Gospel Reflection

October 22, 2013

Tuesday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

by Rev. Fr. Ramon Jade Licuanan (Head, Youth Ministry, San Carlos Seminary)
5:30PM Mass, Mary, Queen of Peace Shrine (Our Lady of Peace Quasi Parish/EDSA Shrine)

Reading 1 Rom 5:12, 15b, 17-19, 20b-21

Brothers and sisters: Through one man sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned.

If by that one person’s transgression the many died, how much more did the grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many. For if, by the transgression of the one, death came to reign through that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of justification come to reign in life through the one Jesus Christ. In conclusion, just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so, through one righteous act acquittal and life came to all. For just as through the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, so, through the obedience of the one the many will be made righteous. Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through justification for eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Responsorial Psalm PS 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17

R. (8a and 9a) Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin offerings you sought not;
then said I, “Behold I come.”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
“In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
May all who seek you
exult and be glad in you,
And may those who love your salvation
say ever, “The LORD be glorified.”
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.

Gospel Lk 12:35-38

Jesus said to his disciples: “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants.”

HOMILY

Perhaps most of us, if not all, have attended wedding ceremonies. And we all know that in weddings nowadays, everything is measured - the time for the whole ceremony, the reception, the duration of the stay in the restaurant, because extending time would mean additional expenses.

But it is far, far different during the time of Jesus. In their culture, time was not really a very important matter. In their weddings, the time that guests would come and leave the venue could not be measured. That is why in the Gospel, you would notice that in the parable that Jesus used to point out a very important lesson to His disciple, He made use of a wedding as an example. The parable says that the master will return from a wedding at an unknown time - it may be late at night or the following morning, thus the servants should be alert as they could not pinpoint when their master will come back. The servants are expected to wait and to anticipate their master's return.

That is how the Lord conveyed the message of vigilance. God used the unique circumstance of a wedding to impress on us the importance of vigilance, not just during their day, but even today. It is because vigilance, if you look closer to the Gospel, would somehow spell our salvation. Our vigilance will determine whether we will go to heaven, or if we will be thrown into eternal damnation. And those who are blessed, which was also mentioned in the Gospel, are those who would remain vigilant.

When we speak of vigilance, what does it mean? Does it mean just being awake or having our eyes open or watchful, or being alert? I remember, in 2011, I was with the delegation of the Archdiocese of Manila to the World Youth Day. And on the last day of our stay in Europe, the flight from Portugal to Manila was supposed to be 5 in the morning, but we came back to the hotel late at night. I was with five more priests who would remain in Portugal. I wanted to see the Philippine delegation leave the hotel going to the airport, but I was so tired, that I unconsciously fell asleep. And when I opened my eyes, it was already 1:05am. I rushed out of the room but in the corridor, there were no more people. I went down to the lobby, it was dark. And out of the hotel, it was so cold and so dark. I realized that the Philippine delegation left already. And the incident has always been a joke among us. They will always tease me that I fell asleep, that is why I was not able to see the delegation leave.

Is this the vigilance that the Lord wants us to do? Being awake? I don't think so. It goes beyond just being awake. Vigilance that the Lord is referring to in the Gospel is about readiness. It is not just about keeping our eyes open, but it is about being able to respond even in times of surprises. Vigilance is being able to hold on to our values, even in unanticipated circumstances. It is about being able to help, even in the most difficult times that we least expect.

The recent earthquake in Bohol damaged a lot of properties and took lives. And a partial reason for that is unreadiness. As experts would tell us, we cannot forecast when an earthquake would hit and the extent of damage that it will do. It will come as a surprise. Given this, we should still be ready so that when it comes, we would know what we should do and know where to go.

And that is how it is in our faith. Our faith is not about completing our novenas or knowing fully well our prayers. It's about being ready to express what we know. Faith is about taking action, based on the faith that we profess. It's about taking action, even at an unexpected moment. That is what is needed from us today. We should be able to respond quickly but carefully in all the circumstances we're faced with. With all the things that are happening to us, what are we doing? Are we just looking, just being spectators of what is happening around us, or are we making ourselves available and ready to respond and help, in accordance with our faith? 'Yon po ang kailangan natin. Vigilance that will determine our salvation means being able to respond willingly, being able to do active responses borne out of our faith.

We should not leave our faith behind. Vigilance means translating our faith into concrete responses of action to what is happening around us. And we pray in this Eucharist, that we may be truly vigilant people, that the Lord, in His grace, may empower us and anoint us to be vigilant for His Kingdom.

Gospel Reflection

October 20, 2013

Sunday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

by Rev. Fr. Ramon Jade Licuanan (Head, Youth Ministry, San Carlos Seminary)
6:00PM Sunday Anticipated Mass, Sto. Nino de Paz Chapel (Greenbelt Chapel), Makati

Reading 1 Ex 17:8-13

In those days, Amalek came and waged war against Israel. Moses, therefore, said to Joshua, "Pick out certain men, and tomorrow go out and engage Amalek in battle.  I will be standing on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand."  So Joshua did as Moses told him: he engaged Amalek in battle after Moses had climbed to the top of the hill with Aaron and Hur. As long as Moses kept his hands raised up, Israel had the better of the fight, but when he let his hands rest, Amalek had the better of the fight. Moses’hands, however, grew tired; so they put a rock in place for him to sit on. Meanwhile Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other, so that his hands remained steady till sunset. And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

R. (cf. 2) Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
I lift up my eyes toward the mountains;
whence shall help come to me?
My help is from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
May he not suffer your foot to slip;
may he slumber not who guards you:
indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps,
the guardian of Israel.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
The LORD is your guardian; the LORD is your shade;
he is beside you at your right hand.
The sun shall not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
The LORD will guard you from all evil;
he will guard your life.
The LORD will guard your coming and your going,
both now and forever.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Reading 2 2 Tm 3:14-4:2

Beloved: Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it, and that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingly power: proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.

Gospel Lk 18:1-8

Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said, "There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, 'Render a just decision for me against my adversary.' For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, 'While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.'"  The Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.  Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night?  Will he be slow to answer them?  I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.  But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

HOMILY

Our Gospel today is all about Jesus' teaching or encouragement to His Disciples, to pray unceasingly, to pray with perseverance.

Have you ever stopped praying? Did it ever happen to you that after praying for so long, you decided to give up and rather stop? If that happened to you, I guess this Gospel is for you. And to those who have not given up praying, this is also for you. This is for all of us.

Pray unceasingly, pray with endurance, with perseverance. This is what the Lord is telling us. If the Lord is telling us not to lose hope, not to give up on prayer, there must be a reason. And what could be the reasons?

First, it is because God is our Father who owns us and claims us as His own. And because He is our Father, definitely, without any delay, He will grant us what we ask for, especially if that conforms to His will, especially if our petition will make us better. He is a loving Father who knows what's best for us and our lives. He is a loving Father who knows us through and through, from the very beginning, until our end. He will not abandon us; we will not be left behind. We will not want, because God will provide for us.

Second, we are not to give up on prayer because, definitely, there will be assistance that will come to us. There will be people, circumstances or situations that will contribute to the answer for our petitions or prayers. In the First Reading, we can see that during the battle between the Israelites and the Amalekites, when Moses raised his staff, the Israelites win over the Amalekites who are fearsome and are used to battle. But of course, it is a long battle, so Moses got weary and felt fatigue in his arms. But there were Hur and Aaron, who held the arms of Moses to raise them. They stayed beside Moses for his arms to remain lifted. Because of that assistance, the Israelites won the battle.

In the Gospel, there may be some sort of comparison between God and the unjust judge. But if we look at another angle of the Gospel, we can also say that the fulfillment of our prayers can also come from unexpected people, from the person whom you least expect to help you. In the Gospel, the widow received what she wished for through the unjust judge. It is the same with us. But sometimes, we easily give up because when we look around, we do not see any person who can help us. We feel alone, and because of this, we give up. But the Lord tells us not to give up, as He will use anyone, even the least expected, to come to our rescue.

I remember, in 2005, there is this female topnotcher in the bar exam. If I am not mistaken, her name is January Sanchez. She topped the bar exams. When she was asked what contributed to her success, she gave six answers. First is hard work. Second is the support of her family. And what were the four remaining reasons? Prayer, prayer, prayer, and prayer.

The celebration of the Eucharist reminds us that we should be persistent in our prayer. In Bohol, a broadcaster of one of the big TV networks witnessed a big congregation of Boholanos celebrating the mass, not inside the centuries-old church, but outside of the collapsed church. And the broadcaster could not contain the immense respect that was present during the celebration of the Eucharist, with the Boholanos in deep prayer, despite of the ruins around them. But I guess that is the secret of the Filipinos. There is not much of a question when it comes to the Filipino's perseverance in prayer. Despite natural disasters or calamities, the Filipino continues to pray, and this continues to shape and form us, and make us better believers and followers of the Lord.

In this mass, as we thank God for the grace of perseverance in prayer, let us pray for our family and relatives who, at this very moment, may be losing hope in their prayer efforts. Let us pray for them, so that altogether, we may find faith in the Lord, and that the Lord may find strong and firm faith in us.

Gospel Reflection

October 01, 2013

Tuesday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

by Rev. Fr. Ramon Jade Licuanan (Head, Youth Ministry, San Carlos Seminary)

12:15PM Mass, Mary, Queen of Peace Shrine (Our Lady of Peace Quasi Parish/EDSA Shrine)

Reading 1 Zec 8:20-23

Thus says the LORD of hosts: There shall yet come peoples, the inhabitants of many cities; and the inhabitants of one city shall approach those of another, and say, “Come! let us go to implore the favor of the LORD”; and, “I too will go to seek the LORD.” Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to implore the favor of the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men of every nationality,  speaking different tongues, shall take hold, yes, take hold of every Jew by the edge of his garment and say,

“Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”

Responsorial Psalm PS 87:1b-3, 4-5, 6-7

R. (Zec 8:23) God is with us.
His foundation upon the holy mountains
the LORD loves:
The gates of Zion,
more than any dwelling of Jacob.
Glorious things are said of you,
O city of God!
R. God is with us.
I tell of Egypt and Babylon
among those that know the LORD;
Of Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia:
“This man was born there.”
And of Zion they shall say:
“One and all were born in her;
And he who has established her
is the Most High LORD.”
R. God is with us.
They shall note, when the peoples are enrolled:
“This man was born there.”
And all shall sing, in their festive dance:
“My home is within you.”
R. God is with us.

Gospel Lk 9:51-56

When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.

HOMILY

You can just imagine how the Apostles, James and John, value the mission of Jesus. You can just imagine how they held, with so much importance and reverence, the mission of Jesus. Because when they were denied of hospitality from a house in a Samaritan village on their way to Jerusalem, James and John blew their top. They were so angered by the cold acceptance to them, to the point that they even asked Jesus if He would want them to ask heaven to set the place afire. 

Perhaps, we may also find ourselves in the same situation. At times, we have the best intentions. Sino ba naman ang masama ang hangarin sa buhay? All of us, if not most of us, have good intentions, even holy intentions. Just like James and John who shared the vision with Jesus. But the reality is, along the way, though we have the best intentions, circumstances - people, places - do not always cooperate. At times, there will be hindrances, there will be constraints, there will be some persecutors or distractors, even on the best intentions that we have. Kaya minsan ipanagdarasal natin ang kaaway natin o ang umuusig sa atin na sana mamatay na siya (laughs), na sana mapahamak siya. Because we are so angered, as we are very much convinced that what we are aiming is good, or even holy, pero hinaharangan nila. 

But look at how Jesus reacted to the proposal of James and John. Jesus turned and rebuked them. They were reprimanded, pinagalitan sila ng Panginoon. Jesus was not pleased about that proposal, perhaps to the surprise of the Apostles. Then, they realized the lesson. And what was the lesson, which is the lesson even today? That our pursuit for good should always include and entail goodness as well, and never give way to things that are bad. 

Saint Therese of the Child Jesus said that the only thing that will beget love is love. She, herself, experienced oppression from her superiors, but St. Therese stayed on the spirit of love and forgiveness. She is the patroness of missions, which reminds us that we are all in a mission in our life. And the way to our mission is always love. We cannot justify wrong means or evil means, to pursue even what is good as our goal. Kahit na ang mithiin natin ay mabuti, it will not justify 'yong mga maling pamamaraan natin. 

Look at what's happening in our society - nakakapanghina, nakakapanlumo. There is so much theft and corruption going on. Some of them may have the best intentions for the people, pero ang problema ay ang maling pamamaraan, resorting to something other than honesty, truthfulness or integrity. Therefore, even if we have the best intentions for others or for the Church, kung mali ang pamamaraan natin, if it will resort to violence, to dishonesty, then all our efforts are in vain. 

And so we pray, my dear friends, that yes, we thank God for the good seeds of intention that He has given us, but we also pray that we will pursue the best intentions in our lives to the way and means He desires.