Gospel Reflection

April 25, 2013

Thursday – Year of Faith – Easter Season

Feast of Saint Mark, Evangelist

by Rev. Fr. Benjamin “Benjo” Fajota (Vice Rector of the EDSA Shrine)

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

                         

Reading 1 1 Pt 5:5b-14

Beloved: Clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for: God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble. So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.

Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world undergo the same sufferings. The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory through Christ Jesus will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little. To him be dominion forever. Amen.

I write you this briefly through Silvanus, whom I consider a faithful brother, exhorting you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Remain firm in it. The chosen one at Babylon sends you greeting, as does Mark, my son. Greet one another with a loving kiss. Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

Responsorial Psalm PS 89:2-3, 6-7, 16-17

R. (2) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The favors of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, “My kindness is established forever”;
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The heavens proclaim your wonders, O LORD,
and your faithfulness, in the assembly of the holy ones.
For who in the skies can rank with the LORD?
Who is like the LORD among the sons of God?
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed the people who know the joyful shout;
in the light of your countenance, O LORD, they walk.
At your name they rejoice all the day,
and through your justice they are exalted.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel Mk 16:15-20

Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages.They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

HOMILY

The late Archbishop of El Salvador, Oscar Romero, once said, "The Church must be ready to suffer in proclaiming the truth of the Gospel. It must be ready to point out sin, and to uproot the causes of sin in our society." And he continued to say that in a society full of sores, full of wounds, full of inflictions, it will cringe and will always would not accept when the Church will point out its sins and the causes of sins. But the Church must be ready to suffer.

And this is why the Church continues to proclaim the Gospel in terms of what is happening in our society. There are a lot of rising and new types of beliefs, attitudes and ideas that the world is embracing. But it does not really know that it is already embracing these truths, like the pandemic rise of internet pornography, the sense of consumerism and materialism that economists, traders and businessmen are always throwing to us, the rise of atheism in our society.

A lot of people no longer believe and no longer accept the sacredness of the celebration of the Eucharist. Why? Because of our failure. Failure to proclaim Christ and His Gospel in the way we live, in our lifestyle. Hindi na naniniwala ang tao na mayroong Diyos, na mayroong kahulugan at kahalagahan pa ang pagdiriwang ng Eukaristiya, dahil hindi naman nila nakikita ang bunga ng ating pagdiriwang sa ating pang-araw araw na pamumuhay. Kaya patuloy ang simbahan na nagpapahayag ng katotohanan para ipalaganap ang kaharian ng Diyos.

Tingnan po natin sa ating lipunan. Ngayon ay darating na naman ang halalan. Marami na tayong naririnig na kung anu-anong pandaraya at panlalamang lamang ang nagagawa. Pero hindi tayo nagsasalita. Dahil sinasabi natin, they are so powerful, they are already entrenched in authority, we cannot go against them. But Jesus Christ suffered so much because He took the risk of proclaiming the truth, of trying to get out of a popular system, of what is happening in the society.

Kaya nga ba't kung ano po ang nangyayari sa ating gobyerno o sa ating pamahalaan, hindi tayo pwedeng tumatahimik lamang. Hindi nila pwedeng sabihin kung bakit ang Simbahan ay nakikialam sa pagpapatakbo ng gobyerno. Hindi po sa pagpapatakbo tayo nakikialam, kundi sa uri ng pagpapatakbo ng ating bayan. Tingnan natin kung paano pa rin ngayon, kahit sinasabing tumataas ang punto ng ating ekonomiya, a lot of people are still living below poverty level, because a lot of people are still so greedy with power, with wealth, with fame. And we must not stop proclaiming the truth, no matter what it costs, even if we have to suffer, like what Jesus suffered.

Mga kapatid, ang pagpapahayag po ng kahulugan ng tunay na Ebanghelyo ng katotohanan ay ang pagsasabuhay nito. Hindi lamang sa pananalita, kung hindi sa ating araw-araw na paggawa. Amen.

Gospel Reflection

April 24, 2013

Wednesday – Year of Faith – Easter Season

by Rev.  Fr. Joel Jason (Dean, Graduate School of Theology San Carlos Seminary)

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

                         

Reading 1 Acts 12:24—13:5a

The word of God continued to spread and grow.

After Barnabas and Saul completed their relief mission, they returned to Jerusalem, taking with them John, who is called Mark.

Now there were in the Church at Antioch prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, completing their fasting and prayer, they laid hands on them and sent them off.

So they, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and from there sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived in Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues.

Responsorial Psalm PS 67:2-3, 5, 6 and 8

R. (4) O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.
May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!
R. O God, let all the nations praise you!
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel Jn 12:44-50

Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness. And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world.  Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day, because I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. So what I say, I say as the Father told me.”

HOMILY

Magandang tanghali po sa inyong lahat.

In our First Reading for today taken from the Acts of the Apostles, we are told of the slow but sure growth of the Church. After the Resurrection of the Lord, the Apostles were sent to preach the Christian Gospel. And slowly but surely, the Gospel of Christ began to spread in different places.

In our First Reading for today, we hear the story of Paul and Barnabas. But while I was meditating on this Reading last night, one phrase caught my attention. According to the Reading, the Holy Spirit spoke, and it said, "Set apart Paul and Barnabas for the work that I will give them." Set them apart. Kumbaga eh....in our common language, i-reserve ninyo, itabi ninyo, dahil meron silang gagawing mahalaga.

You know, holiness is precisely that. When you look at the original Hebrew word for 'holiness', it comes from the word 'hagios'. That is why when you study the different lives of the saints, it is called hagiography. In Greek, the word is 'sacra' or sacred. But what is the common thing that we can find in the words hagios and sacra? Both of them mean 'holy' or 'sacred'. But when you look at the dictionary, there is a primary meaning. Dalawa talaga ang ibig sabihin niya. Ang unang-una, 'to set apart', and then only secondly, 'to become holy'.

I think we can learn from that definition. Why? You can only become holy when you first set apart. Tayo ay magiging banal kapag ang unang ginawa natin ay tayo ay mag-iisang-tabi muna, o tayo ay magre-reserve muna.

Yesterday, I was attending a prayer meeting. And there was one woman who was making her testimony. She said that in her daily life at home, she sets apart a particular time of the day to pray. And during that time, no one can disturb her. Not even her children. Her children know that that time is set apart for the Lord. All throughout the day, they can disturb her, but during that particular time, they know that it is set apart for the Lord.

Ganoon naman talaga ang una, eh. Paano ba tayo magiging banal? Kailangang mag-set aside muna tayo. Sasabihin natin, "Panginoon, itong panahong ito ay para sa iyo lamang."" But one thing that caught my attention in the sharing of that woman is that she said, "I do not only set apart. I protect that time, and I honor that time." 'Yon pala ang maganda ring gawin natin. We do not only set aside a time for the Lord. We also must protect it. And after protecting it, we must also honor it.

I'm sure all of you here set aside a particular time for your spiritual life. For example, bakit kayo nandidito? You are setting aside time for the Lord. Sa dinami-dami ng inyong schedule, sinasabi ninyo, "Panginoon, itong oras na ito ay gagamitin ko, para ako maka-attend ng banal na misa." So that's already the first step. You have already set something aside.

But something important needs to be added. We need to protect it. Kailangan nating ingatan iyon. And what does it mean to protect it? Ibig sabihin, hindi ka gagawa ng mga bagay-bagay na ma-e-endanger 'yon. And then after protecting it, you have to honor it. Kahit na ano'ng mangyari, ito ay aking igagalang. Ito'y aking kikilalanin.

Kaya lang ano ang nagiging problema minsan? Pag may mga bagay na dumarating, ang unang unang nawawala sa atin ay 'yong mga bagay na para sa Panginoon. Many times, when I hear confession, people will tell me, "Father, I missed Sunday mass." And then if I ask them, "May I know the reason why you were not able to go to Sunday mass?" "Ah, because Father last Sunday we went to the mall. And because we watched a movie and went shopping, naubusan na po kami ng panahon." Sometimes, when something comes up, ano 'yong unang unang nahuhuli? Nahuhuli 'yong mga bagay-bagay na para sa Panginoon. Why? Because we do not protect it, and we do not honor it.

It is not enough that we set things aside for the Lord. We also need to protect it, and we also need to honor it. And I am talking here, not only about time. Kasi marami tayong bagay na dapat ingatan. Halimbawa 'yong prayer ni St. Ignatius. Sabi niya, "Take, O Lord, my mind, my will, my memory, my understanding." 'Yon palang mga bagay na 'yon, dapat din nating i-set aside. Lord, I set aside my mind, only for the things that are holy. Lord. I set aside my heart, my desires, only for the things that are holy. And I wish to protect it, and I wish to honor it. So at the end of the day, ano'ng sinasabi natin sa Panginoon? Just like the prayer of St. Ignatius, "Lord, take away my mind, my will, my memory. Everything, I offer them to you." When we do that, then we are already on the road to holiness.

As we continue with this Holy mass, let that be the grace that we will ask from the Lord. That we may become more generous to the Lord. And let us ask for the grace and perseverance, that we may protect our promise to God, and more importantly, honor all our promises to God. Amen.



Gospel Reflection

April 23, 2013

Tuesday – Year of Faith – Easter Season

by Rev.  Fr. Matthieu Dauchez

Mass, Mary, Queen of Peace Shrine (Our Lady of Peace Quasi Parish/EDSA Shrine)

                         

Reading 1 Acts 11:19-26

Those who had been scattered by the persecution that arose because of Stephen went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch,
preaching the word to no one but Jews. There were some Cypriots and Cyrenians among them, however, who came to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the Lord Jesus.  The hand of the Lord was with them and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The news about them reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart, for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith. And a large number of people was added to the Lord. Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the Church and taught a large number of people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.

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

R. (117:1a) All you nations, praise the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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. All you nations, praise the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I tell of Egypt and Babylon
among those who 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. All you nations, praise the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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. All you nations, praise the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel Jn 10:22-30

The feast of the Dedication was taking place in Jerusalem. It was winter. And Jesus walked about in the temple area on the Portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him,“How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you and you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify to me.
But you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

HOMILY

My dear brothers and sisters, Jesus said, "I told you and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name testify to Me."

This is the exacting and nourishing declaration from Jesus. And Jesus is saying, 'true enough'.  

We should equate our words with action. You see, we try to imitate the lordship of God. But in our daily lives, it is often the opposite, more on words, but only a few actions, a few changes in our life.

My dear brothers and sisters, once again, we are reminded about the key of today's Gospel - consistency. Amen.

Gospel Reflection

April 22, 2013

Monday – Year of Faith – Easter Season

by Rev. Fr. Benjamin “Benjo” Fajota (Vice Rector of the EDSA Shrine)

6:30AM Mass, Mary, Queen of Peace Shrine (Our Lady of Peace Quasi Parish/EDSA Shrine)

                         

Reading 1 Acts 11:1-18

The Apostles and the brothers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem the circumcised believers confronted him, saying, ‘You entered the house of uncircumcised people and ate with them.” Peter began and explained it to them step by step, saying,“I was at prayer in the city of Joppa when in a trance I had a vision, something resembling a large sheet coming down, lowered from the sky by its four corners, and it came to me. Looking intently into it, I observed and saw the four-legged animals of the earth, the wild beasts, the reptiles, and the birds of the sky. I also heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Slaughter and eat.’ But I said, ‘Certainly not, sir, because nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ But a second time a voice from heaven answered,‘What God has made clean, you are not to call profane.’ This happened three times, and then everything was drawn up again into the sky. Just then three men appeared at the house where we were, who had been sent to me from Caesarea. The Spirit told me to accompany them without discriminating. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. He related to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, saying, ‘Send someone to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter, who will speak words to you by which you and all your household will be saved.’ As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them as it had upon us at the beginning, and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’  If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?” When they heard this, they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying, “God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too.”

Responsorial Psalm PS 42:2-3; 43:3, 4

R. (see 3a) Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
As the hind longs for the running waters,
so my soul longs for you, O God.
Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Send forth your light and your fidelity;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling-place.
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel Jn 10:1-10

Jesus said: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize his voice. But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the voice of strangers.” Although Jesus used this figure of speech, they did not realize what he was trying to tell them.

So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

HOMILY

Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd exposed His life to risk by going against the popular notion at that time, by exposing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and the church leaders, by befriending the enemies of the Israelites - the Samaritans, and by teaching the true meaning of what love is, what service is, what life is all about.

In my seven years as a priest, I have realized one thing. It is not about me; it is about Him. It is about the Shepherd who calls me to follow Him faithfully, no matter what the cost. As a priest, we are also exposed to telling the truth based on the Gospel values and based on the Gospel teachings. But going against the popular, we are also tried, we are also ridiculed, we are also attacked. But let us go on. Let us be faithful to the call that our Shepherd has called us to. And that is to share the Kingdom, to expose the truth, no matter what it costs. This is what our Lord Jesus Christ did, and this is what we must do, as His sheep. Amen.