Category: Homilies

May 15, 2022 – 5th Sunday of Easter

Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051522.cfm)

Whenever we are asked with the question: “How’s your lovelife?” most of the time we find ourselves with an awkward smile, pondering whether we have someone loving us and/or have someone we are loving now. But over and above the person – subject and object of our love, “How’s your lovelife?” posts a deepest inquiry about our life of love and loving others. It asks us personally: “Have I been loving others, and have I been loved by others lately? Have I been loveable – able to love and beloved by others?” Meaning, beyond the answer of having or not having someone is the challenge of our being and having love at all in life.

Simply put, regardless of having or not having someone, such question confronts us to examine ourselves: “Have I been loving to others, or have I been loved by others lately?” Love then is more than just having someone in life, but moreso about having a loving-life with others. Lovelife is thus our life of loving others, and loving one another.

Jesus in our gospel today once again reminded us of His commandment: to love one another, as He has loved us. More than just having someone, Jesus is challenging us here to have a love life – i.e. to lead and live our lives of love with others. He also reveals us that by our lovelife with others we glorify God in Jesus and we are known by others to be His disciples. Loving one another then is our way of loving God and of being loved by God in Christ. And above all our love life with others should be Christ-like, that is the same way as He loved us. Here Jesus offers and calling us to practice Love as patterned in His way of living-life of love with us and others.

Reflecting on our Christian life as being beloved by God in Jesus, modern-day psycho-spiritual director Henri Nouwen in his book: “Life of the Beloved” gave us a glimpse on Jesus way of loving us, i.e. On how are we to love others like Jesus. Nouwen pointed out that Christ-like lovelife consists of four elements. First, loving others like Jesus must be a chosen and committed life. Our love then is never just a consequence but a choice and commitment-we made for life. Second, Christ-like love of others must be Blessed and Sanctified. Our love must not be limited to our human ways but be offered and made holy and sacred in God ways. (Ipinasa-Dios). Third, to love others like Christ is also to be broken, formed and transformed by our love of others. Our chosen and blessed love then is meant not only for its own sake but to make us to be better version of ourselves and of others person.  And above all, Christ-like love must not be exclusive but be shared to grow and unite with others.

Like the Bread in the Eucharist (bread-chosen, bread-blessed, bread-broken/transformed, and bread-shared), simply put, “To love one another as Jesus loved us” is to lead a life of love being-chosen and committed, of love being-blessed, of love being-broken and transformed, and of love being-shared with others.  This is Jesus way of loving us, and we are commanded to do the same, as He said to us: “I give you a new commandment, love one another as I have loved you.”

Perhaps we ask ourselves now: “How’s my lovelife? Have I love others as Jesus loves me? Have I been loveable – able to love and beloved by others? Is my love like that of Jesus (love-chosen, blessed, broken and shared)? What areas of my lovelife is still lacking and needs improvement? How should I grow better in my lovelife and Christian life?”

Remember: By our love, we glorify God in Christ and we are known by others as Christian.

We pray that we may never lose sight but be rather committed in our Christ-like lovelife, “Loving one another like Jesus” as our way to God’s love and salvation. Amen. 

May 8, 2022 – Fourth Sunday of Easter

Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050822.cfm)

The late-Philippine lady senator while once giving a graduation speech, Miriam Defensor-Santiago made this joke. She said… Beside a swimming pool, two girls are having this following conversation. G1 said to G2: Know what? you are going to float (Alam mo. Lulutang ka). G2 to G1: Why? Is it because I’m getting slim, light & sexy? (Bakit? Dahil ba, magaan, slim at sexy ako? G1 replied: No, it’s because you are Plastic (Dahil plastic ka). Funny & rude it maybe, but it tells a lot.

Now, how do we distinguish a GOOD parent, teacher, friend, politician, leader, mentor, or coach from a BAD one? How do we know if that person is real, true, authentic, deep, honest & trustworthy? How do we know that person is fake, shallow, liar & unreliable?

Nowadays it is normal for us to suspect things, simply because it is not easy to know whether it is real or fake. Because it is difficult to detect the authentic from artificial or plastic, the durable from disposable, nowadays we do tend to be suspicious of things & even of one another. Same way with our relationships with others, we rather suspect, doubt, and distrust one another, than believe and trust others because it is more challenging to distinguish who are real, honest & smart from fake, deceitful, & shrewd people.

Jesus in our gospel today introduced and made Himself known to us as The Good Shepherd who knows His sheep and His sheep follows Him. As Jesus distinguished Himself from a Hired Worker who work for pay and no concern for the sheep, He reminds us here that as OUR good shepherd He is a hands-on and committed caretaker/caregiver of His sheep who maintains a personal intimate relation with His sheep, and will commit His life to live and work with His fold in life & we, His sheep has a deep faith in Him, our Good Shepherd.

Be reminded the risen Lord reveals Himself in Person & in Flesh for real. In last Sunday gospel, as the risen Lord reveals Himself in the midst of the disciples, he showed and asked them to touch and see His wounded hands and feet. Thus, the risen Lord reveals Himself not as ghost but in flesh and bones with wounds. The risen Lord, our Good Shepherd thus knows us & we know Him personally for real, & not for fake or as plastic.

We Christians proclaim that our risen Lord Jesus Christ is OUR good shepherd. We believe that He is our Shepherd, who knows and loves us personally. We also believe that we know Him personally for we know His voice & we follow Him faithfully in life.

Particularly For us Filipino Catholic, we do have special or unique take in knowing our Good Shepherd. We know Him not only because Kilala natin siya but because Dama natin siya – not only because we know Him but moreso because we feel Him. Culturally sense-feeling perceptions are important to us, Filipino Christians. Like,… I may know you, but I may not feel you. I may feel you though I may not know you. (Kilala kita, pero di kita ramdam. Ramdam kita kahit di kita kilala). This is how we distinguish real from fake & how we discern good & bad.

Same way as we Filipinos have this natural felt-instinct & sense to distinguish the real from fake, to discern the good from evil, we also come to be familiar with & know more the shepherd’s voice through our gut-sense and feelings. Same way as the mother knows the child instinctively & the child knows the mother by sense & instinct, we do come to know the risen Lord as our true Good Shepherd in life not only by our volition, consent & reasonings, but most of all through our sense & feeling perception (damdamin at kalooban). Feel/Ramdam ko Siya. Feel/Ramdam natin Siya.

By our sense-perception & feeling-gut insights, we come to know the risen Lord with us – in person & in flesh. Knowing the Shepherd is thus not only for us an intellectual or cognitive familiarity but more so a deep felt-sense knowledge and insight of His presence, love & blessing.

Same deep-sense knowledge and insight would also guide us in tomorrow’s National & Local Election as we choose & vote for our coming political leaders. By the same gut-feeling insight, we know who will be good or bad, real, or fake, sincere or corrupt for the future ahead of us.

We pray then that the Easter Season this year be our moment to enhance and improve our special felt-sense of knowing our True & Good Shepherd, so that we may not be gone astray from His fold but rather have a much deeper relationship with Him, and be always attuned with His will & plan for us now, especially during these pandemic times & for the future of our society, nation & world ahead.

So Help Us, God. So May it Be. Amen.

May 1, 2022 – Third Sunday of Easter

Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050122.cfm)

To be a credible witness, one must have a hands-on experience of the incident. For a witness to be reliable, one must have a personal encounter & experience of what was going on & had happened as the event unfolds. In the same way, knowing movie stars on scene is far different from knowing them in person or knowing them personally.

Our readings today are all about personal witnessing & being personal witness.

People in our first reading in the Acts of the Apostles believed not only because of what Peter & John preached & proclaimed about the risen Lord Jesus Christ, whom they condemned & crucified in death but also because they themselves saw for themselves the cured lame man & the miracle happened to him. People repented & believed because they personally witnessed for themselves God’s miracle, as witnessed by the apostles in curing the lame man happened right in front of them. And as the people became witnesses to these events, it has caused deep commotions, distressed & above all conversion to community of Sanhedrin & Jewish community.

In the same way in our gospel today, the disciples came to believe because they themselves personally experienced the risen Lord appeared before them. It is the Lord in person, who showed himself to them – with His wounds, hungry for food, & whom they fed & listened to anew to His message & challenge of faith, repentance & discipleship. Because of their first & hands-on experience of the risen Lord in person, they are now as Peter proclaims: “Witnesses of all these things”. The people & the disciples believe because they witness in person for themselves & now become as personal believers and witnesses of our risen Lord Jesus Christ.

We cannot give what we do not have. We can only share what we have. In the same way, we cannot be credible witnesses if we have not witnessed for ourselves personally the revelations of the Lord’s presence in our daily lives now.

By their experience of Jesus in the Last Supper of bread & wine, & encounter of the risen Lord Jesus Christ in the first breakfast of bread & fishes, the apostles now became sincere believers & devoted witnesses of the Lord’s resurrection to people. By their personal encounter of the risen Lord, the apostles once again & anew heard the Lord’s call: “Follow me”, that inspired them to proclaim the Good news to the whole world at all times.

Same way as the witness & witnessing of the apostles, people came to believe in the risen Lord, so also, by the testimony of our personal faith-witness & witnessing now of our faith, other people in effect will also believe & experience for themselves the risen Lord in our lives today.

We now are witnesses of the Lord’s resurrection to the world. Since we are gifted now with the witness & faith in the risen Lord, we are now proclaimers & sharers of God’s salvation through the life & resurrection of our risen Lord Jesus Christ in our world today at all times & seasons – whether ordinary, pandemic, or new normal moments of our lives.

May these Easter Season make us more aware of the appearances & revelations of our risen Lord in our lives now, so that we may share anew His messages & graces to our world today, especially during these pandemic times. So Help Us God. So May it Be. Amen.  

April 24, 2022 – Second Sunday of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday

Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042422.cfm)

As Christians, often times, we come across skeptics – people who at least doubt or disbelieve our Christian faith. Once a young man said in the heat of discussion: “I will not believe until I meet Jesus”. And a Catholic missionary retorted him: “But you cannot see if you don’t believe first. Only in faith, that you will be able to experience and witness our risen Lord Jesus Christ”.

Yes, in this day and age it is unavoidable to meet people who maintain: “To see is to believe”, i.e. to base their faith on facts, sciences and evidences. In other words, they only trust and have confidence on what are sensible, logical, and scientific. Nowadays, it is not easy for others (& even ourselves) to believe. We ask usually for signs, proofs, or evidence in order to trust and have faith on others. We need some credentials first in order for us to believe. Many at times we claim, “We will never believe until we see it”. Others would even say, “Show me the money first before I trust you”.

However, signs, facts, proofs and evidences are not the basis of our Christian faith – not even on the empty tomb of Jesus, but on the testimony and faith of the disciples and of us who experience & witness the risen Lord as He reveals Himself in our normal lives and such witness has totally transformed us.  Like the disciples in our first reading, faith in the risen Lord makes us experience the risen Lord in our lives, and make us witnesses (sharers of the Lord’s presence) to others. Such Christian faith and witnessing of our risen Lord make us Christian different from other religions.

Now, what does it entail, to witness Jesus and to be witnesses of Jesus? What does it mean, and how it is to be today’s Christian witnesses of the Lord’s resurrection?

Same way as being a witness in the court, Christian witnessing entails and requires us:

1^st, to experience the events, or what is going on or happening, as it happens or unfolds in the ordinary life. This would mean we should be there present, and not absent like Thomas, at the moment when Jesus reveals himself to us.

2^nd, Be conscious or aware of what is going on. Physical presence is not enough. We must pay attention to ordinary miracles that are happening in our midst. Thus, our total self must be present and sensitive with His revelations.

3^rd, Let the events happen in its own course. Let things be and happen as it unfolds. Savor the moment without controlling and programming. Don’t interfere or else we become accessory & not anymore a witness.

4^th, be affected by the event – be transformed by the events. Be moved, surprised, amazed, awed, inspired, and shaken by the experience.

5^th, share and testify the events to others, as we have experienced and been affected by the encounter.

The same process of witnessing happened with the apostles in our gospel today. 1^st, while going back to their ordinary lives of fishing and catching nothing, a man appeared and suggested them to fish in the other side of the boat. 2^nd, having a great catch, they eventually recognized and became aware that the man is the risen Lord Jesus. 3^rd, as no one dared to ask: “who are you”, they let Jesus invite and serve them a breakfast. 4^th, with their first breakfast with the Lord, once again they are moved, transformed, and inspired to continue with their faith and mission. 5^th, their very meeting and sharing bread and fish with the risen inspired them to follow Him and in feeding the Lord’s lamb in faith and life. In other words, we witness the risen Lord to others, by our being present and conscious of the Lord’s appearances in our ordinary life, meeting him naturally and affectively, and passionately share to others our faith and encounter of the risen Lord.

Again, Easter is all about the risen Lord continuously meeting us in life – appearing and making himself known to us. As the Lord meets us in our day to day lives, our experience of Him challenges us to believe, i.e. to recognize and trust Him and His ways, as well as to witness Him, i.e. to taste and see (savor) His being with and acting in us, as well as to share our experience of Him with others.

Easter season reminds us not only of Eucharist as our last supper, but more so, as our usual first breakfast with the risen Lord in our day to day witness of our faith and life. The Lord’s resurrection is thus God’s offer of life and meaning to the whole world – appealing us to Believe and Witness His son Jesus Christ, as we encounter and experience Him in our daily lives. May our Christian faith and celebration of Eucharist, as community continually inspire us to believe and witness the risen Lord to ourselves, others and to all in our lives. Amen.