Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Author: A Dose of God Today

  • Never ignore what is familiar and ordinary because God reveals His grace to us in there

    Never ignore what is familiar and ordinary because God reveals His grace to us in there

    August 2, 2019 – Friday 17th Week in Ordinary Time

    From the Gospel according to Matthew (13:54-58)

    Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue.
    They were astonished and said,
    “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?
    Is he not the carpenter’s son?
    Is not his mother named Mary
    and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
    Are not his sisters all with us?
    Where did this man get all this?”
    And they took offense at him.
    But Jesus said to them,
    “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
    and in his own house.”
    And he did not work many mighty deeds there
    because of their lack of faith.

    Homily

    Have you experienced being judged by friends of family members because of your past sins, weaknesses or failures and because you are just too familiar and ordinary for them? Or have you ever judged others too because of their past sins and failures and because they also are very familiar and ordinary to you?

    When I was in high school, I had this classmate who appeared to be always untidy, late and worst would usually fail his exams. Yet, when we moved up to a higher year, there was something that surprised the class about him. Though he still looked untidy and sometimes came late, but, his exams got higher and better results. Every time he passed an exam, we were bitter. Everyone suspected him that he cheated. Most of us couldn’t believe that he had the potential. Others became angry and felt bad whenever he got a higher score than those who usually got high scores.

    Indeed, most of us judged him that he did not have the capacity. We judged him of his past behavior and of his failures. Thus, we have failed to recognize that he had actually that capacity. We refused to believe in him because we felt insecure of his capacities and potentials.

    Though Jesus never failed and sinned, yet, such judgment and bitterness are not far from the experience of Jesus. When Jesus went home to Nazareth, he was treated badly by his own people. The good news that he preached and God’s power that he revealed to his neighbors were treated with cruelty and insecurity.

    When Jesus stood in their midst, the people merely saw a carpenter and an ordinary man who once played and worked with them. The people limited Jesus by what he was used to do, in doing carpentry, nothing more and nothing less. They couldn’t accept that there was actually MORE in Jesus.

    This is very similar with our judgment to that classmate of mine. For many of us, he was just a lazy boy, untidy classmate, not capable of anything except in failing his exams. We too could not accept that there was MORE in him.

    Thus, instead of welcoming the power and wisdom that Jesus shared with grace and faith, the people refused to accept because of their insecurities and bitterness. They rejected Jesus because they could not accept that this ordinary carpenter brings God’s presence to them. They questioned him, “Who is this man? Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary?”

    The too-ordinary life of Jesus prevented them to welcome him as God’s revelation to them. Resentment and hate overwhelmed the people which made their hearts, unbelieving. This was the reason why Jesus was not able to perform mighty deeds for them because God’s grace will only work when it is received with faith. Jesus is after all, not a magician who will attract people’s attention for a short span of time. Jesus reveals God’s presence and power through ordinary means.

    And this is not far from our own experiences too. Many times we reject what is ordinary and familiar to us. We ignore God’s grace and invitation to us because we are busy looking for extra-ordinary things, for a magic to appear. That instead of recognizing God’s power in an ordinary sunrise and sunset, we busy ourselves looking for a “dancing sun” or “falling petals from heaven.” Thus, we refuse to believe that there is MORE in the ordinary.

    Miracles happen every day in its most ordinary way. God’s grace is being unfolded even in our everyday experiences. God’s healing power is also revealed to us through our familiar sacraments in the church and through the embrace of people who love us like your parents, siblings, relatives and friends.

    This is the invitation now for us today – that is, to make ourselves more aware of God’s work even in the most ordinary way, to recognize God even among the familiar people, places and events. When we are able to learn this kind of awareness, then, we too shall discover the wonders that God gives us every day, and we shall realize that there is MORE in every ordinary experience, and in every ordinary and familiar person we meet.

    This calls us not to judge quickly to what is familiar and to what is seemingly ordinary, but, to be more welcoming of God’s grace. This reminds us now to be more open to the many potentials of those people who are familiar to us, and not to limit them to their past failures and sins. This calls us too to recognize how God unfolds his grace and his gift of healing through those people who love us. This calls us also to listen to God’s message and invitation through our present situation and through the people who might be God’s prophet today even though they look so familiar and ordinary for us, because there is always more that God offers to us. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • Seeking one’s happiness is seeking God

    Seeking one’s happiness is seeking God

    August 1, 2019 – Thursday: Solemnity of St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

    From the Book of Prophet Isaiah (61:1-3)

    The spirit of the Lord is upon me; because the Lord has anointed me; He has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion – To give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.

    Responsorial Psalm : Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

    From the Gospel of Matthew (9:35-10:1)

    Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When se saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but he laborers are few; Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.

    Homily

    Who among us here who is not seeking one’s happiness? I am sure each of us desires it. However, we may be prevented by many things especially when expectations from our families and friends are different from what we truly desire. People around us may have something in mind for us, believing that what they think is better for us. Yet, this is not always the case. That is why, there would be individuals whose lives become miserable because they have to follow the desires from others for them.

    This reminds me of the life of Alphonsus whose feast we celebrate today. That is why, as a Redemptorist priest myself, I also wonder of the kind of life Alphonsus had when he was young and what led him to affirm his vocation by giving his life for the poor and the most abandoned.

    Alphonsus came from an aristocratic family in Naples, Italy. As the eldest in the family, his father had so much expectations from him. At an early age he had many books on his hands instead of toys. He must have been deprived of playing with other children because as an aristocrat, he needed to receive instructions from various teachers. He was indeed an exceptional boy who even finished his studies in both civil and ecclesiastical laws at the age of 16. In his twenties, he was already a known lawyer in Naples. Not just that, he also excelled in arts and music and authored many books.

    With all these things on him, Alphonsus had felt so much pressure from the family and particularly from his father. His father expected him to succeed and follow him as what had been practiced in their family. His relatives and the whole clan had surely expected him also to follow the footsteps of his father as an aristocrat. This was the reason why that at an early age he was expected to follow whatever was told to him. Alphonsus was very careful to follow everything and not to commit any mistake.

    At that time, any mistake will go unpunished. We could imagine how Alphonsus had to endure the corporal punishments and the shame, every time he would commit a mistake or a failure. This kind of upbringing had actually a deep influence on the spiritual life of Alphonsus. He was a very scrupulous man. Alphonsus was very afraid of hell and of eternal damnation. He was indeed very careful not to sin and not to commit any mistake because he believed that God would not be able to forgive him.

    Being scrupulous prevented him actually to be free from shame. He was always haunted by guilt too. Now, we understand how family pressures and his severe upbringing affected his relationship with God. At his lifetime, he struggled to believe that God could forgive him. No matter how small was the mistake or the sin he committed, he would go anxious and worried.

    However, there was something in Alphonsus that really desired freedom, to be free from pressures, from shame and guilt, and from that severe childhood upbringing. Deep within, Alphonsus desired to express what he really wanted. He searched ways were he could truly express his true self without any pressure or expectation from others. Alphonsus was searching to what would really give meaning and true happiness in his life. This was the reason why he excelled in many things but most importantly with his encounter with the common people.

    It was with the patients at the House of Incurables, the prostitutes in Naples, the men and women in the marketplace and later on with the people in a remote area of Scala, that he found himself, and found God more alive.

    This was the beginning of the continual conversion of Alphonsus. By becoming more in touched with his struggles and questions, he too became more aware of God’s desire for him more than the pressure of the people’s desire around him. Hence, Alphonsus gave up his profession and his status as an aristocrat by becoming a poor priest. With this decision, it greatly upset and broke the heart of his father to the point of disowning Alphonsus as his son.

    However, God’s desire for Alphonsus cannot be prevented by anybody. God has so much plan for Alphonsus. And for Alphonsus, he willingly sought God’s desire and he found it among the people. This was where Alphonsus also found how good God is to him. He realized how God loved him so much despite his imperfections and weaknesses.

    Our Psalm today proclaims to us, “Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.” Alphonsus was indeed singing the Lord’s goodness not just expressed in his paintings, music and writings but also in his person, in the way he related with people. And this happiness in Alphonsus touched many men and women including his father. Later on, his father discovered too how God worked in the life of his son and that God has a bigger and better plan for Alphonsus than him.

    Despite the deprivation he had and the strict upbringing in his childhood, he did not become a bitter person but rather, his negative experience allowed him to become understanding and generous to those who were deprived with many things in their life. Consequently, Alphonsus affirmed that the spirit of the Lord is upon him because the Lord anointed him and chose him.

    Today, on this feast day of Alphonsus, the Lord is also inviting each of us to continually seek our own happiness, and in seeking it, we will surely be able to seek God with all our heart because seeking one’s happiness is seeking God.

    Let us allow the Lord then, to unfold before us his desire for us by being open and welcoming to his invitations to change and to be converted in his ways and thinking. And may our encounter with people will allow us to affirm God’s desire for us whatever that may be, in bringing happiness, joy and peace not just to ourselves but also to people around us. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • Are you also searching something of great value?

    Are you also searching something of great value?

    July 31, 2019 – Wednesday 17th Week in Ordinary Time

    Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola

    From the Book of Exodus (34:29-35)

    As Moses came down from Mount Sinai
    with the two tablets of the commandments in his hands,
    he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant
    while he conversed with the LORD.
    When Aaron, then, and the other children of Israel saw Moses
    and noticed how radiant the skin of his face had become,
    they were afraid to come near him.
    Only after Moses called to them did Aaron
    and all the rulers of the community come back to him.
    Moses then spoke to them.
    Later on, all the children of Israel came up to him,
    and he enjoined on them all that the LORD
    had told him on Mount Sinai.
    When he finished speaking with them,
    he put a veil over his face.
    Whenever Moses entered the presence of the LORD to converse with him,
    he removed the veil until he came out again.
    On coming out, he would tell the children of Israel
    all that had been commanded.
    Then the children of Israel would see
    that the skin of Moses’ face was radiant;
    so he would again put the veil over his face
    until he went in to converse with the LORD.

    From the Gospel of Matthew (13:44-46)

    Jesus said to his disciples:
    “The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,
    which a person finds and hides again,
    and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
    Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
    searching for fine pearls.
    When he finds a pearl of great price,
    he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”

    Homily

    Why do people work so hard? Is it not because of the dream to be contented and happy? Why do men and women search for a true love? Is not also because of the hope of being happy in life? Why do we search for what makes us happy? Is it not because that we are designed to be happy?

    Undeniably, we are in search of something that will make our life happy and joyful. Each of us would dream that kind of life. However, in the process of searching, we also encounter failures and disappointments. Yet, we always wake up to achieve what we desire for our life. Our instinct is to search and gain a life of happiness and peace and joy not just for ourselves alone but also for the people whom we love.

    Our Gospel today presents to us two parables that tell us about this desire of finding and possessing something of great value in life. This is something that a person who would do everything just to attain this something of great value.

    The first parable tells us of the grace of God that surprises us. The person was actually not conscious in searching for a treasure. However, the person just found it and later on did everything just to possess it because he was convinced that it was of great importance. He was willing to sell everything he has just to gain that treasure. Certainly, God also loves to surprise us. Joy is truly a gift given to us.

    The second parable tells us of a person consciously searching for a pearl of great price. This search comes from that desire to have a blessed life of peace and joy. Indeed, along the way of our search, great difficulty may be experienced. However, God also leads us to discover His gift for us when we persistently ask for that. God would truly bless a heart that desires Him.

    And when a person finally finds his or her joy in life, this transforms the person not just internally but also physically especially in the way the person relates with others and the way the person presents himself or herself before others. This is what we have heard from our first reading.

    Moses who found his greatest comfort and joy with the Lord was transformed. The Book of Exodus described him that the “skin of his face became radiant.” Moses’ intimate friendship with God made him a different person from before. He was God’s close friend. Consequently, this made Moses also ever closer to the people. Moses became more sensitive to the struggles, questions, fears and anxieties of the people.

    This tells us too that when we truly find our greatest joy in life, we become contented and grateful persons. We would begin to look at things and look at life from the perspective of God rather than from our negative and bitter perspective. In a way, this makes our hearts radiate, our actions generous and words kind.

    Certainly, a married person who truly finds contentment, security and joy in his or her married life extends such grace towards the people around him or her. A person who finally finds his or her vocation in life also becomes more generous and life-giving towards others.

    Such attitude can also be found in the life of St. Ignatius de Loyola, a Spanish soldier and founder of the Society of Jesus. Ignatius was a man in search of great value in life. Along the way of his search, he was confronted by his own sinfulness and failures. He was opposed by others around him who suspected him for being a heretic or a person who desecrated the holiness of God. However, Ignatius persistently search for what will make him joyful until he found his broken and wounded self yet so loved and cherished by the Lord. This was the way also that he realized God working in his life and thus found God’s presence as the greatest value in his life, more than his riches, more than his achievements and successes and more than his sins and guilt. This transformed him to be a generous person.

    We pray that in our search of that great value, then, we would hopefully also arrive at the realization that God’s desire for us is more than anything that we could imagine for ourselves. And once we find it, may the joy and peace that it brings will transform us to become a person God wants us to be like Moses and Ignatius. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • Where can me meet the Lord face to face?

    Where can me meet the Lord face to face?

    July 30, 2019 – Tuesday 17th Week in Ordinary time  

    From the Book of Exodus (33:7-11;34:5b-9,29)

    The tent, which was called the meeting tent,
    Moses used to pitch at some distance away, outside the camp.
    Anyone who wished to consult the LORD
    would go to this meeting tent outside the camp.
    Whenever Moses went out to the tent, the people would all rise
    and stand at the entrance of their own tents,
    watching Moses until he entered the tent.
    As Moses entered the tent, the column of cloud would come down
    and stand at its entrance while the LORD spoke with Moses.
    On seeing the column of cloud stand at the entrance of the tent,
    all the people would rise and worship
    at the entrance of their own tents.
    The LORD used to speak to Moses face to face,
    as one man speaks to another.
    Moses would then return to the camp,
    but his young assistant, Joshua, son of Nun,
    would not move out of the tent.

    Moses stood there with the LORD and proclaimed his name, “LORD.”
    Thus the LORD passed before him and cried out,
    “The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God,
    slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity,
    continuing his kindness for a thousand generations,
    and forgiving wickedness and crime and sin;
    yet not declaring the guilty guiltless,
    but punishing children and grandchildren
    to the third and fourth generation for their fathers’ wickedness!”
    Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship.
    Then he said, “If I find favor with you, O LORD,
    do come along in our company.
    This is indeed a stiff-necked people; 
    yet pardon our wickedness and sins,
    and receive us as your own.”

    So Moses stayed there with the LORD for forty days and forty nights,
    without eating any food or drinking any water,
    and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant,
    the ten commandments.

    From the Gospel of Matthew (13:36-43)

    Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house.
    His disciples approached him and said,
    “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
    He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
    the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom.
    The weeds are the children of the Evil One,
    and the enemy who sows them is the Devil.
    The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
    Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
    so will it be at the end of the age.
    The Son of Man will send his angels,
    and they will collect out of his Kingdom
    all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
    They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
    where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
    Then the righteous will shine like the sun
    in the Kingdom of their Father.
    Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

    Homily

    The first reading from the Book of Exodus tells us about this wonderful encounter of Moses with God. After that disturbing worship of the golden calf, the Lord did not withdrew His presence from the people. Rather, the Lord continued to accompany His people. Indeed, God is faithful.

    The image of this meeting place of Moses captures that affection of God towards his people represented by Moses. The tent where the Lord reveals Himself was the sacred space for Moses to meet God and be overwhelmed by His joyful presence. This is described in Book of Exodus that the Lord spoke to Moses “face to face.” What Moses really experienced was joy in the presence of the Lord because what he proclaimed to the people was not punishment and damnation. Moses delivered to the people how merciful, slow to anger and kind the Lord is.

    However, we may also wonder why this experience was only limited to Moses. Why did God did not also reveal himself to the people? Aside from the reason that Moses was chosen by the Lord at the very the beginning, there was something more in the person of Moses that he was able to encounter the Lord closely and intimately. Moses was more familiar to God’s voice. Moses had developed a deeper relationship with God. Moses can even argue and exchange words with God. Certainly, the heart of Moses was pure, without malice, untainted by guilt and fear but only affection towards the Lord.

    Nevertheless, the people, because of their grave sin towards God were filled with guilt and fear. They can make their own tents and meeting place also with God but then that guilt and fear would prevent them to stand before God as they are. Undeniably, it is very difficult to stand before God as we are, to be honest and truthful about ourselves, to be bare and showing our vulnerability before the Lord. But Moses can do it with God.

    This makes the difference between Moses and the people. Yet, Moses himself did not pass his own judgment towards the people. He did not condemn them for what they did. Moses remained a faithful intercessor and mediator between the Lord and the people.

    This is what we have heard also from the Gospel today. Jesus taught his disciples not to pass quick judgments over other people particularly those who have sinned. It is the Lord who will judge us at the proper time. Jesus wanted his disciples to develop a sense of hope towards everybody because God gives many chances to us.

    This is what Moses also proclaimed to the people. Although God punishes the guilty “from his children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation, but then, God’s kindness and fidelity continues for a thousand generations and forgiving wickedness and crime and sin.” This is also reechoed in our Psalm today, “The Lord is kind and merciful.”

    This tell us now of this God who sees hope in us. We might find ourselves hopeless because of the sins that we have committed or because of the failures we have in life, but then, God sees more in us.

    This is what Moses surely had seen as well, not just for the people but also for himself. That is where he found his redemption because God believed first in him and on what he can do for others.

    Each of us also today is invited to learn from Moses. God has surely seen more in us as his kindness and fidelity surpasses from our failures and sins. Thus, each of us also is invited to meet the Lord in our own tents where we can be with the Lord, presenting our true self without any pretensions and masks, without fear and guilt, but rather, with affection and familiarity with God’s voice. Let us find that sacred space where we can meet the Lord and encounter him and be filled with his joy. This sacred space is not necessarily be limited with physical location or area but also a space where we can be comfortable with who we really are. This space is in fact can also be a state of mind, an attitude towards God’s presence.

    Hopefully, in meeting and encountering God, we may also find and be able to affirm how we are loved by this God, not just us particularly, but also, everyone. And may this realization will change the way we look at and relate with other people no matter who they are. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • Who is my mother? Who are my brothers and sisters?

    Who is my mother? Who are my brothers and sisters?

    July 23, 2019 – Tuesday of the 16th Week in Ordinary Time

    From the Book of Exodus (14:21-15:1)

    Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,
    and the LORD swept the sea
    with a strong east wind throughout the night
    and so turned it into dry land.
    When the water was thus divided,
    the children of Israel marched into the midst of the sea on dry land,
    with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.

    The Egyptians followed in pursuit;
    all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and charioteers went after them
    right into the midst of the sea.
    In the night watch just before dawn
    the LORD cast through the column of the fiery cloud
    upon the Egyptian force a glance that threw it into a panic;
    and he so clogged their chariot wheels
    that they could hardly drive.
    With that the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel,
    because the LORD was fighting for them against the Egyptians.

    Then the LORD told Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea,
    that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians,
    upon their chariots and their charioteers.”
    So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, 
    and at dawn the sea flowed back to its normal depth.
    The Egyptians were fleeing head on toward the sea,
    when the LORD hurled them into its midst.
    As the water flowed back,
    it covered the chariots and the charioteers of Pharaoh’s whole army
    that had followed the children of Israel into the sea.
    Not a single one of them escaped.
    But the children of Israel had marched on dry land
    through the midst of the sea,
    with the water like a wall to their right and to their left.
    Thus the LORD saved Israel on that day
    from the power of the Egyptians.
    When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore
    and beheld the great power that the LORD
    had shown against the Egyptians,
    they feared the LORD and believed in him and in his servant Moses.

    Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD:

    I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant;
    horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.

    From the Gospel of Matthew (12:46-50)

    While Jesus was speaking to the crowds,
    his mother and his brothers appeared outside,
    wishing to speak with him.
    Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside,
    asking to speak with you.”
    But he said in reply to the one who told him,
    “Who is my mother?  Who are my brothers?”
    And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said,
    “Here are my mother and my brothers.
    For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father
    is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

    Homily on the second day of the Gathering of Youth Ministers from the Conference of Asia-Oceania at Jogjakarta, Indonesia.

    How important really is our family for us? For most of us, our families are the source of our joy, security, identity, confidence and assurance. But for some of us also, our family can be the source of our deepest pain, traumas and bitterness in life. Thus, we cannot deny that it is in the context of our families that we also first experience “being loved” and “being rejected.”

    Moreover, in the growth and development of our Christian faith it is also within the context of our families that we first experience God and we first imagine God. Thus, when I was growing up I was introduced to a God who was rather strict. God was someone that everybody should fear. I was told that this God punishes a naughty boy and rewards a good boy. As a young boy, I tried to be good to avoid God getting angry at me and punish me later on. Unconsciously, I also became fearful to God.

    What motivated me then, to do good was out of fear from being punished rather than out of love. I imagined God like an old man holding a stick who is ready to strike a boy who has been naughty. This image of God definitely haunted me. This was my very experience also at home from my parents who were ready to strike me with a stick whenever I become naughty and disobedient.

    However, later on when I became conscious of my faith-relationship with God, then, I realized that God’s true character is not the one that I first thought of. Experiences would actually tell me that God is kind and generous, loving and forgiving. This again is my experience of God with my family. I came to know and became confident that God loves, and in His kindness, God reveals his gift of presence to us in the most intimate way where we could feel Him. When we allow God to reveal himself to us, then God brings healing and reconciliation, freedom and peace.

    Talking about family, this reminds me of today’s Gospel. Jesus brought out a new idea of being a family where we too shall experience deeper God’s presence and invitations for us.

    Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers and sisters?” In a way, Jesus expanded the meaning of family relationship by pointing out the members of his family. These were those people listening to him, gathered around him to do the will of his Father. Jesus did not reject his immediate family but expanded its essence.

    Obviously, this family is beyond blood relationship. This is toward a deeper spiritual family relationship. This calls us to identify ourselves and others to be part of a bigger family of God.

    But how do we really belong to this family? Jesus told us that it is by doing the will of his Father. And the first step of doing the Father’s will is to LISTEN to the Son. Indeed, it is in listening that we also realize and become aware of God’s invitation for us.

    It is also clear that Jesus pointed out that his mother, brothers and sisters are those who were gathered around him and together listening to him. Certainly, there is wisdom in listening together, as a community or as family because the process of discernment becomes deeper, more realistic, clearer and empowering when we listen together and discern together on what God wants us to be and what God wants us to do.

    This is what we are basically doing in this gathering of Youth Ministers. As a family, we are called to discern and listen carefully to Jesus and at the same time to the voices of the youth to whom we are sent. This allows us also to have the opportunity of sharing our ideas, reflections and creativity in making ourselves witnesses of God’s peace and joy.

    As we recall also today the story of Exodus and particularly the crossing of the Hebrew people in the midst of the sea. This story tells us that the people crossed the sea not just as individuals but as a family. This calls us also to cross together and to leave behind whatever that enslave us to go forward.

    Our Egyptians today may take the form of our biases and judgments over others, or our unhealthy attitudes such as self-centeredness, self-entitlement, arrogance, bitterness, hatred and anger. Our Egyptians could also be forms of addictions or compulsive behaviors that prevent us from bringing healing, life and peace in our ministry.

    God promises us today that if we trust him, the, he will accompany us to cross over and be liberated from those that enslaved us, preventing us to be free, joyful and alive persons.

    Then, having this experience of liberation as individuals and as a family, we too shall become witnesses of the liberating power of God through the gift of our person and presence.

    To sum up my sharing, there are three invitations that I would like you to dwell.

    First, be in touched with our personal God-experience. This will help us to have grounding in our faith-relationship with the Lord.

    Second, allow ourselves to be part of God’s family by listening to Jesus through the scriptures and experiencing again his presence through the grace of the sacraments and through us and among us.

    Third, allow the Lord to accompany us today to cross over from the sea of our differences, doubts and shyness, fears and biases so that together we will be transformed into living witnesses of God’s joyful presence. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR