Gospel Reflection

October 10, 2013

Thursday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

by Rev. Fr. Benjo Fajota, Vice Rector, Mary, Queen of Peace Shrine (Our Lady of Peace Quasi Parish/EDSA Shrine)
5:30PM Mass at the EDSA Shrine

Reading 1 Mal 3:13-20b

You have defied me in word, says the LORD, yet you ask, “What have we spoken against you?” You have said, “It is vain to serve God, and what do we profit by keeping his command, And going about in penitential dress in awe of the LORD of hosts? Rather must we call the proud blessed; for indeed evildoers prosper, and even tempt God with impunity.” Then they who fear the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened attentively; And a record book was written before him of those who fear the LORD and trust in his name. And they shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, my own special possession, on the day I take action. And I will have compassion on them, as a man has compassion on his son who serves him. Then you will again see the distinction between the just and the wicked; Between the one who serves God, and the one who does not serve him. For lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, And the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch, says the LORD of hosts. But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.

Responsorial Psalm PS 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6

R. (Ps 40:5a) Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Gospel Lk 11:5-13

Jesus said to his disciples: “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

HOMILY

Yesterday, we were told how to pray to the Father, with the disposition of a child to his Father. And now, we see another picture of God - that of a friend, who will give us anything because of our persistence.

There was one who asked the late Pope John Paul II when he was still alive, 'How does the Pope pray?' And the Pope answered, 'The Pope prays as much as the Holy Spirit allows him to pray.' Basically, prayer is a relationship. We cannot go directly to God. That is why we have to ask the grace of the Holy Spirit for us to be able to communicate to God. And it is only upon being filled by the Holy Spirit that we can understand what God is telling us. The problem with us is we do not want God to be God. We demand much from Him. We do not allow Him to be ruling in our lives, to be reigning supreme in our hearts. We demand from Him a lot of our petitions, our supplications, but we do not want to listen, if God is telling us 'not yet', or 'I don't want to give that to you yet', or 'I will give you the best, more than what you are asking for'.

Basically, prayer is a relationship - a relationship between God and man. But when we talk to God in prayer, it is about God and God. It is the Holy Spirit in us talking to God, and it is by the grace of the Holy Spirit in us, that we listen to God's words, and are able to accept His will for our lives. Let us, from here on, allow God to be God. Amen.

Gospel Reflection

October 09, 2013

Wednesday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

by Rev. Fr. Leo Nilo C. Mangussad, - Rector, Shrine of Mary Queen of Peace (Our Lady of Peace Quasi Parish/EDSA Shrine)
12:15PM Mass at the EDSA Shrine

Reading 1 Jon 4:1-11

Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry that God did not carry out the evil he threatened against Nineveh. He prayed, “I beseech you, LORD, is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I fled at first to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, rich in clemency, loathe to punish. And now, LORD, please take my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.” But the LORD asked, “Have you reason to be angry?”

Jonah then left the city for a place to the east of it, where he built himself a hut and waited under it in the shade, to see what would happen to the city. And when the LORD God provided a gourd plant that grew up over Jonah’s head, giving shade that relieved him of any discomfort, Jonah was very happy over the plant. But the next morning at dawn God sent a worm that attacked the plant,
so that it withered. And when the sun arose, God sent a burning east wind; and the sun beat upon Jonah’s head till he became faint. Then Jonah asked for death, saying, “I would be better off dead than alive.”

But God said to Jonah, “Have you reason to be angry over the plant?” “I have reason to be angry,” Jonah answered, “angry enough to die.” Then the LORD said, “You are concerned over the plant which cost you no labor and which you did not raise; it came up in one night and in one night it perished. And should I not be concerned over Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot distinguish their right hand from their left, not to mention the many cattle?”

Responsorial Psalm PS 86:3-4, 5-6, 9-10

R. (15) Lord, you are merciful and gracious.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to you I call all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
R. Lord, you are merciful and gracious.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.
R. Lord, you are merciful and gracious.
All the nations you have made shall come
and worship you, O Lord,
and glorify your name.
For you are great, and you do wondrous deeds;
you alone are God.
R. Lord, you are merciful and gracious.

Gospel Lk 11:1-4

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test.”

HOMILY

In the advent of social networking, a lot of people are always using their Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo and other accounts. And I am going to bet my fingers that most, if not all of you, have an account (soft laughs).

It's not bad. But do you notice that what is posted, especially on Facebook, are photos of the person? Every day, they change. The picture of the person changes - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday....Sometimes, the picture of the person changes three times a day. (laughs) Gone were the days when you take the photo, and the important person is not there, because he is the one taking the photos. Now, we are taking photos of ourselves, and showing it to everyone. It is me, I, myself. You are losing the very importance of who you are, because you are projecting yourself more than anything else.

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, He taught them the most beautiful prayer in the world. And it begins with 'Our Father...', not 'myself'. It begins with who the Father is, not who I am. The priority is my Father in heaven, and not myself on earth. But the people of today do not even consider the importance of the Father in heaven. One considers 'my' importance, not yours. That is why we are having problems.

My brothers and sisters, if we can only learn from the prayer, to put God first before ourselves, things will be put in their proper place. The problem nowadays is - I, I, I....When I come to church, I want my seat to be vacated, because I want to sit there. If someone sits there, I get frustrated and disappointed. I....

It's time to change our attitude. If we mean the Lord's Prayer, let us put it into practice in our lives. God first before my needs. God's desires first, before what I want. And God's providence first, before my request. Amen.

Gospel Reflection

October 08, 2013

Tuesday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

by Rev. Fr. Benjo Fajota, Vice Rector, Mary, Queen of Peace Shrine (Our Lady of Peace Quasi Parish/EDSA Shrine)

5:30PM Mass at the EDSA Shrine

Reading 1 Jon 3:1-10

The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: “Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you.” So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the LORD’s bidding. Now Nineveh was an enormously large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,” when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes. Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh, by decree of the king and his nobles: “Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep, shall taste anything; they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water.  Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth  and call loudly to God; every man shall turn from his evil way and from the violence he has in hand. Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath, so that we shall not perish.” When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.

Responsorial Psalm PS 130:1b-2, 3-4ab, 7-8

R. (3) If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?
Let Israel wait for the LORD,
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption;
And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?

Gospel Lk 10:38-42

Jesus entered a village  where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?  Tell her to help me.”  The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.  There is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

HOMILY

An American homily writer said that one of the best gifts that you can give to someone is open-minded, undistracted listening.

Last night, I received that gift. I met a priest friend of mine who was assigned at another ministry. We are very near each other by distance, but because of our schedule, it has been months since we last saw each other and talked to each other. A few months back, I received a call from him, and he wanted for us to meet, and so we met last night. He arrived after I exposed the Blessed Sacrament at 10 o'clock in the evening. We had coffee nearby. Then he got back here at 12:30am, because he parked his car at the EDSA Shrine, but still, we parted ways at 2:30 in the morning.

My friend just asked one question to me before we parted, and that was 'How are you? Kamusta ka na?' Doon sa tanong niyang iyon, nailabas kong lahat ng aking mga concerns, lahat ng aking mga struggles, lahat ng aking mga pinagdadaanang problema. And I was so relieved after that, unloading all the heaviness within me. True enough, if someone will listen to us, we will be so much relieved of our own problems. That friend of mine did not give any piece of advice. He did not argue with me. He just gave his undivided, undistracted listening.

And this is what we see here in the Gospel, with Martha and Mary. Martha wanted Jesus to listen to her. Mary wanted to listen to Jesus. And that made a big difference. That is why Jesus said that Mary has chosen the better part.

Every time we come here to mass, do we just have our problems presented to God, or are we ready to listen to Jesus Christ in His words? In the readings and in the Gospel, do we listen to the Word of God? If we do, we have chosen the better part. Amen.

Gospel Reflection

October 07, 2013

Monday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

by Rev. Fr. Leo Nilo C. Mangussad, - Rector, Shrine of Mary Queen of Peace (Our Lady of Peace Quasi Parish/EDSA Shrine)
12:15PM Mass at the EDSA Shrine

Reading 1 Jon 1:1–2:1-2, 11

This is the word of the LORD that came to Jonah, son of Amittai:

“Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it; their wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah made ready to flee to Tarshish away from the LORD. He went down to Joppa, found a ship going to Tarshish, paid the fare, and went aboard to journey with them to Tarshish, away from the LORD.

The LORD, however, hurled a violent wind upon the sea, and in the furious tempest that arose the ship was on the point of breaking up. Then the mariners became frightened and each one cried to his god. To lighten the ship for themselves, they threw its cargo into the sea. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship, and lay there fast asleep. The captain came to him and said, “What are you doing asleep? Rise up, call upon your God! Perhaps God will be mindful of us so that we may not perish.”

Then they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots to find out on whose account we have met with this misfortune.” So they cast lots, and thus singled out Jonah. “Tell us,” they said, “what is your business? Where do you come from? What is your country, and to what people do you belong?” Jonah answered them, “I am a Hebrew, I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

Now the men were seized with great fear and said to him, “How could you do such a thing!–  They knew that he was fleeing from the LORD, because he had told them.– They asked, “What shall we do with you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea was growing more and more turbulent. Jonah said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea, that it may quiet down for you; since I know it is because of me that this violent storm has come upon you.”

Still the men rowed hard to regain the land, but they could not, for the sea grew ever more turbulent. Then they cried to the LORD: “We beseech you, O LORD, let us not perish for taking this man’s life; do not charge us with shedding innocent blood, for you, LORD, have done as you saw fit.” Then they took Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea’s raging abated. Struck with great fear of the LORD, the men offered sacrifice and made vows to him.

But the LORD sent a large fish, that swallowed Jonah; and Jonah remained in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. From the belly of the fish Jonah prayed  to the LORD, his God. Then the LORD commanded the fish to spew Jonah upon the shore.

Responsorial Psalm Jon 2:3, 4, 5, 8

R. You will rescue my life from the pit, O Lord.
Out of my distress I called to the LORD,
and he answered me;
From the midst of the nether world I cried for help,
and you heard my voice.
R. You will rescue my life from the pit, O Lord.
For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the sea,
and the flood enveloped me;
All your breakers and your billows
passed over me.
R. You will rescue my life from the pit, O Lord.
Then I said, “I am banished from your sight!
yet would I again look upon your holy temple.”
R. You will rescue my life from the pit, O Lord.
When my soul fainted within me,
I remembered the LORD;
My prayer reached you
in your holy temple.
R. You will rescue my life from the pit, O Lord.

Gospel Lk 10:25-37

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,
with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”

But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal,
took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,
‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

HOMILY

There is a saying that we choose our friends, and we also choose our enemies. But it is God who chooses our neighbor. And Jesus has defined who our neighbor is. Our neighbor is not just the one who stays or lives with us, but it is someone, anyone who needs our help. And that is who we should prioritize.

What is unfortunate is when we are beside somebody we do not like, we do not call him our neighbor. In fact, we move away from that person. Remember - we do not choose our neighbor; it is God who chooses our neighbor for us. And it is our chance to show how well we can do our calling...to be able to help even those who we do not want to. What we must ask ourselves is - when God gives me a chance to exercise my love for Him and my neighbor, am I capable of opening my heart to help those He sends to me, or up to now, do I choose only the one I want to help, because it is I, not God, who chooses the person I call 'neighbor'?