October 21, 2012
Year
of Faith
Canonization
of St. Pedro Calungsod, Patron of
Catechists and the Filipino youth
by Rev. Fr. Jim Ferry (San Carlos
Pastoral Formation Complex EDSA, Guadalupe, Makati)
Anticipated Sunday Mass at Sto. Niño de Paz Greenbelt Chapel
Reading 1 Is 53:10-11
The LORD was pleased to crush him in infirmity. If he gives
his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life,
and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him. Because of his
affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; through his suffering,
my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22
R. (22) Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our
trust in you.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Reading 2 Heb 4:14-16
Brothers and sisters: Since we have a great high priest who
has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our
confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with
our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without
sin. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to
find grace for timely help.
Gospel Mk 10:35-45
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said
to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."
He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?" They answered him,
"Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at
your left." Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I
am baptized?" They said to him, "We can." Jesus said to them,
"The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I
am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right or at my left is not
mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared." When the ten
heard this, they became indignant at James and John. Jesus summoned them and
said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the
Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them
felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great
among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be
the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and
to give his life as a ransom for many."
or Mk 10:42-45
Jesus summoned the Twelve and said to them, "You know
that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them,
and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be
so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your
servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the
Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a
ransom for many."
HOMILY
The
Church celebrates this evening and tomorrow, what the Church is essentially all
about. The Church is in mission. Mission Sunday tomorrow reminds us of
that fundamental understanding of what the Church is. It is to
continue the mission of Jesus, to continue to go and bring the Good News
of salvation to those who have not yet heard of Jesus, and to deepen the faith
of those of us who have been baptized and have made that decision, from our own
free will, to follow Jesus.
And
to follow Jesus does require a particular aspect that the world does not wish
to accept, and that is, the Cross. In the Gospel, when the two disciples were
asking Jesus, could they sit, one at the right, and one at the left, when they
came into God's Kingdom, they did not yet fully understand that in order to
reach God's Kingdom, they have to be identified with the Passion, Death and
Resurrection of Jesus. They needed to be faithful, even to the shedding of
blood.
It
is not easy to follow Jesus, but it is not impossible. It is because each
of us have been baptized. We were baptized into the very life of God. The
coming of the Holy Spirit in baptism enables us to be forgiven of sin, to
become one with the body of Christ, the Church, to live in a faithful
relationship with the Church, and be filled with the very presence of Jesus and
His Spirit. We are all to testify to the Gospel of Jesus in our daily lives.
When
we say the Church is in mission, we are saying that you and I, WE are in
mission. Not just our brothers and sisters, lay people as well as religious
priests and sisters who have left our country to bring the Good News to others,
but we also must be sure that we are bringing the Good News to others by the
way we testify that the Gospel is alive in us. By our acts of charity. By our
acts of forgiveness. By our moments of prayer. By our willingness to suffer, to
accept and embrace the Cross.
Tomorrow
in Rome, another one of our blood brothers - bone of your bone, blood of your
blood - will be canonized as a saint. Lorenzo Ruiz was the first. Pedro
Calungsod now will be raised, and will be declared a saint martyr. He was
willing to accept the consequence of baptism. We are baptized into the very
life of Jesus, and that life means that we are also baptized into His Death, and
that we are also baptized into His Resurrection. This young man of 17 years of
age willingly allowed himself to die as he defended his priest.
Seventeen.
We all think that the youth are so incapable of doing great things. We think
that just because they are young, they are not capable of testifying to
the faith. Now Pedro Calungsod shows us that even at that age, the so called
TEEN age, our young people can still do great things for Christ. He
teaches each one of us, we who are not so young, the others who are not so
old, that all of us, are called to bring this Good News of
Jesus, even if it means a personal sacrifice. When we have to hold on
to our anger, when we have to be charitable. When we are called to be
forgiving. When it means that we have to love one another even though the other
does not love us. And why? Because we are in mission. We are bringing the love
of Jesus, not as missionaries outside of our country, but as missionaries
within our country.
For
us to be truly members of the Church, we must be members of the missionary
aspect of the life of Jesus. Jesus came to bring us the love and the
forgiveness of the Father. He did not back away from it, even if it meant that
He will be crucified because He was identified with truth. Because He was
identified with love. Because He mingled among the poor and the sinful.
He was in mission to bring the Good News of salvation. And now the
Church - the physical presence of the love of Jesus in the world - you and me,
we are baptized. We are the witnesses.
This
evening, when the celebration of the Eucharist is over, and as you
return to your homes, think over. How am I personally bringing the Good News
of Jesus to others? How do I testify to the Gospel of justice, to the
Gospel of forgiveness, the Gospel of love, to others? Am I, myself, in
mission? Pedro Calungsod reminds us that regardless of our age
- young, middle-aged or old - each one of us is called to be identified
with the mission of Jesus.
My
brothers and sisters, we already have the presence of Christ within us. And
now, we will come to the altar of the Eucharist, and have His presence among us
under the sign of Bread. He wants to feed us. He wants to give us this visible
moment when we become closer to Him, so that we can be more worthy
and STRONGER to be in mission of bringing the Good News of Jesus
to others. Blessed Pedro Calungsod has done that in a very singular way as a
martyr. He will be declared Patron of Filipino Youth. I hope that does not
mean that those of us who are old will not allow Pedro to be an example for us.
He is given to the Church. Let us pray that we, like him, remain in mission.
Amen.
You may also want to see: A Holy Life - Saint Pedro Calungsod
