Cycle C - Year I:

25 August 2013: 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical color: Green)

Luke 13:22-30

"Strive to enter through the narrow gate!" 

The last FIBA Asian Basketball Championship was a triumph of the Filipino spirit. The nation was ecstatic when our national team finally earned a ticket to the World Basketball Series in Spain next year, after more than three decades of unsuccessful campaign. It was not an easy task though against the taller and better trained competitors from other Asian countries. In a way, our national basketball team passed through the proverbial eye of a needle in winning second place in the Asian FIBA series.

Today in the Gospel, our Lord is telling us that the path to the heavenly Kingdom is also full of challenges and hardships, echoing the "eye of the needle" thing as well. It means knowing the Lord and the gospel is not enough.

As He makes his way to Jerusalem, Jesus is asked, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" Jesus' reply is rather startling. He says that although many will attempt to enter heaven through the narrow gate, but will not be strong enough.

Let us start our reflection from where we are coming from. The road of the life of this world is wide, and many follow it because it is like a river of desires and pleasures. On the other hand, the road to heaven is narrow and difficult to follow because it demands following the gospel in words and actions. It is so easy to stray from it because of the so many distractions of the world.

We often forget that salvation is realized according to God's terms and not merely our own interpretation of God's terms to be. In other words, just because you may claim to love God, it doesn't necessarily mean that you love Him as He desires or expects to be loved. Thus, the gospel passage reminds us not to presume  that all who claim friendship with God are in fact and in truth his friends.

In practical life, the pursuit of the kingdom of Heaven demands hard work, obedience and perseverance. Many start the walk on the road to salvation but few stay on it or persevere in the journey. It is because the evil one is constantly setting obstacles in the path of holiness. We need to pray constantly for our faith, hope and love of God  to be stronger, and atone for our sins by practicing Christian charity.

Jesus reminds us, "if you love me, keep my commandments!" And He means all his commandments expressed in the official teachings of the Catholic church. This is not going to be easy for many Christians because it requires humility. For it is the humble soul who is disposed to listening and obeying God in all things, loving Him on God's terms.

In Holy Mass this Sunday, let us pray for humility to see that God's kingdom is a gift which we have to accept with joy and gratitude, so that it may bear fruits in our daily lives.
A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle C - Year I:

18 August 2013: 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical color: Green)

Luke 12:49-53

Walking the difficult path!

We are more than half past the year 2013, and soon the "ber" months (September, October, November, December) will come. In the Philippines, the advent of the "ber" months starts our preparation for the Christmas season.

Christmas celebrates the coming of Jesus Christ into our world to assume our human nature and become like us in all but sin. It is the joyous of all seasons in the Christian world as the angels greet the birth of Jesus "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will!" Indeed the Holy Child born is called the "Prince of Peace". For Jesus reconciles  sinners with God. He unites fallen man with God once more.

In the Gospel narrative this Sunday, we hear our Lord say something that is rather startling and perhaps disturbing. Jesus asks, "Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. (Lk 12:51)

So now we also ask, if Jesus is the "Prince of Peace" then how come that he now says to his disciples that he comes to bring division?

Well, Jesus is talking about the impact of his teachings on relationships.

In a world that seems to be consumed with materialism and things pleasurable here and now, to be a follower of Jesus Christ is like walking the difficult path. So that preaching the Good News is met with great resistance,  and sometimes ridicule. It seems that being a disciple of Jesus Christ means sacrificing a big deal in terms of our relationships with others and among ourselves.

For example, the government pushing for the RH law and the Catholic Church strong opposition to it caused a deep division among the nation. Yet, it is the moral obligation for the Church to oppose something that is against the will of God for us, even if it may create division.

Even in our respective lives, we encounter instances that challenge our Catholic values. We must not be afraid to oppose them even if this may create division and enmity. Because we believe that God always takes the side of those who are pushing for what is good, what is moral and righteous.

We know that the very essence of Christianity is loyalty to Jesus Christ, our Lord, a kind of loyalty that takes precedence over every other relationships. Jesus insists that his disciples give him the loyalty which is only due to God, a loyalty which is higher than spouse or kin. Our love for God compels us to choose who will be first in our lives.

As Christians we believe that the same Jesus Christ who warns us that he will be a source of division also offers a great reassurance to those who seek to follow Him faithfully: "Everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life." (Mt 19:29)

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

Deo Optimo Maximo!

Cycle C - Year I:

11 August 2013: 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical color: Green)

Luke 12:32-48

Stay vigilant!

A mantra says, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life!" But what if today is actually the last day, and that there is no more tomorrow? How would you spend your last day?

How we deal with the last day spells the difference between believers and non-believers. For the latter, there is nothing more after this life. So enjoy and be merry till the end. But for believers, we know that life is not ended; it is only changed.

Whether believers or non-believers the surest thing that will happen is the "end time". Everyone and everything will come to pass some day. For the living, "death" is our experience of the end time. For human beings in particular, it may come at any time, at any age, anywhere. Sometimes, people may know that death is imminent and can actually prepare for it, like those with terminal illness. Others are put off just with the thought of dying soon, and may rebel against anybody, against the world, and even against God. They are in denial mode and refuse to prepare for death. The vast majority of us have no idea or don't get any advance warning of the end time. It can come like a thief in the night, at an hour we don't expect, and thus catches us unprepared.

The sad thing is that we are a society of procrastinators. Whether we just don't want to face difficult challenges in life, or we are afraid to fail, and so we have the tendency to say, "I'll do it later."

Today's Gospel reminds us that of all that we are given in knowledge, we do not know when we will be called to account for our lives. The theme of readiness for the second coming of the Lord is to be found towards the end of the Gospel story from Saint Luke.

So the message of the parable in the Gospel reading is that disciple-servant must be ready for the return of the master, who will come and knock at the door.

We don't know when the Master will come and take us to the heavenly banquet of eternal union with God. Will we be ready? We will not be ready if we are more interested in feeding our worldly desires. So Jesus warns us not to waste time being lazy about purging our lives of earthly treasures.

In practical life, how do we prepare for the end time? In other words, since we do not know when death will come, what should we do?

Jesus says that we must stand ready at all times. We don't wait for God to tell us when or where we will die, because He will not tell us. Instead, we must live a life of vigilant faith, putting things right today, here and now. There is nothing more urgent today than to cleanse our heart and pray for God's forgiveness. Then we need not worry when the call to final judgment comes.

Because for the good Christian, death will be like our graduation day, and not an examination day.

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

Deo Optimo Maximo!

Cycle C - Year I:

4 August 2013: 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical color: Green)

Luke 12:13-21

Seek the treasures in heaven!

Hot in the international news lately, England and the rest of the world rejoice as the first born of Prince William and his wife, Kate, arrived in our world. Even before the royal child is given a name, the media speculates on the child's inheritance as the third in waiting to the royal throne. Such a privileged royal child!

Believe also that for Christians every child born is a "royal" child as well. For we are all sons and daughters of the ultimate and divine King, God Himself. From the beginning of time we are all destined to inherit the eternal kingdom that is heaven. The good news is that we are co-heirs to God's heavenly throne, and there is no line of succession.

We hear today an episode in the life of Jesus, from the gospel account of Saint Luke,  that deals with inheritance and material possessions.

A man from the crowd asks Jesus to intervene with a dispute on inheritance with his own brother. Jesus refuses to get involved in the family dispute, and instead teaches the man:"Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions."

This part of the good news that says, "One's life does not consist of possessions" is a real challenge and becomes harder and harder even for Christians to embrace in our materialistic world.

To better explain his message, Jesus tells a parable about a rich man. He is a successful businessman who decides to build larger barns to store his plentiful harvests of grains and other goods. He thinks that in this way he can secure his future. But God says to him, "You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you." Jesus concludes his parable, "Thus will it be for all who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God."

While we need to work hard to provide for our basic needs, we must avoid greed in all its forms, that is to say, fight the temptation to keep seeking more and more of the world's treasures at the expense of becoming rich in what matters to God.

So then, what matters to God? Here are some suggestions for reflection:

God wants us to be rich in humility. Because He wants us to come humbly before Him, recognizing that we are sinners in need of His mercy, and like children in need of His generous, fatherly care. He wants us to recognize the very source or author of everything and stand before Him with gratitude and humility;

To be rich in God's eyes is to be full of love, which leads us to care for our neighbor regardless of how they treat us;

We constantly strive to become persons of deep prayer. Indeed, our greatest treasure in heaven is the Lord Himself. And our union with Him begins here on earth and is perfected in heaven.

In sum, Jesus himself taught us by word and example that desiring and doing the will of the Father must be the hallmark of every Christian. Because we store up riches in heaven by dedicating our life at every moment, day in and day out, to discerning and accepting the grace to be truthful to the Father's plan. This includes a willingness even to suffer out of love for the Father and for neighbors that God places along our journey in this life.

In practical life, we realize that ready or not someday everything will come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. And all the things we have collected, whether treasures or baubles, will pass to someone else. There will be no tomorrows.

Today's parable of the rich fool serves as our warning to seek the treasures in heaven, rather than store up materials things that are temporary and can slip out of our hands any time.

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

Deo Optimo Maximo!