Cycle B - Year I:

20 September 2015: Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Liturgical color: Green)

Gospel: Please read Mark 9:30-37


The greatest in God's kingdom

It is election year in the Philippines in 2016. As early as now the election fever is on, which is not surprising in a country where politics seems to be one of the most rewarding and sought-after "profession". We can hear prospective candidates go on media blitz proclaiming their "greatness" to impress voters or at least test their chances.

What then is the measure of greatness?

Let us hear form our Lord Jesus Himself as He speaks about "greatness" in the eyes of God in this Sunday's gospel narrative.

Jesus and His disciples left for Capernaum through Galilee. On the way Jesus is actually giving the disciples lesson on what leadership and greatness is all about by explaining to them what will happen to Him down the road. Jesus is prophesying his betrayal and crucifixion. He will be delivered into the hands of enemies and will be put to death. Jesus is really teaching the disciples that his kingship does not consist of power and dominion, but of humility and service.

The disciples failed to understand Him because they were busy discussing and arguing among themselves who was the greatest. Thus, 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, 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 really 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 His disciples.

Aren't we like the disciples in this sense? Our concept of greatness is worldly dominion, wealth and power, and the desire for praise of others.

So, Jesus sits down with the disciples and patiently explains a lesson on greatness through humility and service. To begin with, He 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 for serving one's neighbor.

He explains further by placing a little child in their midst to explain His point. 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, meaning to say, whoever humbles himself and serves the "little ones" --the poor, neglected, those with neither power or voice in society-- will be considered great.

Thus, the image of a child in the example of Jesus challenges us to rethink our notion of leadership and greatness. 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.

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

May 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. Amen.

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


Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle B - Year I

13 September 2015: Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Liturgical color: Green)

Gospel: Mark 8:27-38


How deep is our faith?

Here is a story of a teacher and her math students. The teacher gave this surprise quiz: "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 very 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 like an oral exam for the followers of Jesus. 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. No mortal being

could have revealed this truth to Peter, but only God. 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). "Christ" is the Greek word for the Hebrew word "Messiah". So, Peter "passed" easily his practical exam on our Lord's identity, through the gift of his faith.

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

When Jesus explained that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and die in order that God's work of redemption may be accomplished, Peter reacted negatively. Peter could not accept that and would not allow Jesus to suffer. While he readily accepts Jesus as the Messiah, Peter does not want a suffering Messiah.

Jesus rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me, Satan!". Now, "satan" here is also a Hebrew word which means "accuser", the one who leads others away from the way of God. By calling Peter "Satan", our Lord does not allow anyone to lead Him away from His mission of saving mankind through the cross. In other words, Peter and the rest of the disciples must follow Jesus in His way, and not the other way around. And Jesus' way is through the Cross to Resurrection.

What do we make of the Gospel narrative for this Sunday?

The Lord Jesus tests each one of us personally today with the same question in our practical exam, "Who do you say that I am?"

We can be as quick as Peter in answering that Jesus is our Lord and Messiah. That is the easier part of discipleship.

But Jesus 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. This means accepting and following His way of suffering as our own way of life. Only then can we truly prove ourselves to be his disciples, and so merit to share as well in our Lord's resurrection at the appointed time.

As we reflect on the Gospel message this Sunday, what prevents us today from recognizing and following the Messiah in Jesus?

Let us pray: "Lord Jesus, I profess and believe that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. You are my Lord and Savior. Make my faith strong and help me to live in the victory of the cross by rejecting sin and by accepting Your will for me. Amen."

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


Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle B - Year I:

6 September 2015: Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Liturgical color: Green)

Mark 7:31-37


God heals the whole person!

It is strange that the Catholic Church is often accused of meddling in secular affairs by some sectors of society. Usually, such accusation comes from politicians affected by its moral teachings, especially on corruption and certain groups who chose to disagree totally with its preaching. But the Church must make its voice heard when humanity is in peril. In fact, it has the duty and obligation to speak out, because the Church cares for all persons, body and soul.

The Church gets its authority directly from God. And God wants the restoration of the whole person, not just  the salvation of the soul. This is clear in the example of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. His public ministry was not just preaching the Good News but life witnessing through healing of the sick and attending to the poor and neglected of society.  Recall that Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law, made the lame walk, the deaf hear and the mute speak. He even brought back to life Lazarus and the daughter of a government official.

We will hear in this Sunday's gospel the incident of Jesus curing a deaf-mute, who was brought before Him. People wanted Jesus to place His hands on the man. But our Lord did more. He leads the man aside from the crowd, puts his finger into the man's ears and touches his tongue, looking up to heaven in prayer, He sighed deeply and said: "Ephphatha!" that means, "Be opened!" At that very moment, the man's ears were opened and at once the impediment of his tongue was loosened and he spoke clearly. Thus, our Lord demonstrated both the beauty and the goodness of God in this healing.

Some religious writers and theologians attribute deeper meaning to the healing of the deaf-mute man. Notice that it happened in a Gentile territory, which Jesus often visited in His ministry. It also involved a foreigner, a pagan, looked down upon by the Jews. Its significance is to highlight the universality of God's gift. It means Jesus came to save all, with no exception.

What lesson do we get from this healing event by our Lord? Well, Jesus heals the sick and disabled so that people can praise the heavenly Father and the Son. Our Lord's example should inspire us to also care for the sick and needy in our midst with Christian charity and love. We are God's caring heart and healing hands when we minister to their needs.

But also the miracle of the deaf-mute is very significant spiritually, since many human beings in our times suffer spiritual deafness when we reject God's voice, and suffer spiritual muteness when we don't want to speak to Jesus in prayers and meditation, or in defense of Church's teaching when it is unjustly criticized and attacked.

In other words, we also suffer from spiritual deafness and muteness when we do not care for the needy of society, and when we don't react before the divine greatness by expressing our thanksgiving, fidelity and praise for the gift of life we enjoy up to this very moment.

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


Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle B - Year I

30 August 2015: Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical color: Green)

Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

Loving God from the heart!

Who is the man that is not fascinated by flowers in bloom? A nature lover sees in the flowers the beauty of creation. For the romantics, flowers are an expressive way to show one's love. That is why flowers rule the day on Valentine's Day. But flowers are really nothing devoid of human emotions and intentions. As the Little Prince says, "It is not the rose that is important but the time you wasted on the rose that makes it important."

In the Gospel incident for this Sunday, our Lord Jesus teaches us that what comes from within gives meaning and importance to our external acts.

The Scribes and Pharisees were upset with Jesus because He allowed his disciples to break with their ritual traditions by eating with unclean hands. Washing of the hands before meal was an important religious ritual for the Jews. And in their zeal for holiness many elders developed many other elaborate traditions which become a burden for the people to carry out in their everyday lives. 

Jesus was not primarily concerned with justifying His disciples' omission of washing their hands before eating, but instead used this incident to clarify what true holiness is in the eyes of God. He accused the Scribes and Pharisees of hypocrisy because they appear to obey God's word in their external practices while they inwardly harbor evil desires and intentions. He reminded them of Isaiah's prophesy: "This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts."

Unfortunately, this attitude of "hypocrisy" in serving the Lord is still with us even today. Many of those who profess their faith in Jesus are so much focused on external rituals and practices but forget the reason and meaning for them. 

Thus, the theme of this Sunday's liturgy is a timely reminder that

religious traditions and practices are good, but they become meaningless without our personal intimacy with the Lord. In the incident with the Pharisees and Scribes, for example, Jesus is telling us that external rituals of cleansing are really empty physical acts without inner purification from within us. And such inner purification is essentially the work of the Holy Spirit in a heart that is open and receptive to divine intervention.

In other words, our Lord Jesus Christ reminds us that true holiness is first and foremost a matter of the heart.... a personal intimacy with Jesus our Lord and God.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle B - Year I:

23 August 2015: Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Liturgical color: Green)

John 6:60-69


"You have the words of eternal life."


How strong is our faith? That seems to be a "shocking" question, but not really if we observe some of those who profess to be "Catholics" but practice their faith selectively or by convenience. That is to say, they take only what they want to believe in the Church teaching and disregard, or even contradict, the teachings that are most "challenging" to them in terms of life witnessing. Are they who are called "Cafeteria Catholics"?

In his recent preaching, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle has expressed disappointment that many Christian Filipinos fail to draw inspiration from the Good News at Holy Mass. According to him, many parishioners often grab the opportunity to nap when the Gospel is being proclaimed at Mass. And he asks, "Why is it easier to spread gossip than the Good News?"

Throwback..... Jesus was in a similar predicament when He reveals to his listeners and disciples that

He is the Bread of Life. In this Sunday's Gospel proclamation, which is the conclusion of our Lord's discourse on the Eucharist, Jesus confronts His followers to make a choice. Either they believe Him and ask for this bread or reject His claim on Himself. It is decision time for His followers.

The religious leaders and other followers were scandalized by Jesus' claim. They find His teaching difficult to swallow and no longer follow Him. They cease to be His disciples and deserted Him. So Jesus also asks the Twelve Apostles: "Do you also want to leave?"

It was Simon Peter who professed their faith: "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God." (Jn 6:68-69)

Peter's profession of loyalty was based on a personal relationship with Jesus. Through the gift of faith Peter knew that Jesus was the Messiah, the Holy One of God, and he believed in His words.

Throughout His ministry, Jesus offers his life-giving word and Spirit to those who believe and who submit to His authority.

Real faith seeks understanding. That is why God gives us the help of the Holy Spirit to enlighten the eyes of our mind to understand His truth and revelation.

Faith is our response to God's revelation. It is the key to seeing God work in our lives. But we have to make the difficult choice of accepting our Lord Jesus or rejecting Him. We cannot be content with merely drifting through life.

So many things are happening in our lives and in our world today that shock us. The Lord invites us to receive Him as the Bread of Life. We can also refuse Him. Or like Peter we respond to our Lord's invitation, "To whom shall we go?"

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, You have the words of everlasting life. Help me to cast aside doubts and fear and to embrace Your word with trust and joy. I surrender my life to You. May there be nothing which keeps me from You and Your love." Amen.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle B - Year I:


16 August 2015: Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Liturgical color: Green)

John 6:51-58

"Taste and see the goodness of the Lord!"

Do you know that every celebration of the Mass is actually our invitation to partake in the banquet of the Lord? It is proclaimed beautifully in the words of Responsorial Psalm 34: "Taste and see the goodness of the Lord."

The Gospel proclamation this Sunday literally invites us to taste the goodness of the Lord, as we continue with the theme of Jesus as Bread of life.

Jesus said to the crowd: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread

will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." (Jn 6:51)

For Catholics, the doctrine of the Real Presence asserts that in the Holy Eucharist Jesus is literally and wholly present, body and blood, soul and divinity, under the appearances of bread and wine.

When they heard this, the Jews quarreled among themselves, saying: "How can this man (Jesus) give us his flesh to eat?" So also we ask: "Why did Jesus give us his Body and Blood?"

Well, our Lord Jesus assumes our humanity, but he also invites us to share in his very Self. That is why He gives us his Body and Blood in the Eucharist. In this way, the human flesh of Jesus continues to link us and the people of every age with the timeless sacrifice of our Lord Jesus on the cross. Thus, it fills us with a lasting sense of connectedness with Him and with one another.

As we reflect more deeply on the mystery of the Holy Eucharist we grow in faith and come to believe and understand the very center and source of our Christian life, in the following ways:

The Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist enables us to know his divine Person. Thus, when we eat the "true food" of the Holy Eucharist, Jesus transforms our view of life, helps us to grow in faith, deepens our love, comes to strengthen us and accompany us on our life's pilgrimage.

The Eucharist anticipates and is a foretaste of the life we hope to share in heaven. As we receive the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus, we come to be more and more like Him and so partake, while still here on earth, of the eternal banquet of heaven.

Our sharing in the Body and Blood of the Lord is the high point of our intimacy with Jesus Christ. It guarantees His promise: "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day." (Jn 6:54)

In Holy Mass, we should ask ourselves: "How will I offer myself to God in order to match Jesus' love and gift of self to me?" And we will discover that as much as we think we are giving ourselves to Jesus, the reality is that He is never outdone in his generous outpouring of his very life into our own, in the Holy Eucharist.

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


Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle B - Year I:

9 August 2015: Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Liturgical color: Green)

John 6:41-51

"Jesus, our Bread of Life"

"Bread" is the universal symbol of food. And we need food to nourish our body and sustain life, while on journey in our world.

In past weeks, however, there had been some depressing news about food that caused some health problems. It started from the reported "fake" rice and some incidents of food poisoning after eating candies, cup cakes and even the popular ice candies. There is no conclusive findings yet to date on these cases. The reality is that food that nourishes our physical body can perish or get spoiled sometimes.

The Good News this Sunday has something to do with food too, but food that cannot perish or spoil.

Our Lord Jesus Christ reveals himself as the bread of life. You recall that two Sundays ago the Gospel readings served as the springboard to Jesus' discourse on himself as the bread of life, which sustains us for life everlasting.

In making such claim that he is the bread of life. Jesus is actually showing us the depth of his humble and self-effacing love. This revelation lies at the heart of our Lord's teaching, which also forms the very foundation of our belief in the Holy Eucharist. As we reflect deeper into this mystery, we realize that it was not enough that our Lord Jesus Christ took our humble nature upon himself in all things but sin. It was not enough that he also died at Calvary for our redemption. And now he goes the extra mile, so to say, by choosing to remain physically with us always, until the very end of time in our world, in the sacramental form of the Eucharist.

Yet Jesus' hearers at that time cannot believe the seemingly unbelievable claim of "bread of life". Because the Jews cannot accept something even more fundamental in Jesus' claim that he is the Son of God. That is why they murmur among themselves that to them Jesus is nothing more than the son of Joseph, just another man like them.

And the murmuring of disbelief, as narrated in the Gospel story, continues in our time, for those who do not accept the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. And this is particularly sad and disturbing when the "murmuring" comes from within our own fellow brothers and sisters in faith who want to call themselves "Catholics".

So let us ask the Holy Spirit to open our hearts so that we may understand the teaching being revealed to us in this Sunday's Gospel. Let us pray that we continue to grow in our belief of the seemingly unbelievable because Jesus himself has revealed the truth to us, and to teach others to love our Lord in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

In every celebration of the Holy Mass, let us open ourselves to the Father's invitation that we listen to and believe in his beloved Son: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."

Amen, Lord, amen.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!