Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Category: Fr. Jom Baring, CSsR

  • SEE AND BELIEVE

    SEE AND BELIEVE

    April 17, 2022 – Easter Sunday

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041722.cfm)

    Our gospel today proclaims that the disciple saw and believe,…. though they did not yet understand.

    When was the last time you find yourself in this situation? Seeing & Believing, yet not Understanding. Though it happens to us occasionally & once in a while, we do have experienced situations in our lives that we find ourselves seeing & believing, though not yet understanding what is happening.

    Come to think of it. Just for these past few recent years & months, we saw and still seeing a lot of challenging things happening in our lives. We are witnesses lately to life-threatening & life-changing experience of massive infections, sickness, & death caused by Covid pandemic that rendered our lives constricted with lockdowns, quarantine, protocols of social distancing, isolations & immunization. We see also the devastating effects of the natural disaster of typhoons, heavy rains, landslide, & flooding into our livelihood. We see also the influx as well as the lack of humanitarian & government response. We see also the threat of world war & the political turmoil in both local & global level. We have seen & still seeing the best & the worse of humanity & the world unfolding before us.

    As we saw & still see a lot of things happening in our lives lately, we also yet to understand why all these things are happening to us. We still yet to understand the sense, meaning, or purpose of the life we had & having, are now being challenged & changed. We are yet to understand the ever-present losses, worries, anxieties & fears that we are going through a lot these days. We are yet to understanding why we idolize (make God of) others to somehow save us, while we also demonize (make devil of) others to blame of our present predicament.

    As things happen & still happening, and we not yet understanding all these, be as it may, we cannot help but find ourselves believing not only on our own & other’s capacity to rise & respond to the occasion & be responsible for all these. Above all, we cannot help but find ourselves bowing & knelling down in humility before God, believing that He has better plans than what we had, in store for us in our life ahead.

    Consider then that, in our gospel today, as they witnessed themselves the passion, death & burial of our Lord, the disciples had just lost hope & meaning of their very life – Jesus Christ. And worse, amidst their hopelessness & despair, what they saw then is an empty tomb. Jesus was not only gone, but worse His dead body is also gone missing. Their experience of empty tomb & missing body may have been devastating, non-sensical & incomprehensible to them. But they saw & believe, without even understanding yet. They see & believe. They have seen & will forever believing.

    Same way as disciples of Jesus-then, this is also how we will now experience the Lord’s resurrection into our lives now & always – By Seeing & Believing in God’s Plans for us, though not understanding yet.

    Easter, the Season of Our Lord’s Resurrection, challenges us then to See & Believe, even yet to understand the life we are going through at this moment now & will about to happen, for our God has a lot better life in store for us ahead. As we celebrate the Lord’s resurrection this year in our lives, we are invited to view the things that are happening to us now & about to happen ahead in the near future, in Faith in God & with Our Risen Lord Jesus Christ.

    Be reminded then that Easter season is our yearly reminder of God’s everlasting love for us. God assures us that “I have love you with an everlasting love”. His love for us then is from eternity to eternity. He loves us long before & ever since from the beginning, until now & always be forever. And as Henri Nouwen would say: “Life is just a little opportunity for us during a few years to say, “I love you too, My God.” What we have and having now then is just our short chance in life to see & believe in His love & to love Him in return.  

    Though life nowadays may not be comprehensible, or no-sense at all, we do know deep inside & in faith that there are more better life yet to be seen & believed with Our God & our Risen Lord Jesus Christ.

    So, Brace Ourselves. Abangan. For there are more yet to come & to happen, as the Lord has risen into our lives now & always.

    Alleluia. The Lord Has Risen, Indeed. Amen.

  • GOD OF ALL, AS IN ALL

    GOD OF ALL, AS IN ALL

    March 21, 2022 – Monday of the Third Week of Lent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032122.cfm)

    God is for everyone. God does not belong to any particular race, culture or any group of people. Hence, no one can monopolize God. This also means that we cannot monopolize grace. And it is impossible to monopolize the gift of salvation because God’s nature is wider than what we can imagine or think of.

    This is what Jesus wanted to realize for his townspeople. There in Nazareth, when he went home, Jesus tried to open the minds and hearts of his friends and neighbors to know God better. The people seemed to only understand that the Lord God only belongs to the Jewish people. This was such a narrow-minded belief about the Lord God.

    Yet, this narrow-minded awareness of God led people to nurture hatred and violence against people whom they thought would not agree with them. This, basically, happened to Jesus. When Jesus began to teach them that God is for all, people began to turn sour. When Jesus made them aware of the story of a widow in Zarephath and Naaman, the Syrian, who despite being non-believers, were also favored by God’s grace, the people took offense.

    Jesus told the people of what the Holy Scriptures revealed to them, yet, his own people were more unbelieving than the non-believers themselves. The people could not accept what Jesus taught them. They only wanted to believe what they liked to believe. This was the reason why they rejected Jesus teaching and Jesus himself as well. This was also the reason why they became furious when Jesus confronted them of their false belief and selective memory. Thus, the unbelieving and unwelcoming hearts of the people, indeed, turned them hateful and violent. They drove Jesus out of Nazareth and wanted to throw him down from the hill.

    However, God remains for all. God’s grace, God’s call of conversion and God’s gift of salvation is offered for all as Psalm 130:7 says, “For the Lord is mercy, with him is plenteous redemption.”

    Gospel verse for today

    Today, Jesus is also challenging us and inviting us to confront our narrow-mindedness and selective memory of things. Jesus calls us to be welcoming and to always have a heart that desires to know God better. May we also grow to become a welcoming and a true believing community. Hinaut pa.

  • BEING CALLED AND CHALLENGED

    BEING CALLED AND CHALLENGED

    March 20, 2022 – Third Sunday of Lent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032022-YearC.cfm)

    The first reading from the Book of Exodus tells us a wonderful story of the call of Moses. His call from God captures the invitation for each of us as we are now on the third Sunday of Lent. So, let us explore together our readings today and see how God invites and calls us.

    The first reading is a story of conversion of Moses. We have heard that it began through the “burning bush” which led to the encounter of Moses with God. But what really happened there? Let us take it step by step.

    When Moses noticed the flaming bush but was not consumed by fire, Moses became curious. His curiosity led him to come near to the burning bush. As he came near, it was at that moment too that Moses’ name was called. And when he responded, Moses was made aware of the holy presence of God as he was standing on a holy ground. Moses has to remove his sandals and to present himself in bare foot before God. When Moses did remove his sandals, it led him to a personal conversation with God because he became more grounded. By removing his sandals, Moses felt and became more connected with God.  It was an intimacy shared by Moses and the Lord. Moreover, this encounter brought Moses to a mission. God sent Moses, and that is to bring the Lord to his fellow Israelites.

    This encounter of Moses with God allowed Moses to know God and be more aware of God. God’s name is “I am who am” or basically means, “I am with you always, all the time.” This was how Moses realized that God is relational. This means that God does not remain remote or alien to human suffering. In fact, the Book of Exodus described God’s words in this way, “I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers, so I know well what they are suffering.” This led Moses closer to God.

    This is indeed a conversion story because from the kind of life that Moses was so comfortable with, God disturbed him. That disturbance was God’s way of calling Moses to go beyond from his comforts and even from his fear of being killed by the Egyptians. Remember, Moses fled Egypt because he killed an Egyptian soldier who had beaten a Hebrew slave. The burning bush then, became the opportunity for Moses to encounter and know God, and being called and challenged by God as well.

    Moreover, the call of conversion is what St. Paul reminds us in his first letter to the Corinthians.  The history of unfaithfulness, of the grave sin committed by the people in the past must be a learning experience. That cannot be forgotten. St. Paul calls us, definitely, not to grow complacent and to just be secured with what we have in this world. He even expressed this in these words, “whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.” 

    The same call of conversion that would bring us closer to the Lord is what the parable in today’s Gospel revealed. In the parable of the fig tree, Jesus tells us that the Father is a God of many chances. God gives us many chances to change our ways and to come nearer to him so that we may find fullness of life. This is described to us as Jesus expressed in the parable how the owner visited the fig tree. Yet, in the person of the gardener, Jesus tells us that indeed, God gives us another chance when we fail and commit mistakes, when we grow complacent and refuse to be life-giving. The gardener expressed hope to the owner as he asked him to give the fig tree another year. The gardener promised to cultivate it so that it may bear fruit. The gardener saw hope for transformation and hope of being fruitful in that tree.

    Indeed, God always sees hope in each of us too. This was how God saw hope in Moses who left Egypt to hide and to make him as God’s messenger. God also saw hope among his people who were made slaves in a foreign land to give them the fullness of life.

    Out of these things, there are three invitations that I want you to remember on this Third Sunday of Lent.

    First, to be more conscious of our own “burning bush.” This “burning bush” could be an experience were we also became curious about God but led us to a personal encounter with God.

    Second, let us remove our sandals, as what Moses did, and to remove anything that is not helpful and toxic and those that prevents our growth.  This means that we are challenged to remove and to let go those unnecessary things, attitudes, behaviors, opinions, beliefs and lifestyle that prevent us from becoming a life-giving person.

    Third, to go beyond. This is where we find the message of hope and the call of conversion. We are not limited by our failures and mistakes in life, not even by our sickness, struggles and difficulties that we have at this moment. God sees hope in us and it is God’s desire that we are able to enjoy life and celebrate life in its fullness. Thus, go beyond from our protected shells of pretensions and complacency by allowing ourselves to grow in our relationships. And also, go beyond  from our fears and sins by seeking peace and reconciliation, go beyond from our insecurities, anger, hatred, disappointment and trauma by making ourselves confident with God’s gift of healing and of his faithfulness to us. Hinaut pa.

  • LEARN TO WAIT. LEARN TO DISCERN.

    LEARN TO WAIT. LEARN TO DISCERN.

    March 19, 2022 – Solemnity of St. Joseph, the Husband of Mary

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031922.cfm)

    As it happens in small villages, Mary must have been subjected to gossips and fake news. Mary was judged without further investigation. The eyes and fingers of the people around her must have pointed and branded her to be a shame. In their eyes, the promise of the engagement was broken.

    Joseph also must have been confused and must have been very hurt. However, Joseph’s response was not out of anger or bitterness. In the heart of Joseph, he wanted to save Mary by divorcing her quietly. Joseph must have thought that Mary was in another relationship. To divorce her quietly will allow Mary to be engaged with the man who fathered the baby in her womb.

    This difficult situation in Joseph became the way for God to reveal the divine plan to this gentle and thoughtful man. God must have been “waiting” for the proper time when to reveal to Joseph the divine plan. Thus, when everything was in its place and when Joseph was ready enough, an angel revealed to Joseph the mind of God.

     How did this happen? It was when Joseph was asleep. As Joseph was asleep, God also worked wonders through him. Being asleep in the presence of God is putting all our trust and confidence in the power of God to change and to transform us. To fall asleep in God’s presence is a way of exercising patience. If it was not an act of patience, Joseph would have been eaten by his anxiety. He will not be able to sleep just like us when we are overwhelmed by our concerns and problems.

    Thus, as soon as Joseph awoke from his deep dream, he realized the fulfillment of what he was hoping for and the hope of all humanity, the joy of all. Joseph began to see the scandalous situation of Mary’s pregnancy through the eyes of faith and God’s love rather than on suspicion and disappointment.

    Joseph understood that Mary’s pregnancy was a statement of God’s faithfulness and commitment to us. This is God’s assurance to us now that he is present and he lives in the midst of our lives, in the midst of our pain, of our failures, hurts and fears in order to bring to us His mercy, love and friendship.

    This became the foundation of Joseph’s “patience” as he also faced more trials in his life as the husband of Mary and father to the young Jesus. Joseph proved that to be patient is to be able to listen, wait and discern God’s invitations for him.

    From here, St. Joseph tells us of two invitations.

    First. Learn to wait. This calls us to accept the reality that not everything is under our control. We have to wait then and trust the process that we are going through. May it be the process of towards our healing, towards the realization of our dreams, towards our growth as a person or towards understanding. This calls us also to grow in our confidence in God who promised to be with us and to journey with us in the most trying and even terrifying moments of our life.

    Second. Learn to discern. This is to be able to see life us God sees it; to be able to understand our reality as what God wants it to be understood. Therefore, this is not about “what I think” (or our personal opinion and personal understanding of things which can be very subjective and colored by our biases) but to be able to believe in God’s presence, thus, guiding us to know God’s desire for us. Hinaut pa.

  • ENVY DEVOURS US

    ENVY DEVOURS US

    March 18, 2022 – Friday of the Second Week of Lent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031822.cfm)

    We must be familiar with rivalry among siblings. To us children, there would be some occasions where we felt that we are more loved by our parents than the rest of our siblings. Or it could be the other way around, we could also feel that we are receiving lesser love and attention from our parents. This happens when we are being compared from our sibling who excels in his/her studies, who is more talented and more responsible than us. This can really be a pain. A deep wound could sometimes be created deep within our heart because of constant comparison that we receive at home. This is also how relationships among our siblings are being stretched until a gap of indifference and mutual bitterness arise. Hatred, even, begins to boil within us.

    In the Book of Genesis, we were told that “Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age.” These are the first words from the first reading today. Yet, that love of Israel towards his youngest son, became the reason for deep envy of his other sons.

    That envy deep within the hearts of Joseph’s brothers must have come from their belief that their brother did not deserve such love. In that culture before, the youngest was considered to be the least and the less important. The brothers must have claimed that they deserved more than him. This was how their envy consumed them to the point that their thoughts and actions became violent and vicious against their youngest brother.

    Though Reuben and Judah tried to save the life of their brother, yet, not one of them stoop up and confronted the evil that they were planning. They could not because they were into it already.

    This tells us that when we become envious of others, we will tend to get aggressively what we wanted. Our selfish ambition and intentions will lead us to corrupt and evil practices, such as in deceiving and manipulating others. 

    Such attitude only portrays a self-image that is dominating, powerful and that must be considered a master who is above everybody else. However, this attitude would consider others as lesser and not important. It is in fact a boastful self, arrogant and vain, but deep within, insecure and filled with bitterness.

    This is what we have heard also from the Gospel. The parable was not actually about labor issues but about the bitterness and aggression showed by the tenants in the parable against the servants and to the son of the landowner. The tenants, who were actually the chief priests and Pharisees, have become self-entitled and believed that they were the only deserving people of God’s salvation. Their hearts that have become envious, bitter and ambitious also became unwelcoming, greedy and vicious.

    Like the brothers of Joseph, they too began to plan evil things against Jesus. They wanted to arrest him and kill him. And indeed, this happened to Jesus. But then, their evil thoughts and evil plans cannot and will not defeat God’s power to bring salvation and freedom to all.

    As Joseph also became the savior of his own brothers during the great drought and famine, Jesus also through his resurrection proved that evil has no match with the wonder of what love can do.

    Thus, as we continue to journey in this Season of Lent, let our hearts be overwhelmed, not by our envy towards others, but by our love and affection towards one another. May we be able to repair any gap of indifference and heal any mutual bitterness with our siblings and with our friends. Hinaut pa.