Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Category: Season of Lent

  • THE 40-DAY JOURNEY

    THE 40-DAY JOURNEY

    February 17, 2021 – Ash Wednesday

    Fr. Manoling Thomas, CSsR

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021721.cfm)

    This day ushers in, the beginning of the Season of Lent in our Catholic Liturgical Calendar. “Lent” comes from an old English word for “spring” one of the four seasons in colder countries. For those of us living in the tropics, we may not appreciate much the noticeable change or transition from “winter to spring”. We can then focus on the practice in the early church before the “infant baptism”. Those preparing for baptism on the Easter vigil, begin their “instructions or catechesis on the faith” today. They were called the “catechumens”.

    How about us, who are already adult, baptized Christian Catholics? How can we creatively envision the Season of Lent? We can liken it to Jesus inviting us to embark on a 40-day journey or pilgrimage with him! We will be with other disciples of Jesus, whom he has also invited! Our destination: Jerusalem. Expected day of arrival: on Palm Sunday, the start of the “holiest week of the year” [Holy Week].

    What possible activities we can engage in during these “40 days”?

    1)  With the help of the Holy Spirit, to discern what “repair work” has to be done in a specific area of our life. Will it entail a repair, or a remodeling, or a cleansing and healing? Discus this matter with Jesus! 

    2)   Select a good book that is simple, readable, and will be helpful for the purpose of your journey with Jesus.

    It will be helpful if during this journey, you will find a fellow Christian also in the journey, with whom you can prayerfully and freely share your realizations. Encourage and help each other as you journey with Jesus!

    The Holy Spirit may suggest to you other nourishing and fruitful ways to do this 40 days journey! Be open to the Holy Sprit!

    If you have decided to accept Jesus’ invitation, then step forward to receive the ashes. This will indicate your willingness to join the 40 days pilgrimage! Although you are doing this with other disciples of the Lord, this journey is “a walk on a very personal road” from where you are at present to where Jesus invites you to go!

    If this invitation is late in reaching you, you can still catch up!

    [source: Daily Homilies vol. 3, Krempa]

  • AVAILABLE AND FREE

    AVAILABLE AND FREE

    February 17, 2021 – Ash Wednesday

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021721.cfm)

    The Season of Lent invites us to be closer to God. As Christians, we are challenged by the Gospel today to make ourselves available and free for God and for others. There are three best practices that by tradition would make this desire of closeness with God and others to be possible.

    First, PRAYER. It is an invitation to be closer to God by becoming more aware of His presence in our life. Prayer is not limited with expressing and blurting out what we need and want. Prayer is our way of relating, communicating and being intimate with God who is so good to us, faithful and loving to us despite our sinfulness and imperfections. Prayer brings us closer into God’s presence. It allows us to encounter Him makes us humble before God to recognize our own limitations and sinfulness. Moreover, when our prayer focuses on God rather than our personal wants and needs, the more we also see and know clearly who we are. Hence, awareness of God brings us into self-awareness.

    In prayer, we do not have to use plenty of words. To sit in silence for few minutes and being aware of God’s tremendous presence in those very moments would also suffice and bring us into a greater consciousness of ourselves and of others.

    Second, FASTING AND ABSTINENCE. When we become aware of God, then, it helps us to be more aware of ourselves. Fasting and abstinence, then, is an invitation to recognize our thoughts, habits, behaviors and attitudes that continually prevent us from becoming closer to God and to others. To fast and to abstain is not just limited with abstaining from pork and beef or to our comfort foods. These are forms of self-denial to help our heart and mind be freed from what chained us. Thus, it would be good to ask, what is it that I will make myself free in this Season of Lent, what vice shall I stop or regulate? What habit or attitude shall minimize? – So that in doing this, I will make myself available for others, more generous and kind.

    Third, ALMSGIVING. The Lenten practice of almsgiving is a way of making ourselves generous to those who are in need. If prayer makes us aware of God and ourselves, and fasting and abstinence is to make ourselves free for others, almsgiving is to become LIFE-GIVING. Almsgiving is, therefore, not limited to giving few coins to a poor beggar or a spare of our resources, but to generously give what is dear and special from us. Hence, we allow ourselves to be a gift to others. What is it then that I can generously give to others from myself in this lent? Is it my time and wealth? It is my presence and comfort? My helping hand and listening ear? My understanding and love? My concern and honesty?

    Hopefully, in giving ourselves, we too shall be able to encounter real faces of our brothers and sisters even in this time of pandemic. Such encounter will certainly allow us to recognize God’s presence, making ourselves freer, closer and available for God and for others. Hinaut pa.

  • God for 30 pieces of Silver

    God for 30 pieces of Silver

    April 8, 2020 – Holy Wednesday

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/040820.cfm)

    Homily

    God only costs 30 pieces of silver!

    Do you know what that means? It means that the Lord is cheap!

    30 pieces of silver were the approximate amount to buy a slave. This amount was also equivalent to a person’s wage for five weeks based on 6 days of work at that time of Jesus.

    Today, especially for Davao Region the highest minimum wage rate is P 390.00 and multiply it by 6 days and 5 weeks, then, you have P 11, 700.00. This is the equivalent amount of the price of Jesus in today’s context.

    Thus, just for five weeks, working 6 days a week, 8 hours a day, we can buy God!

    This is both fascinating and upsetting. It is fascinating knowing that God is cheap. An ordinary person can buy God just like what Judas did. Judas sold his friend and master to the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.

    In a way, this tells us of Jesus’ availability for us. He makes himself cheap, for a price of a slave so that we can have him, so that he can be with us. With that 30 pieces of silver, then, we have Jesus who offered his life for us.

    However, what is upsetting is the thought that we do not value that much the presence of God in our life. The chief priests valued Jesus for that amount and Judas willingly accepted that and even desired to really have that amount in his hands. This is so disturbing because for all those days that Judas had been with Jesus and the goodness and generosity shown by Jesus to him, Judas seemed not to have realized the great worth of Jesus.

    With this attitude, we may not be far. We too might have thought also that God is the least in our priorities and that God is not essential. We could have spent more time and more of our presence on other things rather than spending quality time with the Lord and with our family. We could have thought also that other people are worthless and good for nothing.

    Nevertheless, what is more striking was the price that Jesus has to pay for us. Judas might have sold Jesus for 30 pieces of Silver, but Jesus has paid for his life in order to redeem us, that we might be with him.

    Imagine, we are more expensive than God. We, mere creatures, are more costly than the Creator. This tells us how much we are being valued by God.

    That’s why when somebody tells you that you are worthless, believe Jesus, that’s not true. Jesus has paid his life for you. When someone would say that a sinner or a criminal or an offender has no value in our community, believe Jesus, that is fake news. Jesus has to suffer, has to be crucified and to die to tell us that every sinner and every creature on earth is special and expensive. God has to pay it himself.

    Hence, on this Holy Wednesday, there are three invitations I would like you to dwell deeper.

    First, God is so cheap. As God is everywhere, recognize God always. It won’t take you long to recognize God in the presence of your loved ones, with your friends, with strangers, and with all the things that are around you.

    Second, each person worth the life of Jesus. Never allow others also to put you down, to tag you as valueless and worthless. Stop thinking too of this idea, because each of us is so valuable to Jesus. And never believe also that there are people or even just one person that has no value.

    Third, recognize also the value, the importance of the gift of presence of people around you. Recognize also the many gifts that you are enjoying, the gifts of nature, the gifts of material things.

    Hopefully, with these realizations then the more we become grateful to Jesus and generous of ourselves to others. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • Do not let Satan grab us away from the Lord

    Do not let Satan grab us away from the Lord

    April 7, 2020 – Holy Tuesday

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/040720.cfm)

    Homily

    The Gospel today is very sad. A student and a friend turned bitter. Judas, one of the disciples of Jesus became bitter and his heart was filled with darkness.

    What happened with Judas, really? Why did he betray Jesus who only showed goodness to him?

    The Gospel says that “Satan entered into him,” meaning, Judas was controlled by Satan. But, does Satan can just overpower a person? Of course not, not unless we allow Satan to control us. 

    Let us see the attitudes of Judas. Judas seemed to have been filled with complaints and bitterness. He would seek what was for him, what he could benefit or what he could gain. Judas would think of himself. He became entitled and even demanding. Yet, he was also pretentious in front of others. Remember how he expressed his disgust over an oil poured into the feet of Jesus for anointing. He was as if concerned that the poor can benefit from that, but not. He was only concerned of the amount of money that he could get out of that oil if sold and given to him because he was the treasurer of the group. Thus, Judas was gradually eaten by his selfishness. This turned him to be corrupt and deceiving.

    These attitudes creeping in his heart became the entry points for Satan. Those were welcoming attitudes for Satan, the deceiver. Satan, indeed, deceived Judas.

    Consequently, as Satan entered into him, Judas was not anymore in control of himself. He lost himself or perhaps has lost his mind. This was symbolized by the words in the Gospel, “it was night.” It means, Judas succumbed into darkness. He gave in to the false hopes and false promises of comfort, of wealth or influence. 

    However, despite these actions of Judas, Jesus never gave up on Judas. That’s why, never in the Gospel that we heard Jesus condemning this person. 

    With this scenario on this Holy Tuesday, these are the invitations for us.

    First, be careful of the attitudes of our heart that conjures Satan most particularly of selfishness that creeps into our soul.

    Second, we are not the center of everything. It is Jesus.

    Third, do not succumb to darkness. Do not yield to our habitual sins that may lead us farther from God. Always seek the light. Seek God even if we stumble every now and then. 

    In this way, hopefully, then what we will allow is God to be the master of our life and not Satan who will only grab us away from the presence of God. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • To be grateful this Holy Week

    To be grateful this Holy Week

    April 6, 2020 – Monday of the Holy Week

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/040620.cfm)

    Homily

    Jesus was in the house of his friends, who were Lazarus, and his sisters, Mary and Martha. These three siblings invited Jesus for a celebration. They were celebrating to thank Jesus. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. As an act of thanksgiving, Lazarus invited Jesus for this celebration. It was in this way that Lazarus expressed his gratitude to Jesus. Meanwhile, his sisters, Martha  expressed her gratitude to Jesus by making sure that there was food and drinks for Jesus and his disciples. It was Martha’s way of thanking Jesus. And also, Mary, who was so fond of Jesus, expressed her gratefulness as well as her affection by anointing the feet of Jesus with an expensive perfume. She spent that only for Jesus because she loved Jesus.

    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. Lazarus, Mary and Martha were people who have grown to be grateful to God that is why they also became more conscious of Jesus’ presence.

    However, when we become ungrateful we also take for granted the giver of gifts, and thus, the presence of God in our life. This is what we find in the person of Judas. Judas, who betrayed Jesus, was an example of a person who was ungrateful. He had been with Jesus for the past three years but then he was not fully aware of who Jesus was. He physically encountered Jesus but then his ungrateful heart prevented him to recognize God in the person of Jesus.

    This is the reason why Judas reacted so much when Mary poured expensive oil at Jesus’ feet. Judas reacted harshly! Judas was so bitter! He was not upset about the celebration or about the food and the drinks. You know why? Because he benefited from those. But, he complained about Mary because it was only for Jesus, nothing for him! Judas was not able to benefit from that perfume. That was the reason why he demanded that it should be sold. Judas was the treasurer of the group and if that perfume was sold, Judas will surely keep the money for himself and not for the poor. Because Judas was ungrateful, he was also corrupt.

    This will also happen to us when we remain ungrateful and when we 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. We are easily threatened when we are not praised and recognized. Yet, 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