Cycle B - Year II:  

8 July 20180: Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time  

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Ezekiel 2:2-5

Second Reading:  2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Gospel:Please Read  Mark 6:1-6

Listen and believe!

Have you ever experienced getting rejected? We all have this kind of experience, in way or another. Rejections are the most common emotional wound we sustain in daily life. But sometimes, rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success. We must not get discouraged for all the rejections. And because rejection is a part of life, we must learn to deal with it and keep moving.

The Gospel narrative this Sunday tells us that even our Lord Jesus Christ was rejected too. The Gospel speaks of the visit of Jesus to Nazareth and describes the obstinacy of the people of Nazareth who do not want to accept Him. He came to to His hometown with His disciples. When the Sabbath came He began to teach in the synagogue. Many who heard Him were astonished, but they did not accept His preaching because they knew Him to be just a working man, a carpenter,a mere layman.

Although the people of Nazareth have heard about the wondrous deeds performed by our Lord in other and neighboring places, Jesus faced a severe testing when He returned to His native land not simply as a carpenter's son but now as a rabbi with disciples. The people could not see the Messiah standing right beside them, because our Lord looked too much like one of them. As a result of the obstinacy of His own people in Nazareth, Jesus was not able to perform mighty deeds there because faith is lacking. And where there is no acceptance or faith, people can do nothing.

There is a modern term to describe the Gospel incident; it may be called "crab mentality", when people would pull other people down, denigrating them rather than letting them get ahead or rejoicing at their achievement.

Even today, our Lord Jesus Christ continues to face rejection even by those who called themselves Christians or His own followers, by openly questioning and disobeying His teaching, for example, the Church's teaching on marriage, human life, and sexuality. And during Holy Mass, how many listen and reflect on the priest's homily, perhaps thinking that they have herd it already many times. It is a rejection of our Lord Jesus when we do not want to listen to His word or the preaching of the Church.

So then, the Gospel warns us to be on guard against certain attitudes that are incompatible with the example of Jesus. Are we also critical towards others, especially those close to us? It is said that the most severe critics are often people very familiar to us, like a member of our family, relative, or neighbors we rub shoulders with on regular basis.

In the Eucharist at Mass, do we take notice of the Messiah standing right beside us, and dwelling in us as we receive Him in communion, all the while healing us silently of our spiritual and bodily ailments through the sacraments? Or we want always to see our Lord in the spectacular events, like the dancing sun perhaps? 

We fail to notice that the sun rises and sets every single day, attesting to God's providential care for all His creation. Let us listen and believe, and keep faith in our Lord Jesus Christ even in these trying times. Because to reject Jesus our Lord is really to reject humanity itself.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam! 

Cycle B - Year II:  

1 July 20180: Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time  

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24

Second Reading:  2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15

Gospel:Please Read  Mark 5:21-43

Lord Jesus, heal us!

As you wake up each morning, do you talk to God first in prayer, or just go on with your usual daily routine; perhaps log on immediately to social media to chat or contact friends?

Least we forget, God wants to talk to us too. And He speaks to us in many ways, including through the Sunday Scripture readings. The Sunday connection provides useful background and activities to better understand and grow in faith, helping us to connect the Scripture to daily life in a meaningful way.

This Sunday's Gospel narrates two stories of healing. One story tells us about a father's great love fos his daughter. The other story tells about a woman desperate in seeking healing from Jesus.

Very different circumstances are represented by the lives of each suffering person. The contrasts between Jairus, the father who seeks help for his daughter, and the woman with the hemorrhage are stark and revealing. One is a man, the other is a woman. One is a public official, an important person in the community. The other is a woman who has lost everything to find a cure to her affliction that separated her from the community. One approaches our Lord Jesus publicly. The other approaches Jesus secretly. Yet in each case, faith leads them to seek out Jesus in their time of need. Thus, in the stories before us, the request for healing from Jesus is by itself a courageous act of faith.

How does our Lord Jesus respond to their need? In both incidents, Jesus shows His personal concern for the needs of others and His readiness to heal and restore life. Thus, in Jesus we see the infinite love of God extending to each and every individual as our Lord gives freely and wholly of Himself to each person He meets. Now, do we also find time when someone needs us? Giving time to someone in need is like giving our very self.

The second point in our reflection is the healing itself. The bleeding woman was restored to health and the dead child brought back to life through a personal encounter with Jesus. They keep faith in Jesus's healing power and allow God's gift of compassion and mercy to work in them. In the case of the sick woman, Jesus said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction." And for the dead child, it was her father's faith in Jesus that brought her back to life. In other words, when we pray for God's healing, it is not just a magical cure from bodily sickness that we should ask God for, but a true life in Jesus Christ that overcomes all illnesses.

Do we approach our Lord Jesus Christ with expectant faith, confident in Jesus' power to heal us?

Let us conclude our reflection with these inspiring words from Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (July 2012):

"We rightly ask God for so many healing from our problems, from concrete necessities. But what we must ask for insistently, is a more solid faith, so that the Lord might renew our life and a firm trust in His love, in His providence that does not abandon us."

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam! 

Cycle B - Year II:

24 June 2018: Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist

(Liturgical Color: White)

Readings:

First Reading: Isaiah 49:1-6

Second Reading: Acts 13:22-26

Gospel:Please Read Luke 1:57-66, 80

John the Baptist: a man sent from God!

The liturgy interrupts its observance of Ordinary Time to celebrate an important birth anniversary.

(As a refresher, Ordinary Time is the yearly cycle of 33 or 34 weeks in which no particular aspect of the mystery of Christ is celebrated, but rather the totality or fullness of the mystery of Christ itself is honored.)

This Sunday is the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. The Church celebrates his birthday traditionally on June 24, and it falls on a Sunday in year 2018.

Usually, the Church observes the day of a saint's death as his or her feast, because that day marks his or her entrance into heaven. There are two exceptions to this Church tradition, the birthdays of Blessed Virgin Mary and of St. John the Baptist. And the reason is this: all other persons were stained with original sin at birth, hence, we displeasing to God.

Mama Mary was free from original sin from the first moment of her existence (for which reason even her very conception is commemorated by a special feast.)

In the case of John the Baptist, he was cleansed from original sin in the womb of his mother, when the Blessed Virgin Mary pregnant at that time with our Lord Jesus Christ, visited John's mother, Elizabeth.

The birth of John the Baptist is important because he paves the way for the coming of the Savior to the world.

Who is John the Baptist?

He was the son of Zachary, a priest in the Temple of Jerusalem, and Elizabeth, a kinswoman of Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus Christ. John is born of a sterile woman, in her old age.

John lived as a hermit in the desert of Judea until about 27 AD. When he was thirty, he began to preach on the banks of the Jordan against the evils of the times and called men to penance and baptism, proclaiming that "the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand!" He attracted large crowd, and when Christ came to him, John recognized Him as the Messiah and baptized Him, saying to our Lord Jesus Christ, "It is I who need baptism from You." John began to announce the coming of the Kingdom, and to call everyone to a fundamental reformation of life. His purpose was to prepare the way of Jesus.

Our Lord Jesus Christ called John the greatest of all those who has preceded him: "I tell you, among those born of woman, no one is greater than John." (Luke 7:28) John's attitude toward Jesus was: "He must increase; I must decrease." (John 3:30)

John's role in salvation history is relevant even in our own time today. For we, too, are born to testify to the Light, and respond to the challenge to prepare a people fit for the Lord. For the vocation of each person of any age and at all time, is something like John's -- to announce the love of God in word and deed among all peoples.

Incidentally, John the Baptist is the Patron of my birth place, Tabaco City in Albay Province. I greet Tabaco City a Very Happy Fiesta.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle B - Year II:

17 June 2018: Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading: Ezekiel 17:22-24

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:6-10

Gospel:Please Read Mark 4:26-34

Let us plant God's seed in the world!

The saying that "we reap what we sow" maybe popular and trite, but it also speaks profound truth about the wonders of Mother Nature. Do you know what this saying means?

This Sunday's liturgy speaks of something in Mother Nature that perhaps we just take for granted, planting a seed. What does it tell us about God's kingdom?

It is always beautiful to see our Lord Jesus Christ using practical situations and events in life to teach new elements and images which could help people to see and experience the process of God's kingdom.

Now Jesus preaches about the kingdom of God in parables to help His new followers better understand the kingdom of God. These parables bridge the gap, so to speak, between earthly realities and the heavenly ones.

In the Gospel from St. Mark, Jesus narrates two parables or brief stories which take place every day in the life of all of us: the story of "the seed that grows by itself", and the story of "the small mustard see that grows into the biggest shrub."

Let us reflect on the first story of the seed that grows alone. The farmer knows the process: he plants the seed, then comes the green sprout, life, spike, and grain. The farmer waits for the right time to reap what he sows. But he doesn't know how the soil, the rain, the sun and the seed itself have their force or strength to make the plant grow from nothing until it bears fruits.

The same is true for the story of the mustard seed. When we plant a tiny mustard seed in good soil, it grows literally to a big tree, through the wonders of Mother Nature, that bears abundant fruits and serves as a leafy home to birds. But we don't know exactly how Nature works to transforms the tiny seed into the big tree.

Now our Lord tells us that God's kingdom works in similar fashion. It is a process. There are stages and moments of growth. It takes place in time. It produces fruit at just the right moment, but nobody knows how to explain its mysterious force -- nobody, not even the landlord, only God knows! Thus, God's kingdom starts from the smallest beginning in our hearts when we are receptive of God's word, It works unseen and causes transformation from within us.

We must understand that just as the seed has no power to change itself until it is planted in the ground, so, too, we cannot really change our lives to be what God desires of us until God Himself gives us the power of His Holy Spirit. So we must allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, because God never forces Himself on anyone. It must be our personal choice to let Him transform us to be God-like. Are we ready to let God change us by His grace and power?

In sum, Jesus is telling us in this Sunday's Gospel that this is how God's kingdom work in our lives and in the world: its beginning is rather small, but given time and our cooperation, it grows into something big that can transform us to become missionaries of joy for God's kingdom here on earth. Because when we follow and yield to our Lord Jesus Christ, our lives are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

Do we believe in the transforming power of the Holy Spirit? Let us scatter God's seed... and waits patiently for the right time.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle B - Year II:  

10 June 2018: Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time  

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Genesis 3:9-15

Second Reading:  2 Corinthians 4:13--5:1

Gospel:Please Read  Mark 3:20-35

The Lord is my light and salvation!

When things get tough and challenging, do we keep faith and persevere, or just give up?  Sometimes, the easiest way to escape difficult situation is to change path or direction; but is that the right way?

In the beginning of our Lord Jesus' public ministry, word of His teachings and miracles started to spread out. But people, and even His friends,  had difficulty understanding His ministry. Because they didn't understand that He is the Son of God. To the people of Nazareth, Jesus was just the son of Mary and Joseph.

The Pharisees, who were the religious "experts" at that  time also didn't understand what Jesus was doing. So they accused our Lord of being possessed by the devil. They wanted to discredit Him in the eyes of the people.

But Jesus pointed out the flaw in the Pharisees' accusation. For how can the devil defeat himself? That is to say, the devil can only be defeated by someone more powerful. Since good is always stronger than evil, good will always defeat evil. And our Lord Jesus Christ is the champion of everything that is good. So He will always defeat evil.

We face the same challenge of disbelief today. Sometimes we can't understand Jesus and His ministry. Sometimes, it is hard for our generation to understand who Jesus really is, what He does, and why He does what He does for us. We question God why He is doing what He is doing in our lives.

So how many people in our time refuse to accept Jesus Christ simply because accepting Him would mean giving up our earthly way of life of ease and comfort, which is important to them? It is much easier to give up believing than to deal with challenging situation and difficult Christian living.

Our Lord Jesus Christ invites us again, in today's liturgy, to believe in Him amidst the worldly temptations that deceive us in believing that His message is outmoded and too difficult to live by. And Holy Mother Church reminds us that the temptation is among us, which tempts us to reject our Lord Jesus as the one sent by the Father to reconcile us with God.

Let us pray that the Holy Spirit grant us the grace and the power to witness our Lord Jesus Christ in our lives today, through our authentic Christian living.

For "the Lord is my light and my salvation; whom I shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; whom should I dread?" (Ps 27:1)

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!