Cycle B - Year II:  

7 October 2018: Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time  

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Genesis 2:18-24

Second Reading:   Hebrews 2:9-11

Gospel:Please Read  Mark 10:2-16

God has joined them together!

My generation grew up and struggled with the concept of "colonial mentality". Have you ever heard or remembered such a term? It is the belief that foreigners and everything associated with them were far superior than locals.

Shades of "colonial mentality" still persists today when developing nations tend to follow anything that developed countries do and say.

For example, the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court legalizing same sex "marriage" is used by local groups to pressure the Philippine Congress and Senate to follow suit including a divorce law.

But it is a fallacy to believe that developing countries must always follow in the footsteps of developed nations in the name of "progress". In the issues of divorce and same sex "marriage", it is a tragic error that harms the common good.

Our Lord Jesus Christ reminds us in this Sunday's Gospel what is God's plan for the human race from the very beginning of creation in dealing with the issue of divorce.

"But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate." (Mk 10:6-9)

What did Jesus mean when He said that a husband and wife are to be "one flesh"?  He intended it to mean more than just a mere partnership for establishing a family or intimate relationship between two individuals. Because in fact marriage involves a partnership of not just two persons of husband and wife, but a third as well. For it is God Himself who joins with a husband and wife when they become "one flesh" in the Sacrament of Marriage.

St. Paul the Apostle used marriage as an analogy for Christ and the Church, His bride. (Eph 5:32) God wants an unbreakable union between Himself and His people, which is possible only through the gift of the Holy Spirit who purifies us and makes us one in Christ.

So as followers of Christ, let us steadfastly proclaim the goodness, and bear witness to the truth and beauty of marriage, and protect our families in the face of unceasing and well-funded efforts by some sectors of our society to destroy marriage and the family and our beautiful Filipino values.

The persistent but deceiving argument that we are the only remaining nation without a divorce law, is actually a blessing rather than a curse. For we bear witness, and live by, the truth... from the very beginning of God's creation.

In the Eucharist at Mass, let us pray for our Filipino families: Heavenly Father, please bless our families with Your love and protect us from harm. Give us Your grace to forgive, strength to overcome the difficulties we face, and keep us together when the world tries to pull us apart. In Jesus's name, Amen.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle B - Year II:  

30 September 2018: Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Numbers 11:25-29

Second Reading:   James 5:1-6

Gospel:Please Read  Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

God's love and mercy is for all!

 The beauty of the Catholic Church is that it embraces all human beings and the rest of God's creation. Because its core teaching is based on love -- love for God and His creation.

The Catholic Church sees itself as one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church founded by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. But it does not close its door to those of other faith. Thus, it persistently works through ecumenism to reach out to other faith. Because the followers of Jesus are not meant to be an exclusive group. We are encouraged to work with other Christians, and indeed with everyone of good will.

Ecumenism takes its starting point that Christ founded just one Church, not many churches; hence, the Catholic Church has as its ultimate hope and objective that through prayer, study and dialogue, the historically separated bodies may come again to be reunited with the Catholic Church.

The Gospel narrative for this Sunday reinforces the foundation for the Catholic Church's efforts on ecumenism.

"At that time, John said to Jesus, 'Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in Your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.'"  (Mk 9:40)

But Jesus tells John and the other disciples not to prevent people from doing good works in His name. For Jesus said that "whoever is not against us is for us." (Mk 9:40) Because as people were learning about Jesus, they wanted to follow our Lord Jesus, and to share His message and to help other.s And Jesus wants everyone to experience the love and mercy of His Father. 

As Christians in our time, we are all called to follow our Lord Jesus Christ and to do "mighty deeds" in Jesus' name. We must keep in mind that even a small act of love, sacrifice, or giving, when we do it in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, they can be "mighty" as well.

The second point in our reflection is a warning from Jesus to His followers to avoid things that may lead us to sin. Why is it that sometimes it is so tempting to do things that we know are wrong and sinful? We fall into sin because we give way to these temptations. So Jesus warns us to be always on guard about things that lead us to make these bad choices, and to eliminate them from our lives.

My late professor in Moral Theology gave us a helpful tip to avoid getting tempted: at the very first sign of temptation, it is always prudent to just run away than allow your moral strength to be tested. For no one can really claim to be strong enough against the cunning of the evil one.

Thus, Jesus also warns us about the reality of hell for those who do not want to heed His teaching. He said to His disciples, "It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna (meaning hell in the New Testament)." (Mk 9:45) In other words, the fear of hell should urge us to lead a good life, because absolutely nothing here on earth is worth even a moment in hell.

We also celebrate this Sunday the 23rd National Seafarers Day. Let us pray that the Lord bless and protect our Filipino seafarers and their families, and that they also become effective ambassadors for our country and faithful messengers of Christ by their Christian living.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle B - Year II:  

23 September 2018: Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Wisdom 2:12, 17-20

Second Reading:   James 3:16--4:3

Gospel:   Please Read  Mark 9:30-37

The greatest among us!

Do you strive to be great? Maybe we all do. But what is the measure of greatness?

Let us hear from our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, as He speaks about "greatness" in the eyes of God our Father.

Jesus and His disciples left for Capernaum through Galilee. On the way Jesus was telling the disciples about His Passion, death and Resurrection. This is the second time He did so; the first time is found in Mark 8:27-38. Jesus is prophesying His betrayal and crucifixion. He will be delivered into the hands of enemies and will be put to death. Thus, our Lord is telling the disciples that His kingship does not consist of power and dominion, but of humility and service.

But the disciples do not understand the words about the cross because they are not capable of understanding or accepting a Messiah who becomes the servant of the brothers. They continue to dream of a glorious Messiah.

Also, the disciples were busy discussing and arguing among themselves who was the greatest. And so the Lord's revelation of a suffering Messiah does not make sense and did not fit their understanding and expectation of what the Messiah came to do.

Perhaps, in a way the disciples do not really want Jesus to talk about suffering for some reasons. First, they do genuinely care for Jesus and so do not want Him to suffer at all. Second, Jesus' plan does not make sense to them at that time. In their human thinking, they want to believe that Jesus can do much more good for the Father if He just keeps healing people, preaching great sermons, performing miracles and attracting large crowds. Third, the disciples do not like this message of a suffering Messiah because it also means that they, too, might have to suffer as well, if they want to remain Jesus' disciples.

Now, aren't we like the disciples in this sense? Because our concept of greatness is worldly dominion, wealth and power, and the desire for praise from others.

And so Jesus sits down with the disciples and patiently explains a lesson on greatness through humility and service. And to begin with, Jesus explains that "if anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all." For in His kingdom, greatness is equated with exhibiting a heart of serving one's neighbor. 

And explaining further, Jesus places a little child from the crowd in their midst to explain His point. But what can a child possibly teach us about greatness?

Well, Jesus tells His disciples that in God's kingdom, whoever has the heart of a child will be considered great. He means to say, whoever humbles himself and serves the "little ones" of society --the poor, neglected, those with neither power or voice in society.

The image of a child, in the example of our Lord, challenges us to re-think our notion of leadership and greatness. And Jesus Himself is our model. He came not to be served but to serve. Our Lord lowered Himself and took on our lowly nature that He might raise us up and clothe us in His divine nature.

So in sum, to follow our Lord Jesus Christ entails a radical change in our earthly notion of power that dominates, and instead follow in His footsteps of humble and truthful service to the poor and to those in need.

Let us pray, that we follow the example of Jesus' humble service as we strive to become great leaders of our family, our workplace, in society, and our nation, if it so demands. Amen.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle B - Year II:

16 September 2018: Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading: Isaiah 50:5-9

Second Reading: James 2:14-18

Gospel:Please Read Mark 8:27-35

How deep is our faith?

Let me tell you a story of a math teacher and her students. The teacher presents a problem: "There are five birds resting in a tree branch. You shoot one, how many are left?"

The students answer: "None, Teacher!"

Astonished, the teacher asks back: "Why is that so, only one was shot?"

"Well, Mam, birds are not stupid! When one was shot, the rest flew away of course." End of the story.

Often, oral exam is hard and tricky, because it gives little time to think for the right answer. But also it can elicit the smartest answer.

The Gospel narrative for this Sunday is much like an oral exam for Jesus' followers. On the way to the villages of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus tests His disciples with a crucial question: "Who do people say that I am, and who do you say that I am?"

Always quick to react, Peter answers by professing that Jesus is truly the Christ. Now no mortal being could have revealed this truth to Peter, but only God Himself. It was through faith that Peter grasped who Jesus truly was. Thus, Peter has the distinction as the first apostle to recognize Jesus as the Anointed One (meaning Messiah or Christ). Because "Christ" is the Greek word for the Hebrew word for Messiah. So Peter "passed" easily his practical exam on our Lord's identity, through the gift of his faith.

But what is faith? Well, faith is not just believing but trusting in the Lord. Peter believes and trusts that Jesus is the Messiah.

The second part of the "exam" is the requirement or demand for following Jesus. It is here where Peter's profession of faith about the identity of Jesus is tested.

Now while Peter accepts Jesus as the Messiah, but not a suffering Messiah. It is Peter's blindness that he does not understand the proposal of Jesus when the Lord speaks about His suffering and of the cross.

And so the response of Jesus to Peter's objection is rather hard: "Get behind me, Satan!" Now, "satan" is a Hebrew word which means "accuser", the one who leads away from the way to God. Thus, by addressing Peter as "Satan", Jesus does not allow anyone to lead Him away from His Father's mission. For Jesus decided to make it clear what it will mean to be His real followers: "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me."

What do we make of the Gospel narrative this Sunday?

The Lord tests each one of us personally today with the same question in our practical exam, "Who do you say that I am?" And like Peter we can be quick in answering that Jesus is our Lord and Messiah.

But our Lord Jesus Christ challenges us to go deeper into the very roots of our faith through personal commitment in our faith. That means we must witness with our life situations our profession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah.

For example, Christian love demands that we be willing to embrace suffering, offer it to the Father like Christ did, and see it as a means to salvation. Jesus showed the way when He subjected Himself to a hideous death and was nailed to a tree.

As Christians, our love for God will approach perfection in proportion to our willingness to suffer for Him and for our neighbor.

But for sure, we do not go looking for suffering, but we will embrace it when God asks us to, for the love of Him.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!