December 28, 2012
Friday – Year of Faith
Feast of the Holy Innocents –
Martyrs
by
Rev. Fr. Rufino Jun Sescon (Chaplain, Sto. Niño de Paz Greenbelt Chapel)
7:15AM Mass at Sto. Nino de Paz
Chapel, Greenbelt, Makati
Reading 1 1 Jn 1:5-2:2
Beloved: This is the message that we have heard from Jesus
Christ and proclaim to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at
all. If we say, "We have fellowship with him," while we continue to
walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth. But if we walk in the light
as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood
of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin. If we say, "We are without
sin," we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we acknowledge
our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from
every wrongdoing. If we say, "We have not sinned," we make him a
liar, and his word is not in us.
My children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.
My children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 124:2-3, 4-5, 7cd-8
R. (7) Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the
fowler's snare.
Had not the LORD been with us?
When men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive,
When their fury was inflamed against us.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Then would the waters have overwhelmed us;
The torrent would have swept over us;
over us then would have swept the raging waters.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Broken was the snare,
and we were freed.
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Had not the LORD been with us?
When men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive,
When their fury was inflamed against us.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Then would the waters have overwhelmed us;
The torrent would have swept over us;
over us then would have swept the raging waters.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Broken was the snare,
and we were freed.
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
R. Our soul has been rescued like a bird from the fowler's snare.
Gospel Mt 2:13-18
When the magi had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord
appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his
mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. Herod is going to
search for the child to destroy him." Joseph rose and took the child and
his mother by night and departed for Egypt. He stayed there until the death of
Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, Out
of Egypt I called my son.
When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi. Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:
A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.
When Herod realized that he had been deceived by the magi, he became furious. He ordered the massacre of all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had ascertained from the magi. Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet:
A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.
HOMILY
Good morning my dear brothers and
sisters.
You know, clinical psychologists say
that Herod was a schizophrenic. And schizophrenics have a Christmas carol. Do
you know the Christmas carol of schizophrenics? It is "Do you hear what I
hear?" (laughs) Because they would hear something else, which, for us, is
not very clear.
But kidding aside, that was really
Herod. He heard so many things, and most of them pointed to his insecurities.
He was so insecure; he was the king but he was always afraid that somebody else
would grab his power. He was afraid somebody else would supersede him. He felt
so insecure and that is why he had his wife, his mother, his grandmother, his
two sons, among so many, killed. And that is why it is not safe to be a relative
of Herod, because he could really just kill any time. Imagine having his family
killed because he thought that they tried to overthrow him.
And Herod felt that the people
really - and perhaps it is true - did not love him. That is why on his last
will, he even stipulated there that on his death, on his burial, the leading
men of Israel will be executed. Why? So that during his burial, some people
would really weep. See how crazy he was. To ensure that some people will cry
during his burial, he stipulated that the nobles of Israel should be executed.
Of course, nobody implemented that will. After all, he was already dead. And
that is why nobody wept when he died.
There you see how evil corrupts
people, and how evil affects the innocent ones. Yes, do you hear what I hear?
My brothers and sisters, that is
very true. When we keep on hearing so many things, unfounded things, and try
to entertain them, the innocent ones suffer. How many times have we allowed
those things to enter our ears and our minds?
Of course, some of us anticipate
that on Holy Innocents, pag-uusapan diyan ang abortion, birth control.
Yes, but for this morning, I just want to emphasize the living innocent ones
who suffer because of our unfounded insecurities and anxieties, like Herod. How
many people have suffered because of our fears and angers that have no basis at
all? Kung minsan, nakikinig lang tayo sa chismis o di magagandang
bali-balita na minsan hindi naman po totoo. Tandaan po natin si
Herod. Kaya ho maraming nagdusa, marami siyang pinapatay, kasi kung anu-ano
lang ang naririnig niya eh hindi naman po totoo, pero pinapatulan.
As the year is about to end, let us
ask the Lord for pardon for the times the innocent ones in our life suffered
because of us. And I am not just talking about individuals. Even on a national
scale, sometimes we have unfounded fears. And because of that, the innocent
ones suffer. Because of man's greed. Because of man's ambition. Because of
man's clinging to power, the innocent ones suffer.
Let it be a collective preparation
in this mass. We ask the Lord that the leaders of our nations, our communities,
and even the leaders of our Church, that God may not allow the voices
of insecurity, the voices of greed, the voices of lust for power, to
corrupt their minds and make the innocent ones suffer.
Please remember that for every sin -
this is also good catechism - every sin has a social dimension. Every sin, for
that matter. Even your most personal and private sin will always have a social
dimension. And more often that not, it
is the innocent ones who suffer because we sin. Please remember that.
We ask the Lord for pardon for
letting the innocent ones suffer because of us. As we continue with this mass,
we pray for those unborn who did not have the opportunity to see the light of
day. As we pray for the innocent ones who suffer at the altar of economic
progress and development, let us also remember the living ones, who, right now,
until this very moment, are suffering innocently because of us.
We ask the Lord, just like St.
Joseph. St. Joseph also heard something. Katulad ni St. Joseph, sana
po ang marinig natin ay 'yong tama, 'yong mabuti, 'yong maganda, 'yong
maka-Diyos. 'Yong maghahatid sa atin papalapit sa liwanag ng Diyos. Let us
pray for one another, that this 2013, as we look forward to this New Year, if
there will be voices deep in our hearts, it will be the voice of conscience,
the voice of God, the voice that will lead us to real peace, real love, real
blessing. Amen.
Holy Innocents – Pray for us
You may also want to see: A Holy Life - Feast of the Holy Innocents
