Cycle C - Year I:

7 July 2013: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time - (Liturgical color: Green)

Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

Share the Good News to all!

It used to be with pride to hear that the Philippines is the only Catholic country in Asia. But after so many years that the seed of Christianity has been planted in our soil, we have second thoughts about it, I mean feeling proud as the only Catholic country in this part of the world until now. Because it seems our collective failure to live our faith and share it or evangelize our neighboring countries.

So what went wrong with our Christian living?

In today's Gospel narrative, Saint Luke recounts how, in the beginning, Jesus appointed 72 of his disciples and sent them out on a mission to help prepare the way for his visit to various people and towns. And he told them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few."

Before he sends them away, Jesus prepares the disciples for the mission by telling them what to expect and do while on mission. He states clearly that the mission work is not going to be easy. Some people will attack them; they will not be happy with what the disciples believe about Jesus. Thus, Jesus warns the disciples: "I am sending you like lambs among wolves!"

Jesus insists on a simple way of life for those who want to go on his mission. Because he wants them to avoid getting distracted by unimportant things or concerns and focus instead on truly caring for people and sharing with them the great joy of knowing and loving Jesus Christ. That is what it means when Jesus tells them, "Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals."

In practical life, the clear message of today's Gospel is that the task of spreading the Good News is not confined to the twelve apostles, and their direct successors in our times, the Pope, bishops and all ordained ministers. Rather, it is a mission given to all of us followers of Jesus. And we the lay people, by virtue of our baptism, also share in the missionary work of the Church. In other words, we too are called to lead others to Christ.

We know that God endowed each of us with gifts and talents. Jesus invites us to use these gifts in his service. Some of us may have the gift of eloquence to preach in public settings. Some have the courage and the compassion to be missionaries in foreign lands. Still some may have the golden voice to sing praises to the Lord. But all of us are called to share the Good News simply by the way we lead our lives.

So now why is it that we seem unable to share our faith with our Asian neighbors? In the silence of our heart, let us reflect: Do I have a sense that I have been personally called by God and sent into the world to continue his saving work? Do I understand the role I have in helping people in my own small corner of the world prepare to encounter Christ? Do people encounter Christ, or feel the presence of Christ, when they meet me, work with me, and hang out with me?

Let us rejoice that the Lord shares with us his saving work on earth!

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Deo Optimo Maximo!

Cycle C - Year I:

30 June 2013 - 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time: (Liturgical color: Green)

Luke 9:51-62

The Lord invites:"Follow me."

In contemporary world, people take pride in being avid fans or followers of the rich and famous, like showbiz personalities, politicians, the powerful, and sometimes even comic heroes and heroins. They are the inspirations or idols to lesser mortals, and are considered by their admirers as the epitome of success and greatness.

Looking up to such personalities (or characters) as role model or "dream persons" is understandable, I believe, because prestige, power and wealth is usually the standard of greatness or accomplishments in our present world.  Yet all these will perish some day, when their time on earth is up.

But to those who believe that there is more to life than the here and now, our Lord Jesus invites us to a different and lasting greatness based on selfless love and life of service.

In the gospel this Sunday Jesus invites all, "Follow me." But also he is totally honest in telling those who would heed his invitation what it would cost to follow him. Because true followers of Christ entail a lot of sacrifice; it requires humility and perseverance.

Saint Luke narrates to us about three persons who wanted to follow Jesus as he makes his final journey to Jerusalem to fulfill his mission, and how our Lord reacts to them.

The first would-be disciple told Jesus he was ready to follow him wherever he goes. Jesus told him it is challenging and requires great sacrifice. Because "foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."

To another person Jesus said, "Follow me." But then he replied that he wanted permission to go home first to bury his father.

And still another would-be disciple wanted to follow Jesus but asked that he goes home first also and say goodbye to his family.

In practical life, we are likewise invited to follow Jesus in our time. Some of us may have even felt, one way or another, that we are called by God to serve him and his people. Are we fit and ready to follow the Lord without conditions wherever he leads us?

But let us be clear that this "call or invitation" is always to help Jesus carry his cross of salvation, and not for us to reap personal honors and prestige.

A necessary step to follow the Lord is spiritual detachment. It will free us from worldly concerns and distractions and give ourselves without reserve to the Lord and his service. We must be willing and ready to part with anything that might stand in the way of doing God's will.

Is there anything holding us back from pursuing the Lord and his will in our life? Are we ready to take the path that Jesus offers?

Yes, it demands sacrifice to be the "fans" or followers of Jesus. But for Christians we trust that God's grace is sufficient and his love is strong to help us along the way. There is nothing better we can do with our lives than to place them at the service of the Lord. We cannot outgive God in generosity when we do His will.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Deo Optimo Maximo!

Cycle C - Year I:

23 June 2013 - 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical color: Green)

Luke 9:18-24

The demands of discipleship!

Let us begin our reflection on the Sunday Gospel with the song of the psalmist: My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God! (Psalm 63)

Do we still thirst and search for Jesus in our contemporary world? Is God relevant, or do we need Him in our lives today?

Saint Luke open the gospel narrative for this Sunday portraying Jesus praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him. Jesus asked the disciples two questions. The first one, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" And the second question is directed to the disciples themselves, "But who do you say that I am?"

It was Simon Peter who boldly said in reply, "The Christ of God!" And Jesus started to talk about his impending suffering and death. He challenges the disciples that if they want to stay with him, they must deny themselves in love, take up their cross in sacrifice, and follow him in service.

In our own journey of faith, as we pass through various problems and hardships, we too are confronted with the same question that Jesus asked the disciples: "But who do you say that I am?"

Let us consider our answer carefully, because it may reveal much about our personal image of Christ and our relationship with him.

Jesus challenges us to go deeper into the roots of our faith by making it truly personal. Our personal relationship and knowledge about Jesus is always brought about by the intensity of our prayer life. So that the more that we incorporate prayer in our daily lives the more that Jesus becomes clearer to us, and the more also that we become closer to him.

In other words, it is only through our prayerful life that the true identity of Jesus will crystallize in our lives. Thus, we will be ready to share our faith in Jesus with others, even to the extent of joyfully suffering for the sake of the People of God.

This is the challenge of following Jesus in our contemporary world. Sometimes our culture seems to value the wealth over the needs of people, military and political power over non-violent love, and our own personal welfare and comfort before the needs of those who are impoverished in our midst.

The demands of discipleship call for total commitment and unconditional trust in Jesus to follow in his footsteps and face life's difficulties with hope. Because we live in a world with so much personal and collective sufferings, sometimes or oftentimes of our own making. Even the Church is not spared, as it suffers from dissension and division, even unfounded attacks for its teaching on life and the defense of the unborn.

In the Holy Eucharist at our Sunday Mass, let us therefore pray that the Lord open our hearts that we may see Jesus more clearly. Let us ask God to help us set aside the many distractions that keep us from knowing and serving Jesus, our Lord and Savior, in our brothers and sisters in their daily struggles of living.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Deo Optimo Maximo!

Cycle C - Year I:

16 June 2013 -11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical color: Green)

Luke 7:36-8:3

God is forgiving!

We live in an imperfect world and there is no disagreeing that we ourselves are imperfect beings. And yet we are quick to judge others, and not ourselves. Why is it that we easily see the shortcomings or the sins of our fellowmen but not see our own?

In the gospel this Sunday, our Lord Jesus invites us to self-reflection on our attitude and relationship with our less fortunate brethren.

St. Luke narrates the incident of how Jesus forgives a sinful woman who barges into the house of Simon, who invited Jesus to dine with him. This uninvited guest immediately attends to Jesus, anointing him with oil, weeping, bathing his feet with her tears, and drying them with her hair.

Now, this does not sit well with his host, who was a Pharisee. Because Pharisees were self-righteous, quick to blame others, quick to judge, as they easily see the faults of others. And Simon thought that if Jesus were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman who is touching him.

But Jesus read Simon's thought, so he told him the parable of two debtors to show God's love for sinners. And the one whose large debt was forgiven will love the creditor more.

And turning to the sinful woman, Jesus shows that he forgives the woman's sins by accepting her act of humility and hospitality. Jesus said to the woman:"Your faith has saved you; go now in peace."

In practical life, sometimes or often time perhaps we tend to be judgmental and critical of others based on their appearances, or their lack of education, based on their manners, or their lack of material wealth, or based on their sinfulness and the like. But judging others is a dishonest way of praising ourselves.

The gospel is a powerful expression of unconditional love that God has for the sinners. It is not for us to ask whether God loves more those with upright lives or the repentant sinners. Because salvation is God's free gift to all who seek it with contrite heart.

In other words, instead of finding faults of others, or judging their imperfections, let us rejoice in God's unlimited mercy and goodness to all sinners. Let us rejoice that God is forgiving!

Today we also celebrate Father's Day. We greet Happy Father's Day to all fathers, and God the Father is the greatest of them all.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Deo Optimo Maximo!