Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Category: Easter Season

  • SCARS INTO GRACE

    SCARS INTO GRACE

    April 8, 2021 – Thursday within the Octave of Easter

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040821.cfm)

    What scars do you have in your body? And what scars do you have in your heart? We both have physical and emotional scars. Every scar would remind us of pain in the past. Some scars may become insignificant through time. Other scars especially the big ones may remain significant even though the pain has gone. The trauma that we have been through in the past could sometimes still shaken us at present.

    Emotional scars compared to the physical ones carry more weight and longer time to heal. The stories behind our emotional scars can also sometimes bring back old memories of pain and sadness. Yet, it is also possible that those scars we have whether physical and emotional, can become signs of victory, of growth, of wonder, of beauty and even of grace.

    Such possibility of turning our scars into grace is what has been told to us in today’s Gospel. Jesus appeared before his disciples. He greeted them with peace because their hearts were filled with fear and troubles. The very thought of the death of Jesus brought so much sadness and fear into the hearts of the disciples. Because of this, they could not believe that Jesus is alive and was in front of them.

    Jesus rather invited them, to look a hands and feet. Jesus said, “touch me and see.” Jesus wanted the disciples to touch and see that indeed he bore the scars from the wounds he endured at his crucifixion. To touch and see the scars of Jesus, those signs of wounds and of his death is to be able to behold the grace of God.

    This tells us that the resurrection of Jesus has made those scars, now, as signs of victory, of wonder and of grace. Those scars remind us that Jesus went through suffering and he knows very much the feeling of being in pain, being humiliated, being abused and being maltreated. Those scars revealed the cruelty of sin and evil.  Yet, beyond those scars also is the grace of God that brings new life and new hope for all.

    Thus, as the disciples were invited by Jesus to touch and see the scars in his body, the Lord also calls us to look at our own scars. Do not deny or hide in forgetfulness and in shame those scars in us. The very scars we carry can become opportunities where God shall bring graces to us. Through our own scars, we shall find healing and life, transformation and hope.

    Hiding in forgetfulness or in shame and denying that we are scarred will not help us. These attitudes will only bring us into more fear and sadness. Our heart will remain fearful and troubled like the disciples who were in hiding.

    As we allow the Lord to work wonders in us and make his grace be revealed through our own scars, may we also experience today the grace of new life through his resurrection. Hinaut pa.

  • Towards New Life and New Hope

    Towards New Life and New Hope

    April 7, 2021 – Wednesday within the Octave of Easter

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040721.cfm)

    Painful and traumatic experiences in life bring so much confusion to us. The sudden death of a loved one, losing and failure in your job or business, broken relationships, family feud, etc. are some experiences that can be terrifying and horrifying. Because such experiences are too overwhelming, they make us too sad and depressed. We could blame ourselves, blame others, blame the world or blame God for making us suffer greatly.

    The story of the two disciples who were leaving the painful place of Jerusalem tells us of a reality in our life. Like them who thought that Jerusalem was just a place of horror and death, of failure and pain, we too might want to escape from those painful memories of the past. Like them, we too could be in search of something just to make sense of those unexplainable and terrifying events in our life. Yet, we could not understand everything because the experience was just overwhelming.

    This was how the two disciples found themselves in that situation. The death of Jesus and the failure of their dreams now prevented them to see and recognize the presence of the Risen Jesus among them. They have not recognized immediately that Jesus was actually walking with them, and conversing with them. Their hearts were only filled with sadness and pain. Yet, the Lord continued to accompany them in their difficult moments despite the hardness of their hearts to believe and see the Lord among them.

    However, it was when they invited Jesus whom they thought was merely a stranger and started breaking and sharing to them the bread, that their eyes were opened. At last they have recognized that the Lord was with them all the time. At their lowest moment in life, when things seemed to be so dark and meaningless, the Lord was with them. Despite their many questions, the Lord was with them.

    This was how the two also found themselves and found the meaning of everything and of their life. This was how they immediately left Emmaus and went back to Jerusalem. The place of death and failure has become a place of new life and new hope.

    Thus, those moments of failures in us, those experiences of pain and death, those traumatic and terrifying events in our life can also become place of new life and new hope in us. The Lord indeed works marvels and moves in mysterious ways. God has made Jerusalem, now a life-giving and hope-inspiring place.

    This tells us too, that, as we allow the Lord to accompany us, the Lord shall also make wonders in us and shall make our painful past to be a source of new life and new hope in us.

    These are the invitations for us now.

    First. Allow others to journey and accompany you in your difficulties. Allow your friends and family members to know the struggles within you. The journey towards healing and freedom can only be possible when we are with others. This was how the two disciples also allowed the stranger to be with them.

    Second. Never be afraid to ask questions because the Lord understands us. Jesus was very patient with the two disciples by listening to them. Moreover, allow also the Lord to teach us that we may be able to see another perspective in life. Allow other people to fill your minds and hearts with their wisdom. Allow the Holy Bible to speak to you and reveal God’s invitations.

    Third. Never be afraid of your Jerusalem, of those that you consider as your place of failure and pain, of sadness and trauma. God also will bring wonders in our Jerusalem. As God has raised up His Son from death, God can also bring new hope and new life in our own Jerusalem. Hinaut pa.

  • Filled with the Goodness of the Lord

    Filled with the Goodness of the Lord

    April 6, 2021 – Tuesday within the Octave of Easter

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040621.cfm)

    Mary Magdalene went into the tomb and was weeping, our Gospel tells us today. Mary was filled with sadness and pain. The tomb of Jesus certainly reminded her of that painful and scandalous death of Jesus on the cross. Yet, what is interesting in this scenario was  the movement of time. In the first verses of this Gospel, we were told that Mary “went to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark.” However, at this time, the dawn was breaking. The sun is soon to come out. And what Mary will witness was definitely the glorious victory of light over darkness.

    Mary who developed a close relationship with Jesus, was a faithful disciple. She remained at the side of Jesus thus, the reason of her grief and pain. Nevertheless, despite the grief and sadness, Mary did not just go away and give up. She actually refused to give up.  The sadness, disappointment and pain that she felt, urged her more to seek Jesus even in times of so much confusion and darkness in her life. But, those emotional and spiritual burdens in her also prevented her to immediately recognize the Lord. Jesus has to call her by name to make her realize that it was him.

    Thus, in that desire to seek the Lord even in darkness and seemingly ugly scenario in her life, Mary was filled with the goodness of the Lord. Her friendship with Jesus helped her to seek the Lord and see grace beyond pain and darkness. This is something to learn from the friendship Mary Magdalene had with Jesus. Her friendship was beyond physical attraction and emotional attachment but was built on trust, faith and confidence of being loved by the Lord.

    Such experience of fullness is what the Psalm also proclaimed today. “The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” This is what Mary was holding on in her heart. She must be a believer on this that indeed the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. Even though there was so much pain and confusion in her heart, she believed in the goodness of the Lord that fills the earth.

    True enough, Mary received this fullness of God’s goodness as Jesus revealed himself to her. This was captured beautifully through her words, “I have seen the Lord.” This is a testimony of a person who believed and experienced fully the goodness of the Lord.

    From here, there are two invitations for us.

    First. When we also encounter moments of darkness and grief, sadness and pain, confusions and frustrations in life, we might find ourselves going away to hide, and stepping back to retreat into fear just as Mary bent over and wept at the tomb of Jesus. However, retreating into fear will only prevent us to recognize the Lord and see his grace. Hence, it is very important that we also develop a close relationship with the Lord. Such relationship will grow and mature through our constant awareness of God’s presence.

    Second, that constant awareness of God’s presence calls us further to see and recognize that indeed the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. Thus, never be too pessimistic even if what surrounds us is quite ugly and horrible. Since, the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord, be always conscious that each of us is part of that fullness of God’s goodness on earth. Therefore, be an expression of God’s goodness to others, be the presence of God’s goodness to our friends and community. By becoming that expression of the fullness of God’s goodness, then, we shall be able to proclaim to others too that “we have seen the Lord” because we have experienced the fullness of his goodness. Hinaut pa.

  • Be A Witness

    Be A Witness

    April 4, 2021 – Easter Sunday

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040421.cfm)

    Alleluia. The Lord Has Risen. Alleluia. Happy Easter to All.

    Holy Week has just finished. Easter Season has just get started. We come to realize now that our story of salvation is more than just about us, but all about God and what He has done for us through our Risen Lord Jesus Christ. Our redemption & faith-life now are more than just about what we have done in life but rather what Christ has done for us. Remember Jesus on the cross did not say: “I am finished” but rather said, “It is finished.” He has just getting started. So, Abangan. Beware. Be Aware. There are still more yet to come & to happen to us and for our life ahead. Brace ourselves then for God is not finished with us Yet.

    As the Lord has risen now & always in our lives, ours now is to be a witness to God’s acts & messages yet to happen in our lives. Since God is not finished with us yet, ours now is to bear witness what is yet to be revealed in our lives now through our risen Lord.

    For what is it to be a witness? Like a witness to an event or an incident & like those who first witnesses of the Lord’s resurrection in our gospel today, to be a witness and to bear witness is….

    First, to experience first-hand what is being & yet to happen & be revealed. Mary Magdalene, Peter & the beloved disciple saw in person the burial cloth left on an empty tomb. Important thus is the personal direct encounter– what you see, hear, think & feel of the incident & God’s actions in our lives. Second, to allow the incident to happen as it unfolds. We are but bystander witnesses and not active actors. Like Peter, never tamper the scene & evidences or control/program the incident for if so, you become an accomplish – a compromised witness. Third, to allow the incident affect, disturb & move you. Useless is the incident if it has no effect & meaning to you. The other disciple went in, saw & believed. What he experienced makes him realize & understand now (as Paul would call, from above) the meaning of the empty tomb & the rising from the dead. Lastly, to be a witness is to testify to others what you have experienced. Mary Magdalene saw and told others. As in the Acts of the Apostles, Peter & other disciples shared & testified to others what they experienced & believed. What we witnessed & believed then must be claim & proclaim, given & shared with others, so that others may also witness the risen Lord in us from & through what we have witnessed & believed.

    As Easter People – believers & proclaimers of the Lord’s resurrection, we now bear witness to our faith by our personal & communal experience of God’s continuing work in us, by our obedient participation to His plans & ways, by being transformed by our encounter of God’s revelation & by sharing to others what we have received by the testimony of our faith in the risen Lord.

    In the same spirit & attitude, today we also begin our year-long celebration of our five decades of Filipino Christianity this year. With deep gratitude, we thank our Father for continually revealing Himself to us, doing His work of salvation to us, and making us witness & bear witness to what the Lord Jesus Christ has done & continually doing for us now. We are indeed gifted with Filipino Christian faith. This is the time the Lord has made. We rejoice & we are glad.

    With the risen Lord, we believe that there are more yet to come & happen in our lives now and ahead. The risen Lord is not finished with us yet. With this, we, Filipino Catholics pray that may we always be worthy & fruitful witnesses of the risen Lord to our world here & abroad today & always.

    So Help us God. So May it be. Amen.  

  • Look at God, and you will be at rest

    Look at God, and you will be at rest

    Advertisements

    May 31, 2020 – Pentecost Sunday

    Click here for the readings (http://cms.usccb.org/bible/readings/053120-day.cfm)

    Corrie ten Boom, a Nazi concentration camp Christian survivor of the Holocaust once said, “If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God, you’ll be at rest”.

    Though her words was spoken of World War II’s genocide of European Jews, somehow these words also describe our present reality in today’s pandemic world. When we come to think of it, distressing it is to find that our world we live in now is sick, infected and under serious death-threat.  Worse, as we try to cope with its daily challenges, and as our leaders are doing what they can to protect us from this threat, there are still quite a number of people who are in denial, resorts to blame game and even do stupid acts at the expense of and putting others’ health in jeopardy.

    Also, not only mental health problems and concerns are of rise nowadays, depressing it is to find ourselves  isolated, limited and quarantined. In the midst of our challenging reality, we do find ourselves stressed, restless, and helpless.  From our perspective, distressing and depressing our life these days is and can be. However, as Corrie suggests, if when we go beyond our perspective & try to see it with God’s perspective, we will find consolation and meaning in what is happening in our lives and what we are going through now. Thus, “if you look at God, you’ll be at rest.”

    As our risen Lord made himself known to them in our gospel, Jesus gave His disciples three gifts. First, the gift of Peace: “Peace be with you” – as healing consolation for their troubled and anxious heart during difficult times. Then, the gift of mission “I send you” – as direction and mandate to be His living witnesses in present the world.  And above all, the gift of the Holy Spirit: “Receive the Holy Spirit” – as power, courage and guide to respond to the challenges of faith and life ahead. Peace, Mission & Holy Spirit are our risen Lord’s gifts he left behind for His disciples then & for us now His church, as necessary components to live out and practice our faith in our very lives as His living witnesses to the world today. And behind these gifts is the call to “Look at God”, that is, the challenge to go beyond ourselves, rise above the occasion, and be inspired.

    Meaning, “Looking at God” invites us to go beyond our views of things and discern God’s plan and will for our “is and can-be” distressing and depressing life. “Looking at God” provides us also with identity, meaning & authority to fulfill our very mission and tasks in this life – thus, rising for the occasion to share our unique gift we can offer in this life. And “Looking at God” is to be IN God’s spirit – to be in one spirit, mind and will with God, whenever, whatever, however, wherever life has in store for us.  

    Advertisements

    Moreover, we look at God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Our first reading reminds us that on the day of Pentecost, as they receive the Lord’s gift of Holy Spirit, the frightened disciples of crucified Christ is now transformed into brave heralds of God’s mighty works. As St. Paul insisted, only inspired and empowered people who look at God can say and can go out and proclaim: “Jesus is Lord”.  Jesus thus moves us to look at God and inspire us to be His living faithful and practicing followers.  Interestingly, somehow nowadays many so-called “non-practicing Catholics” have updated their status into “practicing Catholics again” – even without (or with limited) avenue for public worship, not only as a reaction to the challenges of our trying times but more so because they “look at God in Jesus” again and anew for consolation, direction & inspiration in their own very lives.Today we celebrate Pentecost Sunday, which marks the birthday of the Holy Church, and the end of Easter Season for this year. Beyond the distressing and depressing challenges of our life ahead this time, may we be reminded that we are (& our church is) an inspired Church continually looking at God through our risen Lord Jesus. With  our risen Lord, may we go beyond our present predicament, rise for the occasion to be His living witnesses, and always be inspired to share our gifts and proclaim Jesus to our world today. Amen. 

    (By: Fr. Aphelie Mario Masangcay CSsR, a Filipino Redemptorist  Missionary stationed in Gwangju South Korea, though now still stranded in Cebu until further notice for available flights.)

    Join 2,849 other subscribers