Fridays of Lent are days of abstinence from meat. Though not obliged but encouraged for below 18 & above 60 years old faithful, Catholics during Lent practice abstinence from meat during Fridays of Lent.
We should understand that fasting is not only our penance – our way to be repentant for our sins and be reconciled with God, but most of all, fasting is our way & chance to help those who are in need and hungry. St. Augustine once said: “Don’t think that fasting is enough. Yes, fasting may be a form of penance but it will not save our neighbors. Righteous is your fasting and abstinence if it helps the needs of others. How many poor hungry people be satisfied by the food you fasted and abstained today?”
Meaning, fasting is not for our personal gains but for the salvation of others. Our bishops even remind us that it is poverty, not politics is the greatest problem in our country today. Whatever savings, then we have acquired from our fasting during Lent & during Friday abstinence from meat could and should be our contribution and extended help to those who are in need. In this way, Lent would be real sacrifice for it would personally and deeply affect our stomachs and pockets.
Our Lenten practices of fasting, prayer, and charitable works during this season then are not for our sake but for the sake of other than ourselves.
We hope and pray then that the food we fast and the things we abstain from having within this season be converted and become rice, clothing, and food for our poor and hungry neighbors, especially during these trying pandemic times.
MERCY. Lenten is all about Mercy. As we begin the season of Lent today, better for us to have a good understanding of God’s mercy being continuously offered to us.
Often, we think of Lent with dread because we often associate it with giving up something. “I have to give something up” we habitually reflect during these times. But giving up something during Lent is more than just about self-denial, self-discipline, and imposition of burden. Giving up something, (that is, by praying, fasting, doing works of mercy) is an invitation to God’s mercy. It is about entering & experiencing God’s mercy once again & anew on a much deeper & intimate level.
We observe Lenten discipline of prayer, fasting & works of mercy by giving up something so that we may experience once anew God’s love and mercy into our lives. Lent, we remember is all about receiving, benefitting from & sharing with others God’s mercy rather than just giving up something through self-denial, self-discipline, or imposing burden to oneself & others. In other words, Lent is our chance & our way to be silently, personally & closely intimate with our loving & merciful God once again & anew.
As we receive the ashes today, we are challenged to “Repent & Believe in the Gospel”. This is a constant invitation for us to renew our faith-relationship with God, by changing & updating our normal ways, and be open once again to receive God’s ways & will for us now so that we may experience God’s mercy anew. Experiencing God’s mercy again with our Lenten discipline & renewal of faith.
“Lord, Have Mercy”. Perhaps this should be our prayer these times as we do need now His mercy especially during these pandemic times, imminent-threat of war & division during election campaign. Let this be our prayer during this Lenten season:
Ginoo, Maluoy ka sa Amon. Ginoo, Kaloy-I kami. Panginoon, Maawa ka sa Amin. Chunim, chabirol bepososo. Kyrie, Eleison. Lord, Have Mercy.
Once in a monastery, the whole community of monks gathered together for a meeting in order to give their final judgment on a particular monk who made a mistake. Each one of them expresses their own different opinions and verdict on the monk on-trial. They even have some conflicting opinions as to what would be the proper verdict for the monk on-trial,…while Bro. Felix, the oldest of them all remained silent. When they finally asked for his opinion, Bro. Felix quietly came forward with a sack and a basket, and filled both with sands. They were all shocked and asked Bro. Felix to explain himself. Bro. Felix finally say: “This sack of sands are my sins, which are full and heavy. I carry this on my back so that I could not see, be mindful and be sorry about my own sins and mistakes I am guilty of. While this basket of sands are the mistakes of our brother on-trial in front of us so that I could easily see, condemn, and judge him. But this is not right and just. Better for me to carry and mind my own mistakes and ask the Lord’s pardon, mercy and forgiveness than to mind and judge the mistakes of others.” Eventually all came to realize their own sins and mistakes in life, and became forgiving to their brother on-trial as they also needing God’s mercy and forgiveness.
Try more not be a convicted judge but rather be a forgiven convict.
Why is it that it is easy for us to see the shortcomings and limitations of others, but we are blind in seeing our own wrongdoings? Usually, it is easy for us to blame others than ourselves. Easy for us to criticize the faults of others. Not difficult for us to look for the sins and dirt of others, but only ourselves to blame. Like in our life-difficulties, like during pandemic times or even election campaign period, easy for us to blame others and say, “Because of my parents… our leaders… our government… our church.” We are however blinded or hard for us to accept that we are part of the problem because we don’t care and take responsibility of our own actions for the common good of our community and our country. Easy also for us to elect corrupt popular politicians and leaders as we allow ourselves to be deceived by their promises and to sell our own rights to vote. Blaming, Judging, and condemning others than ourselves, makes us unconscious and blind of our own mistakes and accountability.
Our gospel today reminds us of the song “Lupa” of Rico Puno, “Bago mo linisin ang dungis ng iyong kapwa, hugasan mo ang putik sa mukha”. (Before you clean the dirt on other’s face, wash the clay in your face first.) As Jesus would say “Remove first the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye. This is the advice and direction Jesus have given us all His disciples. These are His words and message not only for others but for all of us, you and I, as His disciples.
True indeed, as Christians, we are challenged to preach and share the Good News of Jesus to all people. But these Good News are not only for others or all who have not heard of Jesus, but moreso, onto ourselves who are already believers of Christ. God’s word is intended for the salvation and transformation of all people, but above all for ourselves who are Christians, His followers. Meaning, we have first to practice what we preach, live what we believe God’s words and messages in our own lives, before and so that we can proclaim and share it to others. Good News is thus Jesus’ message if and when we practice and live its command in our own lives rather than using it as a standard in judging others. As PCP II reminds us that for us to be Filipino Christians today is to re-tell (tell again & again) the Jesus story into ourselves so that we can proclaim Jesus Christ with authority to others.
In other words, “Kung gusto mo ng pagbabago, simulan mo sa sarili mo.” If you want change in life, begin with yourselves. Thus, have a good look at yourselves first before judging, condemning and blaming others. Remember, never is it the intention of Jesus to preach us the Good News of God’s salvation to mind and judge others & ourselves but to change ourselves for the better.
In tune with examples and message of our Lord Jesus Christ, may His Gospel first reign in our hearts us so that we may become worthy to be called followers and disciples of Christ and proclaimers of His Good News of salvation, and thus, less becoming judging & condemning of others. So Be it. Amen.
“To err is human. To forgive is divine.” Surely, we you have heard these words before and could easily agree and resonate with it.
“To err is human.” This is true and normal for us, especially whenever we have hurt others, whenever we cannot forgive others, or whenever we have failed others. And our usual excuses are: “what can I do, I’m but just human”, or “I’m sorry. I’m not God who forgives. I’m just human and a sinner”. True, human as we are, we do wrong and commit sins and mistakes, through which we could easily hurt others. Due to our human weaknesses, we can hurt others, and others could also hurt us. Most of us could attest that it is but human and normal for us to do wrong and commit sin, thus can hurt, and be hurt by others. And amid these, we do need others to understand, forgive and love us.
However, based from our own experience, it is also difficult to forgive others, especially when our enemies who have hurt us. Just like Abisai in our first reading, usually when opportunity comes, it is normal for us to take revenge or even in return hurt our enemies. Usually, it is not easy for us to forgive people who have hurt us. And we recognize we do need God’s Help and Grace for us to understand and forgive them. For us then, to forgive is a divine or holy or godly behavior and action.
Jesus said in our gospel today, “Love your enemy. Do good to all those who persecute and hate you. Forgive them and God will forgive you”. Hearing these words, we could easily say in reply: “Yes. Easier said than done. Nice words, good to hear, easy to say but hard to follow and heed.” We think it would be easy for Jesus to say and do those things because he is holy, godly, and divine, but for us human, that difficult.
We must consider that when he said these, Jesus also experienced and felt the pain, hurt, and suffering caused by his enemies. Like us, Jesus also has his own enemies, who have hurt him. There were also people who hated him, rejected him, and even caused his death. And for Jesus, it is also difficult to love our enemies. He knows and understands how difficult for us in our life-relationships to heed these words – to practice what he preached, to follow his own advice.
But still, Jesus challenges us to carry out this command because he knows that human as we are, we CAN and are capable of forgiving others. Though difficult, it does not mean that we are not capable of loving our enemies. Though difficult, we can and it is possible for us to love and forgive others, simply because we do have the ability to forgive and love others. Human as we are, we also have the freedom and potential to forgive and love others. Though difficult, compared to animals, we human have the freedom and option to forgive or not to forgive, those who have hurt us. Meaning, to forgive and love our enemies is not only divine but also human.
God indeed is the source of love and forgiveness. It is divine and godly to forgive and love our enemies. But God’s forgiveness and love is revealed Through Us – in and by our own decision and openness to receive and share God’s love to others. Meaning, though we are weak and slow to forgive others, like David, in faith we can still decide and offer love and forgiveness to them by also accepting their own weakness and limitations, and by giving them another chance to repent and change their ways, same way as God and others would also give us another chance to change.
As Christians, we believe Jesus has saved us from our sinfulness. By his birth, death, and resurrection, he redeemed us, forgiven us of our sins and wrongdoings and has given us another chance. We are now then called to also forgive those who have sinned against us, AS we have also been forgiven. Human and Christ as he is, Jesus forgives us. Human and Christian as we are, we can also love and forgive our enemies.
Whenever we are hurt and are suffering from the sins caused by others, it is better for us to reflect and ask ourselves: “If God can grant me His mercy and forgiveness, how come I cannot forgive my enemies? God loved and have forgiven me, a sinner, how can I not love but hate my enemies? If God has given me another chance to grow, why deprive others of their chance also to grow through me?
“To err is human. To forgive is divine” is normal indeed, but to understand, forgive, and love our enemies in faith and trust with God is also natural and humanly possible for us.
Remember Jesus’ advice for us today: “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning for you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven …for the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”
Who do we consider nowadays the fortunate lucky people who seems to be more blessed by God? And who do we consider nowadays the unfortunate, unlucky people who seems to be cursed by God?
For us nowadays, people who are rich, affluent, and wealthy, who got and has everything they need and want in plenty are the fortunate. Fortunate also are those who are popular, powerful, and influential – who can control and trick people for their own advantage at their beck and call. We also consider fortunate those people who are smart and knowledgeable who knows too much and can outwit and outsmart others by getting the best and extra from the situation like rewards, prizes, money, “pogi” points, power, or media coverage. In other words, maabilidad ug marunong o maru (shrewd) are seemed to be blessed by God.
And for us today, people who are poor, deprived, and marginalized are unfortunate. Unlucky are those who have less or nothing at all, in terms of food, education, power and influence. Those who are ignorant, innocent, mayukmok (the lesser ones) – easily fooled and deceived by others are seemed to be cursed by God.
In other words, in the eyes of the world, the rich – the “haves” and “well-to-do” seems to be blessed by God, while the poor – the “have-nots” and “nothing-to-do” seems to be cursed by God. However, the fortunate, lucky, and blessed as well as the unfortunate, unlucky, and cursed people of our world today are the exact opposite of the blessed and cursed people of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Contrary to our popular notion today, the fortunate, lucky, and blessed people for Jesus is not the rich, affluent, wealthy, popular, powerful, influential, smart, and knowledgeable people of today – but those who are poor, hungry, weeping, hated, rejected, insulted, deprived, deceived, marginalized or ignorant people of today. And for Jesus, those who are rich, full, happy, and praised by others whom we considered today as fortunate, lucky, and blessed are the unfortunate, unlucky, and cursed.
Well, what does it mean? Does it mean Jesus uphold poverty, starvation, deception, oppression, discrimination and suffering of today? Does it mean that for us to be fortunate and blessed before God we have to be poor, hungry, weeping, suffering – in silence, hated, deprived and discriminated by others? NO. This is not about being fortunate or cursed but about our Faith and Trust in God.
At the heart of today’s reading is not about being fortunate and cursed but the theme of Faith & Trust in God. Our first reading today gave us a contrast of the fate of those who trust in human beings with fate of those who trust in God. Those who trust in human beings are like a barren desert shrub; whereas those who trust in God are like a fruitful tree planted beside a flowing river. Jesus in our gospel today is telling and teaching us that those who trust in God are righteous and finds favor in God, but those who trust only in human beings and in themselves are wicked and unfortunate.
What makes then a person blessed or cursed, lucky or unlucky, fortunate, or unfortunate is not on the condition where he is in, but in his faith and trust in God. What counts and matters most, then, is our faith and trust in God. And to trust in God is to rely on God as to be the one source of life. This would mean that in life and whatever happens in our life, we must trust and rely Not on our way, our will, and our accomplishments but on God’s way, God’s will, and God’s mercy.
For Jesus, then, blessed are those who trust in God and cursed are those who trust only in others and in themselves. Blessed are the poor, hungry, weeping, hated, insulted because they trust in God. They have faith in God, they have nothing else but God. Cursed are the rich, full, happy, and praised by others because they have everything else but God. As St. Theresa of Calcuta would remind us, “God does not call us to be successful but to be Faithful in Life”.
Here, we must also see that God’s blessings are not only “yet to come” but are “here and now”. It is not only a promise but a reality. It is His gift to us now, not as the reward that we expect and need from him, for what we receive from Him is more than just what we need and expect from Him.
And usually God’s blessings come as a surprised Gift which is beyond our expectation. As a text message I once received say, which could be our today’s prayer:
“God’s blessings may come as a surprise and how much we receive depends on how much our heart can believe. May we be blessed beyond what we expect, as we believe and trust in Him. God bless.”
A DOSE OF GOD TODAY 