Cycle B - Year II:  

5 August 2018: Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time  

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15

Second Reading:   Ephesians 4:17, 20-24

Gospel:Please Read  John 6:24-35

In search of God....

There was a man who was searching earnestly for God....

The man whispered, "God, speak to me".... and a meadow lark sang; but the man did not hear.

So the man yelled, "God, speak to me!".... and thunder rolled across the sky; but the man did not listen.

The man looked around and said, "God, let me see you,".... and a star shined brightly; but the man did not see.

And the man shouted, "God, show me a miracle!".... and a life was born; but the man did not notice.

So the man cried out in despair, "Touch me, God, and let me know You are here,"... whereupon, God reached down and touched the man..... But the man brushed the butterfly away, and walked on.

This short anecdote is a great reminder that God is always around us in the little and simple things that we perhaps take for granted. But often we search for Him in the spectacular, like the dancing sun perhaps.

In this Sunday's Gospel narrative the crowd was searching for Jesus. They realized that Jesus was not only a healer of the sick and a great teacher, He can also satisfy the people's temporal needs when our Lord fed the multitude in the miracle of the five loaves and two fish. So the crowd must be thinking that Jesus is all they need for daily living.

But then our Lord Jesus Christ saw through their motivation and intention, and said to them: "Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you." (Jn 6:26-27) And the rest of the Gospel reading is the beginning of Jesus' discourse on Himself as the Bread of Life.

In our generation people continue to seek Jesus for various reasons. But it seems nothing has really changed in our reason for seeking Him since the apostolic times. Often we seek Him to satisfy our hunger of the body and not for that which satisfies the heart and soul. In a way, there is nothing wrong with satisfying our physical needs. Our Lord Himself has shown His concern for our physical well-being in the miracle of the multiplication of bread to feed the multitude. But we must not stop there and search for that which can satisfy our spiritual hunger in our heart and soul -- the hunger for truth, for life, and for love.

Because along with our physical hunger, there is within each of us another hunger, a more basic hunger in fact, which cannot be satisfied by ordinary food. And that is our hunger for life, a hunger for eternity, our nostalgia for God Himself. And so the sign of the manna in the time of Moses was really a proclamation of the coming of Christ who was to satisfy our hunger for eternity by our Lord Himself becoming the "Living Bread" that "gives life to the world."

In satisfying our spiritual hunger, our Lord spoke about accomplishing the "works of God" by believing in Him as God's Son who was sent into the world.  Then Jesus made the claim that only God can make: "I am the Bread of Life." And this bread that Jesus offers is none else than the very life of God, the true bread which can truly satisfy the hunger in our heart.

In other words, the Bread which Jesus offers us sustains us not only in our journey to the heavenly paradise but gives us abundant supernatural life of God which sustains us both now and for all eternity. So, therefore, when we receive our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist at Mass, we unite ourselves to our Lord Jesus Christ who makes us shares in His body and blood and partakers of His divine life as well.

So let us pray, in the words of St. Augustine of Hippo: "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You." Amen.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle B - Year II:  

29 July 2018: Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time  

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        2 Kings:4:42-44

Second Reading:   Ephesians 4:1-6

Gospel:Please Read  John 6:1-15

God is generous, through our own generosity!

We pray in the "Our Father" for our daily bread. What exactly do we mean when we pray that?  Obviously, we ask for things that we need for our day-to-day living. Are we asking only for food that satisfies our physical hunger; do we ask only for things material?

Perhaps, for those less in life putting food on the table is their daily struggle. Because satisfying our physical hunger for food is a step to liberation from poverty.

The theme of this Sunday's liturgy is on nourishment. Jesus shows His concern for our temporal needs as well by feeding the multitude that followed Him. For man is both body and soul while in journey in this world.

(As a side note, biblical scholars say that Jesus' feeding of the five thousands is the only miracle recorded in all the four Gospel accounts, i.e. John 6:1-15, Mark 6:34-44, Matthew 14:13-21, and Luke 9:10-17.)

In the Gospel narratives, a great multitude had gathered to hear Jesus because they were hungry for the word of life. At the end of the day, the disciples wanted to send them away because they did not have the resources to feed them.

One of Jesus' disciples, Andrew is the name, told Him that all they have is a boy who brought with him five loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?

But our Lord Jesus took the little they had --five loaves and two fish-- and giving thanks to His heavenly Father, distributed to all until the whole crowd were satisfied of their hunger. And when they had had their fill, there were still twelve wicker baskets full of loaves and fish left over.

What do we learn from this miracle of the loaves and fish?

Well, the feeding of the five thousands shows us the remarkable and overflowing generosity of God and His great kindness to us. The miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fish emanated from the mercy and love of our Lord Jesus Christ for the crowd that followed Him. Clearly, our Lord cares for the whole man, meaning body and soul, that He takes care of our physical needs as well, in this case, our hunger for food. Thus, it also tells us a lot about Christian charity, we must share our prayers as well as our material blessings.

The Gospel narratives also remind us that when God gives He gives abundantly. In other words, the Lord gives more than we need for ourselves so that we may have something to share with others, especially those who lack what they need to survive. Thus, Jesus teaches us that material hunger can be answered by an attitude of sharing that invites divine intervention. Because God takes the little that we have and multiplies it for the good of others. Indeed, the miracle today is telling us that the Lord is always generous, through our own generosity to those in need.

This connects us to the Church's celebration of Fil-Mission Sunday today. Let us remember in our prayers our Filipino missionaries all over the world, and share and support them with our material blessings.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle B - Year II:  

22 July 2018: Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time  

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Jeremiah 23:1-6

Second Reading:   Ephesians 2:13-18

Gospel:Please Read  Mark 6:30-34

Jesus cares for His people!

 How do we measure an effective leadership?  It is said that leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions. Spending precious time on someone, to care and to minister, may also be a measure of leadership.

Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself will show us by His own example what qualities a Christian leader must have.

Recall that in last Sunday's Gospel, Jesus sent out the twelve apostles on their first solo mission, meaning on their own without Him, to preach and bring the Good News to the people. Now this Sunday's Gospel tell us about the return of the twelve  after their first missionary experience.

The apostles came back and reported to Jesus what they have done and taught. Jesus knew they were tired and exhausted and wanted them to rest first. For our Lord was not only concerned with the content of the preaching but also with the time to rest for His disciples. And so Jesus told them to "come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." By this action, Jesus is showing us that a leader must also be mindful of the physical limitations of his people and does not push them to the extreme. So the apostles take a boat to a deserted place to rest.

Now Jesus wanted to also rest together with His disciples. But the people followed them there. Mark writes that when Jesus saw the large crowd "his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things." (Mk 6:34) So then our Lord forgets about His own rest. Because the desire to respond to the needs of the people impels Jesus to leave aside the much needed rest for Himself.

Thus, the Gospel passage reveals the intensity of our Lord's public ministry. Jesus and His disciples were so busy that they didn't even have time to rest and to eat. Even so, notice our Lord's response. Rather than be annoyed, He is compassionate toward the spiritual needs of the people. Our Lord sees that they are hungry for the Word of God, and so He preaches to them.

The example of our Lord clearly reminds us that as Christians we should at times be ready to sacrifice our time and even our rest in the service of the Gospel, that we ought to be accessible to those who need our help as much as it is humanly possible.  Because the Lord gives us the perfect image of a true leader in Himself as the Good Shepherd.

Do we find such type of leader in our national life today, in the Church, within our local community,  and even in our very own family?

The other point in our reflection is to realize that we must never stop seeking at our Lord Jesus Christ, even when He seems so far away or have departed from us. We must imitate the thirst for God's Word by the big crowd that followed our Lord. Because when we are in great needs of Him, it opens up the compassionate heart of Jesus, our Lord and Good Shepherd. This we can be sure.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle B - Year II:  

15 July 20180: Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time  

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Amos 7:12-15

Second Reading:   Ephesians 1:3-14

Gospel:Please Read  Mark 6:7-13

We share in the mission....

A great challenge of our Christian faith is to share it with others. Are we ready and willing to be missionaries for our Lord Jesus Christ?

Perhaps, that's a tough question to answer.... especially now in the Philippines when the Catholic Church seems to be persecuted by political leaders.  In just six months four Catholic priests were targeted and three fell victims to assassins inside the chapel. What is happening to our country?

This Sunday's Gospel is about the Church's missionary mandate. Our Lord Jesus Christ sends the twelve apostles out to preach and bring the Good News to the people.

Now recall that our Lord Jesus Himself was the formator of the first apostles. Thus far, from the day they were recruited the twelve apostles have been following our Lord from place to place,  witnessing the miracles He performed and learning about His teaching. But they were just followers, and not missionaries themselves.

Jesus will now give them the "hands-on" training to prepare themselves for missionary work. Jesus tells them that they will have to go out on their own and works their own miracles. And like Jesus, they have to give up their families and lead itinerant lifestyles, traveling from place to place to preach the message of the kingdom of God and work wonders in Jesus' name. And Jesus gave His apostles both the power and authority to speak and act in His name.

So what is the impact of the Gospel reading for us today? The following points for reflection may be helpful.

The mission of the twelve apostles is carried on today by their successors: the bishops and ordained ministers, religious men and women, and even lay people like us. Because by virtue of our baptism, we lay people are also sent to bear witness to Christ in word and deed.

In doing our missionary word, as lay people (but also for ordained ministers), let us heed and reflect on Jesus' advice and instructions on the first apostles.

First, Jesus tells His apostles to "travel light", meaning with little or no provisions at all. Because "poverty of spirit" frees us from greed and preoccupation with material possessions and thus makes ample room for God's provision instead. In other words, we must trust and depend on God rather than on ourselves.

Second, the Lord gives us the power and authority to work wonders in His name. But He want us to use this power and authority with love and humility, and always for the good of others. We must remember always that it is the Lord we are preaching, and not ourselves.

And third but not least, Jesus entrusts us with His gifts and talents to continue His saving works in our times. Are we ready and eager to place ourselves at His service, to do whatever He bids us to do, to witness His truth and saving power to whomever He sends us, regardless of the personal risks involved?

In the Eucharist at Mass, let us therefore pray: "Lord, make me a channel of Your grace and healing love that others may find life and freedom in You. Free me from all other attachments that I may pursue the things of heaven without distraction. May I truly witness the joy of the Gospel, both in my word and deed. Amen."

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!