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Category: Homilies

  • A Sincere Person Inspires

    A Sincere Person Inspires

    October 16, 2019 – Wednesday 28th Week in Ordinary Time

    Feast of St. Gerard Majella, CSsR

    (Patron of Mothers, particularly pregnant mothers and their infants)

    A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John (12:23-26)***

    ***readings proper to St. Gerard, Redemptorist Supplementary

    Jesus said to them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tel you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

    Homily

    When we experience rejections and deprivations in life, is it not that we also experience discouragements and have a sense of hopelessness?

    That is why there would be people who would yield to a very low self-worth and low self-esteem because of such negative experiences. For others, this leads to depression and chronic loneliness. Others too would go to the other side that leads to a life filled with bitterness and then to that desire to always seek recognition, acceptance, and satisfaction. When these desires remain unconscious and become unsatisfiable, the person turns to be selfish, corrupt and abusive in his or her relationships.

    Yet, negative experiences also can be an opportunity for us to grow more as a person into what God desires us to be. Our painful experiences of rejection and deprivations in life are also doors that will lead us into a life filled with confidence and assurance. This is the life that was shown to us by St. Gerard Majella whose feast we celebrate today. Before St Gerard was known to be a patron for mothers and particularly in time of pregnancy and for their infants, the young Gerard experienced hardships.

    At a very young age he was deprived of a father. His father died and being the only boy, he became a father to his sisters. Though he was very young, he was forced by that circumstance to work as a tailor. Consequently, the hard work that he endured caused his health to fail. He had a very poor health as a young man. However, despite these difficult circumstances, Gerard was never bitter towards others who were better and well-off. He never blamed God for the difficulties he experienced. 

    In fact, Gerard desired that he will offer his whole life in the service of God. But then, because of his poor background and poor health he was rejected by a religious congregation that he wanted to join. Despite this rejection, Gerard never wavered in his resolved. When the Redemptorists came in his hometown, he was inspired by them and asked to join in their group. Again, because of his poor health he was rejected. But because of his persistence, he was able to join, but the Redemptorists reluctantly accepted him. He was never accepted fully, actually!

    In terms of intellectual capacity, Gerard was very far from St Alphonsus, yet, what inspired the people around him was his sincerity. In all the things that Gerard did, he was always sincere. The words that he expressed was filled with sincerity. Gerard was not after any recognition or just to satisfy his cravings because of the deprivations in his life.

    Gerard was just sincere because he was very confident with Jesus. His confidence and intimate friendship with the Lord made this poor and sickly Gerard secured and satisfied. Consequently, the very presence of Gerard uplifted and inspired others particularly those who were afflicted with illness, with loneliness, with poverty and other needs. Thus, even in his poverty, Gerard was generous; even in the midst of rejections, Gerard was most compassionate.

    This is what Jesus told us in the Gospel today. The life of Gerard was a concrete example after Jesus of a seed that dies and then bears much fruit. Those painful and negative experiences of Gerard were his experiences of dying, his choice to make others happy and to bring others closer to Jesus was his way of self-denial and denial from his personal cravings. Hence, by his sincere actions and words, Gerard’s life bore much fruit.

    This is the message also for us today. Let us not allow our negative experiences of rejections and deprivations to bring us farther away from ourselves, from others and from God. Let us rather make them as opportunities for us to grow deeper in our relationship with God and others. Let us be sincere in our words and actions so that we too will become God’s instruments in bringing miracles in the world. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR 

  • Why God is essential in life

    Why God is essential in life

    October 15, 2019 – Tuesday 28th Week in Ordinary Time

    Memorial of St. Teresa of Avila, Virgin and Doctor of the Church

    A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans (1:16-25)

    Brothers and sisters:
    I am not ashamed of the Gospel.
    It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:
    for Jew first, and then Greek.
    For in it is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith;
    as it is written, “The one who is righteous by faith will live.”

    The wrath of God is indeed being revealed from heaven
    against every impiety and wickedness
    of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
    For what can be known about God is evident to them,
    because God made it evident to them.
    Ever since the creation of the world,
    his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity
    have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made.
    As a result, they have no excuse;
    for although they knew God
    they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks.
    Instead, they became vain in their reasoning,
    and their senseless minds were darkened.
    While claiming to be wise, they became fools
    and exchanged the glory of the immortal God
    for the likeness of an image of mortal man
    or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes.

    Therefore, God handed them over to impurity
    through the lusts of their hearts
    for the mutual degradation of their bodies.
    They exchanged the truth of God for a lie
    and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator,
    who is blessed forever. Amen.

    A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (11:37-41)

    After Jesus had spoken,
    a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home.
    He entered and reclined at table to eat.
    The Pharisee was amazed to see
    that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal.
    The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees!
    Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish,
    inside you are filled with plunder and evil.
    You fools!
    Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?
    But as to what is within, give alms,
    and behold, everything will be clean for you.”

    Homily

    St Paul tells us of the danger of a conscious denial of God. God’s presence can indeed be felt everywhere and by everyone. However, the people of his time denied God’s presence and power through their wicked practices. They knew God but did not adhere God and did not recognize God’s tremendous love.

    These people continued to worship what were only beneficial to them. They worshipped material things that would only feed them with comfort, riches, power and influence.

    As a result, they favored lies rather than the truth. They preferred corruption rather than honesty. They loved to possess rather than to give. However, such life only led them to darkness and to a life that can never be satisfied. They remained hungry and dull. This truly happened as the people put God aside in their life.

    This resonates with the reaction of Jesus towards the Pharisee who tended to put more emphasis on human regulations rather than on what God intended originally. This Pharisee represented those people who elaborated the law of Moses with hundreds of laws. They believed that it was the best way to obey God’s command. 

    Nevertheless, this was not the case. Jesus confronted the Pharisees of their mistake. They, in fact, worshipped more the law rather than the Lord. By putting more emphasis on the law, they also forgot to be compassionate to the poor and to be grateful to the Lord.

    Consequently, the Pharisees became vicious in their treatment with the common people. Since they thought of themselves highly, they looked down at the poor and the sick. Because of their self-righteousness they have become indifferent to the lowly.

    This was evident in the way they presented themselves. They have become people who were merely concerned of the outside, of their physical appearance rather than of their hearts. They looked flawless outside but with a corrupt heart inside. This again was a form of putting God aside.

    With these, Jesus invites us today to rather make God as the most essential in our life because a life that continually denies God will only lead to emptiness and unsatisfied life. Making others things more important in our life other than God will bring us to a deep spiritual hunger and corruption. These things could be our own material possessions, successes and achievements, influence and fame or simply ourselves, our vices and addictions, our selfish actions and intentions. 

    Indeed, St. Teresa of Avila whose feast we celebrate today reminds us of a person who truly found satisfaction, true comfort and riches with God. Through her closeness with Jesus, Teresa would always discern and choose God’s desire for her rather than her personal desires even if that led to personal conflict and difficulty.

    She made God as the most essential in her life which made her offer also herself.  Accordingly, she had become an ‘influencer’ during her lifetime. She radiated and shared God’s presence in her life and through her actions, her works and speech. She, indeed, found what filled her and satisfied her. Teresa is known to have said,

    “God alone is sufficient.”

    Thus, hopefully, we may also discover that indeed God alone is sufficient for us, that nothing can truly satisfy us or fill us but God alone. Like Teresa, we may also grow in our confidence with Jesus despite our feelings of insecurities and anxieties in life. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • Are you looking for a sign from God?

    Are you looking for a sign from God?

    October 14, 2019 – Monday 28th Week in Ordinary Time

    A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (11:29-32)

    While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them,
    “This generation is an evil generation;
    it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
    except the sign of Jonah.
    Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
    so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
    At the judgment
    the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation
    and she will condemn them,
    because she came from the ends of the earth
    to hear the wisdom of Solomon,
    and there is something greater than Solomon here.
    At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
    and condemn it,
    because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
    and there is something greater than Jonah here.”

    Homily

    Are you looking for a sign from God?

    We usually ask God to give us signs when we are making decisions. We also ask signs from God especially when we become doubtful of His presence in times problems and trials in life. We believe that if God would give us a sign, then, that will make us confident in God.

    However, it has been our experience too, that when we do not receive any sign from God, we begin to doubt more or become angry with God for not listening to us. We may think that life is so unfair because even a single sign of assurance is not given to us.

    Yet, we are reminded today of our tendency to expect spectacular signs that will be unfolded before us. This is actually the problem that we have heard in the Gospel today.

    The people asked Jesus for a sign so that they will believe in him. The people expected Jesus to do a big and great sign before their eyes before they will recognize God. This was the mistake of the people at that time because they asked sign from Jesus, when, in fact, Jesus was actually the greatest sign and miracle that ever happened.

    That is why, Jesus, as if scolding them of their ignorance and indifference, reminded them on how the Ninevites believed in Jonah’s sign and on how the Queen of Sheba believed also in the signs present with King Solomon. However, these people though Jesus was greater than Jonah and Solomon, did not recognize God in the person of Jesus.

    This happens also to us when we tend to be indifferent to what is ordinary. The Jews at that time were not able to recognize God’s tremendous presence in the ordinary life of Jesus. Because Jesus was too ordinary for them, and a mere son of a carpenter from a far barrio of Nazareth, the people refused to believe in Jesus and thus, refused to recognize God in Jesus.

    The Lord reveals himself to us in ordinary ways. This is what Jesus tells us today. We are reminded to be more discerning and to listen better on how Jesus reveals himself in the most ordinary way.

    Let us be discerning and be sensitive to God’s many revelations even in the most ordinary ways because God reveals himself and his love to us every day and every moment of our life. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • Expressing our gratitude makes us more alive

    Expressing our gratitude makes us more alive

    October 13, 2019 – 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time 

    Indigenous People’s and Extreme Poverty Sunday***

    ***Today’s celebration invites us that the Lord is ever present with our brothers and sisters who may appear different from the majority. The connectedness and intimate relationship of the indigenous peoples with the creation reminds of our basic relationship with the Creator to whom we should be grateful. The poorest of the poor that despite their poverty are the most generous people. They too express their deep gratitude to God, the giver of everything.

    A reading from the Second Book of Kings (5:14-17)

    Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times
    at the word of Elisha, the man of God. 
    His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child,
    and he was clean of his leprosy.

    Naaman returned with his whole retinue to the man of God. 
    On his arrival he stood before Elisha and said,
    “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth,
    except in Israel.
    Please accept a gift from your servant.”

    Elisha replied, “As the LORD lives whom I serve, I will not take it;”
    and despite Naaman’s urging, he still refused. 
    Naaman said: “If you will not accept,
    please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth,
    for I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice
    to any other god except to the LORD.

    A reading from the Second Letter of Paul to Timothy (2:8-13)

    Beloved:
    Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David:
    such is my gospel, for which I am suffering,
    even to the point of chains, like a criminal.
    But the word of God is not chained.
    Therefore, I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen,
    so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, 
    together with eternal glory.
    This saying is trustworthy:
    If we have died with him
    we shall also live with him;
    if we persevere
    we shall also reign with him.
    But if we deny him
    he will deny us.
    If we are unfaithful
    he remains faithful,
    for he cannot deny himself.

    A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (17:11-19)

    As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
    he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
    As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him.
    They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying,
    “Jesus, Master!  Have pity on us!”
    And when he saw them, he said,
    “Go show yourselves to the priests.”
    As they were going they were cleansed. 
    And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
    returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
    and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. 
    He was a Samaritan.
    Jesus said in reply,
    “Ten were cleansed, were they not?
    Where are the other nine? 
    Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” 
    Then he said to him, “Stand up and go;
    your faith has saved you.”

    Homily

    In the course of our life, we have been asking many things from God. We make sacrifices so that God may grant our prayers for healing, for success or for material graces that we need. We take time to light a candle, to make a mass intention, say our novenas and rosaries, even visit churches and shrines, and touch every statue of a saint so that God will grant our prayers and desires. 

    We are not far from the experience of the ten lepers who begged Jesus to heal them. They took the time to cry out loud to Jesus and expressed their desire to be healed. Indeed, Jesus heard them. When they were on their way to present themselves to their priests, they were healed, but only one came back, a Samaritan, to praise God and give thanks to Jesus. Jesus wondered on what happened to the nine.

    In today’s Gospel Jesus reminds us to show explicitly our gratitude to God. God’s generosity is endless yet our memory can sometimes become very short. We always remember to ask, but we tend to forget to give thanks. This is what happened to the nine lepers. They were healed and have been a recipient of God’s healing. However, the nine of them were not able to remember the God who brought healing to them. They became too focused on themselves and on the gift of healing that they have received. And so, they forgot about the Giver. They have become ungrateful.

    Nonetheless, one leper who was a foreigner remembered the Giver. When he realized that he was healed, he rejoiced and remembered the Lord. That is why, he came back to praise God and thank Jesus. He might have not realized yet that Jesus was God but he was sure that God was at work in Jesus.

    This healed leper’s act showed how grateful his faith was. He was not just healed physically but also spiritually. This healed leper teaches us today to show our gratitude to God. And the challenge lies here in giving thanks to God.

    This is what we find also in the story of a Syrian leper in the Second Book of Kings, named Naaman. This foreigner, a stranger was also healed from his leprosy through the prophet Elisha. Naaman, despite being a stranger, recognized the power of God. His healing experience moved him to be grateful to Elisha and to God. In fact, Naaman wanted to offer a gift not out of obligation but out of gratitude. Hence, the gratitude felt by Naaman and by expressing it changed his life by becoming a believer of God.

    Himself and the Samaritan leper became more alive as they have encountered God.

    Moreover, to thank and praise God is time and energy-consuming. Remember, the Samaritan leper came back to Jesus as Naaman also returned to Elisha. Thus, when we thank God, sometimes it requires us to go out of our way, to stop from what we are doing at the moment or to delay our important appointments with others in order to say thank you to the Lord. 

    A life filled with gratitude to God is indeed a life of prayer. Just like the healed leper, it will lead us to bow in humility to God, to pray to Him. Hence, before we go out from our room and start our day filled with activities, 

    pray first and thank God;

    before we do the things for our family, pray first;

    before we go to work, pray first;

    before you leave home, pray first;

    before you enjoy a good meal, pray first;

    before you end the day and go to bed, pray first and say a big thank you to the Lord who has been so good and generous to us.

    Please take the time today to express your gratitude to God and to all the people who are there for you to be able to express also the joy within us. In this way, we may become more conscious of the Giver of gifts who remain faithful to us even despite our ungratefulness and unfaithfulness. Hinuat pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • Not just in words but also in actions and in our whole person

    Not just in words but also in actions and in our whole person

    October 12, 2019 – Saturday 27th Week in Ordinary Time

    A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (11:27-28)

    While Jesus was speaking,
    a woman from the crowd called out and said to him,
    “Blessed is the womb that carried you
    and the breasts at which you nursed.”
    He replied, “Rather, blessed are those
    who hear the word of God and observe it.”

    Homily

    The woman in the gospel praised Mary, the mother of Jesus for having a great son like him. However, Jesus even praised Mary not just on this basis but rather for being able to listen to the Word of God, pondering upon it and observing it.

    St. Anselm even affirmed that because of the great devotion of Mary to the Word of God in listening and pondering everything in her heart, the Word was made flesh within her. This means that Mary’s devotion towards the Word of God did not only stop in mere hearing but the word spoken by God transformed Mary herself. Consequently, Mary has become our best example of a person who took the risk of listening, accepting and embracing God’s word. It was in that way that Mary found her joy, her peace and her freedom as a person, as woman, a wife and a mother.

    Each of us today also is being invited that our devotion to the Word of God will not just remain a mere obligation to God and not just part of our speech but also of our actions.

    Thus, Jesus invites us that as we listen to him, who is speaking to us now, we too will be able to accept and embrace His words. His words may become difficult and challenging, risky and time-consuming but also comforting and inspiring, life-changing and liberating. We will surely then find that as we listen and ponder the Word of God in our heart, our actions, thoughts and speech and our person will also be transformed into what God desires us to be.

    Today, let us be conscious about it, the Word of God revealed in this Eucharist and in the Holy Scriptures so that its inspiration, its warmth and power will give light and life in our relationships with our families and friends, and in the many efforts that we make in our studies and in our work. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR