August 21, 2012
Tuesday
St. Pius X, Pope (Memorial)
by Rev. Fr. Catalino Arevalo
Edsa Shrine
First Reading: Ezekiel 28:1-10
23 And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." 25 When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" 26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." 27 Then Peter said in reply, "Lo, we have left everything and followed you. What then shall we have?" 28 Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of man shall sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 But many that are first will be last, and the last first.
HOMILY
Although the Gospel today spoke about the difficulty of a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God, Fr. Arevalo did not touch on that but opted to reflect more on Ninoy’s memorial. He said that just as Jesus has freely given and sacrificed His Body and Blood as a gift to us and as partaken by us in the Eucharist, our life should also be a life of self-giving like Ninoy and also of constant faith like that of Pope St. Pious X.
We should take courage and inspiration in the example of the saints who gave their lives without condition for love of God, and also of Ninoy, who selflessly dedicated and gave up his life for his country.
He also spoke about DILG Sec. Jesse Robredo whose plane crashed recently in Masbate seas and whose body was recovered just this morning. Fr. Arevalo said that Sec. Robredo was one of the few honest government officials who, for years, did not enrich himself while in position, and who remained humble and committed to genuine service. He is a gift of God to the P-noy administration. He ends by saying that may our lives be self-giving as theirs, not necessarily to die, but in our own way, as “greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13)
Pope St. Pius X – Pray for us
