Gospel Reflection

October 11, 2013

Friday – Year of Faith – Ordinary Time

by Rev. Fr. Jomar Burgos, LRMS - Dean of Seminarians and Vocation Director, Lorenzo Mission Institute
12:15PM Mass, Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord (SM Megamall Chapel)

Reading 1 Jl 1:13-15; 2:1-2

Gird yourselves and weep, O priests! wail, O ministers of the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God! The house of your God is deprived of offering and libation. Proclaim a fast, call an assembly; Gather the elders, all who dwell in the land, Into the house of the LORD, your God, and cry to the LORD!

Alas, the day! for near is the day of the LORD, and it comes as ruin from the Almighty.

Blow the trumpet in Zion, sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all who dwell in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; Yes, it is near, a day of darkness and of gloom, a day of clouds and somberness! Like dawn spreading over the mountains, a people numerous and mighty! Their like has not been from of old, nor will it be after them, even to the years of distant generations.

Responsorial Psalm PS 9:2-3, 6 and 16, 8-9

R. (9) The Lord will judge the world with justice.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, Most High.
R. The Lord will judge the world with justice.
You rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
their name you blotted out forever and ever.
The nations are sunk in the pit they have made;
in the snare they set, their foot is caught.
R. The Lord will judge the world with justice.
But the LORD sits enthroned forever;
he has set up his throne for judgment.
He judges the world with justice;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. The Lord will judge the world with justice.

Gospel Lk 11:15-26

When Jesus had driven out a demon, some of the crowd said: “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons.” Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven. But he knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house. And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons. If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man fully armed guards his palace, his possessions are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he takes away the armor on which he relied and distributes the spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

“When an unclean spirit goes out of someone, it roams through arid regions searching for rest but, finding none, it says, ‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’ But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there, and the last condition of that man is worse than the first.”

HOMILY

I do not see many students attending this mass because we have class outside, but even if most of us are not students, at least, most of us have been students. And as a student, I know that we are all familiar with what we call a deadline.

Deadlines are very famous in school. For example, our history teacher would assign us a research paper on a certain topic, say, World War II, and our teacher will tell us to submit it after one month. So we have to work on it for a month, and, therefore, the day that the paper is due is what we call the deadline. Those who fail to submit on time will be penalized, or would have to face the consequences. Either you fail the subject, or you get a low grade. However, we also know that in some rare cases, the teacher may also adjust the deadline and extend it a little bit.

We know that deadlines are not only given in the classroom. Deadlines are a part of our life. We catch the deadline, whether we are paying income taxes, submitting the budget for the company, submitting articles in the newspaper or magazine, or when we have to process our passports and visas when we travel abroad.

Going back to a student, what kind of attitude does a student have to possess when it comes to deadlines? Based on experience, I was not that faithful when it comes to deadlines. When my teacher tells us that we need to submit a project by the end of the semester, I'll be counting. I still have 4 months to make it. When one month passes, I tell myself that I still have 3 months to make it, then 2 months. And later on, I just find out that it is already 2 days before the deadline. And what happens? There is cramming. And what does cramming do to us? There is no quality in our work. And it also affects our health. Wala nang tayuan, wala nang tulugan. The quality is affected because of cramming.

Why am I saying all of these things? It is because the First Reading, which is taken from the book of the prophet Joel, also speaks of a deadline. Hindi lang po siguro natin narinig ang term na 'deadline'. Who is the prophet Joel? He was the last prophet in the Old Testament. And in the First Reading, he tells his contemporaries that God has set a limit for them to be converted. And he calls the deadline 'the day of the Lord'. The day of the Lord is coming, therefore, they have to change their ways, they have to live their life to the fullest.

The prophet Joel was speaking to the people from the Southern part of Israel. During that time, the kingdom of Israel was divided into two - the Northern part, which is Samaria, and the Southern part, which is Judah. The prophet Joel was speaking to the people of Judah, because at that time, the Samarians were already captured by the Assyrians, so the prophet Joel was telling the people of Judah that if they will not change their ways, the same thing will happen to them. He warned them that there is an impending judgment from God, because Joel realized that the people already forgot God, and they were living evil lives.

In our Gospel today, we are also being reminded that the Kingdom of God is at hand. So what are we supposed to do? We should repent and believe in the Gospel. It is the same thing.

Therefore, today, we are called to be like students. Not the cramming students, but the good ones. Because when a good student hears the deadline, he listens and acts immediately. Just like us, we always hear the Word of God. But do we take it seriously? Yes, we hear in the Gospel that we should forgive and love our enemies, but do we follow it? Do we act on it? When the priest, during the mass, tells us, 'Let us offer each other the sign of peace', madaling gawin 'yan sa kaliwa. Pero sa kanan, pag nakita mong kaaway mo o kasamaan mo ng loob ang taong iyon, kaliwa na lang uli - 'Peace be with you.' (laughs) We cannot forgive, but that is what the Gospel tells us.

A good student, a good Christian, a good disciple, is someone who not only listens to the teachings of the Lord, but also acts on them. If the prophet Joel appears to us now and says the day of the Lord is near, would we be rattled? Will we be cramming? Or will we be relaxed? Tapos ko na 'yan. I have been doing that ever since. Hopefully, we can say we are relaxed. Today, let us ask the Lord that every time we hear his Word, we try to listen with seriousness of heart, and act on them. Amen.

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.