Cycle C - Year II:

21 February 2016: Second Sunday of Lent

(Liturgical color: Violet)

Gospel: Please read Luke 9:28b-36

To share in God's glory!

When things get really tough and challenging we find courage in these inspiring words, "At the end of the rainbow is a pot of gold!" It means that after everything you have gone through, rewards and victory awaits you.

That seems to be the message of this Sunday's liturgy.

On Ash Wednesday we started our Lenten journey on a somber tone as we reflect on our Lord Jesus Christ -- his suffering, and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial and resurrection. Because Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance, as we prepare for the glory of Easter.

But on the second Sunday of Lent we take a break from our sadness and meditate on the fourth Luminous Mystery of the Rosary, the Transfiguration of Jesus, which is one of the most dramatic scenes in all of Scripture.

Holy Mother Church places the transfiguration event before us while our journey of Lent is still young, perhaps to assure us of the final goal. the glorified Christ. Our Lord came into the world to win such glory -- for Himself and for all of us. By His incarnation He took our human nature. By His passion and death He purified it. By His resurrection and ascension He glorified it.

In St. Luke's version of this event, there is a detailed contained in the story, which is unique to his

account: Jesus was transfigured while he was praying. "Jesus took Peter, John, and James and went up the mountain to pray. While He was praying His face changed in appearance and His clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with Him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of His exodus that He was going to accomplish in Jerusalem." (Lk 9:28-31)

The transfiguration of our Lord was a unique display of His divine character and a glimpse of the glory which Jesus had before He came down on earth in human form. In that holy mountain, the chosen apostles had the experience of "the already of the not yet", so that the "inner circle" of Jesus' disciples could gain a greater understanding of who Jesus is. These disciples who had only known Jesus in His human body now had a greater realization of the deity of Christ, even when perhaps they could not fully comprehend their experience at that time. Nonetheless, this experience gave them the assurance they needed when the passion and death of our Lord would transpire. It made such an impression of the disciples of the Lord that it is one of the only stories common to all three of the synoptic Gospels.

True enough, these "privileged" disciples never forgot what happened that day on the mountain. They bore witness to it to the other disciples and to countless millions more down through the centuries. They were witnesses of our Lord's transfiguration event and wrote of it later:

- St. John wrote of it in his gospel account: "We have seen His glory, the glory of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth." (Jn 1:14)

- St. Peter wrote of it as well: "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory, saying, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.' We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with Him on the sacred mountain." (2 Peter 1:16-18)

So now, how does this Transfiguration event should affect our lives today as followers of our Lord Jesus Christ?

First of all, we cannot follow Peter's impulsiveness and hastiness in wanting to "glory" in the Lord's transfiguration immediately. Rather, we must accompany our Lord in His Lenten journey. Because there is no shortcut to our heavenly goal, that is to say, we could not have the Gospel without sacrifice, holiness without prayer, virtue without effort, communion without confession, and Easter without Lent. We cannot escape taking our share in carrying the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because our Lord Jesus lived a full human life, experiencing both its joys and sorrows. Therefore, we must take upon ourselves our share of the Lord's suffering and death so that we also will share in His eternal glory.

In sum, God wants to share His glory with us. We get a glimpse of His glory in our Lord's transfiguration. As we continue with our Lenten journey, let us pray earnestly and ask God to deepen our faith in His love and His loving plans for all of us, especially when they do not make sense to us. Let us seek His grace to embrace our crosses and allow them to increase our virtue and to be a channel of God's strength, so that we can also share in Lord's Easter. Amen.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle C - Year II:

14 February 2016: First Sunday of Lent

(Liturgical color: Violet)

Gospel: Please read Luke 4:1-13

Strengthen us against temptations....

This Sunday is unique because the universal Feast of Hearts coincides with First Sunday of Lent. Well, there is a common reality in these celebrations. We celebrate the beauty of human love on Valentine's Day, and we proclaim God's unconditional love during the Lenten Season. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son" to redeem us from our sins. (Jn 3:16)

We interrupt our liturgical journey in Ordinary Time to begin the Season of Lent. As we know, Lent is a time of preparation for the big event of Easter Sunday. Our preparation actually began on Ash Wednesday, February 10 this year, with the imposition of blessed ashes on our forehead, and will continue until the Mass of the Lord's Supper exclusive on Holy Thursday.

Notice that the liturgical color of the priest's vestments and the altar cloth change to violet (normally, the lighter shade of violet to distinguish it from the violet used during the Season of Advent).

St. Luke gives us the Gospel reading for the First Sunday of Lent on the temptation of Jesus.

Recall that during His baptism at the River Jordan, Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, as the Father has anointed and confirmed Him as the Messiah and Savior. Immediately after His baptism the Spirit led Him out into the wilderness of Judaea, a lonely place of solitude and silence. (Bible scholars describe Judean wilderness as a vast wasteland of sand, rocks, hills, and deep ravines that stretch for miles and miles. It is one of the most barren, bleak, and inhospitable places on the earth.)

Jesus was alone in the wilderness for forty days, with no contact with friends and family. He was there to prepare Himself for the mission entrusted to Him, spending forty days and nights in solitude and prayers to His Father in heaven.

Luke tells us that at the end of Jesus' forty days in the wilderness, the evil one tempted Him. The evil one saw an opportunity to strike while Jesus appeared more vulnerable in His physical and emotional weakened condition due to His prolonged fasting and inner struggle over His important call and mission. But Jesus rejected the empty promises of the evil one and chose the path of His Father -- a path that required self-renunciation, humility, and obedience to His Father's will.

What is the lesson that this Sunday's Gospel is teaching us, for our practical life?

As human like us, Jesus did not rely on His own human strength and will-power for overcoming temptations. He relied on the Holy Spirit for strength, wisdom, courage, and self-control.

Thus, our Lord Jesus has shown us that we cannot fight temptation just on our own, because the enemy is far more powerful over humans. We need help, we need the strength and guidance of the Holy Spirit to overcome temptations. So Jesus Himself gives us His Holy Spirit to help us in our weaknesses, and to be our guide and strength in time of testing. And the Lord Jesus gives grace to those who humbly acknowledge their dependence on Him to be able to reject the lies and deceits of the evil one.

Our professor in moral theology years back gave us one possible practical tip to ward off temptation: at the very first sign of temptation, better to run away immediately. Never rely on our "moral capacity" to resist temptation.

In the Eucharist at Mass, let us pray that the Lord Jesus gives us His Holy Spirit in our journey on earth to strengthen us against temptations and deliver us from all dangers and evil.

National Migrants' Day: The First Sunday of Lent is also National Migrants' Day. Let us include in our prayers the millions of overseas contract workers, especially our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), and their families that they remain faithful to our Lord and use their material blessings to be instrument of the Good News of God's kingdom here on earth.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle C - Year II:

7 February 2016: Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical color: Green)

Gospel: Please read Luke 5:1-11

To catch people, for God....

The usual practice in the corporate world is to hire the best qualified over all the others. But sometimes the best credentials on paper do not always guarantee a the best performance.

In this Sunday's Gospel, we will see that Jesus chooses quite differently the people whom He wants to work with Him. He uses the incident of our Lord Himself performing the miracle of the great catch of fish to show what kind of people He wants to work with Him. This entire episode is both surprising and revealing.

Jesus was preaching to the crowds by the Lake of Gennesaret. The crowds were pressing around Him. To avoid the crush, Jesus decides to get on Simon's boat and pushes out from the shore a little so that He can better address the crowds.

When He finished His teaching, Jesus said to Simon, "Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch."

Now Simon knew that they caught nothing for a whole night of toil. Nonetheless, at Jesus' command he said to our Lord, "At your word I will let down the nets." Lo and behold, they caught a great number of fish that their nets were tearing. So they signaled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them with the catch.

This incident conveys an important truth on how God works in and through us for His glory. Because God expects of us greater things than we can do by ourselves. But when we fully cooperate in His works, we accomplish far beyond what we can do on our own or by ourselves. It is a partnership with God, if you wish, that makes great things possible for His kingdom.

So when we meet disappointments and failure in practical life, do we press upon the Lord, like Simon did, to hear His word and receive His command? In other words, do we kneel in prayer and humility and allow God to take over?

God uses ordinary people, like you and me, as His workers, and He uses the ordinary circumstances of our daily lives and work situations to accomplish His saving works, and draw others into His kingdom.

Jesus speaks the same message to us today: we will "catch people" for His kingdom if we allow the light of Jesus Christ to shine through us. Because God wants others to see the light of Christ in us in the way we live, speak, and witness the joy of the Gospel.

May the Holy Eucharist at Mass enkindle in us the desire to respond to God's call to service to proclaim the Good News of salvation. Amen.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle C - Year II:

31 January 2016: Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Liturgical color: Green)

Gospel: Please read  Luke 4:21-30


To look beneath the surface....

How do you start a mission or a new project? An effective way, you want first to make an announcement about it in the media, even social media nowadays, or any public forum, so that people take notice.

This is what Jesus did when he started his public ministry. Returning to His hometown of Nazareth, Jesus went to the synagogue and read a passage from the prophet Isaiah describing the signs that the Messiah would perform. After reading our Lord sits down and declares to those in the synagogue, "Today, this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing." That is to say, Jesus revealed to His town mates that He was the Messiah and invited them to believe in Him and thus receive the goodness, grace and freedom of which the prophetic text of Isaiah spoke.

This first "sermon" of Jesus at Nazareth is significant because it shows how He Himself understood His ministry: His mission to the world is to make God's goodness and gracious love available to everyone. Jesus Himself is the incarnation of this divine loving presence of God.

Sadly, though the people of Nazareth were amazed at His gracious words, they rejected His claim as the Messiah. Because they knew Him to be just "the son of Joseph". And so our Lord said this famous biblical passage, "Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place."

Also, so often in the Gospels people who encounter Jesus fail to look beneath the surface. The town people of Nazareth, for example, saw only what they wanted to see in Jesus: He was the humble carpenter in their midst. Not surprisingly, throughout the Gospels, our Lord often speaks of those who are blind or deaf to His saving message because they cannot accept Jesus as the Messiah.

Even now, the temptation can be our own as well; we may be impressed of Jesus as a great preacher, or a miracle worker, or a good and saintly man. But our Christian faith is empty of its heart and substance if we do not see Jesus as our Messiah, as God in the flesh who died, and rose again to set us free from sin and evil.

In sum, the real question between the people of Nazareth (including in our own generation) and Jesus is a question of faith. Because faith is not a response to a certain number of miracles; instead faith is unreserved, total and unconditional trust in God that leads to an acceptance of all that He has said to us, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thus, true acceptance and following of Jesus involves openness to the Spirit's call to search our hearts. For this reason, Jesus does not need to prove His claim as the Messiah by performing miracles. Rather, once we listen to Jesus' preaching with a sincere heart, we become able, through God's grace, to commit ourselves to Him and see Him for who and what He truly is. In this way, we begin to share in the salvation our Lord Jesus promises to all His followers, not at some future time but already here and now, just as our Lord Jesus says, "Today, this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."

In the Eucharist at Holy Mass, let us pray for God's grace to be able to look beneath the surface and see the Real Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle C - Year II:

24 January 2016: Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Liturgical color: Green)

Gospel: Please read  Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21


The proclamation of the Good News

After a series of solemnities or special feasts at the start of the new year, we resume the liturgical season called Ordinary Time, and this Sunday is the third in Ordinary Time.

In the Catholic liturgical calendar, Ordinary Time is that part in the yearly cycle of 33 or 34 weeks in which there is no particular aspect of the mystery of Christ is celebrated, but rather the mystery of Christ in all its fullness is observed. The liturgical color of the priest's vestment and the altar cloth changes to green.

In the Gospel, St. Luke narrates the beginning of Jesus' public ministry in his homeland of Galilee
where he was reared. According to his custom, Jesus went into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, who had prophesied that the Messiah would come in the power of the Holy Spirit and bring freedom to those oppressed by sin and evil. (Isaiah 61:1-2) After reading this particular passage, Jesus proclaimed the fulfillment of the Messianic prophesy in their hearing.

For indeed, our Lord Jesus Christ came to set us free from the worst tyranny of slavery to sin and fear of death, and the eternal destruction of both body and soul. And so even in our time, we know and believe that God's power alone can save us from the emptiness and poverty of spirit, from confusion and error, and from hopelessness and the fear of annihilation. Thus, the Gospel of salvation is also "good news" for us today. Jesus came with the good news that God cares for the poor, the captives, the handicapped, and all the unhappy people in our midst.

The other point in our reflection. Do you notice that our Gospel reading includes the introduction of St. Luke's Gospel?

The preface or prologue of a book contains important principles, or directions, for reading the rest of the book, and in St. Luke's Gospel, important direction and clarification for reading and understanding all of Sacred Scripture.

In the introduction, St. Luke indicates the importance of the Church and of Tradition in our Catholic faith. He explains that even before he wrote his "account" of the Gospel, there already existed the Church and the oral tradition --literally, the "handing down"-- of the faith. The point is that St. Luke did not invent a story or was he teaching something new in his Gospel account. But rather, as a faithful Christian, St. Luke handed on the truth he also received from the Church.

Thus, from the very start of his Gospel account, St. Luke conveys the simple fact that the Church existed before the Gospels were written, and in fact the Church wrote the Gospels. It follows, then, that to read Scripture outside of the Church's Tradition is to read it out of context, or like reading it without a teacher.  Because we need a teacher to explain Scripture. And that teacher is the Church, and the method of instruction is Tradition.

Let us, therefore, listen only to the official teaching of the Church on matters of faith.

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


Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle C - Year II:

17 January 2016: Feast of the Sto. Nino
(Liturgical color: White)

Gospel: Read  Luke 2:41-52


The Sto. Nino: the human face of God!

Every baby born is a clear sign that God has not grown tired of the human race. Filipinos are known for their fondness and special affection for children in the family.

The Church celebrates this Sunday the Feast of the Sto. Nino, who is the human face of God as a little Child. Filipinos revere the image of the Holy Child or the Sto Nino throughout the country. The devotion to the Holy Child is said to be the oldest and one of the most popular in the Philippines, recalling the birth of the Catholic faith in our country in 1521. The Holy See granted us special permission to celebrate the Feast of the Sto. Nino every third Sunday of January, which falls on the 17th this year 2016.

The Feast of the Holy Child is a celebration of the incarnation of Jesus Christ. That is, God came to us as a child to show us how to become children of God, and how we must entrust our lives to our heavenly Father. God chose to make Himself visible in Jesus as an appealing child in order to draw us to Himself. He sees in their eyes the reflection of freshness and holiness in God's kingdom.

In the Gospel narrative, we read about Jesus going up to the Temple for his first Passover at the dawn of his manhood (usually the age of twelve for Jewish males.) This shows that although He is still in His youth, Jesus already recognized that He has been given a call by His heavenly Father. We an see this in His response to the anxious  inquiry of His mother Mary: "Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"

This Gospel incident reminds us that our devotion to the Holy Child should not stop at His infancy. Because the Holy Child we revere in today's feast grew up to be Jesus of Nazareth who inaugurates the kingdom of God by His preaching, healing and missionary work. So, too, our devotion to the Sto. Nino must grow and deepen so that we become witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ by our words and good examples of Christian living. In other words, our devotion to the Sto. Nino must bear good fruits in practical life. For our heavenly Father also calls each of us to a unique task and mission in this life. All we need is to understand and cooperate with God's plan in our lives. And the Lord will give us the grace to say "yes" to His will and grace to persevere in our calling.

May the Feast of the Sto. Nino inspire us to have a special love for the "little ones" in our midst: the poor, defenseless, persecuted, and all those who rely on God for their support. And may our devotion to the Sto. Nino also grow so that we become witnesses of Christ and missionaries for His saving work on earth.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle C - Year II:

10 January 2016: Feast of the Lord's Baptism
(Liturgical color: White)

Gospel: Read  Luke 3:15-16, 21-22


The Lord's Baptism: His work begins....

This Sunday is the Feast of the Lord's Baptism. We reflect on this event in the First Luminous Mystery of the Holy Rosary. It is said that the Lord's Baptism officially closes the Christmas season.

Recall that in the first Sunday of January we celebrated the Solemnity of the Lord's Epiphany. We shared that "epiphany" means the manifestation or appearance of Jesus as our Lord and King.

Well, the Baptism of our Lord is also like a second "epiphany", because in His baptism our Lord's true identity as the Son of God is made known through the voice of God the Fathe Himself, as He confirmed by the appearance of the Holy Spirit in bodily form of a dove.

In the Gospel narrative, John baptized the people and Jesus was also baptized by him. Then "heaven

was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.'" (Lk 3:21-22)

But wait..... we know of course that even in his humanity Jesus Christ was perfect and so he had no need to be cleansed and regenerated in the waters of baptism. So therefore, we ask,  "Why did the Lord choose to be baptized by John the Baptist?"

We found the answer to this question in the writings of St. Maximus of Turin, who lived in the late fourth century. St. Maximus tells us that "Christ was baptized not to be made holy by the waters of baptism but rather to make holy the water of baptism and to purify these waters with His Body, so that all who would be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit would be cleansed of original sin, and be made adopted sons and daughters of the most high God. In doing so, Christ has elevated baptism to the dignity of a sacrament."

The significance of the Lord's baptism is the start of his public ministry and his mission as the Messiah that would change the world forever. This event has important and practical implications for us as well in our own time.

Let us know and reflect on the significant effects of baptism in all baptized Christians:

Baptism is the first and most necessary sacrament for our salvation. In baptism we are washed free of original sin inherited by all human beings due to the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve, as recorded in the Book of Genesis.

In baptism, the soul is infused with sanctifying grace that makes us adopted children of the Father, and allows for the indwelling of the Trinity in our soul.

In baptism, the soul experiences an infusion of the "theological virtues" of faith, hope, and charity. They are so-called because these are the virtues most oriented toward God. In layman's language, these are the virtues that lead us to know and love God.

In baptism, we receive the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, namely wisdom, understanding, counsel, knowledge, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord.  The Church teaches that "these gifts are given in potential state, waiting to be actualized." That is why parents and godparents undertake an immense responsibility when the child is baptized. Because parents and godparents are charged with drawing out, or "actualizing" these gifts and theological virtues that God has infused into the child's soul at baptism through their own guidance and good examples.

There is another very important revelation made during the event of the Lord's Baptism. From the very beginning of Jesus' public ministry God wants the world to know that his saving work is a united effort on the part of the Holy Trinity. Because God is one, the three Persons always work in unison as well. That is to say that the Father sends us the Son to do His saving work in the power of the Holy Spirit.

In sum, the Feast of the Lord's Baptism reminds us that by our own baptism we commit ourselves to take active part in the mission of the Church to preach the Good News of God's kingdom in words and deeds. In other words, we witness our baptism when we live as true Christians in every situation of our practical life.... at home, in the work place, and in fact wherever we are in every part of our life's journey.

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


Ad Jesum per Mariam!