Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Author: A Dose of God Today

  • Be Forgiven BY Being Forgiving for God

    Be Forgiven BY Being Forgiving for God

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    September 13, 2020 – 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091320.cfm)

    Homily

    “To err is human, to forgive is divine.” Easy for us to say these words at times to make excuses for our wrongdoings and to ask forgiveness for our mistakes. However, we also say same words of excuse to refuse forgiveness to those who have wronged and hurt us. “What can I do, I’m only human.” “Pasensya lang, tao lang po.” These words in fact describe not only our human frailty but also our difficulties of forgiving others. Perhaps asking forgiveness is much easier than giving forgiveness. But nevertheless to forgive is indeed difficult, especially whenever it is associated with “forgive and forget”.

    When his disciples asked Jesus how often should we forgive those who have sinned against us, they are just expressing our difficulties in practicing and upholding the value of forgiveness in our lives. Yes, like the disciples we see the value of forgiveness in our lives but we also know how frustrating forgiveness is and can be. In response to this, somehow Jesus in our gospel teaches and offers us something more about forgiveness.

    When he said “not seven times but seventy-seven,” Jesus is telling us to forgive indefinitely. Forgiving others then is not about numbers (counting faults, sins, mistakes and forgiveness) but all about sharing – GIVING your compassion and forgiveness (awa at patawad) without counting the cost or prize. Meaning, though human it is for us to err and to forgive is divine, nevertheless it is also human to forgive. Frail human as we are, we CAN also forgive and be forgiving of others. Difficult and frustrating it may be,  we can humanely and divinely give and share forgiveness with one another. 

    In our parable today about “the forgiven yet unforgiving servant,” Jesus is also teaching us that forgiveness is more than just “forgive and forget”. For Jesus, forgiveness is all about settling account, paying back, being patient, and regaining trust and respect. Meaning  to forgive is not about forgetting but all about evaluating, i.e. to put value and importance to the action-done, the experience-happened and the relationship-built. In other words,  Bigyang halaga at hinidi binabaliwala lamang. So, to forgive is then not about forgetting but rather about remembering – to put value on the whole experience of reconciliation from mistakes as part/member of ones life. It is a decision to give value, importance and responsibility to your action, experience and relationship.  And not to get out, get rid, and get away from our own mess, but to give God, each other and yourself another chance to grow and live life. For instance, the master forgave the servant because the master gives value and respect to the mercy-asked, promised-made and the relationship-renewed between him and the servant.  However the same forgiven servant was unforgiving because he did not value and respect his fellow servant. That is why to forgive is also  for both the aggrieved and aggressor to remember the wrongdoings-done, lessons-learned & restored trust from the mistake. Thus forgiving is about remembering for the sake of healing while forgetting the resentment. 

    Above all, our gospel today directs us to “Be forgiving as we are as we have been forgiven by God”. Let our reason then for forgiving others should be not ourselves (just to feel good) or be others (just to appease them) but be God, who forgives and loves us first and always. Forgive then not for our’s or other’s sake but for God’s sake, as Paul reminds us today that we live and die not for oneself but for God. Forgiveness is God’s grace we received and ought to be shared to others. Let our forgiveness be our offering of gratitude for God’s mercy and forgiveness – in thanksgiving for being ourselves forgiven.

    In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus taught us to ask our Father to “Forgive us AS (same way as) we forgive those who have sinned against us”. This is our cry to the Father to give us another chance in life as we try our best to give ourselves and other’s another chance also in life. Yes, forgiveness is divinely-granted but also humanly-shared for God, not to be forgotten but be remembered for its value in life.

    Pandemic times make us also conscious not only of the mess, struggles and challenges we are in, but also our own mistakes, shortcomings and wrong-doings in life. We realize that we also need not only God’s love, protection and guidance but also His forgiveness and mercy at this time as well. And we can fully enjoy all His graces by also being humanly and divinely enough forgiving and loving to those who have wronged, failed, and hurt us. In other words, we are mercifully forgiven by our being forgiving….. we are loved by our loving.

    Human as we are, yet are blessed and forgiven, may we be and ought to be for God’s sake forgiving to others especially to those who are needing of His compassion and mercy at this time.  So be it. Amen.

    By  Fr. Aphelie Mario Masangcay, CSsR (a former Filipino Redemptorist Missionary for Filipino Migrants in South Korea who, due to immune compromised diabetic condition, stationed back home  in the Philippines for now).

  • Beams in our eyes

    Beams in our eyes

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    September 11, 2020 – Friday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091120.cfm)

    Homily

    Do you have a friend, or workmate, or classmate who tend to be so bitter with everything? Who always sees what is wrong and ugly in everything and everyone? Who tends to be so self-righteous and arrogant and more inclined in complaining, accusing and blurting out the faults and failures of others? And then thinks that he or she has the best ideas and solutions, the best personality and attitude? Yet, the person is very difficult to deal with. Well, that person could not just be our friend, we could be that very person.

    In today’s Gospel, Jesus pointed this out for his disciples to realize the danger of self-righteousness that leads to bitterness, discontentment and insecurity. There is a need to recognize my own faults and sinfulness rather than undermining them by finding the fault of others in order to cover up my own.

    Indeed, Jesus addressed this parable to teach his disciples how a person who seemed to be so righteous, yet, sick and sinful inside. Jesus compared these people to blind men leading the blinds, people who noticed the splinters in other people while being blind to the wooden beams in front of their own eyes. Jesus called them hypocrites.

    As disciples of Jesus, he demands consistency in our words and actions, in the way we relate with others and with God, and in the way we look at ourselves. Consequently, there is a need for us to recognize our own “beams,” which also means recognizing our own sinfulness and failures. When we choose to blind ourselves from own sinfulness and failures, then, there is a danger of making ourselves distant from God, from others and from our own reality.

    For today, let us see ourselves closer and ask, what are my beams of inconsistencies, bitter and hypocrite-attitudes? 

    We will only be able to answer this when we also stop pointing our finger to accuse and destroy others. Hopefully, when we are able to identify our attitudes that are inconsistent to our faith then that will move us to be converted back to Christ, to be closer to him. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • How blessed am I?

    How blessed am I?

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    September 9, 2020 – Wednesday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/090920.cfm)

    Homily

    How do we understand being blessed?

    Usually, when we think of a life that is blessed we think of material wealth and prosperity – like having a good family, a prosperous business, a successful career or a good paying job, or having a good health. We think that being blessed has something to do with success and material possessions.

    Thus, poverty is never a blessing; being persecuted, being sick and being rejected is never a blessing too. If we are experiencing such life, we consider ourselves to be cursed.

    However, what Jesus told us today is quite opposite of today’s standard. Our human understanding of being blessed is different from God. Indeed, there is a need for us to understand blessing and our life from God’s perspective..

    In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus warns those who in the standard of the world are blessed such as the satisfied, the rich, the powerful, the popular and the influential. The danger lies in the attitude of the heart that becomes independent from God, a heart that rejects God’s mercy and love. In fact, Jesus warns us when we tend to accumulate more wealth for ourselves at the expense of the poor, or when we gather fame and influence at the expense of others.

    Such attitude of the heart is filled with arrogance and self-centeredness that has no need of God. True enough, when we are so filled with ourselves and too satisfied of what we have gained and achieved, we don’t need God anymore. Our successes and we, ourselves, have become ‘gods.’ This leads us to worship our achievements, wealth, our power and ourselves. But then, all of these corrupt us because we will never be satisfied. We will thirst and hunger for more wealth, recognition and fame which will also lead to our own destruction and those who are around us and those blocking our way to gain for more, as any form of addiction will also result in this way.

    Indeed, dependence on these forms of material satisfactions is a mere arrogance and a false sense of security. This is actually the promise of addictions, in whatever form that may be, whether addiction to drugs, alcohol, sex, influence and fame, wealth and power (political or economic power).

    However, in God’s perspective those who are poor, sick, persecuted, those who failed and rejected are blessed because it is in their poverty and difficulty that they also realize their weakness and need of God. Such insecurities bring us to understand that we are so small in this world and we are in need of God’s grace. That is why; Jesus addressed these Beatitudes to his disciples, assuring them of his presence. His disciples left their families and jobs. They went to places where sometimes they have to sleep without roof. Authorities ridiculed them and insulted them for following Jesus.

    Thus, the very presence of God in our life is what makes us “blessed.” Since God favors those who are weak, poor, suffering and struggling in life, they are the ones who are blessed because they understand their need of God. God comes to us when we are ready to accept God in our life and to let God be our God.

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    God invites us then, to recognize our own poverty and anxieties because God blesses us with His presence. This is also the message of St Paul present in his first letter to the Corinthians. Though at that time, they must have believed that the “Parousia” of the second coming of Jesus was about to happen during their lifetime as he said, “for the world in its present form is passing away.” Paul reminded the people of the need to be more attached to God rather than to what was material and temporary. Paul recognized the importance of ones dependence to God and complete trust in God’s providence. Through the presence of God present in their life, they were indeed blessed.

    So, how blessed are you? The material wealth that we have gained, the influence and fame that we have received, the successes that we have achieved, our good health, our talents and abilities, our knowledge, intelligence and competence are signs of God’s grace and generosity. When we have these, these may lead us to humble ourselves and to recognize that these are gifts and we ought to share them to others. Thus, if you have received much, share the blessings to those who are in need, if you are enjoying success in life, share the experience with those who failed especially in these trying times of the pandemic. It is in this way that the Kingdom of God will truly be present among us, and that we ourselves become the blessing. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • Pregnant with God’s Presence

    Pregnant with God’s Presence

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    September 8, 2020 – Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/090820.cfm)

    Homily

    Viva Maria! Viva Hesus!

    Mary, indeed, is a key figure in our salvation history. Yet, not one story in the bible that we could find about her birth. The first time we encounter Mary was already at the annunciation of the Angel Gabriel that she was to become pregnant with God.[1]

    Mary’s birthday can only be understood and appreciated through her pregnancy and her presence in the life of Jesus. So, as we joyfully celebrate her birthday today, let us discover God’s invitations for us as we remember the life of the Blessed Virgin Mother.

    The Book of the Prophet Micah tells us how the lowliest among the clans of Judah, Bethlehem-Ephrathah, was chosen by God to become the bearer of the ruler of Israel, who is called Peace.

    Bethlehem was indeed a small town, though the birthplace of David, the great king, but it remained un-influential. Ephrathah is the old name of Bethlehem which was retained by the Jews. These names are indeed symbolic because of the meaning behind them. Bethlehem means the house of bread and Ephrathah means fruitfulness or abundance.

    Micah tells us how the Lord brings abundance of bread, an abundance of life from this lowly place. Certainly, the son that Mary brings to us is the bread of life who brings abundance of love and life into the world.

    The Gospel today from Matthew recalled how Mary was found out to be pregnant and how Joseph planned to divorce her quietly. However, God intervened through an angel telling Joseph not to be afraid for Mary conceived a son through the Holy Spirit, “She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus (meaning, God saves) because he will save his people from their sins.”

    This particular story of the pregnancy of Mary tells us more of the birth of Mary, of why we are celebrating with joy and gratitude to God the birth of the Mother of Jesus and our Mother too.

    Through the life of Mary, the Lord reminds us and call us in an intimate way to come closer to Him for God gives abundance of peace and life. There are three points that I invite you to dwell on this birthday of our Mother Mary.

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    First, to be humble. God chooses us not because of the great things that we do. Our desire to be great in the eyes of others is futile in the eyes of God. God chooses us because of who we are to God. We are loved though we are not deserving. The clan of Bethlehem-Ephrathah was surely not deserving but in his lowliness God found delight. God finds delight with the unpretentious that is why God found favor with Mary. And Mary responded to God out of gratitude and faith.

    Second, God never forgets us. God’s intervention in human affairs proved how God will do everything to let us know that we are loved. God, through the participation of humanity, and that is through the person of Mary, made the Divine presence be felt and be manifested in a concrete way. Thus, even in times of so much confusion and difficulties around us, never forget and always remind ourselves, God has never forgotten us. God is with us.

    Third, we can be pregnant with God. Yes, Mary’s pregnancy tells us that humanity can be pregnant with God. This means that we are capable of becoming a bearer of God’s presence to others. To become pregnant with God is to welcome God fully in our life where we are promised to be also filled with love, with peace and with the abundance that life with God can give us. In Mary’s pregnancy with Jesus, her heart is revealed that there was no bitterness, no scars of fear or hate, only love, only peace. By allowing the Lord to be with us, we may also become pregnant with God’s presence where our heart shall also be cleared with bitterness, fear and hatred.

    In this way then, we may hopefully celebrate this day of birth of Mary, our Mother, with true joy and gratitude to the Lord for giving us such grace. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

    [1] What we only have is the story of her birth that can be found in a Christian-devotional Text called, “The Protoevangelium of James.” In this text, that parents of Mary were named as Joachim and Anne, an old couple who were also graced with a child.

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  • True love never goes wrong

    True love never goes wrong

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    September 7, 2020 – Monday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/090720.cfm)

    Homily

    True love could never go wrong. The Lord could never inflict any bad thing on anybody. Jesus only desires our wellbeing, our healing, and our freedom. The presence of Jesus among us is the concrete expression of God’s tremendous and empowering love. Perhaps, it is our way of loving that could go wrong because ours is filled with selfishness and of too much self-importance to the point that our way of loving becomes corrupted and vicious.

    This is how St Paul reminded the people in his first letter to the Corinthians. A man living with his father’s wife was no love at all and not something that one should be proud of. Paul called it immorality. Paul also called such action an “old yeast,” a yeast of malice and wickedness.

    This malice and wickedness were the intentions felt by Jesus among the scribes and Pharisees while he was teaching in a synagogue. In this event, Jesus graced the people with his presence by teaching them and to perform in a concrete way how love desires the wellbeing, the healing and the freedom of a person.

    However, the scribes and the Pharisees were more concerned on how to accuse Jesus of something and then put him to death. One could not claim that these people were without love. They must have loved also, yet, their way of loving was filled with selfishness. They became corrupt and vicious. They felt threatened by the presence of Jesus who only desired goodness.

    This tells us too that a corrupt and vicious person will always be threatened by the goodness and kindness, sincerity and truthfulness of others. They felt threatened by the presence of Jesus because the very person of the Lord, his way of life, teachings and works mirrored their incapacities, their corruption, their self-absorption, their malice and wickedness. Through the very person of Jesus, they were confronted and called to be healed and to be renewed.

    Yet, these people could not because they were trapped in that kind of life. They could not because it was too much for them. Thus, with evil intent they have been looking for something to accuse Jesus and bring him to death.

    However, the Lord cannot be stopped from doing good, from giving life and bringing healing to us. The Lord willfully healed the man on a Sabbath day to tell us how ridiculous “a law made by man” can be. Hence, the question of Jesus, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?”

    This question was directed to those who were with evil intent and those who were seeking to destroy life. Certainly, this is no love at all.

    Today, the Lord also calls us to examine our way of loving and to learn the way the Lord loves. Loving in the way of the Lord would never go wrong. May our way of loving then, be motivated with the desire to bring goodness, healing and freedom. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

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