Cycle C - Year II:  

20 November 2016: Solemnity of Christ the King

(Liturgical color: White)

Gospel: Please read  Luke 23:35-43

King of the Universe!

This Sunday we end the liturgical year with the celebration of the Solemnity of Christ the King. This is fitting because our Lord Jesus is the Alpha and Omega of creation: He is the beginning and the end of human history and of the created world, and through Him "all things were created and by whom the world is being restored to the Father."

Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King on December 11,

1925 as a way for human beings to proclaim a truth about God that indeed He is the King of kings and Lord of all creation. Of course, it is a limited concept but it is the highest title human beings can use to refer to Jesus.

How do Filipinos relate to the celebration of Christ the King?  Since we are a democratic country, we have no experience of being under a king as a nation.

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Turning to the scriptural reading, we find it not much of help either, so it seems at first glance, in trying to understand Christ as King. Because the Gospel reading from St. Luke presents to us Jesus as He was dying on the cross. In other words, He sat not on a kingly throne but nailed on a wooden cross with a crown of thorns; he wore no royal robe but stripped to His loin clothes. How can He be a king in this way?

Also, our knowledge of kings is usually associated with power and authority. And in the real world, particularly our own experience with our political leaders, all too often what comes to mind when we talk of power and authority is dominion over the weak, and worst, associated with deception, corruption and exploitation.

Yet for Christians we know that it is not so with Jesus' kingship. For He is a King who exercises a totally different kind of power.

Let us reflect deeper on the Gospel passage to know about Jesus' brand of being a King.

Jesus is not a king in the usual, earthly sense that we are familiar with. He did not come to establish political or military power. He did not come to govern a country or raise an army. He Himself said so that He was not an earthly king: "My kingdom is not of this world." (Jn 18:36)

How do we uncover the real dimension of Christ's kingship? The Gospel account on Christ on the cross presents to us a glimpse into the mystery of our Lord's kingdom where His kingship is not through dominion but made of service by love. On the cross before His last breath, Jesus forgives and saves the repentant thief, Dimas, who asks for His forgiveness. Thus, Jesus is a King who welcomes to His kingdom all those who need most of His mercy.

But when our faith is shaken by what is happening to our nation lately, we ask whether Christ still reigns in our world today?

It is a challenging question but we find the answer in the very example of Dimas as he himself was dying on the cross. Even though his life on earth was about to end, Dimas realized in his waning moments that Christ's kingdom was not best understood by earthly standards. Rather, it is a kingdom that begins within, with a complete surrender in faith to the One ho truly saves, Jesus Christ Himself. In other words, it is a remarkable act of faith that Dimas recognized that Jesus has a kingdom and that He is King of that kingdom.

Perhaps, in the same context that Dimas pleads with Christ for forgiveness ad mercy in his most desperate hours, our Holy Mother Church wants to bring us to the cross of Christ's throne, as the liturgical year closes, where "God rules" over us and the whole world. So that as we begin a new season of hope and joy in the coming of Advent Season and Christmas, we keep the faith, in spite of our trials and suffering, and like Dimas we entrust ourselves completely to Christ, our King, who will set us free from bondage of sin and death in the resurrection to come. For our Lord Jesus Christ is a victorious King, who defeated the moral enemy of human existence -- sin, death and the  evil one.

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle C - Year II:

13 November 2016: Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical color: Green)

Gospel: Please read Luke 21:5-19

Looking forward with hope!

Do you know that the Catholic Church changes its liturgical calendar in November?

And as the liturgical season comes to a close, the Gospel readings deal with the last things... death, judgment, reward and punishment, or the end of the story of our salvation.

The Gospel account from St. Luke in this Sunday's liturgy takes a more apocalyptic tone. The narrative about the end of times --- with occurrence of natural disasters, stories of wars, insurrections, persecution of believers, division among families, and awesome sights in the sky --- all these tell us that the end of the would will be everything but a joyful event, so it seems.

And yet Christians should look forward to the end of times with anticipation and joy! Is that not a contradiction? Well, not really, because for Christians the end of times will mark the fulfillment of everything that we long for, that is our union with the Trinity and eternal glory in heaven. Those who believe look forward with hope in their hearts for the time in history when the just will receive their rewards and the evil one will be cast away and punished forever. However, Jesus also warns us that the realization of that beatific glory with God will be preceded by a period of tribulation, purification and suffering for His followers.

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks of the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem, and He used this prediction to warn us about the end of the present world or reality with the Lord's Second Coming.

Let us reflect on the deeper truths that this Sunday's liturgy wants to convey as our guide in Christian living, so that when the end comes we are ready for it.

The first truth is that our world as we experience it is destined to end someday. Well, it's not necessarily because the world is getting sinful, but because God has a bigger and better purpose for creation. From the beginning of time God has destined us for something much better than our present world, had our first parents did not sin. That is why whatever blessings we receive now in this world are just a prelude to greater blessings for us in the life to come, if we keep the faith. Thus, we look forward to the end of times as just a passage to a better reality.

The second truth: Jesus' kingdom will be brought to completion in His Second Coming. In the first time that our Lord Jesus came it was in simplicity and humility as He chose to be born in a manger. Because Jesus does not want to force His kingship upon anyone. Instead He wants that it be our personal choice to accept or reject Him as He comes like us in all things but sin.

But it will be a different story in the Second Coming. At that time there won't be any doubt as to who is the King of kings and Lord of lords. In other words, no one will wonder or question about the identity of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The third truth: Jesus will render final judgment at the end of time. He will gather the people of every time and place for judgment day. He will call to Him those judged worthy of heaven. It will be a great and glorious day for His faithful followers. And the joy, peace and union with God will be beyond our wildest imagination. But it will be the opposite for those who refuse to believe in God until the very last moment and reject His offer of mercy, love and new life.

In sum, the apocalyptic nature of the Gospel reading presents us with the sobering fact that not only is there life beyond the present existence, but that suffering is a necessary component of reaching our final destiny. Christ Himself had suffered before His glorious Resurrection.

The parting words of our Lord in this Sunday's Gospel reading are encouraging and inspiring. He assures us that in spite of sufferings and trials for His sake, "... not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives." (Lk 21:18-19)

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!

Cycle C - Year II:  

6 November 2016: Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical color: Green)

Gospel: Please read  Luke  20:27-38

A Life that is heavenbound!

Is your life earthbound or heavenbound? Does everything end on earth, or do we look forward to an afterlife? Sometimes, it is hard to recognize spiritual realities because we try to picture heaven like an earthly image.

Just few days ago the Christian world celebrated two important solemnities: All Saints Day on November 1 in honor of all the saints, known and unknown; and the Feast of All Souls Day on November 2, to pay respect and remember the souls of those who died ahead of us. Celebrating the feasts of the saints and departed souls is based in our belief that life on earth does not end in death but it is only changed.

Belief in heaven, and in the afterlife, is the message of this Sunday's liturgy. In the Gospel Jesus offers us a vision about the beauty of eternity.

St. Luke narrates an encounter between our Lord Jesus Christ and the Sadducees. The latter did not believe in the resurrection of the dead nor in afterlife. Their religion was based on an earthly image of heaven, based on their own experience of this world and what they see with their naked eyes.

The encounter was really to test Jesus with a question on marriage in

order to make His teaching in the resurrection look ridiculous. They pose a hypothetical question to Jesus purposely to trap Him: A woman who was a widow of seven brothers who died one after another but left her childless. "Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?", they asked Jesus.

But Jesus told the Sadducees that eternity and this present life are very different. Marriage is for this earthly life and doesn't continue into the next life. In the resurrection, there is no marrying or being given in marriage. For God will be all in all.

In other words, in the next life our relationship is not with man or woman, or even with each other, but only with God Himself. Heaven is ultimately about seeing God, and we call this the "beatific vision". The beatific vision is more than simply "seeing" God. We will actually possess Him and He possesses us.  Thus, the beatific vision is about a complete and total union with God.

Now this does not mean that we will not see each other again in heaven. We will, and in heaven we will also enjoy the companionship of Mary and the all the saints and the angels, including our family members and friends who preceded us into that kingdom. Husbands and wives who have faithfully loved and served one another will be united with each other once again, and it will be a more perfect communion of life and love.

Our Lord Jesus Christ and His victory over death when He rose from the tomb is really the ultimate proof of our resurrection.  So Jesus asks us today, "Do you believe in the resurrection?"

In sum, today's liturgy invites us to reflect on death and the afterlife.

For non-believers, there is no afterlife. Death is the end of everything. No matter how wealthy or healthy you are, or how powerful, how famous, how many friends you have, when death comes, it becomes a disaster! Because everything is wiped away! We will fall into nothingness. So then enjoy as much pleasure as you can each day while you are still alive. For there is no tomorrow after death.

But for Christians, death is just a passage, a transition to a more perfect life, a life with God Himself. Because we are destined for eternal joy in the loving presence of the Creator. It has to be different from this life we experience now, so much better indeed. It is what we are originally created for from the beginning of time, until Adam and Eve sinned. 

The Good News is that at the end of the age, Jesus will redeem the whole of creation and everything will be good as it was from the very beginning. But we must watch out that in our earthly journey we follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ in order to be able to enter into the heavenly kingdom of the Father, and thus not fall into the pit of hell.

Let me end my reflection with my favorite mantra in philosophy: "The unknown of the known makes me tremble. But the known of the unknown gives me hope." My theology professor puts it differently but the same message, "The not yet of the already makes me tremble. But the already of the not yet gives me hope."

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

Ad Jesum per Mariam!