Cycle B - Year I:  

25 January 2015: Third Sunday in Ordinary Time 

(Liturgical color: Green)

Mark 1:14-20

The Kingdom of God is at hand!

After a series of solemnities or special feasts, and the spiritual grace of the pastoral visit of Pope Francis to our beloved country, life goes back to normal. And this Sunday we resume the liturgical season called Ordinary Time, and it is the Third in Ordinary Time.

Ordinary Time, in the Catholic liturgical calendar, is that part in the yearly cycle of 33 or 34 weeks in which there is no particular aspect of the mystery of Christ being 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. 

The Gospel written by St. Mark narrates the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, when John the Baptist had been arrested and imprisoned. Jesus came to Galilee, his home district, to proclaim the gospel of God.

Jesus takes off from John's preaching on repentance: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel." (Mk 1:15)

Repentance requires a life-change and a transformation of heart and mind. By repentance Jesus challenges us to change direction and priorities in life. It is not just turning away from our old sinful ways but more on turning to a new life by believing in the good news of the gospel. It is through repentance that the human person finds true liberation -- freedom from the wages of sin and the discovery of authentically integrated life in Christ.

To believe is to take Jesus at His words as He proclaims the good news of God's kingdom, to believe that God loves us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to redeem us from the slavery of sin and death, to believe is to trust that God never abandons even in time of adversities. In the words of Pope Francis, Jesus is with us even in suffering and trials. Because the Lord brings us through sufferings to purify us.

What is the Good News that Jesus is preaching? It is the good news of peace (meaning, restoration of our relationship with God), of hope in the resurrection and heaven, of truth (because God's word is true and reliable), of promise or rewards for those who seek Him, of immortality (because God gives everlasting life), and the good news of salvation, which actually means liberty from sin and freedom to live as sons and daughters of the Father.

The second part of the Sunday gospel narrates how Jesus calls his first recruits as

apostles. They were ordinary fishermen in the Sea of Galilee casting their nets into the sea: Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, and two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee and his brother, John. He called them to follow Him and they immediately left their boat and their father and followed Jesus. We cannot fail to notice the significance of Jesus' call for His first apostles. Our Lord recruited two sets of brothers to be His followers. It means that the seed of every vocation is really in the family. Love and protection of the family is also among the central theme of Pope Francis' message to the Filipino faithful.

By our own baptism, we too are called to continue the mission that Jesus began in Galilee. Through our authentic Christian living we proclaim the Good News in our time and become witnesses of God's love, especially for the poor and the suffering people in our midst. That is the challenge of the people's Pope Francis: mercy and compassion for the poor in our society.

The Church also celebrates National Bible Sunday with the theme: "Sharing the Word, Empowering the Poor, Transforming the Land." We are invited to deepen our faith through God's Word. Let us keep the habit of daily reading and reflecting on the Word of God in the bible under the faithful guidance of our Mother Church.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam! 

Cycle B - Year I:   

18 January 2015: Feast of the Sto. Niño 

(Liturgical color: White)

Mark 10:13-16

The Sto. Niño: the human face of God!

In the village where we live, it is an inspiring sight to see little children rush to the altar of our community chapel just after our community Mass in order to kiss the hand of the priest-presider. The priest touches the children and bless them. Kissing the hand of priests and other elders is a tradition that is deeply ingrained in our Filipino culture.

The scenario of children rushing to the priest is reminiscent of Jesus' encounter with children in this Sunday's Gospel. The evangelist Mark wrote

that people were bringing the children to Jesus so that He may lay His hands upon them. They knew of the healing power which came from Jesus' touch. But Jesus' disciples prevented them. So Jesus rebuked his disciples for hindering the children from coming to Him.

The Church celebrates this Sunday the Feast of the Sto. Niño, who is the human face of God as a little Child. Filipinos revere the image of the Holy Child or the Sto. Niño 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. Niño on third Sunday of January, which falls on the 18th this year 2015.

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. Jesus Himself loves the little children as today's Gospel narrates. He sees in their eyes the reflection of the freshness and holiness of God's kingdom.

Do we show kindness to the youth we encounter in the neighborhood, home, and Church? Do we pray for them that they may grow in the knowledge and wisdom of our Lord Jesus Christ?

Going back to the Gospel incident, perhaps the disciples just wanted to shield Jesus from the nuisance of noisy children. But Jesus delighted in the children, and he wanted to demonstrate by his actions of welcoming the children instead that God's love has ample room for everyone. Because no one is unimportant to God. He comes to each person individually that He might touch them with his healing love and power.

Our devotion to the Holy Child should not stop at his infancy. We are also reminded that the Holy Child grew up to be Jesus of Nazareth who inaugurates the kingdom of God by his preaching, healing and mission work. So too our devotion to the Sto. Niño 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. Niño must bear good fruits in practical life.

This Sunday is also the Feast Day of our village since our Patron is the Sto. Niño. We started our celebration with a nightly nine-day novena in our community chapel from January 9 to 17. On the Feast Day this Sunday, our celebration starts with a procession of the Sto. Niño around the village and Thanksgiving Mass in our chapel at 8:30 in the morning.

We join our prayers with those celebrating Holy Mass with Pope Francis and other bishops and priests on this Sunday at the Luneta Park. May the Feast of the Sto. Niño inspire us all to have a special love for the "little ones" in our midst: the poor, the defenseless, the persecuted, and those who rely only on God for their support.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam! 

Cycle B - Year I:   

11 January 2015: Feast of the Lord's  Baptism 

(Liturgical color: White)

Mark 1:7-11

The Lord's Baptism: the beginning of his mission!

We celebrate this Sunday the Feast of the Lord's Baptism. Some Church people say that actually today officially closes the Christmas season.

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

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

In the Gospel narrative Jesus goes to be baptized by John the Baptist at the

river Jordan. The evangelist Mark wrote: "On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, 'You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.'" (Mk 1:10-11)

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 chose to be baptized by John the Baptist?"

We found the answer to that 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, Son, and 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 baptism of Jesus marks the beginning 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.

So 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. 

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, our baptism is made alive in us when we live as true Christians at home, in the work place, and in fact wherever we are.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!