Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Category: Homilies

  • SEE AND BELIEVE

    SEE AND BELIEVE

    April 17, 2022 – Easter Sunday

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041722.cfm)

    Our gospel today proclaims that the disciple saw and believe,…. though they did not yet understand.

    When was the last time you find yourself in this situation? Seeing & Believing, yet not Understanding. Though it happens to us occasionally & once in a while, we do have experienced situations in our lives that we find ourselves seeing & believing, though not yet understanding what is happening.

    Come to think of it. Just for these past few recent years & months, we saw and still seeing a lot of challenging things happening in our lives. We are witnesses lately to life-threatening & life-changing experience of massive infections, sickness, & death caused by Covid pandemic that rendered our lives constricted with lockdowns, quarantine, protocols of social distancing, isolations & immunization. We see also the devastating effects of the natural disaster of typhoons, heavy rains, landslide, & flooding into our livelihood. We see also the influx as well as the lack of humanitarian & government response. We see also the threat of world war & the political turmoil in both local & global level. We have seen & still seeing the best & the worse of humanity & the world unfolding before us.

    As we saw & still see a lot of things happening in our lives lately, we also yet to understand why all these things are happening to us. We still yet to understand the sense, meaning, or purpose of the life we had & having, are now being challenged & changed. We are yet to understand the ever-present losses, worries, anxieties & fears that we are going through a lot these days. We are yet to understanding why we idolize (make God of) others to somehow save us, while we also demonize (make devil of) others to blame of our present predicament.

    As things happen & still happening, and we not yet understanding all these, be as it may, we cannot help but find ourselves believing not only on our own & other’s capacity to rise & respond to the occasion & be responsible for all these. Above all, we cannot help but find ourselves bowing & knelling down in humility before God, believing that He has better plans than what we had, in store for us in our life ahead.

    Consider then that, in our gospel today, as they witnessed themselves the passion, death & burial of our Lord, the disciples had just lost hope & meaning of their very life – Jesus Christ. And worse, amidst their hopelessness & despair, what they saw then is an empty tomb. Jesus was not only gone, but worse His dead body is also gone missing. Their experience of empty tomb & missing body may have been devastating, non-sensical & incomprehensible to them. But they saw & believe, without even understanding yet. They see & believe. They have seen & will forever believing.

    Same way as disciples of Jesus-then, this is also how we will now experience the Lord’s resurrection into our lives now & always – By Seeing & Believing in God’s Plans for us, though not understanding yet.

    Easter, the Season of Our Lord’s Resurrection, challenges us then to See & Believe, even yet to understand the life we are going through at this moment now & will about to happen, for our God has a lot better life in store for us ahead. As we celebrate the Lord’s resurrection this year in our lives, we are invited to view the things that are happening to us now & about to happen ahead in the near future, in Faith in God & with Our Risen Lord Jesus Christ.

    Be reminded then that Easter season is our yearly reminder of God’s everlasting love for us. God assures us that “I have love you with an everlasting love”. His love for us then is from eternity to eternity. He loves us long before & ever since from the beginning, until now & always be forever. And as Henri Nouwen would say: “Life is just a little opportunity for us during a few years to say, “I love you too, My God.” What we have and having now then is just our short chance in life to see & believe in His love & to love Him in return.  

    Though life nowadays may not be comprehensible, or no-sense at all, we do know deep inside & in faith that there are more better life yet to be seen & believed with Our God & our Risen Lord Jesus Christ.

    So, Brace Ourselves. Abangan. For there are more yet to come & to happen, as the Lord has risen into our lives now & always.

    Alleluia. The Lord Has Risen, Indeed. Amen.

  • Home for Holy Week

    Home for Holy Week

    April 10, 2022 – Palm Sunday

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041022.cfm)

    For us Filipinos, there are three occasions in the year that we come home, get together, and spend quality time with our family: Christmas, All Souls’ Day, and Holy Week. These are the moments when and where us, Filipinos BE with each other, that is where and when we experience, encounter, and meet each other again as family and community which usually lead to renewal, deepening and strengthening of bonding and relationships among family. While during Christmas, we are with our family and friends, and during All Souls’ day, with our family and relatives remembering our beloved dead members of the family, Holy Week is particularly our time and space with God.

    Today, Palm Sunday marks the beginning of our Holy Week this year of Faith. These days in this week of this year of faith is our time and space to BE with our God. This week is our God-time and God-space. Particularly this week is more than just our chance to be with God but more so God’s chance to be with us. Meaning, this week is not only our time and space with God but more so GOD’s time and space with us. It is more like God must be first and foremost Be with us rather than We must be with God. The center or focus of this week then is not ourselves but God. This week is not about us and ourselves but about HIM and His being with us now. This is our chance then to experience, encounter and meet God in His own terms and not on our own terms. The best attitude then is to let Him set the agenda, activities, schedules, and venue of this week. Meaning, to let Him take the steering wheel – let Him drive your life this week – let God be God, not be a god as we want or need Him to be.

    To do this and make the best of this week, allow me to suggest some appropriate approaches.

    First, RECALL. As I have said, this is not about us but about Him. So, once again be reminded, that is to put into mind – God’s story with Us which is the Jesus story. We are to call again and remember (to make it member or part of ourselves) what God did, does and is doing to us through the life and mission of Jesus Christ. So, time and space to Recall, Remind, Remember God’s story with us through Jesus rather our story with God.

    Then, REFLECT. This is an invitation to mirror back or reflect back God’s story with and along our faith-story with God now. In other words, Manalamin. To look and see our faith-life experience from the point of view of God’s story and less from our own perspective. Meaning, Be moved. Be disturbed. Be influenced. Be shaken. Be challenged. Be transformed by God’s story, presence, words, movements, plans, agenda and will for us, you and I now.

    And above all, RESPOND to what, when, how, when and where God is calling, inviting, and leading you now in whatever faith-life commitment you choose to be. Meaning, whether you are ordained, married, professed, or baptized Christian, be a BETTER Christian as you choose and committed to be.

    We begin Holy Week today. Recall, Reflect, and Renew what God did, does and is doing in You and Us now by being with God, not in our own terms but in His own terms.

    May we, you and I have a blessed and inspired week ahead.

    So Be it. Amen.

  • FORGIVEN

    FORGIVEN

    April 3, 2022 – 5th Sunday of Lent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040322-YearC.cfm)

    There was once a priest who was so envious of his wise and holy parishioner. Because of jealousy, he made every effort to test and ridicule this parishioner. One day, he confronted the parishioner and said, “Sir, you seem to be a pious & religious person.  I’ve heard that God is so pleased with you. Will you please ask your God what is my greatest sin committed?” The man was not able to reply right there and then, and eventually left sadly. Next day, the man came back, asked for the priest, and said: “Father, God said, not to worry about your sin. He has already forgiven you your sins and even forgot about it.”

    As we listen to our gospel today, we cannot help but hear loudly what Jesus said, “Let be among you who has no sin be the first to cast a stone at her”. Through these words, we can also look at ourselves, examine our own failures and sins committed against God and others. Yes, it is true. It is easy for us to see and be sensitive of the faults and sins of others than ourselves. It is easy for us to judge other, to cast a stone or smear dirt on others, likes the Pharisees and teachers of the Law would do. Because of our self-righteousness and over conscious of other’s faults and sins, many lives and relationships shattered and broken. Through these words of Jesus, we can reflect back on our own lives and see our own failures and sins – our sinfulness. And it is not for us to judge others because we are also sinners, and have also committed mistakes, failures, and sins in life.

    However, if we also reflect deeply, the gospel message today is more than just an instruction for us not to judge other, and to examine ourselves and be sorry for our own sins and failures. We are also challenged today in our gospel to recognize and trust in God’s forgiveness and mercy. Yes, it is easy for us to see the faults of other, and slow for us to look on our own sins, but we also know that in the midst of these faults and failures, God intervenes, forgives, and saves us.

    In our gospel today, the scribes and the Pharisees become aware and realize their own faults and sinfulness. But the story does not end there – admitting their sins. It ended when the woman receives the Lord’s mercy and forgiveness. Jesus said, “No one condemns you. Nor do I condemn you. You may go. But from now on, avoid this sin.”

    Like the Pharisees and scribes, it is not enough for us just to be sorry for our mistake. We must also receive God’s forgiveness and mercy. Meaning, the good news is not in the realization and admittance of our sins but in receiving God’s mercy and love. Reconciliation is not only about being sorry for our past faults and failures but also receiving again and anew God’s love and mercy in life. God’s forgiveness then is more than just about our repentance but also renewal of our faith in God. As Yahweh insists in our first reading, “Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not. See, I am doing something new!” In other words, stop condemning oneself & others, let go now of our past sin, & allow God do something new & better through you.

    We have started the season of Lent during Ash Wednesday with a call to “Repent and believe in the gospel”. This does not only mean that we are sorry for our sins and we are to change our ways, but that we must also deepen and strengthen our faith and trust in God, and for us, to recognize and receive the blessings and graces that God has done and accomplished for us.

    As St. Paul in proclaims: “I have come to rate all as loss in the light of the surpassing knowledge of my Lord Jesus Christ. For his sake I have forfeited everything, I have accounted all else as rubbish. I wish to know Christ and the power flowing from his resurrection” may our repentance leads us back to God and renew our faith in Him, who loves us always.

    So be it. So may it be. Amen

  • GOD OF ALL, AS IN ALL

    GOD OF ALL, AS IN ALL

    March 21, 2022 – Monday of the Third Week of Lent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032122.cfm)

    God is for everyone. God does not belong to any particular race, culture or any group of people. Hence, no one can monopolize God. This also means that we cannot monopolize grace. And it is impossible to monopolize the gift of salvation because God’s nature is wider than what we can imagine or think of.

    This is what Jesus wanted to realize for his townspeople. There in Nazareth, when he went home, Jesus tried to open the minds and hearts of his friends and neighbors to know God better. The people seemed to only understand that the Lord God only belongs to the Jewish people. This was such a narrow-minded belief about the Lord God.

    Yet, this narrow-minded awareness of God led people to nurture hatred and violence against people whom they thought would not agree with them. This, basically, happened to Jesus. When Jesus began to teach them that God is for all, people began to turn sour. When Jesus made them aware of the story of a widow in Zarephath and Naaman, the Syrian, who despite being non-believers, were also favored by God’s grace, the people took offense.

    Jesus told the people of what the Holy Scriptures revealed to them, yet, his own people were more unbelieving than the non-believers themselves. The people could not accept what Jesus taught them. They only wanted to believe what they liked to believe. This was the reason why they rejected Jesus teaching and Jesus himself as well. This was also the reason why they became furious when Jesus confronted them of their false belief and selective memory. Thus, the unbelieving and unwelcoming hearts of the people, indeed, turned them hateful and violent. They drove Jesus out of Nazareth and wanted to throw him down from the hill.

    However, God remains for all. God’s grace, God’s call of conversion and God’s gift of salvation is offered for all as Psalm 130:7 says, “For the Lord is mercy, with him is plenteous redemption.”

    Gospel verse for today

    Today, Jesus is also challenging us and inviting us to confront our narrow-mindedness and selective memory of things. Jesus calls us to be welcoming and to always have a heart that desires to know God better. May we also grow to become a welcoming and a true believing community. Hinaut pa.

  • BEING CALLED AND CHALLENGED

    BEING CALLED AND CHALLENGED

    March 20, 2022 – Third Sunday of Lent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032022-YearC.cfm)

    The first reading from the Book of Exodus tells us a wonderful story of the call of Moses. His call from God captures the invitation for each of us as we are now on the third Sunday of Lent. So, let us explore together our readings today and see how God invites and calls us.

    The first reading is a story of conversion of Moses. We have heard that it began through the “burning bush” which led to the encounter of Moses with God. But what really happened there? Let us take it step by step.

    When Moses noticed the flaming bush but was not consumed by fire, Moses became curious. His curiosity led him to come near to the burning bush. As he came near, it was at that moment too that Moses’ name was called. And when he responded, Moses was made aware of the holy presence of God as he was standing on a holy ground. Moses has to remove his sandals and to present himself in bare foot before God. When Moses did remove his sandals, it led him to a personal conversation with God because he became more grounded. By removing his sandals, Moses felt and became more connected with God.  It was an intimacy shared by Moses and the Lord. Moreover, this encounter brought Moses to a mission. God sent Moses, and that is to bring the Lord to his fellow Israelites.

    This encounter of Moses with God allowed Moses to know God and be more aware of God. God’s name is “I am who am” or basically means, “I am with you always, all the time.” This was how Moses realized that God is relational. This means that God does not remain remote or alien to human suffering. In fact, the Book of Exodus described God’s words in this way, “I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers, so I know well what they are suffering.” This led Moses closer to God.

    This is indeed a conversion story because from the kind of life that Moses was so comfortable with, God disturbed him. That disturbance was God’s way of calling Moses to go beyond from his comforts and even from his fear of being killed by the Egyptians. Remember, Moses fled Egypt because he killed an Egyptian soldier who had beaten a Hebrew slave. The burning bush then, became the opportunity for Moses to encounter and know God, and being called and challenged by God as well.

    Moreover, the call of conversion is what St. Paul reminds us in his first letter to the Corinthians.  The history of unfaithfulness, of the grave sin committed by the people in the past must be a learning experience. That cannot be forgotten. St. Paul calls us, definitely, not to grow complacent and to just be secured with what we have in this world. He even expressed this in these words, “whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.” 

    The same call of conversion that would bring us closer to the Lord is what the parable in today’s Gospel revealed. In the parable of the fig tree, Jesus tells us that the Father is a God of many chances. God gives us many chances to change our ways and to come nearer to him so that we may find fullness of life. This is described to us as Jesus expressed in the parable how the owner visited the fig tree. Yet, in the person of the gardener, Jesus tells us that indeed, God gives us another chance when we fail and commit mistakes, when we grow complacent and refuse to be life-giving. The gardener expressed hope to the owner as he asked him to give the fig tree another year. The gardener promised to cultivate it so that it may bear fruit. The gardener saw hope for transformation and hope of being fruitful in that tree.

    Indeed, God always sees hope in each of us too. This was how God saw hope in Moses who left Egypt to hide and to make him as God’s messenger. God also saw hope among his people who were made slaves in a foreign land to give them the fullness of life.

    Out of these things, there are three invitations that I want you to remember on this Third Sunday of Lent.

    First, to be more conscious of our own “burning bush.” This “burning bush” could be an experience were we also became curious about God but led us to a personal encounter with God.

    Second, let us remove our sandals, as what Moses did, and to remove anything that is not helpful and toxic and those that prevents our growth.  This means that we are challenged to remove and to let go those unnecessary things, attitudes, behaviors, opinions, beliefs and lifestyle that prevent us from becoming a life-giving person.

    Third, to go beyond. This is where we find the message of hope and the call of conversion. We are not limited by our failures and mistakes in life, not even by our sickness, struggles and difficulties that we have at this moment. God sees hope in us and it is God’s desire that we are able to enjoy life and celebrate life in its fullness. Thus, go beyond from our protected shells of pretensions and complacency by allowing ourselves to grow in our relationships. And also, go beyond  from our fears and sins by seeking peace and reconciliation, go beyond from our insecurities, anger, hatred, disappointment and trauma by making ourselves confident with God’s gift of healing and of his faithfulness to us. Hinaut pa.