Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Category: Homilies

  • MOTHER’S YES

    MOTHER’S YES

    December 20, 2023 – Wednesday of the 3rd Week of Advent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122023.cfm)

    Whenever we reflect on our childhood memories, our dear mother is always there present. Be she young or old, dark or fair, how else would we be here now, if our mother did not make our well-being her life and vocation. The relationship we share with our mother is special and sacred, and is based on a bond of mutual love. It was our mother, who is the first person loved us, took care of us, committed herself for us, assured us that she will always be there whatever happens, and would willing die for us so that we may live. It is our Mother, who first said, “Yes” for you. She is “the Mother of all “Yes”es in favor of you, who first opted and chosen YOU. Through our mother we also heard first God’s Promise, “I will be there for you always”.

    No wonder then that Mary is at the center of today’s gospel, which gives us a simple but moving account of the greatest message ever delivered to us – “the Lord is with us”. In it we are told simply and plainly that there was a young maiden, who knelt down at the angel Gabriel’s mysterious message and, in freedom of her heart, gave the total gift of herself to God, saying: “Yes, let it Be done unto me according to thy Word.”

    The Annunciation was the moment when God first revealed a mystery that he kept secret for endless ages. It is true that his love for us is so great that he wants to become one of us. And in doing so, Mary was needed by God. Mary was asked to co-operate with God, and be the mother of Christ. And the moment she said, “Yes” to the angel, salvation dawned on us all. However, Mary did not say “Yes” to God on only one occasion. She had to confirm that “Yes” many times during her life. The moment she said, “yes” to God’s invitation life was never the same again for her. She became a refugee in Egypt and some thirty years later, a witness her son die the death of a common criminal. And through all these events in her life, she did not abandoned her son, stood by Him, always present and supporting Him whatever it takes.

    Christmas is almost upon us and, our thoughts turn to our mothers who said “yes” for us so that we may live, and to our mother Mary who listened and responded in cooperation with God’s will. Mary’s life shows us that to be a Christian is to be a person who keeps our ears open to what God is calling us to do today, so that we can answer Yes to His call and to cooperate with His will.

    Perhaps we ask ourselves: To what extent are we available to God? Do we see what he wants us to do in and through us? If God asks you for favor now, how would you respond?

    Today we are shown the marvelous example of Mary. Even if she did not see clearly all it implied, she accepted her mission to become the mother of the Savior. Mary’s yes offers us salvation. Our own mother’s yes brings us life. May our Yes, our own response and cooperation with God brings life and salvation to others. We pray then that like Mary, we may have her listening and responding heart to God’s call so that we can be as ready and as willing to cooperate in bringing Christ into others. So May it be done to us according to God’s word. Amen

  • CONSCIENCE

    CONSCIENCE

    December 18, 2023 – Monday of the Third Week of Advent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121823.cfm)

    Surely most of us are familiar now with the statue of Sleeping Joseph. Nowadays we hear & see of an unusual statue of St. Joseph sleeping & resting. Not the usual Joseph holding the child Jesus, he is depicted here as a simple ordinary man resting in his sleep. Many meanings we can attribute to this image – like Joseph as a tired worker & family man resting from life-challenges. But such image of sleeping Joseph may gives a glimpse of the spirituality & prayer life of St. Joseph. Scripture tells us how

    significant rest, sleep & dreams in the life of Joseph as to his contribution to God’s work salvation for us. Not only in dreams he was warned about the slaughter of children after the birth Jesus that forced them to exile to Egypt, we also hear in our gospel today how in slumber & dreams Joseph is able to experience God’s plan & will for Him & us for the better. We remember in our gospel today after weighing & discernment for the right thing to do in challenging situations (being betrothed to virgin Mary who is now found with a child not His & initially resolve to divorce her quietly), Joseph went to sleep for rest & in dream, encounters the angel of the Lord saying to him, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.”

    With Joseph, here we come to know how God may work in us & accompany us through in our faith & life. Yes, in many ways & means, God makes himself known & reveals himself to us. God intervenes into our life now in so many ways, be it through His words, via Jesus story, our Church witnessing, our faith & life experiences, through our sacraments, prayers, devotions, images & statues. Moreover, God guides us personally in our Christian faith & life through our consciences, discernment, decision-making, & even in our dreams & sleeping, like St. Joseph.

    Somehow the sleeping Joseph is teaching us now to listen & honor our conscience in life, because through our conscience we come to get to know consciously & unconsciously God’s better plans & will for us. We are also to trust our conscience, because with our conscience that disturbs & directs us, we become aware of the Emmanuel “God is with us” & hear God’s assurances for us, not to be afraid to take responsibility for Jesus & Mary into our own home.

    As we are nearing Christmas, the birth of Christ, like Joseph, may we have a discerning heart & mind to know deeply God’s plans & will for us this coming years – open to once again & anew take on the responsibility of parenting Jesus & adopting the Holy Family into our lives now & always. So May It Be. Amen.

  • SOCIAL MEDIA

    SOCIAL MEDIA

    December 17, 2023 – Gaudete Sunday, Third Sunday of Advent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121723.cfm)

    As the priest was once about to greet the people with the usual “the Lord be with you” (Ang Ginoo Maanaa kaninyo) to which the people were to respond: “And also with you,” (Maanaa usab kanimo) on a Sunday mass, the people were not able to hear such dialogue because the microphone wire was defective. The priest then tapped the microphone which fortunately made contact. But to his regret, while the mic regain contact, he accidentally shouted and broadcasted loudly: “there is something wrong with the microphone”. (Naay daut ang microphone) And worse, the people involuntarily replied: “And also with you.” (Maanaa usab Kanimo).

    During Eucharist, we usually hear the normal greeting of the priest: “The Lord be with you” (Ang Ginoo maanaa Kanimo). And then we usually reply, “and also with you” (Maanaa usab kanimo). But what does it mean? What does “the Lord be with you” mean?

    According to the scripture, the words, “the Lord be with you” is the first good news ever proclaimed to us. Since the annunciation of Maria, the birth of Jesus until His ministry, death and resurrection, these words and message have always been proclaimed and preached to us, and has been a recurring theme of the Good News of Jesus Christ. And even until now, the Spirit of God and the Church, has preached these to us again and anew – that the Lord is WITH you and all of us now.

    If “the Lord is with us”, how should we feel then?

    Our readings today call us to be Joyful and Thankful to God for He has blessed us with His presence and salvation in our lives. Isaiah rejoices over God’s grace bestowed not only on himself but on Us all, proclaiming: “My soul rejoices in my God”. St Paul exhorts that we should always rejoice and give thanks for such great blessing upon us.  John in our gospel today knows himself. He is not the Messiah himself. John is not the message or the Good New, but He is just the microphone- loudspeaker: the SOCIAL MEDIA of the message. He is only the voice and just the precursor to prepare the way of the Lord. But he also aspires to be a worthy friend of the bridegroom. He is not the Groom but the joyful Best man or person for the Groom. This is also what John wishes for us – that We become the Best (worthy, righteous, and joyful) Person before God and others for the Christ, the Messiah, and become a Microphone- Loudspeaker-social media of the message: “the Lord is with us”.

    We are now in the third Sunday of Advent. The whole Church calls this particular Sunday as “Gaudete Sunday”, the Sunday of Joy and Praise. We are encouraged to be always grateful of the Good News that the Lord is with and upon us.

    But are we really now joyful because of the Good News that the Lord is with us? Or are we, like what happened with the priest who said that mass, become accustomed and got used with the message that we are not anymore happy and excited about it? And because we get used to it and have heard it before, we just automatically or mechanically respond without really meaning it: And also with you?” What then, is the difference if when we hear the Message, and we just respond, “OK, fine whatever.”? Or without interest responding “Amen”, whenever presented with “Body of Christ” during communion? Or just saying “So what?” when a special guest arrives in your home for a visit?

    If we have heard the good news that the Lord is with us, what should we do then? If we really recognize that the Lord is with us, it is but right and fitting that we should rejoice and be happy because a great grace has come upon us. And in our joy and gladness, we also need to preach and share this good news to all – that is we should actively witness, preach and proclaim this with all our words and actions. Like St. John the Baptist in our gospel, we who have heard and glad of the good news of salvation must also become the best man – like good microphone or social media blogger that proclaims, “the Lord is with us”. And in this season of advent, we must renew, prepare, and strengthen our faith, so that we may become worthy of His message.

    If the microphone is defective, we must also check if the speaker and receiver are also defective, for we might send a wrong message and get a wrong response. Advent then is Time for Sound Check & Mic Test – for us to review our Social Media account, to ensure we are at our BEST condition to host our beloved Guest Jesus Christ.

    Christmastime proclaims to us the simple message: the Lord is with us. How about us? Are we with Him?

    May we Be with the Lord, as He has always been with Us. Amen.

  • MISSING BAMBINO

    MISSING BAMBINO

    December 10, 2023 – Second Sunday of Advent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121023.cfm)

    Have you heard the story about the missing Bambino?

    A story once told that day after Christmas, after all the parties and celebrations, words came out that the Bambino – “the Child Jesus” in a parish church’s Christmas grotto went missing. Parishioners became quite concerned then for nobody can account for the whereabouts of their beloved and now missing Bambino. Perhaps it has been stolen and worse – desecrated by some unbelievers. Days after the incident, resigned with the sad fate of their missing Bambino, a father with his crying boy came to the parish church and brought back with them the missing Bambino. Rejoiced for the return of their missing Bambino, they asked the boy what really happened. The boy said, “My friend and I visited the baby here last Christmas night. The Bambino was sad and all alone. Nobody was with Him except us. So we decided to invite and bring Him home, and brought Him in our chapel where together we could happily play and be with Him”…

    We may at times become so engrossed with & worried about the season of the celebration that we miss the Reason of the celebration itself. We at times concern ourselves more with the “how” that we fail the “why” we celebrate.

    We are now into Advent Season, at the 2nd Sunday of Advent. Advent is all about preparation, preparation for the coming event – the once again visit and arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ into our lives. Advent is then not the homecoming event itself but the preparation of the coming event.

    Our gospel today introduced us John the Baptist as the herald and messenger who prepares the way of the Lord. He was predicted to be the one who announces the coming of the Lord into our lives. He prepared his whole life and other people’s lives to welcome the Messiah into our lives. John the Baptist then is not the Gospel but only the precursor – the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God. In other words, He is not the Groom but Best Man of the Groom who paves the way for the celebration of Wedding.

    Like John the Baptist, we Christians, followers and believers of Christ today are called to be heralds, messengers and announcers of the gospel of the Lord’s coming into our lives. We are to prepare ourselves and the world for the once again & anew homecoming visit and arrival of our Lord into our day to day lives. As last Sunday reminds us, we are to “Be alert, awake and aware” for the coming Event. This is the “How” we are to be for the Lord’s coming. And on this 2nd Sunday of Advent, we are reminded of the very “Why” – the reason and gospel of Christmas is Incarnation. God is wanting to be with Us always. God choose to be like us so that He can come & visit us, stay with us and be with us in our lives forever.  How He wishes then that when He comes and arrives, we come prepared with our whole hearts and being to lovingly welcome Him to COME IN and allow Him to Be with us anew in our lives.

    However, like the story of the missing Bambino, we may become so engrossed with the preparation that we miss the event itself – bogged down with the season that we miss the reason of celebration. It is like leaving the expected guest all alone on his own in the living room while we just go back to our own affairs after joyfully welcoming him, – or the best man who is so engaged with his formal attire that he missed to bring the wedding ring for the weeding. Or like Martha, we become so concerned with what to do for the Lord as He visits that we fail to be with Him. Or worse, we might just left Him behind on His own, neglected – allowed only when needed.

    Christmas is not all about us welcoming the Lord but moreso about “Immanuel” God-being with Us – the Lord coming and staying home into our lives. We may have been planning to joyfully welcome and celebrate His coming visit but do we allow Him to come in stay and be with us? Pinatuloy mo na, papatirahin mo ba Siya sa Inyo? Or will he just remain a guest and temporary settler/squatter of our home?

    2nd Sunday of Advent proclaims the message of God’s Love. This is to remind us that as active and passive verb, Love means both to love & be loved. God loves us & we are beloved by God. We should love God in return & God should beloved by us as well. Again like at the arrival area in the airport, We wait for God but God also waits & longs for us to recognize & let Him into our lives now. 

    During this Advent season, may our hearts be more willing and open to welcome the Lord once again & anew into our lives, not just a visiting guest but a welcome member of our home & family, community & church to partner & accompany us to the coming challenges of life ahead amidst possible threats of war, violence, turmoils, unrest, natural & human disasters. 

    Dayon, Tuloy po kayo. Come in, Lord Jesus & Stay with us now and always. Amen.

  • Broken Yet Glorious King

    November 26, 2023 – Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112623.cfm)

    If you google the word: “Cristo Roto or Broken Christ” in the net, you will be led into a place in Aguascalientes, Mexico where there stood a massive 25 meters bronze statue of Christ above the city dam. Considered to be the 10th largest statue of Jesus in the world, what makes it special is that it is broken. An image of Crucified Jesus stand suspended without a cross, with a missing right arm and a snapped off leg. It was based on the story told about Fr. Ramon Cue who found a broken and desecrated crucifix in an antique shop, and bought it in view of restoring it for his parish. Once home however while in prayer before the broken Christ, Christ himself pleads to the priest that it to be left broken & not restored, so that it could stir in the priest & in his parishioners the need to both ‘see’ & ‘serve’ the broken Christ’s in their midst.

    Known now as Santuario del Cristo Roto (Santuary of the Broken Christ), the massive Broken Christ statue is a famous religious pilgrim and devotion site, and a popular stop for Mexican migrants crossing the US, where faithful considered it as a savior of the lost causes.

    Today is the Solemnity of Christ the King. Consider the image of Christ the King. Usually the image shows us all the symbol & promptings of honor and glory depicted proper & usual for a king (crown, throne, orb, scepter & robe). But notice, what is most peculiar in the usual image of Cristo Rey are His exposed swelling inflamed heart & His barefoot. These peculiarities somehow highlight the distinction of Christ’s kingship from the usual human kings. Barefooted-king symbolizes Christ as a humble Shepherd king who is on-the-go, in-touch, and grounded in His people’s lives. Exposed swelling inflamed heart symbolizes Christ as the loving Lord King who is hands-on, feel with, empathizing, all-out, compassionate & merciful to us His people. Above all, both His open heart & exposed feet are reminders that our Lord & King Jesus Christ is a Broken, Suffered, Wounded yet Victorious & Glorious Servant King-Shepherd who still needs & longs for our praise & loving service with Him in our Father’s kingdom. A glorious King, indeed yet remains a broken Christ so that we may see & serve Him in our midst, in our day to day lives & thus, continue His work & contact-presence with us in life. A forever kingly yet still broken Christ in our midst.

    The kingship of Christ reminds us that, FOR US, God is our Shepherd king. For our sake, He chose to be our Shepherd King. Through our readings today, we recognize that like a good shepherd, Yahweh HIMSELF tends us His flock: a hands-on God-king who look after, tend, rescue, pasture, give rest, seek, bring back and heal us His people for the sake of  our salvation, fulfilled fully  (no more, no less) through the witness & shepherding of our Lord Jesus Christ. And on the day of Reckoning, Jesus will account & segregate the worthy from the unworthy (sheep among the goats) of eternal life with our Father.

    And the kingship of Christ reminds us as well that ALONG WITH US, God is our family or rather we are His family & His son Jesus is our brother who is mostly with the least of our family. In our gospel today, both the worthy & unworthy ask the Lord “When did we see you…?” His response is Ubi Caritas: loving service to others – “whatsoever you do to the least, that you do unto me”. In other word, Jesus is the “me in the least of our brothers/our family” – the broken Christ in our midst who needs our loving service. And how we treat Him in the least of us is the standard measurement of us to be worthy or unworthy of being & living with Yahweh, our Father.

    Christ’s kingship is thus expressed at its best & should be seen and served as our Lord Jesus, the Shepherd King FOR us, and the broken Christ WITH US, especially in the least of us in our midst.

    The solemnity of Christ the King marks the end of our liturgical year. Like in the airport’s pre-departure area, as we bid farewell to liturgical year that has been & a prepare for the next year’s promise & challenges in our spiritual travel-journey, perhaps we ask ourselves:

    • How have I experienced God’s shepherding in my life this year? In what ways Jesus have tended, rescued, pastured, protected & healed me this year? How the Lord Jesus is for me & with me this year?
    • How did I participate & contribute in His shepherding of me & us all? What have I have done for Him? How have I been with Him, an obedient & faithful sheep OR a dumb-ass & hard-headed goat? What have I done to the least of my brothers? Have I been His frontliners who do something for those who are need at this time OR have I been a KAREN, a proud entitled jerk who complains a lot & carelessly put others lives at risk for undermining protocols & breaking guidelines? Have I recognized, “see & serve” Him in my life & in our midst?

    As we have a closer look of our life & mission as His flock & people, reimagine our being & living with God, and make some resolutions to do better in life & faith anew, may the lyrics of songs below inspire & guide us to be worthy of Our Christ the King in our midst. Amen.

    I MAY NEVER PASS THIS WAY AGAIN

    Perry Como (1958)

    I’ll give my hand to those who cannot see, 
    The sunshine or the fallin’ rain.

    I’ll sing my song to cheer the weary along, 
    For I may never pass this way again!

    I’ll share my faith with every troubled heart, So I shall not have lived in vain.

    I’ll give my hand, I’ll sing my song, 
    I’ll share my faith, because I know, 
    That the time is now to fulfill each vow, 
    For I may never pass this way again!

    PAG-AALAY NG PUSO

    Nemy Que, SJ

    Minsan lamang ako daraan sa daigdig na ito.
    Kaya anuman ang mabuting maa’ring gawin ko ngayon.  O anumang kabutihan ang maari kong ipadama? Itulot ninyong magawa ko ngayon ang mga bagay na ‘to.

    Nawa’y h’wag ko ‘tong ipagliban o ipagwalang-bahala,
    Sapagkat ‘di na ‘ko muling daraan sa ganitong mga landas