July 18, 2012
Wednesday
29th Greenbelt Anniversary Mass
29th Greenbelt Anniversary Mass
by Bishop Milo Vergara
Greenbelt
First Reading: Isaiah 10:5-7, 13-16
Psalm: Psalm 94:5-10, 14-15
Gospel: Matthew 11:25-27
25 On that occasion Jesus Said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I praise you because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed to simple people. 26 Yes, Father, this is what pleased you.
27 Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father, except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.
HOMILY
Since it was Greenbelt's anniversary, Bishop Milo emphasized the meaning of being a servant - on fulfilling our mission.
According to Bishop Milo, there are three things that we, servants, should remember:
One is proclamation. We should be steadfast in proclaiming God and His truth, so that people will come back to Him. Whether off season or not, we should share God's word to others.
Second is presence. As servants, we should have a deep personal relationship with God. Before we can be on mission, we should have intimacy with God through prayer. One good example is praying before the Blessed Sacrament. It is when we receive God that we become fruitful and we can make things possible. As we allow God's presence to fill us, we should also make others feel God's love. We should let others feel our reassuring presence, with our loving concern, time, gifts and sense of service.
Third is perseverance. As servants, we should follow God's call with "staying power" - no "ningas kugon". Dapat tuloy tuloy lang tayo, because the Lord will never abandon us. Let us continue to persevere in our faith and continue to serve, helping and reaching out to others, even if we encounter struggles. It's not easy but that is what real mission means. After attending our masses, we should lead a good and holy life. This is how our mission moves on - by becoming fruitful bearers of the grace of God, not only in the mass, but through concrete action in our daily life.