Gospel Reflection

November 21, 2012

Wednesday – Year of Faith

Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Memorial

by Rev.  Fr. Nilo Mangussad (Rector Our Lady of Peace Quasi-Parish)

Mass at Shrine of Mary, Queen of Peace (Our Lady of EDSA)

Reading 1 Rv 4:1-11

I, John, had a vision of an open door to heaven, and I heard the trumpetlike voice that had spoken to me before, saying, "Come up here and I will show you what must happen afterwards." At once I was caught up in spirit. A throne was there in heaven, and on the throne sat one whose appearance sparkled like jasper and carnelian. Around the throne was a halo as brilliant as an emerald. Surrounding the throne I saw twenty-four other thrones on which twenty-four elders sat, dressed in white garments and with gold crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. Seven flaming torches burned in front of the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. In front of the throne was something that resembled a sea of glass like crystal.

In the center and around the throne, there were four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back. The first creature resembled a lion, the second was like a calf, the third had a face like that of a man, and the fourth looked like an eagle in flight. The four living creatures, each of them with six wings, were covered with eyes inside and out. Day and night they do not stop exclaiming: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come." Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before the one who sits on the throne and worship him, who lives forever and ever. They throw down their crowns before the throne, exclaiming:

"Worthy are you, Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things; because of your will they came to be and were created."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 150:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6

R. (1b) Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!
Praise the LORD in his sanctuary,
praise him in the firmament of his strength.
Praise him for his mighty deeds,
praise him for his sovereign majesty.
R. Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!
Praise him with the blast of the trumpet,
praise him with lyre and harp,
Praise him with timbrel and dance,
praise him with strings and pipe.
R. Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!
Praise him with sounding cymbals,
praise him with clanging cymbals.
Let everything that has breath
praise the LORD! Alleluia.
R. Holy, holy, holy Lord, mighty God!

Gospel Lk 19:11-28

While people were listening to Jesus speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the Kingdom of God would appear there immediately. So he said, "A nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return. He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, 'Engage in trade with these until I return.' His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, 'We do not want this man to be our king.' But when he returned after obtaining the kingship, he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money, to learn what they had gained by trading. The first came forward and said, 'Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.' He replied, 'Well done, good servant! You have been faithful in this very small matter; take charge of ten cities.' Then the second came and reported, 'Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.' And to this servant too he said, 'You, take charge of five cities.' Then the other servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief, for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man; you take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.' He said to him, 'With your own words I shall condemn you, you wicked servant. You knew I was a demanding man, taking up what I did not lay down and harvesting what I did not plant; why did you not put my money in a bank? Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.' And to those standing by he said, 'Take the gold coin from him and give it to the servant who has ten.' But they said to him, 'Sir, he has ten gold coins.' He replied, 'I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them here and slay them before me.'" After he had said this, he proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem.

HOMILY

The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary tells us of the importance of the Blessed Virgin Mary herself. From her birth, to her childhood, to her adult life, God already showed how He handcrafted the very vessel of our Savior. Here, we have Mary being emulated, which we never see in the Bible, and a lot of our brothers contradict. But even if the Presentation was done during the 6th Century, we are being reminded today how much we love the Mother of our Savior and how important she is in our life.

Jesus in the Gospel also reminds us that it is not his Mother that is important, but it is God who is important. His relatives, His friends, depend not in blood lines, but in our faith. Thus, the family is not important, the friends are not important - GOD is more important. And Mary has done the same. To her, what is important is the will of God. That is the reason why she took care of the Son of Man. Because of her love for God, she made use of who she is, to serve God.

In our remembrance of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we are being reminded of our faith. Are we doing things because of our love for God, based on our faith, or do we just do things because we would like to emulate our accomplishments, and our love for God is only secondary? Brothers and sisters, if we adore Mary, we must love God first.

You may also want to see: A Holy Life - Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary