Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Category: Liturgical Year A

  • Growing in Friendship with God everyday

    Growing in Friendship with God everyday

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    November 1, 2020 – Solemnity of All Saints

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110120.cfm)

    Homily

    There is something I want to ask you now. I want you to close your eyes for few moments and in silence, remember the face of your best-friend, that great friend or friends of yours whom you are most comfortable with, that great friend who is always ready to listen and comfort you, that great friend who knew your deepest secrets and pain in life, who has been with you through thick and think, in joy and sorrow.

    Our friends are indeed, gifts to us. Through them and with them, life becomes more colorful, entertaining as well as comforting. As we discover the person of our friends, we too, through them discover more ourselves. That intimacy and affection shared with our friends become the source of our strength especially when life seemed to be not favorable to us. Though, we may not see every day those close friends of ours, yet, our friendship with them stays.

    With this experience of friendship, this reminds me of the saints, whom we remember today. Saints who are also called as friends of God have this special bond with the Lord. Surely, each saint had their own friends too and through their human experience of friendship, they developed their friendship with God.

    “This friendship with God made each saint to be more familiar with God’s voice, more aware of the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and responsive to the invitations of the Lord.”

    Thus, the presence of the Saints in the Church brings us into an awareness on how God works every day in our life. The life of a saint and all those who have lived a holy and joyful life is a manifestation on how God transforms human life creatively and wonderfully through friendship.

    This means that living a holy life is a constant calling of friendship with God. We may struggle to identify God’s voice in the midst of so many voices. What makes a person holy then, is his/her daily commitment in choosing God and allowing God to transform him/her every day. This tells us that saints also experienced mistakes, failures and sins. They too are haunted by their own insecurities and guilt, unfaithfulness and inconsistencies, selfish desires and demons. Yet, every time they fell down, they rose up and chose God again. Indeed, this makes the saints to become closer to God because they grew in friendship with God by knowing themselves and recognizing God every day.

    This tells us of that desire of the human heart to long for God. Indeed, our very life finds its purpose and meaning with God. This is what our Psalm proclaims to us, “Lord, these are the people who longs to see your face.” Our longing for God also explains our deepest hunger and thirst for intimacy and love. God satisfies our deepest longing which sometimes human connection cannot satisfy. Yet, our human experiences of friendship point and bring us to God.

    This is the invitation for us today, that each of us, like all the saints whom we remember today, will grow in friendship with God by knowing ourselves through our weaknesses and strengths and recognizing God who touches every moment of our life.

    Moreover, the Gospel of Matthew which reminds us of the Beatitudes, are the very attitudes of those who are growing in the friendship of God. We become blessed and discover more graces when we begin to realize that we are not the center of everything, but God. The attitudes of dependence and confidence in God, of gentleness and mercy and the desire to be a person for others are fruits of that friendship with God.

    “Thus, difficult situations are turned into graces. Failures are turned into opportunities and windows for mercy. Friendship is turned into door of conversion and blessing.”

    Again, in the first letter of John, we are reminded that we are God’s children, and this is who we are. We are God’s beloved sons and daughters. It is God who claims that we are His. Hence, we too can confidently say now, “I am God’s beloved and God is my dearest friend!”

    Allow this powerful words and our powerful God to transform us today and the rest of our life just as saints were transformed!

    Whatever difficulty we are experiencing at this moment, never lose hope with yourself or with God because God never loses his hope in us. Believe in your friendship with God.

    Hopefully, by being more aware of our identify as God’s children, we too shall grow every day in our friendship with God and with one another. Remember this too, “a true friend of God recognizes the face of God with others,” with our brothers and sisters and with the rest of God’s creation. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • Of Pride and Humility

    Of Pride and Humility

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    November 1, 2020 – Solemnity of All Saints

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110120.cfm)

    Homily

    What makes angels & saints blessed? What makes devils & sinners cursed?

    St. Augustine once said: “It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.” It is a matter of pride & humility then that makes people saints or sinner, angels or saints.

    You see, pride is concerned with WHO is right; humility is concerned with WHAT is right. Though both are concerned about right, pride is more on the authority & power, against humility, which is more on the moral principles of right & good. Pride encourages us to scream, “That’s just the way I am” in the hope that we will not hear the soft whisper of humility, asking us, “Yes, but is that the way you should be?”. “Well, this is Me… but should Me be it?” Ganito kasi ako… pero dapat ba akong ganito? Ani naman gud ko… pero angayan ba nga ani lang ko? Pride is being influenced by Shallow Loud Noisy voice of the evil that makes us artificial/fake/plastic, while humility is being inspired by Gentle yet Deep Soft Sound of the Spirit that makes us real & true, warts & all, broken yet blessed before God and others.

    In the Sermon of the Mount, Jesus in our gospel proclaims us through the Beatitudes how Blessed we are (for the Kingdom of God, comfort, inheritance, satisfaction, mercy, being God’s children & Kingdom of Heaven). We are blessed not because of our actions – of what we have done & doing in our lives but moreso because of God’s graces – of what God gives us & God is doing in our lives. We are more so blessed then because of God grace & action, regardless of our doings. However, God’s gift of blessings for us is fully enjoyed & fulfilled in life if and when we are humble enough to acknowledge, value and share these with others. Our humility makes us more well-disposed and appreciative of the fruits of God’s blessings in our lives, and willing to partake it with others, though our pride could render us insensitive and hinders us to fully benefit from God’s grace, and thus making ours and other people’s lives miserable and cursed.

    Today is All Saint’s Day. We honor ALL saints – both the recognized & unrecognized officially by Church. You see, saints or saintly people are in essence like us Christians who humbly witnesses in their faith and lives God’s blessings to all. They are Christians like us – “the people that longs to see your face, O Lord”, who not only by their words & deeds but also by their faith and life, have struggled and still struggling (along with suffering, mistakes, & success) to be humbly real and true to their chosen vocation in life & to fulfill their special mission in God’s grace and kingdom, and in effect have greatly influenced other people’s faith & life.

    Simply put, saints are fellow-Christians who have greatly infected and influenced now our very person and faith as Christian. Somehow and in someway, because of them & through them, we become Christians now. So, think of all saintly people whom you have crossed paths in life and have made you know, love & follow Christ in your life. Perhaps parents, grandparents, relatives, teachers, neighbors, catechists, friends, priests, sisters – both living and dead. Yes, both living and dead, as long as they have influenced and are still greatly influencing your life then-now and always as Christian, because they are & have been SAINTS to you and others. Remember and include them in your prayers these days. Eternal rest to those who have already gone before us. More blessings & witnessing for those who are still with us now, like you and I are still humbly leading our Christian lives saintly – struggling to be true to our calling, fulfilling our mission to be witnesses of God’s blessings and hoping also to influence other’s faith and life – blessed yet broken we maybe.

    Again, being blessed or being cursed, being saint or sinner is a matter of humility and pride.  Our life nowadays amidst quarantine during pandemic times can be a Curse if and when in pride we are ungrateful, ungracious, and greedy of God’s blessings before us… but can be a Blessing if and when we humbly recognize, value, and share God’s blessing with one another, especially those who are in need at this time. We all do need God’s blessings at this time in history. So Let us be a Blessing than a Curse to one another. Rather than remain to be a proud sinner (a pain in the… neck 😉), try to be a humble saint (a helping hand, a gentle presence, a lending ear) to others. With the examples & witness of the saints, may we joyfully admit How Blessed we are by humbly saying: “This is not mine only but Ours to Share” & not by proudly insisting: “This is Mine alone and not yours”. So may it be. Hinaut pa unta. Amen.

    By  Fr. Aphelie Mario Masangcay, CSsR 

  • How’s your love-life?

    How’s your love-life?

    October 25, 2020 – 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102520.cfm)

    Homily

    Early 1991, a popular song by Extreme, an American rock band entitled: “More than Words” was released.  Surely we all have heard and familiar of this song. Many of us could relate with the song, as we listen to it along with its cool acoustic strumming, nice voice blending, and even sometimes we catch ourselves singing-along with the lyrics like: “Then you would’nt have to say that your love me… coz I’d already know”. Nice song, diba? Well, for us, it might be one of the cool sounds to hear, nice to sing-along with, popular and common song of our time. But, for others, the song: “More than words” is their most special, intimate, and personal love song.

    You see, for us Catholic, marriage rite and weddings mean more than just contracts, ceremony, receptions, or party, but it is a sacrament. And again for us Catholic, what makes a marriage sacrament is more than just the wedding rites, receptions, guests and entourage, remembrance photos-videos, missalette, attire, even the presider-priest. But what makes wedding day a Sacrament is the presence and love of the couple themselves, before God’s altar. Yes, the couples’ very love for each other, their faith in God, and their resolve to love each other eternally and sacredly make their marriage and their wedding SACRAMENT. More than the words, gestures, decorations, expenses, attires, food and others is the couple’s consecrated LOVE itself – a SACRAMENT of God’s love and our love.

    For what is a SACRAMENT? A sacrament is human expressions of our sacred love to God and each other, as well as is God’s human expressions of love to us. Somehow, a sacrament is our response to God’s commandments of love to “Love one another”. It is sacred expression of our love of God as we love one another, and it is human expression of our love of one another, as we love God. And for all those who know and experience what love is, Love is more than the words we say but moreso about the life we live, and commit to. Love is more than just saying “I love you” but meaning what you said & promised, i.e. being here present for this person all the days of your life, whatever it takes, whatever others say about you both. Love is, as the song would say: More than words to show you feel/ that your love for me is real. Meaning, Our Love of others is something REAL than the words spoken or written. Loving others is something Sacred, Holy, Personal, Intimate, Eternal, Divine. In other words, SACRAMENT, expression of God’s love for us and our love for God.

    In our gospel today, the Lord reminded us of the commandment for us to Love God with all our hearts, mind & soul, and to love one another as we love ourselves. Here Jesus simply challenges us to make & offer our Lovelife to be Holy, Sacred and Godly before God and others. You see, Love is basically all about our being intimately, closely & personally related with an-other person. Human as we are, we need to be intimately in relationship with others – we need to love others & be loved by others in life. As we do our best, struggle & grow with our lovelife, the invitation really is to make our Lovelife a Sacrament – to consecrate our Love to the Lord, as our concrete way of loving God in our life. Loving others as oneself is already great, but the greatest things is to offer our love for others Godly and sacredly (diniyos/balaan) before God and others – Sacrament of Love. If and when we commit our love for others as sacrament, challenging it may be, we find in our lovelife with our loved ones, among couples, within family, community, church, & society more meaning, value & direction.

    Now, How’s your lovelife?… However we describe the status of our lovelife (whether single, singled, in relationship, engaged, complicated, married, divorced, separated, in love, broken, and others), we  also do know that our lovelife is more than just the words we say and just about object or subject of our affection, but more so about our whole experience of being loved & being loving – on how we experience love in life that considers its memories, feelings, emotions, challenges, & growth. Others might have fallen in and/or fallen out of love. Others have grown and/or failed in love.

    But in our lifetime, surely we do find ourselves trying again and anew our best, continually learning & struggling with our lovelife. Perhaps occasionally it is good to review our lovelife. Ask ourselves: “How is my lovelife? Have I been loving with others? Have I been loved by others? Has my love and their love for me sacred and godly? Is our love for one another a sacrament?

    Pandemic times makes us aware that we need each others’ love. People are needing our love as well as we do need other’s love. We pray then that may our lovelife now be Holy & be a witness of God’s love for all those who are needy at this time. May God & Christ be known & loved by others & all through our Christian love for one another. By our sacred love – diniyos nga gugma, may we be blessed and be a blessing to others. So be it. Amen.

    By  Fr. Aphelie Mario Masangcay, CSsR 

  • In Love not in Fear

    In Love not in Fear

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    October 25, 2020 – 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102520.cfm)

    Homily

    Have you been terrified of God? My childhood memories of God was a terrifying God. I was introduced to a God who will easily get angry over a naughty boy and will deliver a punishment. I grew up in an environment also when corporal punishment was the easy way of discipline. The adults around me that included my parents, siblings, teachers and other authority figures were always ready to strike whenever I become rowdy.

    And because a punishment can be painful and shameful at times, I would behave immediately not to anger more those adults around me. In this way, I was also catechized and made to believe that God was like those authority figures around me. My childhood imagination of God was like a grandfather who always has a stick in his hand ready to strike a boy like me who was unruly.

    Yet, I was told to love God with all my heart, with all my soul and with all my mind. I found it hard because I was terrified of God. I fear God most rather than love Him. However, as I grew up, I also gradually realized that as I matured in my faith and relationship with God, I found God less and less terrifying. God manifested His love to me in many ways. God showed his faithfulness in me despite my unfaithfulness and sinfulness.

    With this deeper relationship with the Lord, the terrifying image of God changed into a Loving and ever faithful God. In this way, it moves me to respond in love to God and to others.

    With this kind of transformation, I found it also interesting how the Israelites grew in their knowledge of God. The readings this Sunday reveal to us this development as well as the invitations for us today.

    The Israelites, in the beginning, believed that God was just “one of the many gods.” The people recognized that other nations had gods and goddesses and what they had was a good one. Like the others, they too conceived of a god who protects them. Thus, they believed of a “warrior god” who shall deliver them from their enemies.

    Hence, the Old Testament has many images of God taking revenge, being vengeful and violent to the enemies of his people and to the wicked ones. The first reading from the Book of Exodus reveals this kind of image of God as it says, “My wrath will flare up and I will kill you with the sword.” And who will not fear this kind of God?

    However, despite this violent image of God, the scripture also reveals something of an image of God that people had already recognized. God as a defender against outside enemies, God also assures His presence to those who are struggling in life, the poor, the widows and the orphans.

    This is a manifestation of God’s loving care and that character of God that shows compassion and so much love for the people. Indeed, the Israelites over a loooong period of time gradually knew God more and deeper. Israel realized that there is only one God and that God is not a terrifying God, but a loving and caring God.

    This is what Paul preached in his travels. Jesus, the ultimate revelation of God’s face, revealed that God even became man and died for his people. This is how much God shows his faithful love to us. The Church in Thessalonica, upon receiving this good news to them, received it with love and devotion.

    Moreover, Paul commended the Thessalonians because of the devotion they showed. Their faith was being expressed in the way they lived their lives. Theirs was a response of gratitude to God whom they realized has loved them so much.

    Moreover, the response of Jesus to the scholar of the law tells us of the right attitude in relating and responding to God. Thus, the question as to what is the greatest commandment expresses a relationship of love and not of fear. Jesus reveals what was behind the law, and that was love – to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

    We are only able to respond to God with love when we ourselves are conscious of God’s love for us, his goodness and generosity in us. Again, the Book of Exodus tells us how God reminded his people of the many good things he did for them. God saved the people from slavery, from that misery of having no land, no home, and no identity. God heard their cry and sent Moses to deliver them from that slavery. Because of these many blessings they enjoyed from God they too in “gratefulness” shall show compassion and mercy to those who are strangers, to the poor, the widows and orphans.

    And again, this is what we find also in the letter of Paul to the Thessalonians. They have showed compassion and mercy to others and with one another. They have imitated Christ in words and deeds because they were convinced of Jesus and conscious of the many good things that God has done for them.

    This is what God wants to show to us this Sunday – that as we live our lives as Christians, as we practice our Christianity – our response to Him should be out of “gratefulness” not out of fear that springs forth from our deep love for Him who first loved us. Our love for God will then be shown in our words as well as in our actions. We shall be generous to those who are in need because we are grateful to God who is generous to us. We shall show our concern and affection to our friends because God shows his love to us in many ways. We shall forgive those who hurt us because God has forgiven us first.

    In this way then, we will be able to live our Christian faith that truly loves God and our neighbor as we love ourselves. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • GETs mo? Paminaw ba… Listen Please.

    GETs mo? Paminaw ba… Listen Please.

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    October 18, 2020 – 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

    World Mission Sunday and Sunday for Cultures

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101820.cfm)

    Homily

    Two priests were walking in a downtown area. Suddenly, one suddenly stop and said, “Listen to the lovely sound of that cricket.” The other listened, but heard nothing. Turning to his priest friend, he asked, “How in the world can you hear the sound of a cricket amidst all these traffic noise and people?” His priest-friend didn’t explain. He simply took coins out of his pocket and dropped them on the sidewalk, whereupon a dozen people began to stop and look on them. Then he said, ‘Now do you understand? People hear the dropping sounds of coins but they are not able to hear the lovely sound of the cricket. We only hear what we listen & we listen only for what we want to hear.”

    Surely this piece of wisdom is real and true in our life. Human as we are, we do have some problems with our hearing. We only hear and listen to what we want and use and to hear. Thus, we listen to things not as they are, but as We are – from our own biased perspectives and preferences. That is why this is called selective hearing for this made us unable to hear other voices, sounds, words, messages and news. And we all know the side-effects of selective hearing are miscommunication & misunderstanding. We all know how relationships among spouses, families, friends, and communities were unfortunately stained and worse, broken due to miscommunication, misunderstanding and selective hearing. 

    Our readings today are about misunderstanding, miscommunication, and selective hearing. Yahweh in our first reading keeps on insisting to the people that “I am the Lord, there is no other”. God wants them to listen and realize that He is the Lord, and He did and is doing a lot of good things for them – even to the point of choosing, anointing and commissioning Cyrus, a pagan Persian king to save them. But still, “they know me not”, they did not recognize and acknowledge Him and the good things He had done to them and for them.

    Jesus in our gospel today is also in the same situation. He has already preached to the people that He is the Messiah, and He has done great things to witness the Good News from God. But still, there are people who cannot hear Him, and worse even refuse to hear Him, because they only want to hear and listen to what they are used to and wanted to hear. Jesus here is asking them, “Can you not see me? Can you not hear me? It is I, the Lord.” But they did not. “Hindi nila na-GETS?” Worse, they want to deal with Jesus in their own terms. They want only to listen to Jesus’ opinion about their favourite topics: Taxes, Money, Coins, Politics.

    Our gospel today is more than just about Jesus’ opinion about our taxes, tax-paying or our obligations to pay tax or politics. Jesus is directing us that above anything else, above our human concerns, we should not forget to recognize and listen to the Lord our God. We are supposed to give our glory and praise that is due to Him, more than what is due to ourselves and others. This is righteousness – our right relation with God, that entails a lot of communication & understanding – of hearing from Him and listening to Him. How can we glorify and worship Him, if we don’t recognize Him, if we are not listening to Him, if we are not communicating with & believing in Him, if we don’t Get what he is doing to us now and always?”

    Be reminded that Jesus is in our world now with us because, over and above our earthly affairs and concerns, he is on-mission to offer us a way to our salvation – a way to save our day & life-ahead towards God our Father. And all of these will come to its fulfillment through His spirit & grace, along with our consent and participation with the mission of Jesus. We should understand that even until now, during pandemic times, God has done, is doing & will continue to do His part for our salvation. But the question is: Do you hear Him? Do you recognize Him? Do you listen & understand Him who is calling, choosing, anointing and sending us (you & I) His followers also on-mission to share His message and ways to our world today? Are we responding to Him or just we just hear ourselves & listen to our worldly concerns? So, Gets mo? paminaw ba… Listen please.

    Remember, “the Word made flesh, and dwelt amongst us”. He comes as a word, a message from God who needs a lot of communication with us. Then He became flesh, like us, who needs our acknowledgement, recognition and above all our faith. And He visits us in our home and hearts, and asks for our hospitality and fellowship, and our faith & commitment to follow Him as well.

    Perhaps, we may ask ourselves: Am I infected with selective hearing? Do I only want to listen to what I am used and want to hear? Am I open to listen to other’s voices, sounds, words, messages and news? And most of all, do I listen, recognize and welcome Jesus, “Word of God becoming flesh” – in my life now and always?

    Remember what God said during the Baptism of Jesus: “This is my Beloved Son, Listen to Him.” As we celebrate today World Mission Sunday during these pandemic times, may we hear & understand again His invitation to us, once more claim anew our Christian vocation, commitment and mission in this life now, and hopefully contribute our specific role and part in God’s saving actions. So may it be.     Amen.

    By  Fr. Aphelie Mario Masangcay, CSsR