Category: Ordinary Time

August 17, 2025 – 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/081725.cfm)

“The Lord be with you” and we normally nowadays reply: “And with your spirit”, – where decades ago we used to reply: “And also with you.” As Christians, we usually use these words of greetings as our recognition & faith of God’s presence in our midst & in one another. But what does it mean?

A priest once celebrated Eucharist in his own parish church. As he was about to greet these words to the people, he was not able to broadcast, because there is something wrong with the microphone’s connections. While tapping its cord, he eventually regains contact. But unfortunately, instead of the usual “the Lord Be with you”, he loudly broadcasts to the people: “There is something wrong with the microphone”. And the people reply: “And with your spirit”.

Funny story it might be, but it is also telling us something – that sometimes we need to hear the words differently for us to fully appreciate and understand its meaning.

This is what Jesus is also doing when he said the disturbing message in our gospel today, “I have come to set the earth on fire and I wish it were already blazing; I have come not to establish peace but division.” For the apostles and for us to fully understand the value and consequences of discipleship – of following Him, Jesus has to present us the Good News differently – somewhat off and disturbing so that we may fathom the height, width and depth of its meaning.

For instance, “The Lord be with … And also with you” usual greeting. Surely we are familiar with those words. But come to think of it, though mistakenly said, but somehow it is not totally false that we may also say that there is something wrong with us & with our spirit. Yes, in almost all liturgies and prayers we celebrate, we hear and speak those words. But what does it really mean?

First, It’s a great Honor and Privilege. We should feel then happy and great that the Lord is here with you and I – with us. Remember the first and primary good news of peace, love and hope ever preached are those words: “the Lord is with You”.

But do we really feel great joy and be honored hearing and speaking those words? Are we excited to hear and proclaim it? Or upon hearing and saying those words, we only say: “OK lang”, like “Ya, sounds familiar – We have heard it before, so what’s the fuss?” Like youngsters nowadays might say: “the Lord be with you? OK, fine, whatever”.

Second, It’s personal and intimate. The Lord is WITH YOU. He is with you near (up close and personal).

But do you really want Him to be nearby and near with you – OR would rather have Him far distant and away from you (who comes in handy only when needed)? Would you rather have Him as your buddy companion KASAMA, OR your usual “suking” gasoline station, (handy only when empty & needed)?

Third, It’s communal. He is not only with You but with all of Us. He dwells among us, and lives and stays with Us. He is with and in each and everyone of us (good and bad alike).

But do we want Him to be with others & respect His presence with other than ourselves – OR do we prefer that he is exclusively with you and your family or group but not with the outcasts and rejected or your competitors and enemies?

Fouth, It’s a Great Task and Responsibility. To welcome Him into our lives demands responsibility and total dedication. Meaning to accept, recognize and believe in the Good News that “the Lord is with you” is Metanoia – to be converted (to completely change your own ways and style of life and be patterned into His own faith and life).

This is the cost of welcoming and following Jesus into our lives. Christian Discipleship would cost us a lot, for life with Him will be different & never be the same again. Once you recognize & welcome Him to be with You, you cannot but change your ways & lifestyle. Perhaps that’s the reason why sometimes we don’t take those words: “the Lord be with you” seriously for we know that if we do so, there will division, tensions, disharmony and conflict within ourselves and with others, due to all the changes it entails following Jesus demands of us.

For those who have seen the movie Spiderman 1, its simple message is “Great power comes with great responsibility”. In the same way, to believe in & follow Jesus Christ – the Lord with us is a Great personal and communal Power, Honor and Privilege but also comes with Great Responsibility.

Somehow this is what Jesus is trying to say to us when he said: “I have come to set fire on earth, and how I wish it where already blazing.” Indeed, there might be at times something wrong with us in life & spirit; both as the announcer/proclaimer (priest broadcasting: there is something wrong…) & listeners/receivers (people responding: and with your spirit) of the message.

But the good news and message remain always the same: EMMANUEL – the God with us… was with us, is with us and will always be with us – Whatever, however, whoever & whenever we might be.

We pray then that we Christians may remain be shaken & disturbed by the deeper meaning of Lord’s gospel, so that we may be more Jesus-like in being passionately responsible for the Good News of Emmanuel – God being with us.

So May It Be. Amen.

July 13, 2025 – Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071325.cfm)

A man once happened to fell on a rather deep manhole pit. He really had a hard time to escape from his difficult predicament. So he called for help. It happened that a lawyer passed by, so the man shouted out: “Help”. The lawyer replied: ‘Sorry I cannot help you now. I’m on a hurry for a court hearing. Here is my calling card. Call me later and we will sue the company who dug this pit… Pro bono.’ And so the lawyer took off.

Then a doctor came by and said, ‘Hey, I cannot help you now since I have a scheduled operation. Here are some prescriptions for your bruises. I will call for help. Surely I will help you at the hospital.’ And then the doctor left. A priest also came and said, ‘Sorry, so, I cannot help you right now. My wedding mass is about to start. Here is a rosary, pray till the rescue arrived. We will include you in our prayers also.’ And the priest rushed off.

Now, the man got a lawyer’s calling card, a doctor’s prescription and a priest’s rosary, but still trapped in a manhole. And so his poor neighbor passed by, came over, and saw him. And right there and then, jumped into the pit. The man said to his poor neighbor, ‘How stupid you are. Now both of us are trapped in this pit’. His poor neighbor then replied, ‘Yes, but I know a way out.’

Once again we are reminded today of the Lord’s commandment of Love – that we may inherit eternal life whenever we Love the Lord our God and our neighbor as we love ourselves.

However, based on our experience, this commandment to Love are often nice words to hear but hard to follow, especially on loving our neighbor as ourselves. That is why, knowing the commandment – same way as teacher of the law in the gospel, we also wonder: ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Like him, we know the commandment to love but we also like to know who is our neighbor worthy of our love.

As response, Jesus told us the parable of the Good Samaritan. For Jesus, the neighbor who is worthy of our love is our immediate neighbor. The very person we are with – in the here and now, is the very neighbor who we should love. We don’t need for someone absent and far to be our neighbor to love. But the very persons before and with us now, who need our help and love is our very neighbor we ought to love. To help and love our neighbor, then, we don’t need to look for them somewhere else. Just be aware and conscientious of the people around you in the here and now, and respond lovingly as you can.

Through the parable, Jesus also teaches us the proper way to help our neighbor, and that is: “Before we try to help others, we should immerse and be in solidarity with their difficult situation”. In helping others, dole-outs, give-aways, and reaching-outs are not enough. We need to dive in, get wet or dirty along the way, and journey with them, to free one another from the messy situation.

The Samaritan is good because he is “moved with compassion. Meaning, he felt with (sympathy) & felt for (empathy) with his neighbor. And thus, he fully involved himself in helping the needy. He knew the best way to respond because perhaps he was also once needy and in such worse situation.

Like, the poor neighbor can help the distressed man because he may have been in the same situation before, but he also knows a way out. Others (lawyer, doctor, priest or levites) cannot and was not able to help because they don’t want to be involved and they cannot sympathize because they were not in that situation before, and don’t know a way out. In other words, only swimmers can rescue a drowning person. So, love your immediate neighbor with sympathy & empathy as you can.

In our parish in Dumaguete, when I was the parish priest, we had once a program where we give Christmas gifts to poor parishioners. What makes this program unique is that we arranged the gift-giving wherein the donors themselves go and visit the home of the poor beneficiaries, and give their gifts.

A donor once told me: “Thanks, Father! It is only now I become fully aware of the poverty of our nearby neighbors, especially of Nong Berto’s family who used to drive me to school when I was a little girl before.” Our neighbors then worthy of our love are the very people nearby we immediately see, smell, feel and hear, and whom we feel with & feel for.

Furthermore, remember the Lord in our first reading also emphasized that: “This command is not too mysterious and remote for you, not up in the sky nor across the sea. It is something near to you, already in your mouths, and in your hearts: you have only to carry it out.”

Meaning, we CAN love the Lord and our neighbor as ourselves because “already in our mouths & hearts” since we are also loved by the Lord and our neighbor as ourselves. We can love because we are loved by God and others. We can help and take care of our neighbor because we are also taken cared of by God and helped by neighbors. We can rescue and save others because we are rescued and saved by God and others. And as we love in life, we inherit & share eternal life.

God directs us already what need to be done to: “Love your God and your neighbor as you love yourself.” So, let us do our part in Loving Him and our Neighbor, as He and our neighbor have loved us as ourselves.

By our love, may others also come to know & love God, and also may inherit & share eternal life now & always.

So May It Be. Amen.