Saturday, November 17, 2012

Gospel Reflection



November 17, 2012
Saturday – Weekday – Year of Faith
Memorial Saint Elizabeth of Hungary – Religious
by Rev. Fr. Paul Marquez (St. Paul Church and Seminary, Bagtikan Street, Makati)
Lunch Mass at Sto. Nino de Paz Chapel, Greenbelt, Makati


Reading 1 3 Jn 5-8

Beloved, you are faithful in all you do for the brothers and sisters, especially for strangers; they have testified to your love before the Church. Please help them in a way worthy of God to continue their journey. For they have set out for the sake of the Name and are accepting nothing from the pagans. Therefore, we ought to support such persons, so that we may be co-workers in the truth.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 112:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R. Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
R. Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Wealth and riches shall be in his house;
his generosity shall endure forever.
Light shines through the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
R. Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice;
He shall never be moved;
the just one shall be in everlasting remembrance.
R. Blessed the man who fears the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel Lk 18:1-8

Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said, "There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, 'Render a just decision for me against my adversary.' For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, 'While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.'" The Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"


HOMILY

Ang mga balo, mga bata, at mga dayuhan ay tinatawag pong mga kawawa sa panahon ni Hesus. Kaya po napakahigpit ng bilin sa kanila, na kailangan silang tulungan. Napakinggan po natin sa Unang Pagbasa 'yong liham ni San Juan kay Gaius. Si Gaius po ay tumutulong sa mga misyonero. Ang mga misyonero ay itinuturing na isa rin sa mga dukha ng Panginoon. Nabalitaan ito ni St. John kaya ine-encourage niya si Gaius sa pagtulong. Sabi ni St. John, mabuting bagay 'yan kaya't ituloy mo ang iyong magandang sinimulan. Kasi kawawa ang mga misyonero na yan sapagkat lumalapit sila sa mga pagano na hindi naman naniniwala sa Diyos. Natural na hindi naman magbibigay ng tulong ang mga 'yon. Kaya't walang ibang aasahan ang mga misyonero kundi tayong mga naniniwala sa Diyos.

Sa Ebanghelyo naman po ay napakinggan natin ang kwento ng isang kaawa-awang biyuda. Hindi po nabanggit kung mayroon siyang mga anak. Ang mga biyuda ay parang nagiging basahan, oras na yumao na ang kanilang mga asawa. Mayroon din hong isang biyuda ngayon sa ating pagdiriwang - si St. Elizabeth of Hungary. Siya ay asawa po ng haring si King Louis VI. Mayroon silang tatlong anak. Ngunit nabiyuda si St. Elizabeth at nang siya ay nabiyuda, ginugol niya ang kanyang buhay sa pagtulong sa mga mahihirap at mga may sakit. Kaya nga siya itinuturing na patrona ng Catholic mission. Siya rin ho ay naging mentor ng Third Order ng mga Franciscano kaya't patron saint din siya ng Franciscan Third Order. Bagamat may kaya siya sa buhay, binitiwan ni St. Elizabeth ang lahat ng kanyang karapatan sa kanyang kayamanan at pinamahagi niya sa mga dukha.

'Yon hong ating biyuda sa Ebanghelyo ay napakalaki ng problema. Kinakailangan po niya ng hustisya kaya't pabalik-balik siya sa hukom. At ang sabi ng hukom, siya ay hindi natatakot sa Diyos kaya't wala din siyang kinakatakutang tao. Ngunit dahil sa sobrang pangungulit ng biyuda, ibinigay din ng hukom ang hustisya na nararapat para sa biyuda. Kaya sinasabi sa Ebanghelyo na kung ang hukom na ito na walang paniniwala sa Diyos ay kayang ibigay ang isang bagay na mabuti, ang Diyos pa kaya? Ang Diyos na siyang pinakamalaking biyaya natin at pinagmumulan ng lahat ng biyaya natin sa buhay?

Ipinapahayag po sa Ebanghelyo natin ngayon ang ating pangangailangan sa pagdarasal. Kinakailangan nating patuloy na magdasal at huwag manghinawa sa pagdarasal. Alam nyo po noong kami ay nasa seminaryo, may mga panahong napakahirap magdasal lalo na kung wala kang gana. Lalo na pag inaantok ka. Naalala ko po noong ako ay nasa seminaryo pa, sa amin pong Holy Hour isang oras po yon pag gabi, ako ho ay nakaupo sa pew. Ako po ay lumuhod, at pagluhod ko, ako ay napapikit at di ko namalayan na ako pala ay naghihilik na sa harap ng Blessed Sacrament. (laughs) Kamukat-mukat po ay bigla po akong sumalampak sa silya at nagkagulo po ang mga kasama ko, ako ay binuhat. Ang sumunod ko pong natatandaan ay nakaka-amoy na ako ng parang ammonia. 'Yon po pala ay sobra ang antok ko. Kasi nga po pag estudiyante kayo, kadalasan ay napupuyat kayo sa pagbabasa, sa pagre-review.

Ngunit ngayon ko ho na-realize ang kahalagahan ng schedule o structure sa seminaryo. Kung gusto ho talaga nating magkaroon ng habit sa pagdarasal, kinakailangan talagang tutukan natin ang ating sarili. Kailangan talagang may pagsisimulang mangyari. Ngayong ako po ay pari na, napakahirap pong mag-survive kundi tayo magdarasal. Minsan dumarating 'yong pagkakataon na iniisip ko, tutal naman kagagaling ko lang sa misa sa Greenbelt, bakit pa ako magdarasal mamayang gabi? Di ba the mass is the highest form of prayer? Minsan pwede tayong mamilosopo. Pero alam ninyo, hindi ho sapat 'yon. Kailangan din tayong humarap sa Diyos, at manahimik, kung saan hindi na tayo ang magsasalita kundi ang Diyos, at wala tayong gagawin kundi makinig.
 
 
Ako po ay natutuwa kapag nakikita ko kayong nagsisimba. Apektado din po ng pananampalataya ninyo ang pananampalataya ko, lalo na kung nakikita ko kayong nagdarasal, kahit tapos na ang misa, at tahimik na nakikinig sa Diyos o naghahanda upang humingi ng tawad sa Diyos. Huwag ninyong isipin na ang pagpasyal pasyal ninyo dito sa chapel ay walang halaga. Napakalaki ho niyan, sigurado ho hindi lamang po para sa akin kundi para sa ating lahat na naririto. Tayong lahat ay nagtutulungan na tumibay at lumago sa ating pananampalataya.

'Yon nga po ang sabi ni St. John kay Gaius. Ang pananampalataya ay talagang hindi dapat sa iyo lang. Matuto kang mag-misyon at tumulong sa mga lumalapit sa iyo. Ating pagtibayin at palakasin ang pananampalataya ng bawat isa. Ipagpatuloy po natin ang magandang gawaing ito at hilingin po natin sa Panginoon na sana'y patuloy tayong maging matatag sa paglapit at pakikinig sa kanya, Amen. 


Saint Elizabeth – Pray for us

You may also want to see: A Holy Life - Saint Elizabeth of Hungary

A Holy Life



Saint Elizabeth of Hungary
Religious, Widow (1207-1231)
Patron Saint of the homeless
Feast day – November 17

In her short life Elizabeth manifested such great love for the poor and suffering that she has become the patroness of Catholic charities and of the Secular Franciscan Order.

 

The daughter of the King of Hungary, Elizabeth chose a life of penance and asceticism when a life of leisure and luxury could easily have been hers. This choice endeared her in the hearts of the common people throughout Europe. At the age of 14 Elizabeth was married to Louis of Thuringia (a German principality), whom she deeply loved; she bore three children. Under the spiritual direction of a Franciscan friar, she led a life of prayer, sacrifice and service to the poor and sick. Seeking to become one with the poor, she wore simple clothing.

 

Daily she would take bread to hundreds of the poorest in the land, who came to her gate. After six years of marriage, her husband died in the Crusades, and she was grief-stricken. Her husband’s family looked upon her as squandering the royal purse, and mistreated her, finally throwing her out of the palace. The return of her husband’s allies from the Crusades resulted in her being reinstated, since her son was legal heir to the throne. In 1228 Elizabeth joined the Secular Franciscan Order, spending the remaining few years of her life caring for the poor in a hospital which she founded in honour of St. Francis. Elizabeth’s health declined, and she died before her 24th birthday in 1231. Her great popularity resulted in her canonization four years later.

Elizabeth understood well the lesson Jesus taught when he washed his disciples' feet at the Last Supper: The Christian must be one who serves the humblest needs of others, even if one serves from an exalted position. Of royal blood, Elizabeth could have lorded it over her subjects. Yet she served them with such a loving heart that her brief life won for her a special place in the hearts of many. Elizabeth is also an example to us in her following the guidance of a spiritual director. Growth in the spiritual life is a difficult process. We can play games very easily if we don't have someone to challenge us or to share experiences so as to help us avoid pitfalls.

"Today, there is an inescapable duty to make ourselves the neighbour of every individual, without exception, and to take positive steps to help a neighbour whom we encounter, whether that neighbour be an elderly person, abandoned by everyone, a foreign worker who suffers the injustice of being despised, a refugee, an illegitimate child wrongly suffering for a sin of which the child is innocent, or a starving human being who awakens our conscience by calling to mind the words of Christ: 'As long as you did it for one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it for me' (Matthew 25:40)".

 

Sources for this article were taken from:  AmericanCatholic.org

 



Prayer

Oh Lord,
Grant that your blessed daughter Saint Elizabeth comes to this man/women in their hour of bereavement,
St Elizabeth help us to lighten their burden so that they may know their loved one has gone to the life eternal in the sight of the Lord Our God,Show them that until such time as they meet again, love remains here for them on earth.
In Jesus Name.

Amen.

Saint Elizabeth – Pray for us



Prayer for the Homeless

Dear God,
There is no place like home.
Home is where the heart is. Lose heart... and lose home.
We feel the truth of these words, for home and heart are bound together.
The state of one reflects the state of the other.
For who has not lost his home without feeling like the heart has been cut out of him? And whose heart has not healed faster by being in the right home?
So help me with this prayer.
For I bring to you a brother in need.
He is beloved, Divine and has talents within him to express and share.
But he does not know this.
He lives on the street and eats out of garbage cans.
For living this wretched life, I have blamed and mocked him.
I do not know his name, but call him Homeless.
I do not know what has injured him.
In fact, I do not know him at all.
I have only seen him—sleeping in doorways, wandering aimlessly—staring up at me with hollow eyes.
He barely survives, yet his legacy, as Your Child, is to thrive.
My blaming cannot stir him from his pain, but only increase it.
So I release all blame now and call for compassion to fill me.
Fill me with Your unstoppable energy, Lord.
Fill me with energy that transforms.
Fill me with the desire to pray for him and never lose sight of his Divinity—or mine.
As I pray, positive change occurs in him and in me, for You work miracles everywhere.
I am so grateful that I have a home; that I have a place in which to eat, bathe, rest and love.
I cannot imagine the chaos of living without one.
Therefore, Lord, I declare You intervene on behalf of this beloved.
You fill this one, who is so dear to You and has so many faces—male, female, old and young—with the knowledge of Your most intimate love.
For this is Your Vision: that each of us know our own worth and be nourished.
You enter the hearts, minds and bodies of my brothers and sisters, and awaken within them knowledge of their holiness and gifts.
You call them—and me—to The Work You have laid out for us.
I am filled with Your compassion, O God—so that you are able to use me for the betterment of all.
I commit to Your Holy Vision for the world—and I am lifted
As I am lifted—all humanity is lifted, for macrocosm mirrors microcosm.
Together we rise into attractor fields of nourishment where each of us has a home in which our hearts and bodies find comfort.
Thank You for Your Love, which breaks all boundaries and moves Heaven and Earth for us so that no one is known by the name "homeless."
And so it is.

Amen.