Cycle A - Year II:   

1 June 2014: Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord 

(Liturgical color: White)

Matthew 28:16-20

Time to move on, time to share the faith!

An organization or a community is said to be progressive and growing when it is able to produce new breed of individuals to take over the leadership.

Even in the family, the children must be able to take over from their parents the responsibility of taking care of the family and its members over time. Because the gift of life is not meant to be forever.

Continuity is necessary even in the much wider reality of our faith. The chosen people has the history of unfaithfulness to God from the Old Testament to the New Testament. So our loving God has sent his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to lead us back to the Father. And when Jesus has accomplished the Father's will, it is time for Him to move on, so to speak, and pass on the leadership to the first apostles.

Today is the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord. Forty days after his resurrection, Jesus returns to the Father. The first reading in the Acts of the Apostles describes this momentous event: "When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight." (Acts 1:9)

For his disciples, the Lord's departure and ascension were both an end and a beginning. It was the end of Jesus' physical presence with the disciples, but at the same time it is also the beginning of the Lord's presence with them in a new way.

In today's Gospel the evangelist Matthew focuses on Jesus' parting words to the disciples, which are both comforting and reassuring: "And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." (Mt. 28:20, which are also the concluding words of Matthew's gospel)

In practical life, Ascension Sunday is the great commissioning which the risen Christ gives to his disciples and to the whole Church. That means, all of us who believe must share in this mission to be heralds of the Good News and ambassadors for our Lord Jesus Christ.

Although our Lord will not be with his disciple physically, in reality He does not leave his followers in completing their mission.  For the risen Lord continues to work in and through us by the power of the Holy Spirit. And next Sunday, the Church will celebrate Pentecost Sunday, when Jesus' promise of the coming of the Holy Spirit is fulfilled.

Also today the Church celebrates the 48th World Communications Day. It is a timely reminder for us to make use of the wonder of the digital media to spread the Good News and continue our Lord's redemptive mission on earth through his Holy Church.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle A - Year II:  

25 May 2014: Sixth Sunday of Easter 

(Liturgical color: White)

John 14:15-21

To love Jesus, and to follow his commands!

Last Sunday we just celebrated Mother's Day. And when we think of our mothers we think about love, mother's love.

Mothers are God's way of sharing Love with us in person. For God is love, and anyone who does not love does not know God. (1 Jn 4:8)

On the sixth Sunday of Easter we hear Jesus speak about love. His discourse to his disciples is part of his farewell to them as he is about to undertake his passion on Calvary.

Jesus challenges his disciples in this week's Gospel passage:"If you love me, you will keep my commandments." That is very clear as it can be.

To all of us who profess to truly love Jesus will obey his commandments and teachings because they enable us to make the love of God real in our lives.

One of the most spiritual destructive ideas that has infected the world today is the fallacy of claiming to love Jesus Christ while at the same time ignoring, and even rejecting, the commandments and teachings of his Church. It is like "double-talk". 

The real test and testimony of our love for a person lies in our acceptance of what that person we love holds dear. In other words, authentic love means cherishing and honoring what the person we love cherishes and honors. That is what our Lord is telling us today: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" through the teachings of his Church.

Following Jesus is a real challenge indeed. But the Good News is that Jesus himself promises to send "another Advocate to be with us always." The Person of the Holy Spirit is with us always to empower us to love and to fulfill God's law and commandments. The Holy Spirit comes and remains with us in order to engender within us a filial trust in the Lord and so the certainty of being loved by Him in return.

With the Holy Spirit within us, we are then filled with the light of truth so that we can embrace and live the Gospel freedom that comes to us through the blessing of the Lord's commandments: the freedom to love, the freedom to choose what is good in every situation, even when doing so is difficult and challenging.

The most important is what results from our observance of Jesus' commandments, as the Lord promises: "Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him."

In the Holy Eucharist at Mass, let us open our hearts to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so that we can truly love our Lord Jesus Christ and follow all his commandments, through the teachings of his Church.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle A - Year II:  

18 May 2014: Fifth Sunday of Easter 

(Liturgical color: White)

John 14:1-12

Jesus, our Way to the Father!

In the last presidential election, the political slogan of "matuwid na daan" (which may be translated as "straight path") easily caught fire. That seemed to be the magic mantra that earned the peoples' votes for the present administration. Probably because our people were hungry for good governance.

But nearing the end of the present administration, people are still asking what direction are we heading as a nation? And even worse, not a few ask where exactly is the promised "matuwid na daan"?  It's sad.

The Good News in the Gospel this Sunday is a timely reminder not only about the right path in our earthly journey but most importantly the way to our final destiny.

For those who believe that heaven is our final destination, how then can we be sure that we know the way to it without some kind of map or guide? Well, perhaps we can easily refer to the Scriptures which speak of the way we should  go.

Jesus proclaims: "I am the way..." to the Father (Jn 14:6). It means that our Lord Jesus does not simply give us advice and direction, but He personally is the Way to the Father. We cannot miss it. Because Jesus also says, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (Jn 14:9).

Why is the Father known in Jesus? This is because Jesus reflects the Father perfectly, like (in human language) a mirror image can be said to reflect the original subject.

Thus, we can say then that the only way to experience and encounter God, who is divine, is through the very humanity of Jesus Christ himself. Because by virtue of being God's perfect image, Jesus indwells in the Father and the Father in Jesus.

Jesus also tells his disciples that He is the Truth and the Life. Because Jesus embodies the truth in his very person. And He not only shows us the right path of life, He gives us the kind of life which only God can give, and that is eternal life with the Father.

In practical life, we ought to journey to the Father's house by following Jesus, to walk Jesus' way, to live like He did, surrendering ourselves totally to the will of the Father. And that is our real challenge, to dedicate our lives to love and serve others, including bearing our own crosses daily, enduring suffering for the kingdom, and even offering our very lives for the love of God, if need be.

Are we ready to walk the Way of Jesus, to follow the straight path to God's kingdom?

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle A - Year II:  

11 May 2014: Fourth Sunday of Easter 

(Liturgical color: White)

John 10:1-10

The Lord is my Shepherd!

The fourth Sunday of the Easter season is a celebration of the Good Shepherd Sunday. The Responsorial Psalm of today's liturgy sums it up beautifully: The Lord is my Shepherd; there is nothing I shall want! (Ps 23)

Shepherding was the main occupation of people during the time of Jesus. Hence, the imagery of a "Good Shepherd" relates to the practical realities of the daily living of people at that time.

In our country, however, shepherding may be alien to our consciousness because agriculture and farming is our traditional livelihood. Nonetheless, we can reflect on the qualities of a good shepherd and the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep to remind us how to exercise authority or leadership in our time, which should reflect the love and dedication of our Lord Jesus as our Good Shepherd.

In a general sense "good shepherd" is an image that implies someone who gives caring, compassionate leadership. A good shepherd walks in front of the sheep and the sheep follow the shepherd freely; they are not driven or coerced.

Thus, the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep is that of mutual recognition through the use of voice, where there is a voluntary following or trust. Those who stay with the shepherd are not lost. At the end of the day, the shepherd brings his sheep into shelter.

What can shepherding teach us about God and our relationship with Him?

Well, the scriptures describe God as a shepherd who brings security and peace to his people. Just as the shepherd keeps watch over his sheep and protects them from danger, so Jesus stands watch over his people as the Shepherd and Guardian of our souls.

In practical life, we can use the imagery of the Good Shepherd to guide us in choosing our leaders comes election time. We should support and elect only those leaders who by their examples of caring, compassionate leadership, love and respect for human life can truly lead us to be a God-fearing nation.

The second point in our reflection is to heed the words of our Lord Himself that He is the Gate for his sheep. And only if we enter through this Gate that we can have life and have it abundantly.

Today we should be weary of those who profess to be "Catholics"  and yet want to lead us astray from the only "Gate" for the sheep through their own "pollution" of the official teachings of the Church, particularly on the sanctity of human life.

If we do not recognize Christ in the voice of his Church and those who are tasked to proclaim God's kingdom we are likely to get lost. And perhaps many, including Christians, do lose their way because they do not heed the voice of the Good Shepherd and do not want to enter the only "Gate" for the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, our Good Shepherd.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!