa gitna ng ating problema. Hindi nakapagtataka, sa matinding takot at kawalang-tiwala, nalulunod tayo sa utang, kamalian, at pagkawalang-pag-asa. Ang bagong sakit na “depression” ay isang pagkalubog sa sariling kahinaan at kabiguan tungo sa ating pagkasira.
Ngunit pinakapakita ng Panginoon ang dapat gawin. Kailangang maglakad sa ibabaw ng tubig; huwag magpatangay sa takot. Kadalasan ang problemang dinadala natin ay kaya nating harapin ngunit naduduwag tayo sa tindi ng alon sa ating buhay.
Jeremiah 30, 1-22; Psalm 102; Matthew 14, 22-36
Pinasakay ni Hesus ang kanyang mga alagad sa daong at pinauna niya ito sa ibayong dagat upang manalangin sa bundok. Samantala, sinasabukay ng mga alon sa laot ng dagat ang mga alagad, sapagka’t pasalungat sila sa hangin. Nagmamadaling-araw na ng makita nila si Hesus na naglalakad sa tubig. Hiniling ni Pedro na lumakad din siya sa ibabaw tulad ni Hesus, ngunit lumubog siya nang matakot sa tindi ng hangin. Wika ni Hesus, “Kakaunti ng iyong pananampalataya, bakit ka nag-alinlangan?”
Hindi na iba sa ating lahat ang mga unos na sumasabukay sa ating buhay. Tila ba malulunod tayo sa tindi at lakas ng ating mga dinadalang suliranin. Inaakala din natin sa gitna ng laot ng buhay, iniwanan tayo ng Diyos. Nawawalan tayo ng pananampalataya dahil hindi natin makita ang Panginoon sa gitna ng ating problema. Hindi nakapagtataka, sa matinding takot at kawalang-tiwala, nalulunod tayo sa utang, kamalian, at pagkawalang-pag-asa. Ang bagong sakit na “depression” ay isang pagkalubog sa sariling kahinaan at kabiguan tungo sa ating pagkasira.
Ngunit pinakapakita ng Panginoon ang dapat gawin. Kailangang maglakad sa ibabaw ng tubig; huwag magpatangay sa takot. Kadalasan ang problemang dinadala natin ay kaya nating harapin ngunit naduduwag tayo sa tindi ng alon sa ating buhay.
Bakit Di Dapat Dalhin ang Nararamdaman sa Trabaho
2 August 2010 Lunes ng ika-18 Linggo ng Taon
Jer 28, 1-17; Psalm 119; Matthew 14, 13-21
Marami tayong matutunan sa Ebanghelio ngayon. Nabalitaan ni Hesus ang kamatayan ni San Juan Bautista. At nang mabalitaan ito, lumulan sa isang daong si Hesus upang magtungo sa isang ilang na pook upang mag-isa.
Hindi kailangan pang isulat upang malaman natin kung bakit. Si Juan Bautista ay Kanyang pinsan na naghanda ng daan para sa kanyang gawain. Hinimok niya ang mga tao na magbalik-loob sa Diyos at ituwid ang kanilang buhay bilang paghahanda sa darating na Mesias. Kaya alam na natin kung bakit gusto niyang mag-isa. Kailangan niya ng panahon upang magluksa.
Ngunit, ayon sa Ebanghelio, nang malaman ng mga tao kung saan siya pumunta, nagsisunod sila sa Kanya. At nang makita ni Hesus ang makapal na tao, nahabag siya sa kanila. Kahit hindi siya nabigyan ng tamang panahon ng pagluluksa, itinuloy niya ang kanyang gawain. Pinagaling niya ang maysakit. Nagturo siya sa mga taong uhaw sa Salita ng Diyos. Pinakain niya ang mga nagugutom.
Maraming oras na hindi maganda ang ating pakiramdam ngunit kailangan natin pumasok sa trabaho. May mga sandali ng kabiguan ngunit kailangan pa rin nating ipatuloy ang ating dapat na responsibilidad. May mga oras na matindi ang ating galit ngunit kailangang ngumiti at magkunwaring maayos ang ating buhay kapag nasa opisina (kaysa namang sumimangot ka; kawawa ang customers at ka-trabaho).
At bakit hindi kailangang dalhin ang ating matinding pakiramdam sa ating pinagtatrabauhan? Dahil sa malalim na awa’t pagmamahal: hindi dapat apektado ang mga taong hindi kasama at kabilang sa ating pagluluksa.
Jer 28, 1-17; Psalm 119; Matthew 14, 13-21
Marami tayong matutunan sa Ebanghelio ngayon. Nabalitaan ni Hesus ang kamatayan ni San Juan Bautista. At nang mabalitaan ito, lumulan sa isang daong si Hesus upang magtungo sa isang ilang na pook upang mag-isa.
Hindi kailangan pang isulat upang malaman natin kung bakit. Si Juan Bautista ay Kanyang pinsan na naghanda ng daan para sa kanyang gawain. Hinimok niya ang mga tao na magbalik-loob sa Diyos at ituwid ang kanilang buhay bilang paghahanda sa darating na Mesias. Kaya alam na natin kung bakit gusto niyang mag-isa. Kailangan niya ng panahon upang magluksa.
Ngunit, ayon sa Ebanghelio, nang malaman ng mga tao kung saan siya pumunta, nagsisunod sila sa Kanya. At nang makita ni Hesus ang makapal na tao, nahabag siya sa kanila. Kahit hindi siya nabigyan ng tamang panahon ng pagluluksa, itinuloy niya ang kanyang gawain. Pinagaling niya ang maysakit. Nagturo siya sa mga taong uhaw sa Salita ng Diyos. Pinakain niya ang mga nagugutom.
Maraming oras na hindi maganda ang ating pakiramdam ngunit kailangan natin pumasok sa trabaho. May mga sandali ng kabiguan ngunit kailangan pa rin nating ipatuloy ang ating dapat na responsibilidad. May mga oras na matindi ang ating galit ngunit kailangang ngumiti at magkunwaring maayos ang ating buhay kapag nasa opisina (kaysa namang sumimangot ka; kawawa ang customers at ka-trabaho).
At bakit hindi kailangang dalhin ang ating matinding pakiramdam sa ating pinagtatrabauhan? Dahil sa malalim na awa’t pagmamahal: hindi dapat apektado ang mga taong hindi kasama at kabilang sa ating pagluluksa.
What Matters
1 August 2010 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Ecclesiastes 1: 2; 2:21-23; Psalm 89; Col 3:1-5; 9-11; Luke 12, 13-21
There are many questions we ask repeatedly. What will make me happy? What will give meaning to my life? What direction should I take? How am I going to pursue what I desire? All of these questions will lead us to discern which among our experiences are more valuable than others. Which among our values are vanity and which among them are eternal.
The movie, Inception (2010) brings us into the deeper recesses of our subconscious. Cobbs (Leonardo di Caprio) and his team enter different layers of people’s dreams; into their innermost desires. Two things are important for the purpose of this homily (I will not release a spoiler for those who have not watched it yet). Cobbs’ innermost desire is to return home and to spend time with his children. Mr. Fisher’s innermost dream is the affirmation from his father to be “his own man” (to become who he is). His father’s last words was “disappointed” --- frustrated that his son tried to become like him. The truth is, he would like his son to forge his own path. And thus for both Cobbs and Fischer, what validate their realities are the people they cared the most.
That movie and all other literary genres including our epics, our written and oral histories, affirm what St. Paul has already articulated in his letter to the Corinthians. The answers to our questions of meaning, direction and joy are those that remain when all our achievements are gone and when our possessions have been taken away. For Paul, what remains are faith, hope, and love. What validates our existence is therefore what we believe in, what we hope for and whom we love deeply.
As in the first reading from Ecclesiastes, all things are vanities. The second reading tells us that all things of the earth will be taken away. Our investments are worthless when death comes, as the Gospel affirms. And so we must put all our energies on the most important things: faith, hope and love.
How do we find what is essential to us? We need to discern well. St. Ignatius of Loyola advises people to know what you desire. Technology and the introduction of new products have churned out more desires which we now call, our wishlist. They reconstruct our sub-conscious; they plant into our dreams new ideas that will make us see reality in a different light. The things that are actually vanities have become part of what is important to us today. In the past, we had lived without mobile phones and computers. Today, technology has set the bar for the obsolescence of people. We become passe if we do not know and use technology.
With the rapid shifts of desires, we struggle with what we want and what we need. We continually discern every day so as not to lose focus on what matters to God. The good thing about shifting desires and growing wants is skills-development: we are trained to discern what is more authentic to ourselves, what is deeper from what is shallow, what leads to God from what does not.
We are now challenged to relentlessly decide among a constellation of desires which among them are important; which are more important; and which is the most valuable among them all.
When we discover the most valuable, we discover the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price, that which matters to God. If you find what you most desire, you will find what would give meaning, direction and joy in your life.
Ecclesiastes 1: 2; 2:21-23; Psalm 89; Col 3:1-5; 9-11; Luke 12, 13-21
There are many questions we ask repeatedly. What will make me happy? What will give meaning to my life? What direction should I take? How am I going to pursue what I desire? All of these questions will lead us to discern which among our experiences are more valuable than others. Which among our values are vanity and which among them are eternal.
The movie, Inception (2010) brings us into the deeper recesses of our subconscious. Cobbs (Leonardo di Caprio) and his team enter different layers of people’s dreams; into their innermost desires. Two things are important for the purpose of this homily (I will not release a spoiler for those who have not watched it yet). Cobbs’ innermost desire is to return home and to spend time with his children. Mr. Fisher’s innermost dream is the affirmation from his father to be “his own man” (to become who he is). His father’s last words was “disappointed” --- frustrated that his son tried to become like him. The truth is, he would like his son to forge his own path. And thus for both Cobbs and Fischer, what validate their realities are the people they cared the most.
That movie and all other literary genres including our epics, our written and oral histories, affirm what St. Paul has already articulated in his letter to the Corinthians. The answers to our questions of meaning, direction and joy are those that remain when all our achievements are gone and when our possessions have been taken away. For Paul, what remains are faith, hope, and love. What validates our existence is therefore what we believe in, what we hope for and whom we love deeply.
As in the first reading from Ecclesiastes, all things are vanities. The second reading tells us that all things of the earth will be taken away. Our investments are worthless when death comes, as the Gospel affirms. And so we must put all our energies on the most important things: faith, hope and love.
How do we find what is essential to us? We need to discern well. St. Ignatius of Loyola advises people to know what you desire. Technology and the introduction of new products have churned out more desires which we now call, our wishlist. They reconstruct our sub-conscious; they plant into our dreams new ideas that will make us see reality in a different light. The things that are actually vanities have become part of what is important to us today. In the past, we had lived without mobile phones and computers. Today, technology has set the bar for the obsolescence of people. We become passe if we do not know and use technology.
With the rapid shifts of desires, we struggle with what we want and what we need. We continually discern every day so as not to lose focus on what matters to God. The good thing about shifting desires and growing wants is skills-development: we are trained to discern what is more authentic to ourselves, what is deeper from what is shallow, what leads to God from what does not.
We are now challenged to relentlessly decide among a constellation of desires which among them are important; which are more important; and which is the most valuable among them all.
When we discover the most valuable, we discover the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price, that which matters to God. If you find what you most desire, you will find what would give meaning, direction and joy in your life.
Paano Masusugpo ang Kasakiman?
ika-1 ng Agosto 2010. Ika-18 Linggo ng Karaniwang Panahon
St. John Marie Vianney Sunday
Mangangaral 1:2; 2:21-23; Slm 89; Colosas 3:1-5, 9-11; Lc 12,13-21
Kuhang-kuha ni San Lucas ang bahaging ginagampanan ng materyal na bagay sa ating buhay. Sa kasuluk-sulukan ng puso ng isang taong sakim ang isang malaking kahungkagan, na hindi mapupuno ng kahit ano mang ari-arian. Nag-aakala siyang madadala ang kanyang kinamkam sa kabilang-buhay.
Unang-una, makasarili ang isang taong sakim. Walang ibang nakikita ang mayamang hangal sa Ebanghelio kundi ang kanyang sarili. Sa talinghaga, walang ibang ginamit ang may-ari ng ani kundi ang “ako, ko at akin” at wala na siyang ibang inaaalalang kapakanan kundi siya.
Pinupuno niya ng materyal na bagay ang nararamdamang kakulangan sa kanyang buhay. Hindi siya mapanatag sa anong meron, laging hinahanap ang mas labis at mas marami pa. May isang reporter na nagtanong sa isang bilyonaryo: “Magkano ang kailangan upang masiyahan ang isang bilyonaryo?” “Dapat laging meron pa. Walang sapat na,” sagot niya. Para itong isang softdrink: Kung marami kang nainom, mas nauuhaw ka. Walang sapat na makakapagbigay ng kasiyahan sa isang taong malaki ang pangangailangan. Madaling mapawi ang kanyang kaligayahan dahil hindi ito tumatagal.
Pangalawa, nakaikot sa mundong ito ang buhay ng isang makasarili at hindi ito namumuhunan sa bagay na pangmatagalan. Binabalak ng mayamang hangal ang tumayo pa ng mas malaking kamalig para sa kanyang ari-arian at masagang ani. Pinaplano nito ang isang kinabukasan na nagpapakasasa siya sa labis karangyaan.
Wala itong pagmamalasakit sa iba. Hindi ito nababahalang wala siyang kaibigan o kapamilya. Hindi ito namamahagi ng kayamanan upang lumalim at lumago ang kanyang mga pagkakaibigan. Hindi rin ito tumutulong upang magkaroon man lamang ng magandang kinabukasan o pagkakataon umahon ang mahihirap. Higit sa lahat, wala siyang pakialam sa nangyayari sa bansa; hangga’t hindi siya apektado nito.
Ano ang makakapawi sa ating kasakiman o pagkamakasarili? Ayon kay San Pablo kailangang baguhin ang ating pag-iisip. Tingnan ang buhay bilang isang biyayang ipinagkaloob ng Diyos. Lahat ng bagay galing sa Diyos; at lahat na ginagawa natin, bigay din ng Diyos. Wala tayong maaaring ipagyabang na atin lamang. Dahil dito, ang mapagpasalamat ang gamot sa anumang pagkiling nating punuin ang ano man kulang.
Kung makasarili ang kasakiman; mapagbigay naman ang isang nagpapasalamat. Kung malaki ang ating utang na loob, sinusuklian natin ang tumutulong sa atin. Nawawala ang mga salitang, “ako, ko at akin” at napapalitan ng isang malambing sa “ikaw at sa iyo.” Alam natin ang kayang ibigay, kaya hindi tayo naghahanap sa wala. Hindi maaaring magbigay ng bagay na wala tayo; kaya alam natin una ang maaari nating ihandog sa iba.
Pangalawa, kung sa mundong ito namumuhay ang isang sakim; sa kabilang buhay naman nakatuon ang buhay ng nagpapasalamat. Ang nagtatanaw ng utang na loob ang kumikilala sa kagandahang-loob ng Diyos. Samakatuwid, alam niya ang mas mahalaga na hindi napapawi; kilala niya ang walang-hanggang Panginoon, at hindi ang makamundong nagdiyus-diyusan. Alam natin lahat na may mga tao na bagaman nagsisimba, iba ang sinasamba.
Upang turuan natin ang ating sariling hindi makalimot sa Diyos, ang Panalangin sa Hapag-Kainan ang isa sa mga humuhubog sa ating puso at isip upang laging alalahanin na ang pinagmulan ng buhay ang Panginoon lamang. Dinadasal nating Katoliko: “Basbasan mo, Panginoon ang Iyong mga handog mula sa iyong kagandahang-loob, upang pagsaluhan namin, hinihiling namin ito sa pamamagitan ng aming Panginoong Hesukristo, ngayon at magpakailanman, Amen.”
Inihandog ng ating pananampalatayang Kristiyano itong dasal bago at matapos kumain upang baguhin ang ating pagiging makasarili tungo sa pagiging mapagpasalamat. Kaugalian ng ating Hudyo at ng mga sinaunang Kristiyano ang manalanging basbasan ang nakahain. Sinabi ni Tertullian (2 AD) na huwag kumain o maligo hangga’t hindi makapanalangin, sapagka’t ang makapagpapasigla sa ating kaluluwa ang siyang mas mahalaga sa ano mang kasiyahang mararanasan ng ating katawan. Dahil dito, ang mga simpleng dasal tulad ng Panalangin sa Hapag-Kainan ang tumutulong sa pagbabago tungo sa ating banal na pamumuhay.
Ngunit kung sa tingin natin na mahirap mapawi ang ating kasakiman, ito ang payo ni GK Chesterton: Kung nagdadasal ka bago at matapos kumain, ok ka. Ngunit nagdadasal ako bago manood ng konsiyerto at opera, bago ang isang palabas, bago magbasa, maglaro, gumuhit, lumangoy, lumakad, magpinta, sumayaw, at bago ilagay ko sa tinta ang aking pansulat.
Kung nagpapasalamat tayo sa Diyos bago gawin ang anuman, hindi tayo mapapariwara tulad ng mayamang hangal. Ayon sa mga dalubhasa sa espirituwalidad, ang pagpapasalamat ang siyang puso ng panalangin.
St. John Marie Vianney Sunday
Mangangaral 1:2; 2:21-23; Slm 89; Colosas 3:1-5, 9-11; Lc 12,13-21
Note: This article appears in Sambuhay today. Sambuhay is a publication and ministry of the Society of St. Paul in the Philippines.
Kuhang-kuha ni San Lucas ang bahaging ginagampanan ng materyal na bagay sa ating buhay. Sa kasuluk-sulukan ng puso ng isang taong sakim ang isang malaking kahungkagan, na hindi mapupuno ng kahit ano mang ari-arian. Nag-aakala siyang madadala ang kanyang kinamkam sa kabilang-buhay.
Unang-una, makasarili ang isang taong sakim. Walang ibang nakikita ang mayamang hangal sa Ebanghelio kundi ang kanyang sarili. Sa talinghaga, walang ibang ginamit ang may-ari ng ani kundi ang “ako, ko at akin” at wala na siyang ibang inaaalalang kapakanan kundi siya.
Pinupuno niya ng materyal na bagay ang nararamdamang kakulangan sa kanyang buhay. Hindi siya mapanatag sa anong meron, laging hinahanap ang mas labis at mas marami pa. May isang reporter na nagtanong sa isang bilyonaryo: “Magkano ang kailangan upang masiyahan ang isang bilyonaryo?” “Dapat laging meron pa. Walang sapat na,” sagot niya. Para itong isang softdrink: Kung marami kang nainom, mas nauuhaw ka. Walang sapat na makakapagbigay ng kasiyahan sa isang taong malaki ang pangangailangan. Madaling mapawi ang kanyang kaligayahan dahil hindi ito tumatagal.
Pangalawa, nakaikot sa mundong ito ang buhay ng isang makasarili at hindi ito namumuhunan sa bagay na pangmatagalan. Binabalak ng mayamang hangal ang tumayo pa ng mas malaking kamalig para sa kanyang ari-arian at masagang ani. Pinaplano nito ang isang kinabukasan na nagpapakasasa siya sa labis karangyaan.
Wala itong pagmamalasakit sa iba. Hindi ito nababahalang wala siyang kaibigan o kapamilya. Hindi ito namamahagi ng kayamanan upang lumalim at lumago ang kanyang mga pagkakaibigan. Hindi rin ito tumutulong upang magkaroon man lamang ng magandang kinabukasan o pagkakataon umahon ang mahihirap. Higit sa lahat, wala siyang pakialam sa nangyayari sa bansa; hangga’t hindi siya apektado nito.
Ano ang makakapawi sa ating kasakiman o pagkamakasarili? Ayon kay San Pablo kailangang baguhin ang ating pag-iisip. Tingnan ang buhay bilang isang biyayang ipinagkaloob ng Diyos. Lahat ng bagay galing sa Diyos; at lahat na ginagawa natin, bigay din ng Diyos. Wala tayong maaaring ipagyabang na atin lamang. Dahil dito, ang mapagpasalamat ang gamot sa anumang pagkiling nating punuin ang ano man kulang.
Kung makasarili ang kasakiman; mapagbigay naman ang isang nagpapasalamat. Kung malaki ang ating utang na loob, sinusuklian natin ang tumutulong sa atin. Nawawala ang mga salitang, “ako, ko at akin” at napapalitan ng isang malambing sa “ikaw at sa iyo.” Alam natin ang kayang ibigay, kaya hindi tayo naghahanap sa wala. Hindi maaaring magbigay ng bagay na wala tayo; kaya alam natin una ang maaari nating ihandog sa iba.
Pangalawa, kung sa mundong ito namumuhay ang isang sakim; sa kabilang buhay naman nakatuon ang buhay ng nagpapasalamat. Ang nagtatanaw ng utang na loob ang kumikilala sa kagandahang-loob ng Diyos. Samakatuwid, alam niya ang mas mahalaga na hindi napapawi; kilala niya ang walang-hanggang Panginoon, at hindi ang makamundong nagdiyus-diyusan. Alam natin lahat na may mga tao na bagaman nagsisimba, iba ang sinasamba.
Upang turuan natin ang ating sariling hindi makalimot sa Diyos, ang Panalangin sa Hapag-Kainan ang isa sa mga humuhubog sa ating puso at isip upang laging alalahanin na ang pinagmulan ng buhay ang Panginoon lamang. Dinadasal nating Katoliko: “Basbasan mo, Panginoon ang Iyong mga handog mula sa iyong kagandahang-loob, upang pagsaluhan namin, hinihiling namin ito sa pamamagitan ng aming Panginoong Hesukristo, ngayon at magpakailanman, Amen.”
Inihandog ng ating pananampalatayang Kristiyano itong dasal bago at matapos kumain upang baguhin ang ating pagiging makasarili tungo sa pagiging mapagpasalamat. Kaugalian ng ating Hudyo at ng mga sinaunang Kristiyano ang manalanging basbasan ang nakahain. Sinabi ni Tertullian (2 AD) na huwag kumain o maligo hangga’t hindi makapanalangin, sapagka’t ang makapagpapasigla sa ating kaluluwa ang siyang mas mahalaga sa ano mang kasiyahang mararanasan ng ating katawan. Dahil dito, ang mga simpleng dasal tulad ng Panalangin sa Hapag-Kainan ang tumutulong sa pagbabago tungo sa ating banal na pamumuhay.
Ngunit kung sa tingin natin na mahirap mapawi ang ating kasakiman, ito ang payo ni GK Chesterton: Kung nagdadasal ka bago at matapos kumain, ok ka. Ngunit nagdadasal ako bago manood ng konsiyerto at opera, bago ang isang palabas, bago magbasa, maglaro, gumuhit, lumangoy, lumakad, magpinta, sumayaw, at bago ilagay ko sa tinta ang aking pansulat.
Kung nagpapasalamat tayo sa Diyos bago gawin ang anuman, hindi tayo mapapariwara tulad ng mayamang hangal. Ayon sa mga dalubhasa sa espirituwalidad, ang pagpapasalamat ang siyang puso ng panalangin.
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