October 14, 2019 – Monday 28th Week in Ordinary Time
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (11:29-32)
While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.”
Homily
Are you looking for a sign from God?
We usually ask God to give us signs when we are making decisions. We also ask signs from God especially when we become doubtful of His presence in times problems and trials in life. We believe that if God would give us a sign, then, that will make us confident in God.
However, it has been our experience too, that when we do not receive any sign from God, we begin to doubt more or become angry with God for not listening to us. We may think that life is so unfair because even a single sign of assurance is not given to us.
Yet, we are reminded today of our tendency to expect spectacular signs that will be unfolded before us. This is actually the problem that we have heard in the Gospel today.
The people asked Jesus for a sign so that they will believe in him. The people expected Jesus to do a big and great sign before their eyes before they will recognize God. This was the mistake of the people at that time because they asked sign from Jesus, when, in fact, Jesus was actually the greatest sign and miracle that ever happened.
That is why, Jesus, as if scolding them of their ignorance and indifference, reminded them on how the Ninevites believed in Jonah’s sign and on how the Queen of Sheba believed also in the signs present with King Solomon. However, these people though Jesus was greater than Jonah and Solomon, did not recognize God in the person of Jesus.
This happens also to us when we tend to be indifferent to what is ordinary. The Jews at that time were not able to recognize God’s tremendous presence in the ordinary life of Jesus. Because Jesus was too ordinary for them, and a mere son of a carpenter from a far barrio of Nazareth, the people refused to believe in Jesus and thus, refused to recognize God in Jesus.
The Lord reveals himself to us in ordinary ways. This is what Jesus tells us today. We are reminded to be more discerning and to listen better on how Jesus reveals himself in the most ordinary way.
Let us be discerning and be sensitive to God’s many revelations even in the most ordinary ways because God reveals himself and his love to us every day and every moment of our life. Hinaut pa.
***Today’s celebration invites us that the Lord is ever present with our brothers and sisters who may appear different from the majority. The connectedness and intimate relationship of the indigenous peoples with the creation reminds of our basic relationship with the Creator to whom we should be grateful. The poorest of the poor that despite their poverty are the most generous people. They too express their deep gratitude to God, the giver of everything.
A reading from the Second Book of Kings (5:14-17)
Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of Elisha, the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean of his leprosy.
Naaman returned with his whole retinue to the man of God. On his arrival he stood before Elisha and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel. Please accept a gift from your servant.”
Elisha replied, “As the LORD lives whom I serve, I will not take it;” and despite Naaman’s urging, he still refused. Naaman said: “If you will not accept, please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth, for I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any other god except to the LORD.
A reading from the Second Letter of Paul to Timothy (2:8-13)
Beloved: Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David: such is my gospel, for which I am suffering, even to the point of chains, like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore, I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, together with eternal glory. This saying is trustworthy: If we have died with him we shall also live with him; if we persevere we shall also reign with him. But if we deny him he will deny us. If we are unfaithful he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (17:11-19)
As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” And when he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” As they were going they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”
Homily
In the course of our life, we have been asking many things from God. We make sacrifices so that God may grant our prayers for healing, for success or for material graces that we need. We take time to light a candle, to make a mass intention, say our novenas and rosaries, even visit churches and shrines, and touch every statue of a saint so that God will grant our prayers and desires.
We are not far from the experience of the ten lepers who begged Jesus to heal them. They took the time to cry out loud to Jesus and expressed their desire to be healed. Indeed, Jesus heard them. When they were on their way to present themselves to their priests, they were healed, but only one came back, a Samaritan, to praise God and give thanks to Jesus. Jesus wondered on what happened to the nine.
In today’s Gospel Jesus reminds us to show explicitly our gratitude to God. God’s generosity is endless yet our memory can sometimes become very short. We always remember to ask, but we tend to forget to give thanks. This is what happened to the nine lepers. They were healed and have been a recipient of God’s healing. However, the nine of them were not able to remember the God who brought healing to them. They became too focused on themselves and on the gift of healing that they have received. And so, they forgot about the Giver. They have become ungrateful.
Nonetheless, one leper who was a foreigner remembered the Giver. When he realized that he was healed, he rejoiced and remembered the Lord. That is why, he came back to praise God and thank Jesus. He might have not realized yet that Jesus was God but he was sure that God was at work in Jesus.
This healed leper’s act showed how grateful his faith was. He was not just healed physically but also spiritually. This healed leper teaches us today to show our gratitude to God. And the challenge lies here in giving thanks to God.
This is what we find also in the story of a Syrian leper in the Second Book of Kings, named Naaman. This foreigner, a stranger was also healed from his leprosy through the prophet Elisha. Naaman, despite being a stranger, recognized the power of God. His healing experience moved him to be grateful to Elisha and to God. In fact, Naaman wanted to offer a gift not out of obligation but out of gratitude. Hence, the gratitude felt by Naaman and by expressing it changed his life by becoming a believer of God.
Himself and the Samaritan leper became more alive as they have encountered God.
Moreover, to thank and praise God is time and energy-consuming. Remember, the Samaritan leper came back to Jesus as Naaman also returned to Elisha. Thus, when we thank God, sometimes it requires us to go out of our way, to stop from what we are doing at the moment or to delay our important appointments with others in order to say thank you to the Lord.
A life filled with gratitude to God is indeed a life of prayer. Just like the healed leper, it will lead us to bow in humility to God, to pray to Him. Hence, before we go out from our room and start our day filled with activities,
pray first and thank God;
before we do the things for our family, pray first;
before we go to work, pray first;
before you leave home, pray first;
before you enjoy a good meal, pray first;
before you end the day and go to bed, pray first and say a big thank you to the Lordwho has been so good and generous to us.
Please take the time today to express your gratitude to God and to all the people who are there for you to be able to express also the joy within us. In this way, we may become more conscious of the Giver of gifts who remain faithful to us even despite our ungratefulness and unfaithfulness. Hinuat pa.
October 12, 2019 – Saturday 27th Week in Ordinary Time
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (11:27-28)
While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”
Homily
The woman in the gospel praised Mary, the mother of Jesus for having a great son like him. However, Jesus even praised Mary not just on this basis but rather for being able to listen to the Word of God, pondering upon it and observing it.
St. Anselm even affirmed that because of the great devotion of Mary to the Word of God in listening and pondering everything in her heart, the Word was made flesh within her. This means that Mary’s devotion towards the Word of God did not only stop in mere hearing but the word spoken by God transformed Mary herself. Consequently, Mary has become our best example of a person who took the risk of listening, accepting and embracing God’s word. It was in that way that Mary found her joy, her peace and her freedom as a person, as woman, a wife and a mother.
Each of us today also is being invited that our devotion to the Word of God will not just remain a mere obligation to God and not just part of our speech but also of our actions.
Thus, Jesus invites us that as we listen to him, who is speaking to us now, we too will be able to accept and embrace His words. His words may become difficult and challenging, risky and time-consuming but also comforting and inspiring, life-changing and liberating. We will surely then find that as we listen and ponder the Word of God in our heart, our actions, thoughts and speech and our person will also be transformed into what God desires us to be.
Today, let us be conscious about it, the Word of God revealed in this Eucharist and in the Holy Scriptures so that its inspiration, its warmth and power will give light and life in our relationships with our families and friends, and in the many efforts that we make in our studies and in our work. Hinaut pa.
October 11, 2019 – Friday 27th Week in Ordinary Time
OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF ST. JOHN XXIII, pope
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (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
What is the difference between those who said that Jesus drives out demons by the power of Beelzebul and those who were possessed by the evil spirits?
Those who said that Jesus worked with Beelzebul were the ones who did not recognize God in the person of Jesus. Their arrogance blinded them from acknowledging that God liberates those who were distressed and suffering. The arrogance in them came from the
“self that was filled of themselves.”
This means that these Pharisees and teachers of the law had no room for God. They seemed to believe in God because of their elaborate prayers and meticulous observance of the law, but then what mattered most was for the people to recognize them and praise them of their self-righteousness. Hence, they also looked at those who were suffering and possessed by evil spirits as completely hopeless.
Consequently, Jesus cannot work in them. No matter how Jesus would desire conversion from them but their denial of God’s presence and power prevented them. Thus, arrogance truly blinds and also paralyzes ones awareness of God’s presence.
However, those who were suffering and in pain were restored by Jesus, and in this particular Gospel story, those who were possessed were liberated and healed. These kind of people recognized their need of healing, of freedom, thus, of their need of God. Through their suffering, they humbled themselves which also helped them to recognize God in the person of Jesus. Jesus, therefore, was allowed to work in them, to heal them and to free them from whatever burden and suffering they were in.
This tells us that Jesus is indeed more powerful than any evil spirit, yet, he can only work also if we would allow Jesus to heal us. Our arrogance and denial of our issues and problems would do us no good.
The Gospel reminds us too that we do not need to seek “signs from heaven” or any extra-ordinary events to happen, before we believe. Jesus works in us and brings healing in us even through ordinary means.
So, be mindful too of the goodness and kindness of the people around you, or the ordinary expressions of love and affection from your loved ones and friends, and of the power of silent prayers of those who support you because Jesus is truly present in those. Never miss, then, the encouraging and healing presence of the Lord in those familiar and ordinary expressions from our relationships. Hinaut pa.
October 10, 2019 – Thursday 27th Week in Ordinary Time
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (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
I have heard from many parents how they expressed the attitudes of their young children. Children seemed to get easily what they want compared to children 20 or more years ago. Parents are somehow forced to give what their children are demanding because of their insistence. When a child would not be granted what he/she wants, the child throws a tantrum in front of many people that most of the times, would prompt a parent to give in.
This is a common sight in malls, in our churches, restaurants and other public places. Children would easily get what they want because of their persistence. However, such attitude is not completely to be praised as giving in easily to children may give a false reality about life. Nevertheless, the persistence of a child reminds us of the Gospel reading we have heard today.
Jesus tells a parable to his disciples that basically highlights the attitude of persistence in prayer.
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For the one who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened.”
Jesus tells us of the generosity of the Father and of His availability for us. It signifies that God wants to give what is best for us and what is wonderful for us. Yet, what Jesus tells us should not be misunderstood also. We might think that we can just ask anything we want according to our selfish desires.
Thus, ask the Lord but we can only ask the Lord once we know what we desire. Hence, name what you desire. Name your problems to be solved. Acknowledge your concerns and recognize your issues. Only then, that we will be able to allow God to work in us.
True prayer keeps us away from our selfishness but brings us closer into God. This means that this relationship found in our prayer is a process of letting go of ourselves and letting God to work in us. This can be possible when we also learn to ask, to seek and to knock. This is an invitation for us to grow in confidence with God despite the many uncertainties that we may face in life, whether in our relationships, in our personal struggles, in our work and in any endeavor we are in at the moment.
Moreover, Jesus would like to remind us that in these many areas of our life they also require more than asking. We too are in need to seek. This means that prayer is also a form of searching what is hidden or what remains undiscovered in us. To pray is not about searching God but to seek ourselves and to let God find us. Thus, seek for a deeper insight, seek for understanding and wisdom because God answers us not outside of us but within our own context, experiences and relationships.
After such understanding and unfolding of mysteries in our life, we also want to move on, to go forward to where God is leading us. This requires now the attitude of knocking, which means seeking entrance, to enter into it. We might have realized that we have been so hurt by a loved one or a friend who betrayed us. And the pain that we have experienced made us inaccessible, scared and resistant to forgiveness. Now, Jesus tells us to knock, to look for an opportunity to take the risk of entering. Indeed, knocking a door is a risk because knocking here does not only mean one knock but a persistent knock repeated many times until the door opens for reconciliation and peace.
The Lord in his mercy wants us to exercise our freedom, that we can make a choice for ourselves. To knock God’s door will lead us to many opportunities for growth, for peace and freedom. Jesus assures us that as we come before God to boldly and persistently knock, it shall be opened to us. God would willingly and lovingly open his door of forgiveness and affection to embrace us and to welcome us.
In this way, we become children who are transformed into the likeness of Jesus, who will not throw tantrums when we do not get what we want just for our selfish reasons, but children who are fully aware that God’s desire for us is far better than our own. Hinaut pa.
A DOSE OF GOD TODAY 