Third Sunday of Easter, Year B

            The Salmist today, Third Sunday of Easter, implores the Lord: “let your face shine on us!”  The face of the Lord shines on us through creation.  When we see the creatures, the work of His hands, we see the Creator.  His face shines on us through one another.  When we see our neighbor we behold another creature just like us, not from us, not made by us, but by the Father in heaven.  In a special way His face shines on us through the Scriptures.

            All of Scriptures speak of one person and that person is Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  The Old and the New Testaments may be summed up in one name: Jesus.  Saint Peter in the First Reading interpreted that the God of our forefathers is the same God as the one on the Cross.  Saint John in the Second Reading interpreted the dying on the Cross of Jesus as our salvation.  For in His dying, our sins are expiated.  It is not only us who are saved but the also the whole world.  Even the Risen Christ first with the disciples on the road to Emmaus and then with the Twelve explained the Scriptures and used these to further convince them of His saving Passion, Death and Resurrection.

            We Catholics may very well be accused of having all the means for our salvation but ignoring or putting less importance to them.  We have the Bible and how many of us can say to our Lord that we open it, read it, meditate upon it and pray with it.  Our ignorance of the Bible is our ignorance of Christ.  We have the Sacraments, especially the Holy Mass, but how many of us can say that we come to the Banquet regularly and we come fully prepared, attentive, and participative.  The readings of today remind us that it is the face of the Lord shining on us through the pages of the Sacred Scriptures.  The Bible’s message is Jesus.

            It is not enough however to be knowledgeable about the Bible, to know it word for word, or to memorize lines from the different books of the Bible.  It is important that we know about Jesus, Christian Catholics as we are.  It is however infinitely more important that in reading, studying and praying the Bible we come to know Jesus.  We come to have a personal rapport with Him.  We come to treat Him as a friend, as a family member, as a loved one.

            When we go home therefore today take notice of your Bible at your homes.  Lift it up, dust it off, and remove it from its plastic encasing.  Open it, read it, study it, pray with it.  It is there that we will see His face and it will shine upon us.  Amen.

Third Sunday of Easter, Year B

            The Salmist today, Third Sunday of Easter, implores the Lord: “let your face shine on us!”  The face of the Lord shines on us through creation.  When we see the creatures, the work of His hands, we see the Creator.  His face shines on us through one another.  When we see our neighbor we behold another creature just like us, not from us, not made by us, but by the Father in heaven.  In a special way His face shines on us through the Scriptures.

            All of Scriptures speak of one person and that person is Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  The Old and the New Testaments may be summed up in one name: Jesus.  Saint Peter in the First Reading interpreted that the God of our forefathers is the same God as the one on the Cross.  Saint John in the Second Reading interpreted the dying on the Cross of Jesus as our salvation.  For in His dying, our sins are expiated.  It is not only us who are saved but the also the whole world.  Even the Risen Christ first with the disciples on the road to Emmaus and then with the Twelve explained the Scriptures and used these to further convince them of His saving Passion, Death and Resurrection.

            We Catholics may very well be accused of having all the means for our salvation but ignoring or putting less importance to them.  We have the Bible and how many of us can say to our Lord that we open it, read it, meditate upon it and pray with it.  Our ignorance of the Bible is our ignorance of Christ.  We have the Sacraments, especially the Holy Mass, but how many of us can say that we come to the Banquet regularly and we come fully prepared, attentive, and participative.  The readings of today remind us that it is the face of the Lord shining on us through the pages of the Sacred Scriptures.  The Bible’s message is Jesus.

            It is not enough however to be knowledgeable about the Bible, to know it word for word, or to memorize lines from the different books of the Bible.  It is important that we know about Jesus, Christian Catholics as we are.  It is however infinitely more important that in reading, studying and praying the Bible we come to know Jesus.  We come to have a personal rapport with Him.  We come to treat Him as a friend, as a family member, as a loved one.

            When we go home therefore today take notice of your Bible at your homes.  Lift it up, dust it off, and remove it from its plastic encasing.  Open it, read it, study it, pray with it.  It is there that we will see His face and it will shine upon us.  Amen.

Restless Rewind

It is not uncommon that we do indeed share some of this feeling of "restlessness" that Job honestly voices out from the First Reading of today, Sunday.  Here we might conjecture two of the possible causes from an equally honest examination of conscience: perhaps something is lacking for us to do, or that we have done a lot and still something important is missed.

If our personal situation is the first conjecture then the Second Reading speaks directly to us.  Saint Paul writes to us, too: "woe to me if I do not preach (the Gospel)".  Is it perhaps because I am not doing enough in the order of preaching the Gospel that something is lacking in me?  Is it perhaps that I do not speak more of Jesus to others that I am restless?  Is it perhaps that I do not show Jesus in my life that I feel empty?

However if we have tried our honest-to-goodness best in proclaiming the Good News through our words and more especially through our lives it still happens that that "restlessness" besets us.  This situation may be included in the second conjecture.  Here it is the Third Reading of this Sunday which advises us.

In the order of Preaching the Good News no one can outdo Jesus Christ, the Good News made Flesh.  It is interesting to note from today's Gospel and from the entirety of the Four Gospels that although Jesus would forego meals, rests and sleep, He never gave up personal prayer.  "Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed".  Is it perhaps my lack of personal time with the Lord the cause of that feeling of something lacking?  Is it perhaps that I do not speak more with Jesus that I am restless?  Is it perhaps that I only talk of Jesus but Jesus is not with and in me that I feel empty?

Maogmang aldaw kan mga ina!

Para sa mga enot na mga Cristiano daing duda na si Maria ina ni Cristo asin dahil siya ina ni Cristo tawo asin Dios siya man ina ni Cristo tawo asin ina man ni Cristo ika-duwang Persona kan Santisima Trinidad.  Si Cristo kaglalalang ni Maria na ngonian ipinangidam ni Maria sa laman sa kapangyarihan kan Espiritu Santo sa plano kan Dios Ama.

May mga nagduda kaito pang panahon sa katotoohan kan pagtubod na si Maria ina ni Cristo asin dahil ina siya ni Cristo siya man ina ni Cristo Dios.  Entonces si Maria ina nin Dios.  Dae maako kan nagkapira kun papano si Maria tawo naging ina nin Dios.  Kaya pinahayag kan Simbahan kaidto pang panahon na si Maria Christotokos  asin Theotokos.  Sa misterio kan plano kan Dios Ama an ika-duwang Persona kan Santisima Trinidad, para iligtas an tawo sa kasalan, nagboot magin tawo para an tawo magbalik sa Dios.

Si Maria tunay na nagin ina ni Cristo, siring sa saimo asin sakong ina.  Siya ngani modelo kan mga ina.  Sa saiyang laman hale an laman ni Cristo.  Salamat kan saiyang gatas si Cristo duminakula asin kuminusog.  Gabos na aram ni Maria bilang tawo itinukdo niya sa saiyang aki: ini man mga kaaraman sa manungod sa mundo o sa espiritu, practical man o teoretical, pang-oro-aldaw o pang bilog na buhay.  Dahil si Cristo bako lang tawo kun di Dios man, mas pa an Saiyang mga aram asin mas pa an Saiyang kamurawayan.  Pero dakul an yaon Saiya gikan man sa Saiyang ina, hasta, puede kita mag-imaginar, an Saiyang mga favorito na mga pagkaon, mga inumon, kulay, hamot, modo kan pagtaram asin mga gawe-gawe.

Tunay na fundamental asin necesario an ina sa buhay kan cada tawo.  Siring ka-importante kan presencia, pagpadaba asin ejemplo kan ama.  An sarong tawo minadakula asin mina-asenso salamat bako lang sa ama pati man asin lalong-lalo na sa ina.  Tunay na sa likod kan suceso kan sarong lalaki, nasa likod an sarong babae.  Tinawag na paladan si Maria ta orog kapaladan si Jesus, paladan an mga ina niato ta naabot niato an satuyang mga naabot.  Nagin kita ngonian dahil man sa mga ina niato.

Arog na lang kaini an pag-ataque kan demonio sa institucion kan familia, lalong lalo na sa pagka-ina asin mga ina.  Luway-luway na hinahale sa mga babae an saindang pinakaorog na vocacion digdi sa ibabaw kan daga.  An pagiging ina, fisicalmente o espiritualmente.  Rinaraot asin pinaparaot niya an mga marhay na intencion manungod sa feminismo asin kauswagan kan kababayehan asin tinatrasformar an babae bako na bilang ina kun di bilang objecto na sana.  May mga ocasion na tama lang na an babae may trabajo man, tama lang na siya may inadalan man, tama lang na naabot man niya an saiyang mga ambicion asin maw-ot sa buhay.  Pero kun para mangyari an mga ini isa-sacrificio kan babae an saiyang tunay asin pinakaorog na vocacion bilang ina digdi nangyayari an tragedia kan satong panahon.

Kun wara an mga ina, wara man kita gabos.  Warang kagayonan sa mundo, warang paz y orden, warang paciencia asin perseverancia, warang pagpadaba asin pag-intiendi na an sarong ina sana an tatao maghiras, warang civilizacion, wara kita gabos.  Asin kun an ina maraot asin dae ginampanan an saiyang tunay na pagka-ina bakong exageracion na an gabos na marhay magkakabahid ki maraot, asin gabos na magayon mamantsahan ki pangit, asin an buhay mawawaraan nin mismong buhay.

Kaya sa Solemnidad na ini kan Pagka-Ina ni Maria, an satuyang pamibi minaduman sa gabos na mga ina.  Ina niato asin mga ina kan bilog na mundo.  Mga bag-ong ina na minangidam pa lang kan saindang mga aki, mga ina na solo asin binayaan kan mga agom sa manlaen-laen na razon, mga ina na kinaipuhan magbaya sa aki para mag-ataman kan aki kan iba.  Mga ina na nagbaya, mga ina na binayaan, mga ina sa hospital, sa campo, sa prisohan, sa lansangan na naglilimos kilik an saindang mga aki, basa sa uran, pinapakulugan asin nababasa an pandok ki luha sin dugo.  Mga ina na nagsosolo, gurang na asin may helang.  Para sainda lugod si Maria Ina ni Cristo an sainda asin satong paalawan asin kusog.  Amen.

Both Sides of Love

One of the most used and abused words in contemporary times is love.  We love ice cream, we love dogs, we love our mothers.  All use the word love but the meaning as we realise differs from each usage.  This is analogy in its practical use.

The Readings of today's 30th Sunday speak of love in varied ways.  The First Reading speaks of the negative side of love, in the sense that there are things we do NOT do if we love our neighbours.  We may add many other do not's basing from our own experience and from the wisdom of others.  The Psalm sings of the love of God because He has loved us first.  He created us, sustains and maintains us and will continue to watch over us till we are no more.  The Second Reading speaks of the positive side of love, in which our loving ways are multiplied because in loving we inspire others to love too.  When we DO love, we never only love, we spread love.

Love of things, plants and animals is different from love of persons.  Love of persons is different from love of God.  Love of God gives meaning to love of persons, animals, plants and things.  Without love of God all these other loves really have no sense at all.  That is why love of persons without love of God is frustrating and ultimately leaves us out of love.

St. Augustine, the original doctor love, talks about why if there are three loves, the Gospel of Today only mentions two commandments.  I leave Doctor Love to explain this in his own words: "Thus our love has three objects. But why are there only two commandments? I will tell you: God did not consider it necessary to commit you to loving yourself, since there is no one who doesn’t love himself. But many people lose themselves because they love themselves in a bad way. By telling you to love God with all that you are, God gave you a rule according to which you must love yourself. Without doubt you want to love yourself? So love God with all that you are. For it is in him that you will find yourself and avoid losing yourself in yourself… Therefore, the rule according to which you must love yourself is given to you: love the one who is greater than you and you will love yourself."

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

On Fairness and Humility

When we think of our idea of God, that idea includes Fairness.  Indeed, who is God if not fairness personified?  When we think of what we know of Jesus, God and man at the same time, we have no qualms in proclaiming that no one is humbler than He.  So humble He is that being God He did not deem it beneath His station that He become man like us, even dying on the Cross!

So how is it that we think Him unfair when He condemns a wo/man who led a good life but at the end stumbled and fell or that when He saves a wo/man who led a bad life but at the end repented and converted?

We cannot forget that at all times we are living on this world God sustains us and maintains us in His grace when we are in His grace, and He continuously calls us to come back to Him when we are far and astray.  We cannot forget that He gives us all the chances and the opportunities we need to be near Him and come back to Him while we have this God-given life.  So when we decide otherwise, when we still choose the bad life, then it is not His unfairness that is in question but it is ours.  Is He unfair when He does as He does, or is it not that we are the unfair ones when we disregard or put little importance to all the efforts He exerts to save us.

Lord, grant us humility to always be near You and ask Your constant help even when we are in Your grace since we know how easy it is for us to fall even at the slightest push.  Grant us humility to ask your forgiveness and confess our sins during those times when we are down and damaged.  Amen.

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

Peter is the Rock on which Jesus our Saviour founded the Church to continue His saving work even after His Ascension into Heaven.  Peter in Sunday's Gospel Reading is now called a stumbling block, a rock which blocks the way, for he did not yet understand that for Jesus to fulfil His saving Work, must take up the Cross and be crucified so that all might climb through the Cross to Heaven with Him and the Father.  The Rock on which is founded the Church which saves is called a rock which is a stumbling block

The Cross, which during the Roman times was the worst punishment inflicted upon the worst criminal, is now transformed by Jesus' Crucifixion as the best stairway to Heaven.  While Peter would understand this later on in his life, himself being crucified as well, Jeremiah in Sunday's First Reading was, during his lamentation, was well on his way in understanding this seeming paradox.  When in the depths of his doubts and anxieties, he reached the bottom and kicked hard his way up in the realisation that it is precisely in these his pains and sufferings that he was serving God and not just a social cause nor just himself.  Jeremiah's lamentations would later on transform into songs of glory, praise and thanksgiving.

"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, follow me."