Gospel Reflection

July 19, 2013

Friday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

by Rev. Fr. Lloyd Tiu, Lorenzo Ruiz Mission Society (LMI-Makati)
12:15PM Mass, Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord (Megamall Chapel)

 

Reading 1 Ex 11:10—12:14

Although Moses and Aaron performed various wonders in Pharaoh’s presence, the LORD made Pharaoh obstinate, and he would not let the children of Israel leave his land.

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall stand at the head of your calendar; you shall reckon it the first month of the year. Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this month every one of your families must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household. If a family is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join the nearest household in procuring one and shall share in the lamb in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it. The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish. You may take it from either the sheep or the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then, with the whole assembly of Israel present, it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight. They shall take some of its blood and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel of every house in which they partake of the lamb. That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. It shall not be eaten raw or boiled, but roasted whole, with its head and shanks and inner organs. None of it must be kept beyond the next morning; whatever is left over in the morning shall be burned up.

“This is how you are to eat it:  with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you shall eat like those who are in flight. It is the Passover of the LORD. For on this same night I will go through Egypt, striking down every first born of the land, both man and beast, and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt—I, the LORD! But the blood will mark the houses where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you; thus, when I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you.

“This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate with pilgrimage to the LORD, as a perpetual institution.”

Responsorial Psalm Ps 116:12-13, 15 and 16bc, 17-18

R. (13) I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
How shall I make a return to the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people.
R. I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.

Gospel Mt 12:1-8

Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.” He said to the them, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry, how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests serving in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent? I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”

HOMILY

When I was still a seminarian, we were exposed to different kinds of ministries, and one of those is to be assigned in a hospital. I was assigned in one of the best hospitals in Makati - an expensive one. I was assigned in the charity ward. And during our three-month assignment, we were asked to help in the chaplain's office, and to talk to people who were in need of counseling, or who needed someone to talk to. At alam natin na sa charity ward, mahirap ang mga tao.

Ang nakasama ko pong brother, who is now a priest, wanted to help a stroke victim. He noticed that for two weeks, no one has visited the stroke patient, and that the beard of the patient has grown long. Ang sabi ko sa kanya, magpaalam muna tayo bago niya balbasan ang pasyente. It is because in one of our orientations, the head nurse told us that we cannot give special treatment to any patient. So kung gusto mong kausapin ang isang pasyente, dapat ay kausapin mo ang lahat ng pasyente.

During one of our reflections or sharing, we shared this situation to one of the sisters in charge of us. My co-brother said, "Sister, gusto ko po sana balbasan ang isang pasyente, kaya lang naalala namin noong orientation na bawal pong magbigay ng special or exclusive treatment sa kahit kaninong patient." Tumingin sa akin si sister, at sinabi niya, "What is the most loving thing to do?" Noong sinabi 'yon ni sister, bumaba kaagad 'yong kasama kong brother at binalbasan ang pasyente. Wala ring nagawa ang head nurse, at wala ring sumita sa kanya.

This is the reason or the invitation of Jesus to us today. Jesus desires mercy, not sacrifice. If we have the opportunity to practice our Christian faith, to help someone anywhere, then let us immediately do it. If, through our action, someone will deepen his faith in Jesus Christ, will regain his hope in Christ, and will see Jesus Christ in you, then let us do it.

This is the challenge for us. That is why Jesus says, "I desire mercy, not sacrifice." It means that the degree or measure of our behavior in the eyes of God is not the observance of law, but the degree of compassion and love that we have for our brothers and sisters. Laws are made for people, but people are not made for the law. If that law hinders you to practice your Christian faith, then you have to think twice.

In practicing our Christian faith, sometimes we have to turn a blind eye to the law. Jesus has preached the Kingdom of God. He has helped the poor, He has cured the sick. We are called by Jesus to follow Him. What is more loving than to see someone showing genuine concern and a loving act to another? Every action that entails love and compassion transcends all the laws.

My dear brothers and sisters, this is the invitation for us today. Let us practice love and compassion, always and everywhere. Amen.

Gospel Reflection

July 18, 2013

Thursday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

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

5:30PM Mass, Mary, Queen of Peace Shrine (Our Lady of Peace Quasi Parish/EDSA Shrine)

 

Reading 1 Ex 3:13-20

Moses, hearing the voice of the LORD from the burning bush, said to him, “When I go to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” God replied, “I am who am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: I AM sent me to you.”

God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.

“This is my name forever; this my title for all generations.

“Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and tell them:  The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I am concerned about you and about the way you are being treated in Egypt; so I have decided to lead you up out of the misery of Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.

“Thus they will heed your message. Then you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him: “The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent us word. Permit us, then, to go a three-days’ journey in the desert, that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God.

“Yet I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless he is forced. I will stretch out my hand, therefore, and smite Egypt by doing all kinds of wondrous deeds there. After that he will send you away.”

Responsorial Psalm PS 105:1 and 5, 8-9, 24-25, 26-27

R. (8a) The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations—
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He greatly increased his people
and made them stronger than their foes,
Whose hearts he changed, so that they hated his people,
and dealt deceitfully with his servants.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He sent Moses his servant;
Aaron, whom he had chosen.
They wrought his signs among them,
and wonders in the land of Ham.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel Mt 11:28-30

Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

HOMILY

A very simple, yet profound message from Jesus - "Come to me and I will give you rest."

When Jesus mentioned to take up His yoke and learn from Him, He was speaking of how they farm during those days. There are usually two cattle to carry the yoke on their shoulders, and the two of them will plow the farm together, so that it will be easier for them to plow the field because they work in pairs.

Now, Jesus Christ is telling us - take My yoke. But Jesus tells us, not only to take His Yoke, but to know that He will be taking it with us. He also tells us to learn from Him, for He is meek and humble of heart. When we present our cares to God our Father, we trust in Him. We humbly present our needs. We do not demand them. But for most people, the reason why they cannot get what they are searching for is because they have forgotten the condition that Jesus said, and that is to surrender everything to Him. All our cares, our worries, our fears, our anxieties and doubts, let us leave them to Jesus, let us abandon them to God, and everything will be given to us.

The rest that God gives us is also the rest that He asks us to give to our brothers and sisters. But we must learn from Him. We must learn from the Gospel. We must learn from His works and His actions. He loves us to save us, and He saves us because He loves us. Amen.

Gospel Reflection

July 17, 2013

Wednesday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

by His Eminence Cardinal Gaudencio Borbon Rosales, Archbishop Emeritus of Manila
6:00PM Mass, 30th Anniversary of the Sto. Nino de Paz Chapel (Greenbelt Chapel), Makati

Reading 1 Ex 3:1-6, 9-12

Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There an angel of the LORD appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. So Moses decided, “I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned.”

When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I am.” God said, “Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your father,” he continued, “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. The cry of the children of Israel has reached me, and I have truly noted that the Egyptians are oppressing them. Come, now! I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He answered, “I will be with you; and this shall be your proof that it is I who have sent you: when you bring my people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this very mountain.”

Responsorial Psalm Ps 103:1b-2, 3-4, 6-7

R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
The LORD secures justice
and the rights of all the oppressed.
He has made known his ways to Moses,
and his deeds to the children of Israel.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

Gospel Mt 11:25-27

At that time Jesus exclaimed:  “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

HOMILY

Reverend Father Jun Sescon, chaplain of this beautiful chapel in Greenbelt, under its name, Sto. Nino de Paz, Reverend Father Jim Ferry, and also former chaplain Father Prex Fajardo, and our brother priests. To all of you, magandang gabi po sa inyong lahat.

What a blessed occasion for us to end this day, in the presence of Christ, when Jesus Christ again offers himself to the Father. Jesus is once again facing His Father to summarize the day and in that sacrifice, all of you here are included, including myself. This is the unique mystery of the Eucharist. Jesus sums up the giftedness in the life in a day of a Christian. But most especially for us because tonight, we are celebrating first, the Feast of the Lady of Perpetual Help. Wednesday is always the Feast of the Perpetual Help. Secondly, we, too, are celebrating, to include in the summary of the giftedness, thirty years of the presence of this chapel in Greenbelt. Thirty years of presence, thirty years of repeated summation of every gift in the life of all those who have come here to join in numberless, many Eucharistic sacrifices.

Then, of course, there is the beautiful Gospel to reflect on and to summarize thirty years, and why not the other years when you and I have gathered for the mercy and love and compassion of God - giftedness in life, in health, in family, in community, in livelihood, and what else we could remember this night.

The Gospel reminds us of a mysterious God who was sent to us. Blessed be God. You are simply someone we could not fully understand, and yet we know You love us. You have revealed the mysteries of heaven to the childlike. What a prayer of thanks of Jesus, praising His Father for understanding, revealing the wealth of heaven, the beauty of the Kingdom of love, and for opening His heart through the eyes of children. We have to be childlike as we heard in Jesus' opening praise and prayer of thanks. We have to be childlike to realize that there is a God, to recognize God. There must be simplicity in the person who will be ready to know God.

At this point, I want to relate to you a story that took place in another country. A mother went to church together with her little daughter, a toddler, 3 or 4 years old. And while in the church, the toddler was jumping, making noise, going under the pews. And her mother, pointing to the tabernacle, said, "Shhhh....Jesus is there." But the toddler continued jumping, to the annoyance of the other churchgoers. And so the mother said, "You better shut up, because Jesus is there." Then the child was quiet. The mass continued, and the child sat there. 

When the mass was over, the mother said, "Ok, let's now go home. The mass is finished." But the child won't stand. "Come, let's go home", the mother insisted. But the child won't leave her seat and said, "No!" So the mother asked, "Why?" The child said, "I want to see Jesus." The child took the word of the mother that Jesus was there. Now the child insisted, "I want to see Jesus." 

The child was now making a riot, and the next mass is already to begin. And so, the mother approached the priest and said, "Father, my child does not want to go home." The priest asked why. "She said she wants to see Jesus." The priest then took the child in his arms, walked to the tabernacle and said, "Jesus is there." And the child said, "Is Jesus really there?" "Yes", the priest said. Then the child asked the priest to open the tabernacle. When the priest opened it, the child saw the ciborium, containing the consecrated host. "Where is Jesus?" And the priest replied, "He is there...hiding for you." "Really?" "But when you grow up, you will begin to see Him. Because when you grow up, your eyes will grow up with your head, and you will see Jesus more....around you. You are going to see, and feel and experience Jesus. Alright, you can now go home with your mother. And when you grow up, you will see Jesus." So you think that is the end of the story? (laughs) Twenty-five years later, that girl became a nun, a sister. She must have seen Jesus in many ways. In her work, in the jeepney, on the bus. In the people staring at her, she must have seen Jesus. 

Father, I thank you...that you have revealed the things of heaven to the childlike. Jesus' prayer is a beautiful thing to remember in that particular episode in the life of Jesus....thanking the Father. Many people, like that girl, have experienced Jesus. Maybe there are people here who have experienced Jesus. In their moments of pain, in their moments of need, when they go home and see that their house is topsy-turvy, or they are in trouble. You are looking for Jesus. Like the child, you may not understand, but later, you must have felt Jesus. 

It's the same thing, now that we are celebrating thirty years of this chapel, Sto. Nino de la Paz, here in Greenbelt. How many people have come here? With sorrow in their hearts, disappointment in their work, betrayed by their friends. How many people have come here, from their shopping or what? Were they not looking for Jesus? Are we not looking for Jesus? Hindi ba natin hinahanap si Hesus? Why? 

I'll tell you what. It's dangerous. Really, I tell you, it's dangerous to see Jesus, to meet Jesus. Peligroso ang makilala si Hesus. Bakit? He is going to turn your world upside down. So beware. Once you know Jesus, you will love Him. There's no one like Him, as the face of God on earth. God has a human face, and He is a face you are going to love, when you see Him, when you experience Him. You will love Him. It is dangerous when you fall in love with Jesus. He will disturb you. (soft laughs) 

Sometimes, we take for granted the Beatitudes. That's precisely a revolution of values. Happy are those who are poor. What? What are you saying - the poor are blessed? Happy are those who weep. What? Happy are those who experience injustices. What? Don't you see that Jesus is beginning to disturb my values and yours? Delikado pala ang makakilala kay Hesus. 

Maybe that girl, between the time when she was toddler and making trouble in the church, until she was 28 years old and became a nun, I bet you, there were moments when that girl was disturbed. She passed by adolescence and became a young professional. 25 years is one-fourth of a century. Sigurado ako that that girl was disturbed; Jesus disturbed her. But that is precisely the mystery of knowing Jesus. 

And you know? That is exactly what our Mother of Perpetual Help is saying. "You go to my Son." Remember the historic marriage in Cana? Mary was the first one so sensitive to find out that the couple was in trouble. "Go to my Son, and do whatever He tells you to do." And adding something to Mary's words, 'Go and be friends with my Son. Go - if you want, love Him. Kung gusto mo, mahalin mo Siya. But...you will do what He tells you to do." 

And that's exactly why we are here. That's exactly why thirty years ago, this Chapel was built, for people who want to see Jesus. When people like you would want to know more about Jesus. Knowing Jesus, I know that all of us - you and I - will love Him. Enjoy that love that gives us strength. And as we celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the Sto. Nino de Paz Chapel, share that love with others. Ask the good Lord tonight - unworthy and as little as we are, allow us to love You more with others. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.