Gospel Reflection

August 06, 2013

Tuesday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

by Rev. Fr. Benjamin “Benjo” Fajota - Vice Rector, Mary, Queen of Peace Shrine (Our Lady of Peace Quasi Parish/EDSA Shrine) 5:30PM Mass at EDSA Shrine

Reading 1 Dn 7:9-10, 13-14

As I watched:

Thrones were set up and the Ancient One took his throne. His clothing was bright as snow, and the hair on his head as white as wool; his throne was flames of fire, with wheels of burning fire. A surging stream of fire flowed out from where he sat; Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him, and myriads upon myriads attended him. The court was convened and the books were opened.

As the visions during the night continued, I saw:

One like a Son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before him, The one like a Son of man received dominion, glory, and kingship; all peoples, nations, and languages serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed.

 

Responsorial Psalm PS 97:1-2, 5-6, 9

R. (1a and 9a) The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many islands be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.
Because you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth,
exalted far above all gods.
R. The Lord is king, the Most High over all the earth.

 

Reading 2 2 Pt 1:16-19

Beloved: We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that unique declaration came to him from the majestic glory, “This is my Son, my beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven while we were with him on the holy mountain. Moreover, we possess the prophetic message that is altogether reliable. You will do well to be attentive to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

 

Gospel Lk 9:28b-36

Jesus took Peter, John, and James  and went up a mountain to pray. While he was praying his face changed in appearance  and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,  who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus  that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep,  but becoming fully awake,  they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus,  “Master, it is good that we are here; let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But he did not know what he was saying. While he was still speaking,  a cloud came and cast a shadow over them, and they became frightened when they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.” After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. They fell silent and did not at that time  tell anyone what they had seen.

HOMILY

A woman entered an abortion clinic in the U.S., and after the ultrasound, she was shown on the monitor, the figure or the outline of her baby boy. The doctor said that 75% of women who see the ultrasound form of their babies would keep their babies, while 25% would not. The doctor, then, felt that the mother would be part of the 25% because she kept on saying, "I'm not prepared for this. We have not planned for this baby." Then, the assistant told the mother, "Why don't you touch his hand?" The mother moved her hands toward the screen and by a stroke of divine view, the baby in the monitor moved his hands and touched the tip of her mother's finger. The mother kept her baby.

At that particular time, the mother saw the glory of an ordinary person, in the image and likeness of God. A lot of times, we cannot see beyond the ordinariness of people. We only see people as they are. We judge them, condemn them, treat them with contempt. But we, who have been created in the image and likeness of God, share in the divine glory that we seldom see.

The Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that we must go beyond the ordinariness of things. This is because of our crisis of faith, when we say that we love God, but we do not love our neighbor. Anyone can say that he professes his belief in God, yet his neighbors see that he is lying. This is why during the Eucharist, when the priest raises the ordinariness of the bread, we must see beyond that. We must see the glory of God prefigured in that ordinary bread - the glory of God that we receive, each time that we receive the Eucharist. By doing so, by practicing and accepting God's truth, we can also accept our brothers and sisters in the ordinariness of their lives. Amen.

Gospel Reflection

August 05, 2013

Monday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

by Rev. Fr. Richard James Babao
Vice Minister, Archdiocesan Ministry on Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs & Assistant Priest, Ina ng Laging Saklolo Parish, Punta, Sta. Ana, Manila
12:15PM Mass at the Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord (Megamall Chapel)

Reading 1 Nm 11:4b-15

The children of Israel lamented, “Would that we had meat for food! We remember the fish we used to eat without cost in Egypt, and the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now we are famished; we see nothing before us but this manna.”

Manna was like coriander seed and had the color of resin. When they had gone about and gathered it up, the people would grind it between millstones or pound it in a mortar, then cook it in a pot and make it into loaves, which tasted like cakes made with oil. At night, when the dew fell upon the camp, the manna also fell.

When Moses heard the people, family after family, crying at the entrance of their tents, so that the LORD became very angry, he was grieved. “Why do you treat your servant so badly?” Moses asked the LORD. “Why are you so displeased with me that you burden me with all this people? Was it I who conceived all this people?  Or was it I who gave them birth, that you tell me to carry them at my bosom, like a foster father carrying an infant, to the land you have promised under oath to their fathers? Where can I get meat to give to all this people? For they are crying to me, ‘Give us meat for our food.’ I cannot carry all this people by myself, for they are too heavy for me. If this is the way you will deal with me, then please do me the favor of killing me at once, so that I need no longer face this distress.”

 

Responsorial Psalm PS 81:12-13, 14-15, 16-17

R. (2a) Sing with joy to God our help.
“My people heard not my voice,
and Israel obeyed me not;
So I gave them up to the hardness of their hearts;
they walked according to their own counsels.”
R. Sing with joy to God our help.
“If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
Quickly would I humble their enemies;
against their foes I would turn my hand.”
R. Sing with joy to God our help.
“Those who hated the LORD would seek to flatter me,
but their fate would endure forever,
While Israel I would feed with the best of wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would fill them.”
R. Sing with joy to God our help.

 

Gospel Mt 14:13-21

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over– twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

HOMILY

It is easy to understand the concern of the disciples of Jesus. They had concern with the people. But I think what they lack, as Jesus was telling them, is that, when people come to us for help, sometimes it is easy for us to refer them to others. If people seek our help, sometimes we refer them to foundations, to other groups who are willing to help. And it is easier that way.

But Jesus, in the Gospel, is saying that sometimes, we have to utilize whatever resources we have first, before we push others away and let them go to other people. The disciples in the Gospel, have been with Jesus, but they may have forgotten what they learned from Jesus when they were together. Sometimes, if we just look at our own resources, we see how little they are. But if we look at the vastness, the goodness of the graces of God, we will know that is far beyond we can ever imagine.

If yesterday's Gospel talked about material possessions, greed and selfishness, today, God is asking us to look at how generous God is, with us. If only we have the eyes and try to see. If only we see what is with us, and not what is lacking, then we will see the gifts and blessings of the Lord. If only the Israelites realized their blessings, with the manna that the Lord gave them. Perhaps, if they were Filipinos, somehow they will manage to be thankful, that at least, they have something to eat.  

My dear brothers and sisters, if we make the blessings of the Lord work in our lives, it is easier to be generous to people. It is easier to see how our blessings can make the lives of others better. Amen.

Gospel Reflection

August 04, 2013

Sunday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

by Rev. Fr. Jose "Jo" Vidamor B. Yu, LRMS (Rector, Lorenzo Mission Institute)
6:00PM Sunday Anticipated Mass, Sto. Nino de Paz Chapel (Greenbelt Chapel), Makati

Reading 1 Ecc 1:2; 2:21-23

Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!

Here is one who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill, and yet to another who has not labored over it, he must leave property.  This also is vanity and a great misfortune.  For what profit comes to man from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he has labored under the sun?  All his days sorrow and grief are his occupation; even at night his mind is not at rest.  This also is vanity.

 

Responsorial Psalm Ps 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17

R. (1) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

 

Reading 2 Col 3:1-5, 9-11

Brothers and sisters: If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.

Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry.  Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator.  Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.

 

Gospel Lk 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”  He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”  Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

Then he told them a parable.  “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.  He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.  There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.”

HOMILY

Brothers and sisters, we are now in the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, and we are asked by the Church to remember all priests. Thank you for praying for us, as you prayed a while ago the prayer for the sanctification of priests. We, indeed, need prayers, and thank you for continuing to pray for us. Amidst this challenging world, we find strength in prayers. Once you pray for us, our faith is strengthened.

As we celebrate the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, it is nice once more to listen to the Word of God that strengthens us and brings us closer to Jesus. It is nice that every time we have the Sunday mass, the Lord speaks directly to our hearts. It is because the Lord does not want us to die; He wants us all to live. The words that we hear in the readings and the Gospel mean life for all of us. Jesus, Himself, provides us His life. No one of us wants to die; we always want to live, and to live in eternity. Today, the Lord wants to remind us, through the readings, that every time we come closer to Him, He offers us life. And the source of many blessings in life is what we hear, every time we come to the Holy sacrifice of the Mass.

Today, the Lord reminds us that life, indeed, is just a passing shadow in the world. All of us will experience death. No one will remain forever in this world. That is why in the First Reading today that we heard from the Book of Ecclesiastes, all things are vanity. All things in this world - what we see, what we experience, what we feel - will come to an end. Everything will pass away. And it is a very good reminder to all of us. Every time that we are confronted with the Word of God, we are reminded that God offers us life that will not pass away - a life that will never end, a life that is all-pervading, all encompassing, a life that is with the Lord, in eternity. Whatever it is that we are attached today, one day, we will leave these things behind. In many occasions that I have been administering the last sacraments in hospitals, I heard their confessions and last words that they are ready to leave and return to where they should go. When confronted with eternity, when confronted with death, when confronted with the Creator, death will tell us that we have to surrender our material, physical life. All things are vanity; everything shall come to an end.

I remember one song. It is an old song by Ray Conniff with his orchestra. The title of the song is "Here Today and Gone Tomorrow". In Latin, it is 'hodie adsit, cras absit." Here today and gone tomorrow. The song goes like this.....I will not sing. (laughs) I will just pronounce the stanzas in the song. It goes like this:

"I came to you in dark despair, I needed someone who would care.
You held me close against your heart, I felt a warmth right from the start.
Then one day, he took you away. Why did it happen, who can say?
Now, all that there is left for me is just a precious memory."

And this is the chorus:

"That's life, that's life. You take the joy, you take the sorrow.
That's life, that's life. You're here today, and gone tomorrow."

The song speaks about the heart seeking for satisfaction. God provides all our needs while we are here on earth - God is the Creator, the provider, the One who sustains. But when all these things come into our own senses, when it becomes part of our own consciousness and system, one day, these will be taken away from us. That's life, that's life. You're here today, and gone tomorrow. Brothers and sisters, this is the first lesson that we learn today in this Mass.

In the Second Reading from the letter of Paul to the Colossians, we are being reminded that if life will come to an end, then the longing of the heart is to see life that will never end. And St. Paul presents Jesus Christ as life itself. If you want life that will never end, come to Jesus. St. Paul tells us that life is inseparable from Christ. The very reason why we are gathered in this mass is because Jesus, Himself, is our life. Jesus is the Bread of Life; whoever eats this Bread will live forever. St. Paul tells us that when Christ, our life, appears, then we, too, will appear with Him in glory. In other words, once we link Jesus in our life, once our life ends in this world, we will be with Him in glory - and that is life eternal. The life that will never end is Jesus.

Therefore, St. Paul reminds us that if we want life and blessings in our life, then we have to give up things in favor of that life. He, therefore, tells us to put to death all parts of us that leads to death. And what are these? Immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. Stop lying to one another, and put a new sense of your self, meaning to say, we should put Christ in our life, and we will experience eternal life. How beautiful is the Second Reading today, brothers and sisters.

The Gospel today reminds us that life is not all about the law, it is not all about traditions, rules, our plans, securities in life. What is important is that we have to realize that life does not consist in material possessions. Life consists of our faith in Christ. It is true that every time we gather together, we rely on our memory, and that is faith. We go to mass because we remember the Lord telling us to 'do this in memory of Me'. In this Mass, we bring ourselves to the Lord who provides us life and the way to escape all vanities. Jesus, Himself, is life.

Thanks to the Word of God. Every time we listen to God's Word before we receive the Holy Communion, we learn the words that the Lord desires to speak into our hearts. Let us remind ourselves of this - everything in this world will come to an end. We are here today, and gone tomorrow. Let us cling to Jesus, who will bring us to eternal glory. Amen.