Gospel Reflection

October 25, 2012

Thursday – Weekday – Year of Faith

by Rev. Fr. Bob McConaughey (Resident Formator, Lorenzo Mission Institute)

Mass at Megamall, Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord

Reading 1 Eph 3:14-21

Brothers and sisters: I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 33:1-2, 4-5, 11-12, 18-19

R. (5b) The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
Exult, you just, in the LORD;
praise from the upright is fitting.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten stringed lyre chant his praises.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
For 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. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
But the plan of the LORD stands forever;
the design of his heart, through all generations.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
R. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
But 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. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

Gospel Lk 12:49-53

Jesus said to his disciples: "I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

HOMILY

This time next week, there will be no mass here because it is a holiday and the mall will be closed. You will be with your departed loved ones, and you'll pray for them.
 
We don't think about death very much. For us, it is normal. But supposing your guardian angel appears to you one night and says, "The Heavenly Father has a message for you. He wants you to know the day of the week that you're gonna die". Would you want to know? He will tell you perhaps the day of the week, but not the year. And supposing He says, "You are going to die on a Tuesday". That might keep your interest a little bit. And you will say "Ok, well it may be years from now. It will be on a Tuesday, so I will be safe for the rest of the week". But supposing your guardian angel appears the next time and says, "The Heavenly Father has more news for you. He wants you to know the month of the year that you're gonna die." Would you want to know? And supposing your angel said to you, "Here is the final bit of information that you must know. You are going to die on a Tuesday, in November, between 7 in the morning and 7 at night. Might be this year, might be six years from now. No more news, you'll never see me again."  

What do you think it would be like - that last Tuesday of November? What would that day be for you? How will it be different than all the other days? I could see that you probably will have trouble sleeping on Monday night. In the morning, probably at five o'clock you will wake up and before you do anything, you will be into deep prayer. Perhaps you would slowly say the Rosary, asking Mama Mary to protect you during those 12 hours, between 7 and 7. You'll probably try to keep busy during the morning, to make the hours go by quickly, but deep inside, you are constantly being distracted by fear, by worry, by anxiety. And because of your fear or anxiety, you drive in here to the chapel, or to your parish church. And when the priest says, "In order to prepare ourselves to celebrate these sacred mysteries, let us call to mind our sins". Oh - you will really call to mind all your sins. And you will feel deep, deep sorrow and express that sorrow and really mean it - on the last Tuesday of November.  
 
And when you sit down to listen to the Liturgy of the Word, you will not so much seek to interpret the Scriptures, as much as you will look to have the Scripture interpret you. To give you some clue, some sign of the meaning of your life. And when the time of Communion comes, you receive it and pray, as it may be your last day - "This is what I need from you Lord - to give me peace". You may probably ask something else, like "Lord, this is what I am asking of you, what do you want from me?"
 
After the mass, you probably will go shopping. Things will be very important to you - what you own, what you possess. You can also say, "I can be judged today." And I remember what Jesus said how I will be judged. "When I was hungry you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me drink. When I was in prison you came to visit me, naked and you clothed me." And straight from the mall, you will go out, and you will go to all the hungry, thirsty, the strangers - and you will give from the heart - to make a difference. You will do that on the last Tuesday of November.
 
And chances are in the evening, you will ask all those who are closest to you - your family, to have dinner with you. And at the dinner you will tell them things that you have not told them before. You will tell them how much you love and care for them. You will tell them how thankful you are to God that they have been part of your life, you will tell them that. You will not assume they know it. You will be totally open to them - on the last Tuesday of November.
 
Then finally, until 7pm, your heart will be beating very very fast, and suddenly the clock will strike past 7, and you will still be alive, free from fear. But as you would look back on that Tuesday, the last Tuesday in November, you would probably find that, that day that began in fear, in worry, in anxiety, turned out to be the most profoundly meaningful day of the year. When you would have lived your life selflessly, sacrificially. And the way you have lived that day, will cast out your fear.
 
Life is here, and it's scripted. Love's a gift, that we've been given. To give it all away, and have it still - that's God's will. Let's live each day - a little bit - as if it were the last Tuesday in November.

Gospel Reflection

September 14, 2012

Friday

Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Feast)

by Rev. Fr. Bob McConaughey

Afternoon Mass at Megamall, Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord

First Reading:               Numbers 21:4-9
Psalm:                         Psalm 78:1-2, 34-38

Second Reading:           Philippians 2:6-11

Gospel:                         John 3:13-17    

13 No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

HOMILY

The Cross is a symbol of triumph. Certainly a triumph over evil, or of good over evil. Certainly a triumph over sin and death. Those are the ones we are familiar with, but there is one more triumph of the cross - and that is the triumph on the way we live, and the way we love. And that is triumph over useless, meaningless suffering and pain.

Before Jesus died on the cross, pain made no sense. It even drove Jesus to the point when he said, "My God, why have you abandoned me?" But when you look at the cross itself, the cross is a symbol of love. It was not only a symbol of great suffering or pain but a symbol of unconditional, sacrificial, redemptive love. With the death and resurrection of Jesus, there should be a meaningful way to which we can live up and carry our own personal cross.

When I first came to the Philippines, I met a doctor. And we became friends. He was a Christian, and I was a Catholic. I would discuss with him; I would argue with him. My goal was to convert him into becoming a Catholic. In December of 1983, my friend was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the age of 41, and I promised to ask my friends to pray for him. These friends of mine did pray for him, but they did something unexpected of them when they pray. And when they did something unexpected when they prayed, they did send him a card.

On December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, my friend wanted to see me immediately, and so I visited him in the hospital. The first thing he said to me was, "Father Bob, I want to become a Catholic." And I said, "Why?" And he said, "It's not because of anything you've ever told me". And he said, "Let me read some notes to you. One of them said that "I know you are going through a rough time right now, so tonight, I will pray for you, and while doing so, I will sleep on the floor instead of on my bed." And then he said, "Someone does not even know me, and he is doing that for me?"

Then he said, "Someone told me that 'I know you are going through a lot of pain today, so I'm going to put a stone in my shoe, so that every time I go out and I feel pain, I will remember that you are in a lot of pain and I will pray for you.'. Another one sent  "I will say the rosary today in cruciform". He asked me, "what does she mean by that"? And I explained that in the whole 15 minutes that she is praying the rosary, she will extend her arms like this (Jesus crucified). Have you tried praying the rosary that way? In 5 minutes, you will feel your arms like dead and that they are going to fall - and she will do that in 15 minutes.

Then he said to me, "I want to become a Catholic because I want to be part of that. These people have witnessed to me in such a powerful way, and yet they do not know me?" He said, "That's love. That's real. I want to become a part of that". I brought him to the church on the 16th. I confirmed him, heard his first confession, and his first communion, and he died on Christmas day - a Catholic, in God's grace. All because people simply did what was unexpected of them.

What's with the cross? The next time you visit the hospital and see someone in pain - very uncomfortable, ask him to take 5 minutes of his experience, and unite it with the cross of Christ who suffered and died for us. Some crosses you choose, but some crosses choose you. Some crosses come across your life, that you don't expect. Some crosses are those that you have carried for a long time - in a wheelchair or chemotherapy or radiation. You can take up that cross and unite it for something or someone specific. You can have all the love - you can give it all away, and have it still - that's the best, that's God's will.

The Relic of the Cross of Jesus Christ

God So Loved The World - Stainer

Gospel Reflection

July 24, 2012

Tuesday
Weekday

by Rev. Fr. Bob McConaughey

Edsa Shrine

First Reading:   Micah 7:14-15, 18-20

Psalm:             Psalm 85:2-8

Gospel:            Matthew 12:46-50

46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 48 But he replied to the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother."

HOMILY
Most of us want things be done our way - let our will be done, and not God's. But that is not the way things should be. In everything in our life, most especially in major decisions that we have to make, we should ask God's guidance, and seek His will.
But how do we do it? How do we seek God's will? According to Father Bob, we should ask the Lord for discernment. And there are three ways by which we can do this.
First, we should have an open heart. In prayer, let us first approach God and tell Him "Lord, here I am. I am giving my heart to You, and trust in Your grace. Please show me Your will."
Second, with our mental capacities, we should think things through. We should gather as much information about the problem, situation or decision that we need to make. Here, Father Bob suggests that we seek the advice of people close to us - those who know us, and those we trust, those who we know are genuinely concerned about us and will be there to help us. If needed, we should also seek the counsel of a priest or someone who is not personally attached to us - so that person can give us a neutral opinion. Then balancing these, we should be able to make a stand or be more firm in what option we would like to take.
Third and finally, once we are already able to think things through, we should come back to God, and present our heart to Him, saying "Lord, this is what I believe is best. Please show me what is Your will". According to Father Bob, as we seek God's will, He will find a way to communicate it to us. Sometimes, we may still even make a mistake in our decision. But what is important is we sought God's guidance first, and in His time, He will show us the way.