Cycle C - Year I:

4 August 2013: 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical color: Green)

Luke 12:13-21

Seek the treasures in heaven!

Hot in the international news lately, England and the rest of the world rejoice as the first born of Prince William and his wife, Kate, arrived in our world. Even before the royal child is given a name, the media speculates on the child's inheritance as the third in waiting to the royal throne. Such a privileged royal child!

Believe also that for Christians every child born is a "royal" child as well. For we are all sons and daughters of the ultimate and divine King, God Himself. From the beginning of time we are all destined to inherit the eternal kingdom that is heaven. The good news is that we are co-heirs to God's heavenly throne, and there is no line of succession.

We hear today an episode in the life of Jesus, from the gospel account of Saint Luke,  that deals with inheritance and material possessions.

A man from the crowd asks Jesus to intervene with a dispute on inheritance with his own brother. Jesus refuses to get involved in the family dispute, and instead teaches the man:"Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions."

This part of the good news that says, "One's life does not consist of possessions" is a real challenge and becomes harder and harder even for Christians to embrace in our materialistic world.

To better explain his message, Jesus tells a parable about a rich man. He is a successful businessman who decides to build larger barns to store his plentiful harvests of grains and other goods. He thinks that in this way he can secure his future. But God says to him, "You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you." Jesus concludes his parable, "Thus will it be for all who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God."

While we need to work hard to provide for our basic needs, we must avoid greed in all its forms, that is to say, fight the temptation to keep seeking more and more of the world's treasures at the expense of becoming rich in what matters to God.

So then, what matters to God? Here are some suggestions for reflection:

God wants us to be rich in humility. Because He wants us to come humbly before Him, recognizing that we are sinners in need of His mercy, and like children in need of His generous, fatherly care. He wants us to recognize the very source or author of everything and stand before Him with gratitude and humility;

To be rich in God's eyes is to be full of love, which leads us to care for our neighbor regardless of how they treat us;

We constantly strive to become persons of deep prayer. Indeed, our greatest treasure in heaven is the Lord Himself. And our union with Him begins here on earth and is perfected in heaven.

In sum, Jesus himself taught us by word and example that desiring and doing the will of the Father must be the hallmark of every Christian. Because we store up riches in heaven by dedicating our life at every moment, day in and day out, to discerning and accepting the grace to be truthful to the Father's plan. This includes a willingness even to suffer out of love for the Father and for neighbors that God places along our journey in this life.

In practical life, we realize that ready or not someday everything will come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. And all the things we have collected, whether treasures or baubles, will pass to someone else. There will be no tomorrows.

Today's parable of the rich fool serves as our warning to seek the treasures in heaven, rather than store up materials things that are temporary and can slip out of our hands any time.

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

Deo Optimo Maximo!

Cycle C - Year I:

28 July 2013 - 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical color: Green)

Luke 11:1-13

Pray persistently!

National media at one time proclaims the Philippines as the text capital of the world. That may not be surprising because really we do love to communicate and express ourselves. That is why we are known as friendly and hospitable people in this part of the world.

So now it is true that in the Philippines young and old, rich and poor, even in sickness or in health, Filipinos have cell phones and other communication gadgets. It is just the "in" thing to have one, so to say, although it can be expensive for the "load" and the cost of the gadgets.

But  do you know that the very first, and the best means of communicating is absolutely free? We call it "prayer" and it is God-given. In praying we connect with God at any time, which means there is no such thing as "no signal", or "low bat", or no "load". Because God answers all prayers, in his own ways and in his time.

In his public ministry Jesus himself lives a life of prayer. The disciples are witnesses to this. So in today's gospel episode the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray.

In response Jesus gives them the prayer of the "Our Father", and invites his disciples to pray persistently... and knock till the door is opened.

The "Our Father" is a beautiful prayer that comes from Jesus himself. Let us try to digest this prayer. It contains all the essential elements of a prayer, like Adoration for God ("Hallowed be thy name"), our Contrition or Repentance for the sins we have committed ("Forgive us our trespasses"), and our Supplication, that is, we request God to give us the food that we need to sustain our body ("Give us this day our daily bread").

In the words of the "Our Father" Jesus teaches us to call God our Father and a friend. Jesus explains what "fatherhood" means. It means having the best interest of his children in mind and knowing how to meet them. God as a friend means we can approach Him with any need at any time.

Prayer is our hot line to God. Prayer is an ongoing dialogue of intimate commitment with God. Prayer is about falling in love with God.

Through prayers we receive "new glasses" through which we see better the landscape in our journey in life. Through prayers we are drawn by Love into a deepening relationship with Jesus whose loving embrace on the hill of Golgotha bridged heaven with earth.

In practical life, we can pray in one of two ways: as a trusting child or a persistent friend. Either way, believe that the God to whom we are speaking will listen when we continue speaking with Him, and believe that God has our best interest in mind, always.

Especially during this Year of Faith, let us pray persistently, for ourselves, our families, our country and for the whole world. Let us not get tired knocking until the door of heaven is opened to us.

Also today the Catholic Church in the Philippines celebrates Fil-Mission Sunday. Let us pray for Filipino diocesan priest-missionaries of the Mission Society of the Philippines (MSP) who represent our missionary apostolate to other peoples, especially those in Asia and Oceania. Let us support these Filipino missionaries through prayers, sacrifices and material offerings.

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

Deo Optimo Maximo!

Cycle C - Year I:

21 July 2013 - 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical color: Green)

Luke 10:38-42

Seek God first of all!

How do you start your typical day? As you wake up, do you rush to get things done for the day? Or do you pause a moment to plan first, and organize your activities for the day? Do you begin your day in prayer to thank the Lord for the  gift of a new day?

We hear today an incident in our Lord's public life that provides valuable lessons on how we can witness and live our faith in our daily life.

Jesus is in Bethany visiting with his friends. The sisters Martha and Mary welcome him in their house. While Martha is bustling about the house and trying to provide hospitality to their guest, Mary is sitting at Jesus' feet listening to his teachings. So Martha complains, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?"

But our Lord said to Martha in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."

We might easily identify with Martha with our very busy lives. There is just too much that needs to be done, in work and in our family with its many demands. And so it seems difficult to find time for good, solid meditative prayer.

And being busy with so many things can just as easily happen even in priestly ministry. It is easy for some priests to get caught up in doing things, like ministering to the many needs of others, performing administrative duties, teaching and preaching that they neglect personal prayers. And without a life of prayer, there is the temptation to lose their vocation and become just social workers.

While serving others is an important part of discipleship, Jesus teaches us to set our priorities right. The "better part" chosen by Mary in today's gospel from Luke is Jesus himself.

Thus, listening to the word of God is the most important thing in our lives. Because what the Lord wants of us, first of all, is to be close to him, put our trust in him amidst our daily concerns. Time spent in prayers is important. When it comes to our spiritual life, prayers and meditation are critical. We hold up to the Lord our daily activities and scrutinize them in the light of his teachings, in order for us to see what needs to be strengthened or discarded. In this way we are able to see what is leading us closer to Jesus, or taking us away from him.

Remember that Christ is always in our midst and wants to speak to our hearts. We can listen to him by meditating with faith on his word in the sacred Scripture, recollecting ourselves in private and communal prayers, pausing in silence before the tabernacle, from which God speaks to us of his love.

Especially on Sunday, we are called to encounter and listen to the Lord in the Eucharist at Holy Mass.

Even in practical life, when we seem overwhelmed by the many activities or work to be completed, it helps that we first plan and determine the best way to deal with them. With proper planning and right approach, it gets things done more effectively and perhaps even saves valuable time for ourselves and our family.

It is more true in our life of faith. In other words, prayers and active service are two complementary elements of our Christian discipleship. But Jesus teaches us to seek God first of all, and everything else will be given to us. 

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

Deo Optimo Maximo!