Gospel Reflection

September 16, 2013

Monday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

Memorial of Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs

by Rev. Fr. Montecarlo Veloria, Parish Priest, Parokya ng Pagkabuhay, Bagbag, Novaliches, Quezon City
12:15PM Mass, Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord (SM Megamall Chapel)

Reading 1 1 Tm 2:1-8

Beloved: First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.

For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as ransom for all.

This was the testimony at the proper time.  For this I was appointed preacher and Apostle (I am speaking the truth, I am not lying), teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.

Responsorial Psalm PS 28:2, 7, 8-9

R. (6) Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard my prayer.
Hear the sound of my pleading, when I cry to you,
lifting up my hands toward your holy shrine.
R. Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard my prayer.
The LORD is my strength and my shield.
In him my heart trusts, and I find help;
then my heart exults, and with my song I give him thanks.
R. Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard my prayer.
The LORD is the strength of his people,
the saving refuge of his anointed.
Save your people, and bless your inheritance;
feed them, and carry them forever!
R. Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard my prayer.

Gospel Lk 7:1-10

When Jesus had finished all his words to the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die, and he was valuable to him. When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the life of his slave. They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, “He deserves to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us.” And Jesus went with them, but when he was only a short distance from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come here, and he comes; and to my slave, Do this, and he does it.” When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him and, turning, said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” When the messengers returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

HOMILY

As an introduction to our reflection, let us take the Gospel of today as an extension of the Gospel we heard yesterday on the prodigal son. The message of yesterday's Gospel is about the mercy of God, and today's Gospel is an extension of this message.

In today's Gospel, we can see the mercy and goodness of God, and also our faith in God. We can see a centurion, whose rank is equivalent to a general in our army. The centurion is very influential and very powerful. In the Gospel, the centurion had a slave who is ill, and he wanted to extend his kindness to the slave by looking for a cure. He learned about Jesus, but even if he was a centurion, he considered himself unworthy to approach Jesus. So, he asked the elders to approach Jesus. But when Jesus was near to his house, the centurion told Jesus that he was unworthy to let Jesus enter his home, and that Jesus' word was more than enough to heal his slave. True enough, the slave was healed, in response to the centurion's kindness and faith.

Alam n'yo mga kapatid, to be kind to someone, to be merciful to someone, is not easy. When you want to extend mercy, sometimes it can be painful. You have to invest time, resources, and even your reputation. That is mercy and kindness. The centurion humbled himself to Jesus, just to extend his mercy to someone, and to his slave, in particular. Sa iba, iisipin nila, palitan ko na lang kaya ng tatlo, pauwiin ko na lang itong aking kasambahay na maysakit. But no. The centurion gave his time and gave up his authority to help his slave. That is kindness and mercy in action.

If we are not willing to sacrifice or to be hurt, if we are not willing to undergo anything in our life, it is very hard to be kind and merciful. And for Jesus, even if the centurion is not a Jew (as he was a  pagan), he deserved the mercy and kindness of God, because he has shown kindness and great faith - an extraordinary faith that the Lord has discovered in the whole of Israel. And because of this, Jesus healed the centurion's slave, even from a distance.

My brothers and sisters, the Lord God does not look at our rank, or our status in the society, or our work. Ang tinitingnan ng Panginoon ay kung ikaw ay nangangailangan ng awa, at ito ay ibibigay Niya. Let us show our faith in the Lord, our Master and our Savior.

Gospel Reflection

September 02, 2013

Monday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

by Rev. Fr. Montecarlo Veloria, Parish Priest, Parokya ng Pagkabuhay, Bagbag, Novaliches, Quezon City
12:15PM Mass, Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord (SM Megamall Chapel)

Reading 1 1 Thes 4:13-18

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep. Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, console one another with these words.

Responsorial Psalm PS 96:1 and 3, 4-5, 11-12, 13

R. (13b) The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.
For great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
awesome is he, beyond all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are things of nought,
but the LORD made the heavens.
R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;
let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!
Then shall all the trees of the forest exult.
R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Before the LORD, for he comes;
for he comes to rule the earth.
He shall rule the world with justice
and the peoples with his constancy.
R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.

Gospel Lk 4:16-30

Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?” He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb, ‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’” And he said, “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

HOMILY

Our Gospel reading today is an illustration kung ano ang buhay ng ating Panginoong habang Siya ay nangangaral tungkol sa paghahari ng Diyos. In the beginning, He was successful, applauded, dinudumog ng tao, hinahanap-hanap. But towards the end, the same people doubted Him and also wanted to kill Him. Sino ba ito? Isn't this man the son of Joseph? Is not Mary an ordinary housewife? That was God's experience.

Why? Why did the people want to harm Jesus? St. Paul has a very graphic answer to this question. He said that it is out of jealousy that the people wanted to kill Jesus. Envy, jealousy. This is what they felt when they were told by Jesus that He could not do to them - to His own town home - what He has done in Capernaum. They could not accept that Jesus did miracles for people from other places, but not for the Jews, given that He is a Jew. Jesus was very kind to other people, but not the Jews.

It is He, Himself, the Lord, who proclaimed that He is a prophet, apart from being true God. And as a prophet, He has three functions. Number one, He has to proclaim to all the world the Good News of God, the power of God. Second, He has to denounce the evil that is going around. And the third one is that He has to challenge the people who listen to Him, to follow the will of God. That is His role, until His death on the Cross.

The Gospel today reminds us that by virtue of our baptism, as Christians, we also share in the priesthood of Christ. We have the kingly function where we should serve, we have the priestly function when we offer the mass, and we have our role as prophets, that is why we have to proclaim the Good News of the Lord in our midst, and at the same time, denounce the evil that is going on around us. This is our duty; we have to obey, not our own wishes, but the will of God, as sharers of the function of Christ.  

Gospel Reflection

August 19, 2013

Monday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

by Rev. Fr. Montecarlo Veloria (Rector, Shrine of the Our Lady of Mercy, Novaliches, Quezon City)

12:15PM Mass at Megamall, Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord

Reading 1 Jgs 2:11-19

The children of Israel offended the LORD by serving the Baals. Abandoning the LORD, the God of their fathers, who led them out of the land of Egypt, they followed the other gods of the various nations around them, and by their worship of these gods provoked the LORD.

Because they had thus abandoned him and served Baal and the Ashtaroth, the anger of the LORD flared up against Israel, and he delivered them over to plunderers who despoiled them. He allowed them to fall into the power of their enemies round about whom they were no longer able to withstand. Whatever they undertook, the LORD turned into disaster for them, as in his warning he had sworn he would do, till they were in great distress. Even when the LORD raised up judges to deliver them from the power of their despoilers, they did not listen to their judges, but abandoned themselves to the worship of other gods. They were quick to stray from the way their fathers had taken, and did not follow their example of obedience to the commandments of the LORD.  Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, he would be with the judge and save them from the power of their enemies as long as the judge lived; it was thus the LORD took pity on their distressful cries of affliction under their oppressors. But when the judge died,
they would relapse and do worse than their ancestors, following other gods in service and worship, relinquishing none of their evil practices or stubborn conduct.

Responsorial Psalm PS 106:34-35, 36-37, 39-40, 43ab and 44

R. (4a) Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They did not exterminate the peoples,
as the LORD had commanded them,
But mingled with the nations
and learned their works.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They served their idols,
which became a snare for them.
They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to demons.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They became defiled by their works,
and wanton in their crimes.
And the LORD grew angry with his people,
and abhorred his inheritance.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Many times did he rescue them,
but they embittered him with their counsels.
Yet he had regard for their affliction
when he heard their cry.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

Gospel Mt 19:16-22

A young man approached Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?” He answered him, “Why do you ask me about the good? There is only One who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He asked him, “Which ones?” And Jesus replied, “You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

HOMILY

Ang focus ng ating Gospel or reflection, ay tungkol sa yaman - riches. And the object of scrutiny is a young, rich man, who was very, very promising.

Alam n'yo mga kapatid, kung ang kayamanan ang siyang batayan ng ating kaligayahan o fulfillment, sana itong young, rich man ay hindi na lumapit sa ating Panginoon. Pero lumapit siya, because he felt that there is something lacking. We heard the young man ask, "Lord, what good must I do to gain eternal life?" And the Lord said, "If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." Which ones? And the Lord enumerated them. And the young man said that he has observed these commandments from his childhood. Napakabait ng batang mayaman, mga kapatid. Hindi siya nagnanakaw, hindi siya involved sa kahit ano'ng uri ng scam. Tapat siya sa kanyang pamilya. Inaalagaan niya ang kanyang mga magulang. He is perfect.

But the Lord challenged him, as he is going to challenge us. The Lord told the young man to go and dispose of his riches, and give them to the poor. We know what happened. The young, rich man went away sad. Nakakita na ba kayo ng isang taong sobrang yaman na malungkot? After the young rich man's conversation with the Lord, he went away sad. Why? The answer is obvious. He cannot dispose of his material wealth. He cannot do away with his riches, because he was so attached to them. He could not live without them, and it is very sad.

All of us, my dear friends, bilang mga Kristiyano....lahat po tayo ay mayaman. Walang mahirap. Mayaman ka, because the Lord is not speaking of material wealth here. You might be poor in material things, but definitely, you are rich in God's love. You are rich in your dignity. You are rich as a Christian. But sometimes, our material wealth hinders us to follow the footsteps of the Lord.

My dear brothers and sisters, as we continue with this mass, let us ask ourselves. Ano ba ang mga bagay sa buhay ko na nagiging hadlang para ako'y lubusang sumunod sa ating Panginoon, at aking makamtan ang buhay na walang hanggan?

Gospel Reflection

January 14, 2013

Monday – Year of Faith – Weekday

by Rev. Fr. Montecarlo Veloria (Rector, Shrine of the Our Lady of Mercy, Novaliches, Quezon City)

12:15 PM Mass at Megamall, Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord

                         

Reading 1 Heb 1:1-6

Brothers and sisters: In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways  to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he spoke to us through the Son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe,

who is the refulgence of his glory, the very imprint of his being, and who sustains all things by his mighty word. When he had accomplished purification from sins, he took his seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high, as far superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

For to which of the angels did God ever say: You are my Son; this day I have begotten you?
Or again:
I will be a father to him, and he shall be a Son to me? And again, when he leads the first born into the world, he says:

Let all the angels of God worship him.

Responsorial Psalm PS 97:1 and 2b, 6 and 7c, 9

R.(see 7c) Let all his angels worship him.
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. Let all his angels worship him.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
Let all his angels worship him.
R. Let all his angels worship him.
Because you, O LORD, are the Most High over all the earth,
exalted far above all gods.
R. Let all his angels worship him.

Gospel Mk 1:14-20

After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God: “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”

As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Then they left their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.

HOMILY

Jesus is a communicator par excellence. Sapagkat kung Siya'y nakikipag-usap, Siya ho ay bumababa sa lebel ng Kanyang kausap. Halimbawa, the Gospel says that He was talking to a group of fishermen, and what He said was, "Come, follow Me, I will make you fishers of men." Para sa mga fishermen, ito ay napakaliwanag. "I will make you fishers of men."

Pero magtatanong siguro tayo mga kapatid. Knowing how important, how sublime, and how difficult the mission of Christ is, if He is going to select collaborators in His mission, why choose ordinary people? Available naman ang mga intellectuals, ang mga experts on the Word of God, the Scribes and the Pharisees. Andiyan ang mga powerful. Why not choose them? Rather, He selected ordinary people like fishermen.

Ano kaya ang nasa isip ng ating Panginoon? We cannot say na nagkamali po ang ating Panginoon. No. Tama ho ang Kanyang ginawa. But why? For us, we can just imagine, huhulaan na lang natin.

But I, myself, who belong to a family of fishermen, and a fisherman, myself, can show you the life of a fisherman.

Number one, kami hong mangingisda, 95%, we rely on the mercy of God. Pag-alis pa lamang namin sa dalampasigan, magsasagwan kami patungo sa dagat, we are not sure kung kami ba ay makakabalik nang buhay. 5% is skill and talent. We rely and trust most on the mercy of God. 

 

Number two, fishermen do not follow paths. We follow the waves, and where the fish are. We have no particular way to follow. Wala po. Pumupunta kami kung nasaan ang isda. 'Yan ang gusto ng ating Panginoon. You must not follow a certain path, and just follow the way, and the way is Jesus Himself, because He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Thirdly, a fisherman always prepares himself for what he is going to do. Hindi siya bara-bara. That is why when Christ called Peter and Andrew, they were washing their nets. Why? Because they were preparing their nets for their next bout of fishing.

And the fourth one, my dear brothers and sisters, is this. A fisherman is a very patient person. Matiyaga siya. Hindi biro mga kapatid kung kayo ay mamimingwit, maghapon kayong nakaupo, hawak hawak ang hook and line. Kung minsan po halos wala kayong makuhang isda, pero pagti-tiyagaan ninyo. Sometimes, we use nets and draw them, walang laman, pero uulit-ulitin n'yo lang. Ganoon po. Maybe these qualities of simple fishermen and simple people may be the reasons why Christ chose them as His collaborators in His mission.
Yesterday, we celebrated the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which reminds us of our own baptism. All of us, my dear brothers and sisters, by virtue of our own baptism, share in the mission of Christ. We are called to share in His work. Through our Gospel today, I hope and I pray that, with God's guidance, we may follow Christ like fishermen.