Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Category: Season of Lent

  • SYSTEM UPDATE

    SYSTEM UPDATE

    March 16, 2025 – Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031625.cfm)

    What is the best thing to do if & when we get lost our way?

    The best way to do if & when we are lost is to first stop our journey, and look for some higher grounds, so that we may know and see where we are, where we have been, where we want to go and the best way or path to take. Meaning, we have to stop first then climb a high place – a hill, mountain or a tree, so that from there we get a much wider perspective of our journey and travel.

    Losing our way may also reflect our experience of life. There are times in our lives that we feel lost & confused in all our endeavors and dreams. Because of this, like being and getting lost in the forest, it is easy for us to feel tired, dry, afraid, anxious and hopeless in life to reach and achieve our aspirations, hopes and dreams in life.

    Our gospel today narrates us the Transfiguration of the Lord. We hear Jesus brought his apostles to Mt. Tabor so that they would witness the glory of God revealed before them. After they have followed the Lord in his preaching and ministry in many towns and villages, the apostles have now experienced weariness and exhaustion in their journey, even to the point others have cast doubt in the Lord’s person and authority.

    For them to be inspired (to be in-spirit) and encourage once again, Jesus brought then to mountain of Tabor to have a preview or prelude of God’s glory so that they themselves taste and witness God’s glory made manifest in Jesus Himself. And then, they hear & encounter anew for themselves the call & challenge from God to listen and have faith in Jesus, his beloved Son.

    Sometimes in life, we need to stop for awhile from all our endeavors and aspirations, and then, climb the Lord’s mountain in order for us to view a much wider perspective in life and our journey. Like in our modern lingo of cellphones, we need a higher ground to get a good signal; sometimes we need to climb the mountain with the Lord for us to get a good and strong signal of God’s presence and love.

    We call this nowadays as RETREAT with the Lord – a time in our life where we stop or slowdown from all our plans, aspirations and activities in life, spend some time to distance from our usual routine and look and climb for a high place in order to get a wider perspective of our life. Time and place to ask ourselves: “where am I now in relation to my life, dreams, aspirations and commitments? Am I lost or in the right path? What else should be done? What need to be change?”

    Retreat would also mean to treat ourselves again & anew to God’s vision of life-glory. In other word, to take care & nourish ourselves anew to the vision & fervor of God’s glory. And above all, in the Lord’s transfiguration & our retreat moments, we are challenged also to be “transfigured”, i.e in our modern-tech language, to do “system update” for us to be in sync, upgraded, & outfitted with the current plans of God for our redemption.

    As we follow the Lord, as Christian, it is healthy then for us to sometimes to retreat & be transfigured, i.e., to stop and climb up on a higher ground with the Lord in order to have a wider perspective of life, to witness God’s presence revealed in Christ, and to  hear again God’s call to us “This is my Son, the beloved. Listen to Him”, and so be updated & challenged anew of our vocation to follow Him.

    As our way of doing a retreat with the Lord these days, may our Lenten discipline of prayer, fasting & almsgivings bring us to a much deeper spiritual updating and growth in our Christian faith & journey now & always.

    Amen.

  • ASK, SEEK AND KNOCK

    ASK, SEEK AND KNOCK

    March 13, 2025 – Thursday of the First Week of Lent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031325.cfm)

    What would you like to ask from God? What are we supposed to ask also? What do we also seek for ourselves? And what should we also seek in this life?

    Do we ask and seek for a happy family and married life? Success and progress in our careers and business? Wealth and long life? A peaceful and comfortable way of life?

    Given with the current realities and context that each of us has, our prayer is somehow being molded. This means that what we ask and seek in life are being influenced by our current realities in life. So, in particular, we could be asking for healing because of the illness in us. We might be seeking for justice because of the wrong done unto us. We would ask for a second chance because of the past failure we’ve made. We would seek for freedom because of the oppression that we’ve experienced.

    Our readings today capture wonderfully the invitations of the Lord as we ask, seek and knock in our prayer. Indeed, in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus told us to “ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

    This invitation of Jesus is grounded on a “deep faith and trust” in the goodness of the Lord.  The deep faith and trust in us are found in our total confidence and dependence on God who gives and grants what is better for us.

    We remind ourselves that the Lord does not say that whatever we ask and desire will be given to us immediately and absolutely. This is not about to ask, seek and knock according to our whims and spur-of-the-moment. Rather, Jesus wants us to realize how important it is to pray and to be able to communicate with God, in all honesty and humility. This prayer springs forth from our intimacy and friendship with God.

    Thus, prayer is not just about asking, seeking and desiring what we want for ourselves alone. When prayer is reduced for personal satisfaction then it makes us entitled and self-centered. It ceases to be prayer. Prayer, rather, is allowing ourselves to be more aware of the presence of God in our life. It also makes us aware of God’s presence in the lives of others. Prayer also allows us to acknowledge not just our needs but also the needs of others. This is how prayer builds up our faith and trust in God. Moreover, it also makes us to be deeply in loved and truly concerned for others.

    The story of Queen Esther in our first reading tells us about this. The Queen, in all humility, pleaded to the Lord God to rescue her people from death. She did not ask the Lord God to only secure her status, title and wealth as Queen. When there was a threat of oppression, she did not think on how to save herself and her power. She was not after making a political alliance or simply to become a political puppet for her own advantage. Queen Esther, nevertheless, became an intercessor on behalf of God’s people, the Israelites.

    The Queen asked the Lord for courage and strength that she may be able to become a true mediator between the people and her husband the King of Persia. She knew that this would be too risky as she might also lose everything she had as Queen, because she was a Jew. She pleaded to the King to stop Haman, an influential court official of Persia, from annihilating the Jews.  Haman hated the Jews because of one man who did not bow and worship him.[1]

    As the queen asked and sought the grace from the Lord, her prayers made her also deeply in love with God’s people. Indeed, her prayer was answered because God found delight in her heart that was filled with humility and love. And so, Haman was stopped and punished by the king, and the people were saved.

    This is where we also find the  invitation of the Lord for us today. In our prayer, ask the grace that it will be an opportunity for us to grow more in our love and concern for one another. In our prayer, seek God’s desire that we do not forget others and those who are most in need than us. In our prayer, knock that the door of friendship will be opened for us. As we continue the journey in this Season of Lent, let also develop our intimacy and friendship with God and with people around us. Hinaut pa.

    [1] That man was named Mordecai, a cousin of Queen Esther.

  • INVITATIONS OF CHANGE

    INVITATIONS OF CHANGE

    March 12, 2025 – Wednesday of the First Week of Lent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031225.cfm)

    What could make us give up on hope for others? When our heart is gripped by hatred and resentment then we easily give up on hope. When our memories are also petrified by our painful past, this could prevent us from realizing that there is hope. Indeed, hope for a change of heart and transformation of a person might be next to impossible.

    We shall find it difficult to be reconciled. This is especially true when we have been deeply hurt by others. The pain and many hurts caused to us could make our heart hardened by anger and hatred.

    A friend, who because of the unbearable pain he experienced from a person took revenge by his own hands. He became violent and hostile.  He believed that it will be his only way of moving on. He thought that the person who caused such agony to him did not deserve any mercy. Yet, later, he too was being haunted by his own guilt. The hatred, resentment and violence that overwhelmed his heart, as he realized, brought more damage and pain to him.

    That friend reminds me of our liturgical readings today. In the Book of Jonah, the prophet showed rebellious attitude towards God. Jonah was sent by God to do something, which he did not want to do. For that reason, Jonah tried to escape from God and to escape from the very responsibility that God gave him.

    Jonah was sent to Nineveh, a city of which he hated so much. It was the city of the Assyrians. They were the very people who oppressed the Israelite. Jonah resented so much the Assyrians.

    We can understand why Jonah showed deep disgust and hatred against the Assyrians. This was the reason why he tried to escape from God. God sent him to Nineveh to preach repentance so that God may show mercy. God’s mercy will save the Assyrians from death and eternal punishment.

    However, Jonah feared that these people will repent and believe in God. Jonah was against the idea of  God showing mercy to them. Jonah just wanted these people to suffer, to die and to rot in hell. He did not want his enemies to be saved and to be shown mercy.

    Yet, this happened. Even with a heavy heart, Jonah did as what God told him. So, Jonah called the people to repentance. To his surprise, his enemies repented and believed in God. The Assyrians realized their faults and recognized the Lord God in their midst. That awareness changed their hearts and transformed the people.

    Well, like Jonah, do we also find ourselves wishing or even praying for the suffering and death for those whom we hate? Does our resentful heart also desire vengeance and violence against those who have caused us so much pain?

    In our own context now, we might also find ourselves wishing and cursing those people who did something terrible to others. When violence and or a crime is done to an innocent one, we also demand the same violence and crime to perpetrators. Like Jonah, we might have also believed that justice is fulfilled through a gruesome death to our enemies. Like Jonah, we might tend to believe that God should not show mercy to those who have hurt us. Like Jonah, we might demand from God to become indifferent to our enemies and people who did terrible things to the innocent.

    Yet, this ancient story of Jonah tells us of something else. In this ancient story, the Lord God is revealed to be a God of everyone, of good and bad people, of righteous and sinners, of criminals and law-abiding citizens alike. God is for everyone as His mercy is for all.

    God indeed shows mercy. Jesus who became human like us and lived among us is the Father’s ultimate sign of mercy and love. In Jesus, the Father tells us that we are never abandoned. In Jesus, there is always hope and goodness in each of us no matter how broken we are, and sinful we have turned to be. The Lord God always sees goodness in each of us.

    From here, let us embrace the invitations of change.

    First is the change of heart. The Assyrians were oppressors, abusers and thus sinners. Yet, when Jonah called for repentance, the people realized how sinful they were. These people acknowledged their sins, repented and believed in God. This changed their heart. We too are called to change our heart by owning our sins and failures, to repent and believe in God’s mercy.

    Second is the change of mind. We were told that God changed the Divine will when the Lord saw that the people repented. Should we not change also our mind according to how God sees in us?

    Third is the change of perspective and belief. Jonah realized that God is beyond his wants and beyond what he expects from God. The Lord is our God and it is God’s nature to grant mercy. God’s desire is to liberate from sin those who caused pain to others and those who are being oppressed and abused. God, indeed, desires the salvation of everyone. Hinaut pa.

  • TO PRAY LIKE JESUS NOT TO IMPRESS OTHERS

    TO PRAY LIKE JESUS NOT TO IMPRESS OTHERS

    March 11, 2025 – Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031125.cfm)

    Prayer is one of pillars in this Season of Lent. As we are called in this season to return to God, to mend our hearts and relationships with one another, prayer plays a vital role. We remind ourselves that prayer makes us more aware of God’s presence in our life. As we become aware of the Divine, then, it also allows us to recognize ourselves together with our faults and failures. Hence, to humble ourselves before God makes our prayer more effective.

    This also tells us that prayer is indeed not limited with our memorized and devotional prayers. Moreso, it is allowing ourselves to be intimately connected with God. This is what Jesus revealed to us today.

    In the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord teaches us how to pray. Jesus himself taught us how to approach the heart of God. this is expressed with a greater confidence to God whom we also call as our Father. Jesus directed the disciples on how to truly ask and seek the will of the Father by praying sincerely.

    This is where we also find Jesus’ warning. The Lord exhorted us not to babble in our prayers that are only meant to impress people. Jesus was conscious how the pagans would use many words but merely babbling. This was influenced from the beliefs of the pagans to use many words in order to appease a violent and angry god.

    Yet, our God is not violent neither angry not needed to be appeased. God, as Jesus introduced to us, is our Father. In fact, the Psalm acknowledges this, “the LORD is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.”

    By calling God as our father, this brings us into the affection that we have with God. God certainly loves being called as our Father, whose only desire is for us to grow in love.

    This invites us now that our prayers and other forms of devotions are not meant to impress others. Do not pray to flatter or manipulate the Lord because of our long, wordy, high-falutin and unintelligible prayers. Instead, the Lord wants our sincere and humble heart that recognizes God as our Father.

    The Lord’s Prayer brings us, indeed, into sincerity and humility because the prayers acknowledges first God, as our Father whose “divine will” takes priority than our own. Thus, we seek and recognize the will of God for us and not our wants. This brings us to be more aware of our needs of the present moment, of today, and not to be burdened by our past or to be anxious of tomorrow.

    This is very important to remember that the prayer Jesus taught allows us to be more aware of our present moment, of our needs and graces of the here and now. This will make us more contented and confident in life for we shall see how God provides and works for us in the present moment.

    Jesus invites us and teaches us on how to seek God’s desires because God knows what is best for us by praying the way he prays. May this simple but powerful prayer of our Lord gives us more confidence in the presence of God dwelling among us whose only desire is the best for us. Hinaut pa.

  • Encountering the Lord among the Weak and Vulnerable

    Encountering the Lord among the Weak and Vulnerable

    March 10, 2025 – Monday of the First Week of Lent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031025.cfm)

    At that time when our Lord Jesus was walking with us on earth, many were not able to recognize that the Lord God was in Jesus. In fact, his disciples at the beginning thought he was just a great teacher. They believed he was a wise man. Some saw him as a healer or one of the prophets. Many even took offense when Jesus taught them and explained to them the sacred scriptures.

    Jesus was too ordinary for many that they could not believe the divinity in him. Those who were familiar with him grew bitter and insecure. The learned, those who possessed influence and authority at the time even felt threatened. Yet, as the apostles later on told us through their personal accounts of the Gospels and letters, in and with Jesus, God-is-with-us.

    This is what Jesus revealed in his words and teachings, in his actions and encounters with countless people. Yet, indeed, it would be difficulty to recognize the Lord and spot his presence when we are only after with spectacular and out-of-this-world revelations. God’s Divine-Self or Divine Presence is manifested in the ordinary and the simple especially among the weak and the vulnerable.

    This is what Jesus taught us today in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus said, “whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” Using a parable, Jesus tells us that his presence resides to those who are hungry and thirsty, the stranger and the naked, the sick and the imprisoned. By being able to do good for them and to help uplift their quality of life, then, we do it as well for the Lord.

    Clearly, Jesus identified himself with the weak and the vulnerable. What the Lord calls us is to recognize him and his presence among the least of our brothers and sisters. Recognizing the Lord then, has also a call for moral responsibility from us.

    This is what the decrees all about revealed in the Book of Leviticus. Those laws are meant for us to take of each other and protect one another. By being able to show our true concern, sincerity, honesty and love for each other then we fulfill the law of God.

    And so, as we continue the journey in this Season of Lent, let this be an opportune time for us to express in concrete ways works of mercy. Let our good deeds bring life to others. In this way, we shall encounter the Lord Jesus through the faces of one another especially among the weak and vulnerable. Hinaut pa.