Cycle C - Year I:

3 March 2013 - 3rd Sunday of Lent

(Liturgical color: Violet)

Luke 13:1-9

The Lord is kind and merciful!

The phenomenon of global warming brings havoc everywhere with more frequent and more devastating typhoons, massive flooding, landslides and even earth tremors or earthquakes. When tragedies like these happen, it is not unusual that we attribute religious meanings to them.

The people of Jesus' time speculated on how God's hands are seen in unfolding events. In today's Gospel, the people called Jesus' attention to two tragic incidents. The first is Pontius Pilate's slaughter of Galileans whose blood he "had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices". And the other incident involved 18 persons who perished when "the tower at Siloam  fell on them".

The Jews saw such tragedies not unlike our current interpretation of disasters. They also associated these with the victims' sins, or with their having broken the Lord's command.

But Jesus said that there is no basis for such line of thinking. In other words, he ruled out the "equation" that a particular sinfulness brings about a particular tragedy.

Jesus, however, affirmed that sin does spell disaster for us. Thus, in today's Gospel the Lord reminds us on the need for all to repent.

It is in this context that Jesus told them the parable of the fig tree. The tree has been planted in the vineyard but because it bore no fruit the owner wanted to cut it down. But his gardener pleaded with him to leave it for another year.

This parable depicts how God is patient with us. But it also contains a warning that we should not presume upon it.

It is true that God's mercy is infinite, but our capacity to accept it is not. Because we are limited, time-bound creatures. Each day, every moment, the time clock is ticking and we will have to make our choices.

Trusting that the Lord is kind and merciful, let us pray especially during this Lenten Season that the Lord in his mercy gives us both the grace and time to turn away from sins and from worldliness. And the time is right now. If we delay even for just a day, we may discover that grace has passed us by, and our time is up. Tomorrow may not come. A sudden and unexpected death leaves one no time to prepare to settle one's account, when we all must stand before the Lord on the day of judgment.

So while there is still time, let us listen to our Lord Jesus and change our lives, both as individuals and as a nation.
 
A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Deo Optimo Maximo!

Cycle C - Year I

24 February 2013: 2nd Sunday of Lent

(Liturgical color: Violet)

Luke 9:28b-36

The Lord's Transfiguration: a foretaste of God's glory!

The first time I watched the movie "The Passion of Christ" I was overwhelmed with emotions. The movie was so realistic and brutal, like I was actually there watching our Lord's suffering to Calvary.

The apostles must have experienced gloom and despair as they witnessed Christ's terrible suffering and death. That shook their very faith in Jesus as the Messiah.

So then as Jesus and his disciples traveled to Jerusalem where suffering and death awaits Jesus, their journey was briefly interrupted by an experience of Jesus' transfiguration upon a mountain. Jesus appeared in glory with Moses, the great lawgiver of Israel, and with Elijah, the greatest of the prophets, in the presence of three of his beloved apostles, Peter, John and James. St. Luke's account tells us that Jesus' face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white.

Jesus' transfiguration was a unique display of his divine character and a glimpse of the glory, which Jesus had before He came down to earth in human form. In theological language, the transfiguration is an experience of "the already of the not yet" for the beloved disciples, so that the "inner circle" of Jesus' disciples could gain a greater understanding of who Jesus was. Thus, the disciples who had only known Jesus in his human body, now had a greater realization of the deity of Christ, even when perhaps they could not fully comprehend it at that time. Nevertheless, the experience gave them the reassurance they needed after hearing the shocking news of Jesus' coming death.

In fact, the disciples never forgot what happened that day on the mountain. They bore witness to it to the other disciples and to countless millions down through the centuries. St. John wrote about it in his gospel: "We have seen his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth." (Jn 1:14). Peter wrote of it as well: "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory, saying, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.' We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with Him on the sacred mountain." (2 Peter 1:16-18)

The message of the transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ is that God wants to share his glory with us. The disciples had a glimpse of God's glory when they actually saw Jesus transfigured in glory on the mountain.

With the eyes of faith, we too see Jesus' transfiguration in the Holy Eucharist at Mass. And when we actually receive Him in the Holy Eucharist, He also gives us the grace to sustain us in our difficult and challenging journey through life. Jesus in the Holy Eucharist makes light our way of the cross in this life. Receiving Jesus in the Holy Eucharist is a foretaste of his resurrection, like our own experience of "the already of the not yet". It  is our assurance of God's ultimate victory over sin and evil.
A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Deo Optimo Maximo!

Cycle C - Year I:

17 February 2013 - 1st Sunday of Lent

(Liturgical color: Violet)

Luke 4:1-13

Lead us not into temptation!

We began our Lenten pilgrimage last Ash Wednesday with the imposition of the blessed ashes on our forehead as a sign of humility. And now we are in the first Sunday of Lent.

The Gospel proclamation from St. Luke is about the temptation of Jesus.

We may ask, if Jesus is God then why is he tempted by the devil?

Well, our Lord Jesus Christ, true God and true man, made himself like us in everything except sin, and voluntarily underwent temptation. It was as a man that he was tempted, and it was as a man that he resisted the temptation.

I like to quote from St. J. Escriva to help us with our reflection: "The whole episode is a mystery which man cannot hope to understand -- God submitting to temptation, letting the Evil One have his way. But we can meditate upon it, asking our Lord to help us understand the teaching it contains."

Thus, we can say that Jesus is teaching us that no one should regard himself as incorruptible and proof against temptation. I remember my professor in Moral Theology admonishing us that we should never trust or test our moral capacity to resist sin. So that at the first sign of temptation the best strategy is to run away from it.

By his own experience of being tempted, our Lord wanted to show us the most effective method to use in order to defeat the devil, which are prayers, fasting, watchfulness, knowing by heart the words of God's Scripture, and putting our complete trust in God.

Jesus is the model for new humanity who vanquishes the powers of evil through the Spirit and through obedient faith and trust in God. Through his passion, death and resurrection Jesus overpowered the devil once and for all. And by virtue of Christ's victory we, too, are enabled to overcome all temptations.

In practical life, we are in constant fight with the desire born of our sinful nature. We would rather choose the easy way rather than the prayerful way. But remember that we cannot resist temptation without God's grace. Thus, we must always pray and trust the Lord, not ourselves, for strength to resist temptation before it becomes a sin. For it is not temptation itself that leads us to sin, but the lack of resistance and trust in the Lord for deliverance.

In Holy Mass as we recite the Lord's Prayer, let us ask our heavenly Father to "lead us not into temptation". Let us pray for God's grace to spare us from temptation. And let us ask God for strength so that in our struggle with temptations we will be steadfast against the cunning, deception and lies of the evil one.

St. Paul assures us, "No trial has come to you but what is human. God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it." (1 Cor 10:13).

Today the Church in the Philippines also celebrates National Migrants' Day. Let us pray for all the people on the move, especially Filipinos, that their hard work and sacrifices may be rewarded with happy and loving families, and that with whatever economic blessings they may enjoy, the resist the temptation of losing their faith and their soul.
A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Deo Optimo Maximo!

Cycle C - Year I:

10 February 2013 - 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical color: Green)

Luke 5:1-11

From catching fish, to catching men!

The reputation of Jesus as miracle worker and great speaker has spread in the neighborhood. Wherever he goes, people are pressing in on him to listen to him speak the word of God and witness his mighty acts.

Today St. Luke narrates to us the miracle of the great catch of fish. Simon, also called Peter, and his companions who were fishermen have worked hard all night but caught no fish. But when Jesus commanded Simon Peter to lower the nets, he readily obeyed. And lo and behold, they caught a great number of fish that their nets were tearing. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them.

Simon Peter was overwhelmed that he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man." But Jesus told Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men." So Simon Peter and his companions left everything and followed Jesus as disciples.

What is the significance of the miracle of the great catch of fish? Well, Jesus used this occasion to impart an important life lesson. This incident tells us how God works in and through us for his glory. God expects of us greater things than we can do by ourselves. But we need to cooperate with him, so that we can accomplish far beyond what we can do on our own.

God does not force himself on us. With all his mighty power, God wills to do nothing without us, without our consent or "yes". So when we respond to God's word with faith and obedience (like what Simon Peter did with the nets even though they have caught nothing the whole night) then we are changed and made a "new creation in Christ", according to St. Paul (2 Cor. 5:17)

We realize that more often God chooses ordinary people, perhaps like you and me, as his instruments or ambassadors, and he also uses the ordinary circumstances in our day-to-day lives and work situations to draw others into his kingdom.

Jesus speaks to us today with the same message as he told Simon Peter: we will be catching people for the kingdom of God if we allow the light of Jesus Christ to shine through us. God wants others to see the light of Christ in us in the way we live, speak, and witness the joy of the Gospel.

In the Eucharist at Mass and in this Year of Faith, let us rediscover the beauty of our Catholic faith as we respond to God's call to service and become "fishers of men" in our time and generation by the example of our Christian living.

The Church also celebrates today Pro-Life Sunday. Let us pray for Christ's life-giving love as we promote and affirm the dignity and sacredness of all human life.A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Deo Optimo Maximo!