Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Category: Homilies

  • Waiting for your RATION? Let the Spirit fill you up

    Waiting for your RATION? Let the Spirit fill you up

    Advertisements

    April 23, 2020 – Thursday of the 2nd Week of Easter 

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/042320.cfm)

    The reading that we have heard from the Acts of the Apostles tells us of two different attitudes. We have the attitude showed by Peter and the other apostles and the attitude of the Chief Priest and other religious authorities in Jerusalem. These two groups of people expressed different attitudes towards the gift of the Spirit of God.

    We have heard how Peter and his group showed their tremendous confidence to preach about Jesus. Peter who denied Jesus three times and the others who also fled and hid because of fear came out from their hiding places. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit they have been inspired. Though they have failed Jesus and were unfaithful to him at his most difficult moment, yet, these fearful and unfaithful disciples sought forgiveness from Jesus. 

    Hence, despite their fears and doubts, they allowed the Lord to enter into their lives and to give them peace. This openness from Peter and the rest of his group allowed the Lord to come in, to bring change into their lives and give the peace and joy that the resurrection brings.

    Because of this, Peter and his group had become more grateful to God for the tremendous love and faithfulness that they have felt. This gratefulness in their heart moved them to be bold in words and deeds by preaching publicly the life of Jesus.

    Fear no longer paralyzes them. It was peace and joy that overwhelmed their hearts because Jesus was with them.

    Now, this is a manifestation how the gift of the Spirit transformed those who accepted it wholeheartedly. The gift of the Spirit, as the Gospel of St. John tells us, is not rationed, or limited or controlled as what is happening with the food ration distributed to many communities during this time. In God, there is no pandemic or any virus that can prevent the abundance of the gift of the Spirit.

    We might be waiting for our food ration to arrive, but there is this vital gift that is waiting to be received by us. The gift of Easter, this gift of the Spirit that the Gospel tells us is abundantly gifted to us. God does not ration the gift of the Spirit. God gives the Spirit lavishly. Thus, our poverty and not even this pandemic should prevent us from allowing the Lord to fill our hearts with His Spirit. We might be having a financial or economic crisis today, but there should be no excuse of being spiritually destitute these days.

    However, what can prevent the gift of Spirit to fill us and to transform our hearts into the likeness of the Risen Christ, is a hardened-heart. This is stronger than the virus and thicker than a concrete wall. As much as God wants every heart to be filled with the gift of the Spirit, but then God does not impose His power on us. God wants a willing and humble heart. 

    Advertisements

    Thus, the other group of people, the high priest and other religious authorities who remained close-minded, insecure and fearful to what Jesus can bring into their lives continued to reject Jesus. This rejection made their hearts stiff, unable to listen to the invitations of the Spirit. This rejection too prevented the Lord to enter into their hearts to bring peace and joy. 

    Consequently, these people continued to be filled with anger, bitterness, and insecurity. These attitudes towards God made them violent and corrupt. For this reason, they even wanted the apostles to be killed because they wanted to suppress the truth. They wanted to suppress the Gospel of life and of joy.

    This too will happen to us when we continually resist God’s invitation for us to be free, to be renewed and to receive his peace and joy, that is, the gift of the Spirit. These authorities had so much possession, they enjoyed wealth, and influence and power to the point that they did not want to move away or let go of those.

    We are called now that like the apostles we too will be able to let go of our fears and doubts and of those that whatever may prevent us from truly receiving Jesus in our life and in filling in, our hearts with the gift of the Spirit. 

    We may ask, “What are those attitudes, beliefs and even tendencies in me that makes my heart stiff and unwilling to receive the gift of the Spirit?”

    Hopefully, by being able to let go of those, then, we too shall be filled not by ourselves but by the Spirit who will lead and inspire us to share and preach the Gospel of life and the person of Jesus through our words and actions today. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

    Join 2,864 other subscribers
  • Am I being imprisoned too?

    Am I being imprisoned too?

    April 22, 2020 – Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/042220.cfm)

    I remember a friend inside the prison when I was still a Seminarian. In today’s language the inmates are called, Persons Deprived of Liberty. They have been deprived liberty because of a crime committed or suspected to have done a crime. In one of our Prison Visits, as a group of Seminarians, I asked how was he and his life inside the City Jail. Great was his dismay for the crime he did. He violated the law and so deserved to be punished. Because of this, he felt deep longing and loneliness. He had many fears but for him, he said, he had to face them because he had to pay the crime he did.

    In our first reading, Peter and John were also deprived of liberty. This was not their first imprisonment. This was, in fact, the second time they were brought to the prison. They were imprisoned because the Jewish authorities were filled with jealousy. These authorities were jealous because of the many good things the apostles did. 

    As the Apostles preached about Jesus and His resurrection from the dead, they too healed the sick and helped the poor and the needy around them. They responded with generosity to those who needed their help. What the Apostles did were concrete expressions of what they believed and held in their hearts, and that was, the person of the Risen Jesus.

    As Peter and John were imprisoned, they must have been afraid and worried on what will happen to them. However, at this time, they had enough trust and faith in God. The constant invitation of Jesus, “Do not be afraid!” has grown in their hearts. Thus, the two were freed from prison so that they may be able to continue their good deeds and preach the goodness of God.

    These are just two kinds of physical imprisonment. One is imprisoned because of a crime committed and the other because those in authorities were just filled with jealousy and malice towards those who did good and preached the Gospel.

    However, there is also another form of imprisonment which is not physical. This was the case of the Jewish authorities. The Chief priests, Sadducees and Pharisees who continued to persecute the Apostles and felt jealous towards them, were truly imprisoned by their blindness and hardness of heart. They were imprisoned by their greed and envy, by their fear and doubts and by their refusal to believe in the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

    Thus, they have self-imprisoned themselves with their own jealousy and unbelief. The Gospel portrays these kinds of people, of those who preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.

    With this, we may also ask ourselves. In what way am I also being imprisoned? Or what is it that imprisons me today, or that prevents me to be free and to be truly who I am?

    Advertisements

    When we become fearful and try to hide our actions, these are just signs that our heart is not free. When we become ashamed of ourselves, ashamed of what happened to us, of our past experiences, these are also signs of an imprisoned heart. When we tend to control others, dominate and abuse the weak, or in our arrogance, in deceiving others, by becoming indifferent to the needs of others, or thinking that our possessions in this world will make us happy and contented, or to think that we need to become somebody else to be recognized and to be praised, then, these are also signs of a person who is imprisoned in the darkness of fear and insecurity. 

    Thus, let us be more reflective and discerning of these things and ask the grace from the Risen Christ to enlighten us. Pray, that we may be able to see and recognize the areas of our life where we are being imprisoned. Pray, that we may be free and become the person and community that we are called to be, and that is to be “light,” especially in this great and dark crisis today. Hence, believe in the Risen Christ, in Jesus who brings us light because Jesus was sent by the Father to redeem us and not to condemn us to death.

    Let us also join our prayers to Mary, Our Mother of Perpetual Help so that she may help us in recognizing better ourselves and to see the light of the face of her Son, Jesus. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

    Join 2,864 other subscribers

  • The Joy and Wonder of Easter

    The Joy and Wonder of Easter

    April 21, 2020 –  Tuesday 2nd week of Easter

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/042120.cfm)

    The joy and wonder of Easter caught the heart of the disciples of Jesus to truly believe in Him and in God’s power that defeats death and darkness and thus liberates us. This kind of spirit was truly felt by the early Christians. In fact, the joy and wonder of Easter was transformed into concrete resolutions and actions in living as a Christian community.

    This is what we have heard today in the reading from Acts of the Apostles. We have heard how the community of believers felt God’s assurance and security that went beyond material wealth. It was because they were of one heart and mind, becoming more sensitive to the needs of each one. Consequently, the community began to share generously their material wealth with those who have none and were needy. Each member of the church had enough because each one contributed and shared.

    This is the spirit of Easter that tells us how the Christians believed in Christ’s presence among them. However, this kind of attitude of sharing and letting go of possession did not also last long because selfishness and insecurities came into the picture. People began to advance their personal interest over the others and have taken advantage at the expense of the needy and the poor.

    Advertisements

    However, as a Christian community today, we are still called to live the spirit of Easter by generously sharing what we have to those who are in need. Letting go of all our material wealth at this present age would be impossible; yet, to joyfully give and share our resources, talents and capacities is what the Risen Jesus is calling us today.

    This call to share our resources is more urgent in this time of crisis today. Our brothers and sisters who are daily wage earners such as the construction workers, trisikad and tricycle drivers, garbage collectors, street vendors and homeless/street-dwellers etc. are the most vulnerable during this lockdown and Enhanced Community Quarantine. What the Catholic Church is doing now is truly inspiring in the effort to reach out to people. Here in the Philippines, Caritas Manila for example (see their Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/OfficialCaritasManila/ ) has given a billion pesos to the needy. Dioceses and Religious Congregations too have creatively made efforts to reach out to these people and to the many front liners.

    In our own Parish, the Our Mother of Perpetual Help has also reached and given food packs to 635 families as of today in different communities. This became possible also through the generous contributions of individuals and families. Hence, even simple and small amount of help can make difference to the lives of others.

    Hopefully, we may let our hearts also be filled with the joy and wonder of Easter. We may be overwhelmed then, with gratitude to God who has been so good to us, so that it may lead us to become joyful givers to our community and especially to our needy brothers and sister. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • Have you been Born Again?

    Have you been Born Again?

    April 20, 2020 – Monday of the Second Week of Easter

    Click ere for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/042020.cfm)

    “Have you been born again?,” a Born Again Pastor asked me. Like Nicodemus, I was also stunned by the question. Then, he continued asking me, “Do you accept Jesus as your personal savior?” I said, “Yes.” And then, he told me, “You are now Born Again.” Immediately, he took out his notebook and pen and asked me to write my name on it and the date of the day and date of my birth. And so I did. 

    And I saw in his notebook other names of people with their details. He explained to me that those were the list of people he baptized just like me, a baptized Born Again by him.

    That encounter with a Born Again Pastor, reminds me of the very Gospel we have today. Jesus with his encounter with Nicodemus, a Pharisee said, “Unless one is born from above, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Yet, Nicodemus also responded, “How can a man once grown old be born again? He cannot reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?”

    Nicodemus was referring for a physical rebirth of a person. However, Jesus speaks of a spiritual rebirth of a person. Consequently, Jesus invites Nicodemus to be born of the Spirit.

    To be truly born of the Spirit is not just a mere ritual but rather a way of life. In today’s language, we call it, “Lifestyle.”

    Each of us who had been baptized with water and the Spirit, is already “born again.” This is what Jesus speaks to us today. During the Easter Vigil and Mass on Easter Sunday, we were asked to light our candle and renew our baptismal promises. That rite was an invitation for us to be reminded of what we have received in our baptism when we were children, for those who were baptized as babies, and those who were baptized as adults too. Moreover, that rite also points to who we are, our very being, and that is, that we are all Children of God.

    Indeed, through our baptism we were born again and called to live our life filled with the Spirit of God. However, as we have lived our life and carry out our identity as Children of God, we might have not felt the Spirit within us perhaps because we have become “lukewarm” and indifferent, have taken things for granted, have become selfish by advancing our personal desires and wants, or have succumbed to what is only beneficial, easy and comfortable for us at the expense of others. These attitudes are signs that we are not allowing God to fill our hearts with the Spirit.

    To be truly born of the Spirit is not just a mere ritual but rather a way of life. In today’s language, we call it, “Lifestyle.” Thus, it means that it is not just a one-time event but an everyday commitment to live a life filled with the Holy Spirit.

    This is now the invitation for us today. Jesus calls us to re-examine our life on how we have lived our Christian life and carry out our commitment to God. We are called to identify the obstacles that prevent the flow of the Spirit in our life. We may want to start by recognizing the hurts, the pains, the traumas, even fears and doubts, our preconceptions, biases, attitudes and sins that hold us back from allowing the Spirit to inspire us, to mold us and to renew us.

    Hopefully, this may lead us to step forward by consciously making a faith-commitment to the Risen Jesus, who breathes into us the Holy Spirit. May it inspire us to develop a lifestyle that consciously prays, discerns the invitations of God and shows true concern to our brothers and sister.

    May this lifestyle be more active and inspiring especially in these difficult times brought by the pandemic Corona Virus. As we allow the Spirit to fill our hearts in this Easter Season, let us also fill with our kindness and generosity those who are most in need and vulnerable in this time of great crisis. With this, we are truly born again with Spirit. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • When the Divine Mercy pierces through LOCKDOWN-HEARTS

    When the Divine Mercy pierces through LOCKDOWN-HEARTS

    April 19, 2020 – Second Sunday Easter and Sunday of Divine Mercy

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/041920.cfm)

    The word LOCKDOWN has become popular today given the situation we are in. At the outbreak of the virus that originated in Wuhan, China which has spread to many countries today, “lockdowns” have been imposed. This procedure is imposed to control and to minimize the spread of the virus to the public. As countries, regions, provinces, cities adopted such measure,  now even small sitios or purok (a village) have their own version of lockdown.

    We understand lockdown as a situation in which people are not allowed to enter or even to leave a building, or a property or an area freely because of an emergency (Cambridge Dictionary).

    As this has been highly recommended by medical experts, then, our government leaders have to impose it for the sake of the citizens. Thus, its main reason is not to limit the freedom of the individuals but to control the virus, to slow down the transmission and infection and save lives. It is a defensive mechanism that we have developed today which we also realized as necessary. This, indeed, is a lockdown that protects, saves and even gives life.

    Advertisements

    However, there is another form of lockdown that is different from protecting, saving and giving life. It is the opposite. It is the “lockdown imposed by the disciples upon themselves” that we have heard from the Gospel today.

    This is defensive mechanism of a heart that is hurt and bruised. It is a form of withdrawal from others and from God because of “fear.”

    In a way, experiencing pain in our relationships also makes us more defensive the next time we relate with others. We become defensive and even withdrawn with others because we fear of being hurt again. Thus, we “lockdown” ourselves from any possible pain or hurt, because we are afraid of what others can do to us.

    This happened to the disciples of Jesus. They lockdown themselves in a room because of fear. They locked the door to make sure that no stranger could enter. It was their way of protecting themselves because they were afraid that what happened to Jesus may also happen to them.

    As a consequence, their fear prevented them to believe what Mary Magdalene proclaimed to them, that Jesus has been raised from the dead. They couldn’t believe her because they were too afraid. However, what was more interesting in the Gospel was on how Jesus appeared in their midst even though they made sure that the doors were locked. Jesus appeared to them and brought peace to the hearts of these fearful disciples.

    Yet, we also find Thomas who was not there at that time of Jesus’ appearance, still holding on to his fears and doubts. Although all the other disciples have testified that they have seen the Lord, Thomas couldn’t accept it. He couldn’t believe, and because of that, his heart was more locked than the door. Thomas personally lockdown his heart.

    That is why, Thomas, set a condition before he would believe that Jesus is alive. He said, “unless I will see and touch him, I will not believe.” Because of so much fear and doubts, Thomas insisted that condition in order to protect himself.

    Just as Jesus met the other disciples in their own hiding place and so he did it also to Thomas. Jesus appeared once again and asked Thomas to touch his wounds so that he may believe. Jesus submitted to the condition of Thomas.

    This is what the Gospel is telling us today – the Lord meets us wherever we are and he takes us seriously in all our fears, anxieties and doubts. When God meets us in our own hiding places and closed doors, He brings us peace to our troubled hearts. This is an assurance that in God’s presence we find peace and without Him we will always be disturbed and insecure.

    This is the mystery of the Divine Mercy which we celebrate on this Second Sunday of Easter, the God of Mercy who brings peace into our troubled and fearful hearts, and who pierces through our lockdown-hearts.

    In God’s Mercy, Jesus indeed meets us  where we are at the moment especially when we decide to retreat to our own cocoons of self-centeredness, to our old bad habits and addictions, to our defensive mechanisms and self-imposed lockdowns from other people, and into our angry and irritable response to people around us. God meets us there and he wants us to know that He is with us and He brings us peace.

    It is when we recognize God in those moments that Jesus invites us to touch his wounds just like Thomas. Being aware of the wounds and touching the wounds of Jesus means that Jesus feels our own pain and suffering, our fears and anxieties, questions and doubts. Hopefully, that experience will lead us to proclaim like Thomas, “My Lord and my God.” This is again an assurance to us that our God is alive and at work in our lives.

    I would like to invite you now to be aware and recognize those attitudes, beliefs and experiencesthat continue to lock us away from others and from God. Be aware of those that hold us from fully relating to others and from freely expressing goodness, and those that make us withdrawn and indifferent to people around us.

    Hopefully, our encounter with the risen Christ, the image of the Divine Mercy will make our locked and defensive hearts to open up as He brings us peace and send us to others. This may move us  to go out to touch the lives of those who are in need by sharing what we have experienced with God, his goodness and generosity, faithfulness and mercy. Thus, even during lockdowns we can still show our kindness and generosity to those in need. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR