Category: Ordinary Time

June 22, 2019 – Saturday 11^th Week in OT

Mt. 6:24-34

Jesus said to his disciples:
“No one can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink,
or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky;
they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes?
Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.
They do not work or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor
was clothed like one of them.
If God so clothes the grass of the field,
which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow,
will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’
or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’
All these things the pagans seek.
Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for a day is its own evil.”

Do you find yourself worrying a lot? Do you feel anxious every now and then with so many things?

The Gospel of the Lord.

Our worries and anxieties may have been there since we have become conscious about ourselves and about the world. Naturally, parents would tend to worry about their growing children. Students would feel anxious about their exams and the future that they are going to take. Lovers may feel anxious of the security in their relationship. Workers and professionals may worry with the demands of their work and their relationships among their colleagues and superiors.

Moreover, we can be worrisome also even in unimportant and small things as to what we are going to wear, how do we look like and appear before others, what kind of gadgets and brand of shirt we are to purchase for ourselves, what kind of haircut should fit us and what color should we choose for our nails, etc.

When we only settle with these trivial things making ourselves worried and anxious, then, we are losing the most important aspects of our life. Our worries and anxieties may distract our peace and even remove us from what are more important.

Jesus invites his disciples to set their hearts and seek instead the kingdom of God. Jesus felt that his disciples had grown to be more worried about their food, their appearance before the people, their security and even their future. Because of so much worries and anxiety, the disciples were not able to focus to what was more important. They became distracted and settled only with trivial things about their life

Because of these worries and anxieties their hearts were full that it prevented God to fill them, to surprise them and satisfy them. Jesus also wants us that we become free from worries and anxieties that only prevent God to come to us and fill us with his presence.

Seeking God’s kingdom and His righteousness means realizing our confidence in God who is most generous to us.

To seek God’s Kingdom also means to be more familiar with God’s presence that is continually unfolded in our everyday experiences. When we become familiar with His presence then, we also grow in confidence and faith in God.

To seek God’s righteousness also means to be more attuned with what God desires for us. God’s desires will always lead us to peace, freedom and joy. However, if we refuse to seek His righteousness, then, it means walking away from His offer of peace, freedom and joy and instead making ourselves to be overwhelmed with our worries and anxieties.

Walking away from God’s offer is also a refusal to live in God’s desire for us. And we will never have peace, freedom and joy. We shall be constantly insecure, restricted, bitter and angry.

Thus, let us seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness that we may also find freedom from unnecessary worries and anxieties and become more confident in this God who is ever faithful to us. God is truly generous, blessing us abundantly with his presence. Hinaut pa.

Jom Baring, CSsR

June 21, 2019 – Friday 11^th Week in OT

2 Cor 11:18, 21-30; Mt. 6: 19-23

What is it that usually occupies your mind? What keeps you busy? What is it that consumes your energy and gives you satisfaction and happiness?

Is it something that builds and nurtures relationships? Is it lasting or temporary? Does it give you true satisfaction and deep joy or does it only feed your need for immediate gratification?

Thus, it is good to reflect what the Gospel says to us today, “for where your treasure is, there also your heart be.” By being able to know on what really occupies our mind and on what keeps us busy and on what consumes our energy, then we shall find our heart. We too shall find our treasure there.

This is an invitation to see and realize on what is really of value and important to us. Is it myself alone and personal career and success? Are these my addictions and selfish desires? Or are these my relationships? My God, family and friends?

Paul in his letter to the Corinthians told us of what occupied him, kept him busy and what consumed his energy. He actually was boasting of his sacrifices that he made in preaching the Gospel, and giving witness to the Risen Jesus. It was all for the love of the Lord Jesus that Paul took the risk and gave himself for the sake of the proclamation of the Gospel. He was imprisoned, beaten, stoned, persecuted, and experienced danger in his travels all for the love of God.

Paul did these without any complain neither grumbles nor bitterness. Joy in sharing and giving witness to the Gospel was what moved Paul to do all these sacrifices. In fact, this joy originated from Jesus himself, the true joy of Paul, and his lasting and true treasure in heaven.

Indeed, the relationship of Paul with the Lord and with the people to whom he was sent sustained Paul’s person and ministry. Paul would always see the day as something new, filled with hope that is why he was able to continue in his ministry.

This is also the invitation of Jesus in today’s Gospel – “store up treasures in heaven.” Jesus invites us to be more conscious of things that will last. Jesus was not talking about material possessions, neither human desires for recognition and power nor human cravings for self-gratification.

Jesus called his disciples and us today to treasure the relationship we have with God and our relationship among ourselves as families and community. This means that it was also an invitation to give priority to these relationships, in nurturing and giving importance through sharing of gifts and giving sacrifices for one another.

Jesus invites us then, to give more importance in our relationships, particularly, to be daring in building intimate and deeper relationships with God and with our families by giving what we have – our time and presence, by not fearing to take sacrifices for our loved ones.

Thus, spend quality time with your spouse and children, parents and siblings. Let them feel that you are not just physically present but also mentally and emotionally with them. Stop any distractions that will separate you from them which could be your gadgets or other forms of addictions.

Allot a good time with God too, talking to Him and feeling His presence. Too many words may not be necessary, but just allow God to touch you. Hinaut pa.

Jom Baring, CSsR

June 19, 2019 – Wednesday 11^th Week in OT

2 Cor 9:6-11; Mt 6:1-6,16-18

“How grateful are you today?”

Gratefulness makes us see what surrounds us, both the good and the bad. Gratefulness allows us to be embracing and accepting of the things and people around us. It is when we are grateful too that we become joyful persons and will tend to see the goodness and uniqueness of others.

Through this joy within us, we also become aware of God’s tremendous generosity to us despite our weaknesses and sins. And when we become joyful, we also become generous of ourselves towards the people around us, no matter who they are, whether they are our friends or strangers.

However, if our heart is without gratefulness but rather bitter, hateful and vengeful because of our personal failures and failures of others towards us, then, we become close-minded, rejecting, and vicious in the way we relate with one another and even in the way we relate with God.

An ungrateful heart makes us belittle ourselves and belittle others, jealous of the success of our friends, but having low self-esteem. In fact, this will make us to be negative and complaining about everyone and everything else. We become stingy and ungenerous in our relationships especially in the way we treat others.

Paul in his letter to the Corinthians reminds us to be generous, to give ourselves without sadness and mere compulsion but to give with joy. Indeed, God loves a cheerful giver who does not count the cost but gives with full of heart. This kind of attitude will only come from a grateful person who knows that everything is a gift from God and confident that God gives abundantly.

Thus, when a person grows to be grateful, the person also becomes more aware of the presence of God, the giver of blessings and gifts. However, when we become ungrateful we also take for granted the giver of gifts, and thus, the presence of God in our life.

And to remain ungrateful is to refuse to recognize that everything we have is a gift. When we become ungrateful persons, we also become self-entitled. We become demanding in our relationships. We become critical of those people around us and we tend to only see what is wrong in the other person. We will become stingy of our time and energy and ungenerous of our resources and presence to those who are asking for our help. And most of all, we become indifferent to people around us and indifferent to God, the source of all blessings.

Thus, God calls us today to be more grateful of the gifts and blessings that we have received each day, no matter how small would that be. But if we have received so much also, be more thankful and be more generous too. Remember, a grateful person is a person who goes forward, because when we are grateful we also become contented of the present, whatever there is. We also become reconciled with the past, whatever that was. And we become hopeful and positive of the future, whatever there will be. Hinaut pa.

Jom Baring, CSsR

July 18, 2019 – Tuesday 11^th Week in OT

Mt. 5:43-48

“love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” – Mt 5:44

To hit back when we are hurt can sometimes be our immediate response. Even without thinking, a child may hit a playmate when he or she is hurt. Among us adults, this kind of attitude is also evident, as simple misunderstanding would lead to endless quarrels, lawsuits and even violence. This sounds actually simple and natural yet this has big implications in our relationships. We may ask now, is the attitude of taking revenge a Christian way?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus taught his disciples to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Is it not ridiculous? Our natural response is to hit back thinking that hitting back takes away our pain. Yet, Jesus teaches the other way around, to love our enemies and pray for those who have hurt us.

But, how could we love those who have hurt us, those who have abused us, those who betrayed us and caused so much pain in our life? Our immediate response is to take our sweet revenge. If we cannot express physical violence against them, then, we express it in our words and on how we treat them. But most of all, we linger to hatred, to pain and anger.

Yet, we do not realize that once we let aggression, violence, hatred and anger rule in our hearts and minds, we become prisoners of our own pain. Then, the pain that we endure leads us to feelings of anger, hatred and bitterness. When we linger to these they will lead us to a heart that seeks only revenge. This will be our tendency from our belief that by hurting the person back, our anger and hatred will be satisfied. But then we are wrong because anger and hatred will never be satisfied by violence. Violence will only make us angrier, hateful and bitter. The more we linger to our pain, anger and hate; they become a cycle that never ends.

However, we when find love and forgiveness in our hearts that begins with accepting and embracing those painful experiences and go on with life, then, we will be free. Loving one’s enemies or those whom we hate is an expression of mercy and forgiveness that will make us free. It will not erase the scar of betrayal or abuse or pain that we endure but we will be able to stand up, to wipe our tears, go on with life and transform pain into kindness.

This is what Jesus wants for us. Jesus wants us to be free and not to be prisoners of anger, hatred, bitterness and violence. It is in showing love, kindness and mercy that we actually find peace and reconciliation, justice and freedom

Showing love then, is not about telling the person, that what he/she did was okay and pretend as if nothing happens. No! Love and forgiveness bring healing to our wounded heart that will make us say to the person, “I forgive you not because of who you are but because of who I am” as the Dalai Lama said. It means that I choose to be free and at peace. I choose love and not anger and hatred and I choose God and not evil. Hinaut pa.

Jom Baring, CSsR

June 15, 2019 – Saturday 10^th Week in OT

2 Cor 5:14-21; Mt 5:33-37

The letter of St Paul that we have heard today reflects the reality that Paul himself experienced. Through his encounter with the risen Jesus, Paul saw new things in his life. Paul realized too how Jesus renewed him and his spirit. It was through forgiveness of the past that Paul was able to receive the wonder of being made new.

Through his personal encounter with Jesus, he too experienced “a makeover” by Jesus. It started with the makeover of the heart of Paul. Paul became welcoming of Jesus and of the many revelations that Jesus gave to Paul. Paul also became more familiar to the words of Jesus, and thus, of the will of God, of what God desires rather than his personal desires.

As a result, that makeover of the heart of Paul overflowed to his actions and words. Paul began to see new things. From being persecutor of the Christians, he became an apostle. From treating the Christians brutally, Paul became accommodating, generous and kind not just to Christians but to all. Paul began to see the world differently; from his anger and hatred, Jesus made Paul’s heart and mind to see the world as Jesus sees it. Thus, Paul saw and found his true self before Jesus. He also realized the goodness of others, the beauty of God’s creation.

This complete change or “makeover” in the life of Paul was made possible because he was reconciled with his dark past and with God. This brought Paul to fully believe in the transforming love of Jesus for him.

This tells us now that when we also become reconciled with our dark and painful past, then we begin to see new things. By accepting that we are loved and forgiven, we shall also find our true self that is treasured and cherished by God.

To have that experience of makeover in our life, then, this will surely be translated into our words and actions. Though, the makeover in our life will be on our spiritual and emotional aspect, but then, it will overflow in the way we relate with others.

This is what Jesus reminds us in the Gospel today. In the life of Paul, he became a man of integrity and generosity. He was indeed an honest, kind and generous person that is why, people believed in his testimony about Jesus. The people, certainly, had witnessed personally how the words of Jesus were manifested in the life of Paul, not just in his preaching but also in the way he treated the people around him.

This is the invitation for us today. Jesus calls us to be reconciled with our past so that we will be able to find and realize the beauty of being renewed, of being forgiven and loved.

Seek now the grace of reconciliation by being daring enough to confront our sinful and selfish ways, by being bold enough to be reconciled with the person to whom our relationship has become cold and sour, and by being open enough to allow God to transform us through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

And hopefully, this experience of makeover by Jesus in us will also lead us to become persons with integrity, of generosity and kindness not just in our words but also in our actions. Hinaut pa.

Jom Baring, CSsR