Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Category: Sunday Homlies

  • Known by our love

    Known by our love

    May 18, 2025 – Fifth Sunday of Easter

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051825.cfm)

    Having married to his childhood sweetheart for only a year & a half, in fear & anxiety, a man told his father: “Dad, marriage is not FOR me.” After few minutes of silence, the father gave this advice: “Son, I make this really simple. You marry not to make yourself happy, but to make someone else happy. Marriage is not for you because you are married for a family & your future children. Marriage is not about you, but about the person you married & the life you have chosen.” So, marriage is more than just for your sake, but for the sake of your beloved ones.

    Easy for us to think that ordained priests and consecrated religious people are married to God & church. Rightly so, for they dedicate their lives to & for God & the church. It does not mean however that lay Christian couples & family are not married to & for God & the church. Christian marriage & family life is a

    discipleship – a way of following Jesus & loving God through & in His people. Like ordination & religious professions, marriage is not about & for oneself but for your beloved whom you love in life, and above all for God.

    Christian couples do have their marriage in the church because they consider their love & marriage to each other as sacred & holy, and they wish to make their life now & always as their sacred offering to God & His church. Their marriage then is not about themselves but about each other living their love life for God & His Church through their own family & Christian community. Same way with ordained priest & consecrated religious people, Christian married couples are also thus married to God & His Church. And above all, being Christian is being married to God, and being in marriage to our Lord Jesus Christ.

    Jesus in our gospel today said: “I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

    Here Jesus reminds us that it is not enough just to know the commandment to love, but most of all we must live & practice Love. And Love then is for one another than oneself. Meaning, love is basically not for and about oneself (not for and about you), but Love is all about & for one’s beloved & others. In other words, love is our marriage of one another to God.

    Ultimately then, marriage is not for the sake of Me and about Me, but for the sake of and about An-other than Me. Love lived in Christian discipleship then is not self-centered, self-serving & self-oriented but more so other-centered, other-serving & other-oriented. If & when we love this way, as Jesus says: “We are not far from God’s kingdom.”

    And above all in & our loving one another, by our marriage to God, as we love same way as Jesus loves us, we are known to be His disciples and known to be Christian, …because as it was said, “marriage is not for me, but for one another than me”. By our love & loving, then we are known to be Christians.

    In this mass, we pray that our love for our beloved & others in life be our way of following our risen Lord, and be our marriage to God & His Church as our fitting sacrifice & worship to God’s goodness for us now & always.

    So be it. Amen.

  • Witnessing Resurrection

    Witnessing Resurrection

    May 4, 2025 – Third Sunday of Easter

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050425.cfm)

    In this day and age it is unavoidable to meet people who maintain: “To see is to believe”, i.e. to base their faith on facts, sciences and evidences. In other words, they only trust and have confidence on what are sensible, logical, and scientific. Nowadays, it is not easy for others (& even ourselves) to believe. We ask usually for signs, proofs, or evidences in order to trust and have faith on others. We need some credentials first in order for us to believe. Many at times we claim, “We will never believe until we see it”. Others would even say, “Show me the money first before I believe & trust you”.

    However, signs, facts, proofs and evidences are not the basis of our Christian faith – not even on the empty tomb of Jesus, but on the testimony and faith of the disciples and of us who experience & witness the risen Lord as He reveals Himself in our normal ordinary lives and such witness has totally transformed us.

    Like the disciples in our first reading, faith in the risen Lord makes us experience the risen Lord in our lives, and make us witnesses (sharers of the Lord’s presence) to others. Such Christian faith and witnessing of our risen Lord make us Christian different & unique from other religions.

    Now, what does it entail, to witness Jesus and to be witnesses of Jesus today? What does it mean, and how it is to be today’s Christian witnesses of the Lord’s resurrection? How do we believers witness the risen Lord to others?

    Same way as being a witness in the court, Christian witnessing entails and requires us:

    1st, to experience the events, or what is going on or happening, as it happens or unfolds in our ordinary day-to-day life. This would mean we should Be there present, and not absent like Thomas, at the moment when Jesus reveals Himself to us.

    2nd, Be conscious or aware of what is going on. Physical presence is not enough. We must pay attention to ordinary miracles that are happening in our midst. Thus, our total self must be present and sensitive with His revelations.

    3rd, Let the events happen in its own course. Let things be and happen as it unfolds. Savor the moment without controlling and programming. Don’t interfere or else we become accessory & not anymore a witness.

    4th, be affected by the event – be transformed by the events. Be moved, surprised, amazed, awed, inspired, and shaken by the experience.

    5th, share and testify our faith- encounters with others, as we have experienced and been affected by the encounter.

    How to witness then our Christian faith? Be present, Be aware, Savor the moment, Be affected & Share your story with others.

    The same process of witnessing happened with the apostles in our gospel today.

    1st, while going back to their ordinary lives of fishing and catching nothing, a man appeared and suggested them to fish in the other side of the boat.

    2nd, having a great catch, they eventually recognized and became aware that the man is the risen Lord Jesus Himself.

    3rd, as no one dared to ask: “who are You?”, they let Jesus invite and serve them a breakfast.

    4th, with their first breakfast with the Lord, once again they are moved, transformed, and inspired to continue with their faith and mission.

    5th, their very meeting and sharing bread and fish with the risen Lord inspired them to follow Him and in serving the Lord’s lambs and sheep in faith and life. In other words, we witness the risen Lord to others, by our being present and conscious of the Lord’s appearances in our ordinary life, meeting him naturally and intimately, and passionately share to others our stories of faith-encounters of the risen Lord in our daily lives

    Again, Easter is all about the risen Lord continuously meeting us in life – appearing and making himself known to us. As the Lord meets us in our day to day lives, our experience of Him challenges us to believe, i.e. to recognize and trust Him and His ways, as well as to witness Him, i.e. to taste and see (savor) His being with and acting in us, as well as to share our experience of Him with others.

    Easter season also reminds us not only of Eucharist as our last supper, but moreso, as our usual first breakfast with the risen Lord in our day to day witnessing of our Christian faith and life. The Lord’s resurrection is thus God’s offer of life and meaning to the whole world – appealing us to believe, witness and share His son Jesus Christ, as we meet Him in our ordinary daily lives. May our Christian faith and celebration of Eucharist, as community continually inspire us to believe, witness & share the risen Lord to ourselves, others and to all in our lives, now & always.

    So May it be. Amen.

  • IN-HOUSE GUEST

    IN-HOUSE GUEST

    April 27, 2025 – Second Sunday of Easter; Sunday of Divine Mercy

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042725.cfm)

    Happy Easter to all. Last Sunday we celebrated Easter Sunday. We celebrated and proclaimed our Christian faith that our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed risen into our lives.

    Today we are now on the 2nd Sunday of continuing celebration of Easter season. So, how is life after Easter Sunday?

    After the preparations of Lent and the celebrations of Holy Week – after Easter Sunday surely, we are back to our normal ways – back to our usual routine, schedules, activities, programs, tasks, and responsibilities. But as we go along our normal ways and live our usual lives, we also wonder how is the message of resurrection of the risen Lord make sense and become more real now in our day to day living. Yes, we believe that the Lord has risen. But how and in what ways the risen Lord has resurrected and can be resurrected into our ordinary lives today? Paano Siya naging at maging Buhay’ng-Muli sa buhay ko at natin ngayon? This is the very challenge of Easter to us Christians during this Easter season.

    While reflecting on the revival of Lazarus from the dead, Pope Francis once in his homily said that each one of us has a small tomb inside our hearts – that somehow somewhere in our lives, though still alive and breathing, is dying and dead inside. Yes, somehow, we are still & get used with isolation in our small caves, even after pandemic lockdown & quarantine. Our small tombs are usually our dark secret holes and shadowy caves where we usually hide and bury our anger, hurts, pains, sufferings, failures, frustrations, anxiety, fears and addictions from ourselves and others.

    And inside our small tomb, we do have the choice whether to be alone on our own, miserably struggling and grieving with the “why’s of life”… OR to invite the risen Lord to be part of our search for answers and sense for all these happenings in our lives.

    For Pope Francis, we need to recognize our dying and dead self-inside, and invite the risen Lord to be our Guest inside our small tombs and allow Him to be part of our death and dying within, and be resurrected into our New Life with Him.

    Brothers and sisters, the empty tomb of Easter reveals to us that the risen Lord is not in his tomb. But out here and there revealing Himself into our ordinary normal lives and offering us life and life eternal. The same way as He appeared before His disciples, the risen Lord is showing & will appear Himself to us in our ordinary lives anew with a promise of not only new normal but more so, of Life Eternal.

    The mistake of Thomas in our gospel today is not so much for doubting the Lord’s resurrection but more so for being absent – he was not there when the Lord appeared the first time. Thomas at first did not recognize his own small tombs and invite the risen Lord to be part of his ordinary life. Only when he was with the other’s disciples in locked door room – present in their own tombs and allow the Lord to be part of His Life that Thomas came to recognize and believe in the risen Lord.

    Meaning, the risen Lord only wishes to be invited and partake into our own isolation inside our small tombs and in our ordinary lives so that He can share to us New Life with Him. No more being alone – on your own in your own tombs. Thus, no more hiding, navel-gazing, just looking into oneself – licking wounds, brooding, and sinking in anguish & despair.

    For the Easter message of Lord’s resurrection to be more real and meaningful now in our lives then, we must invite the Lord into our small tombs and allow Him to be part of our usual day to day struggle with life. The Lord is risen and has indeed resurrected again and anew in our lives now – if and when we invite Him to be part of our small tombs and our ordinary lives. He also can only resurrect and bring our death and dying back to life anew nowadays if only and whenever we invite and allow the Lord to be part and be with our normal life’s-struggles and triumphs, especially influencing and guiding us in our day-to-day decisions, as we elect & vote for our political leaders ahead.

    To have a more real and meaningful celebration of Easter Season then, let the risen Lord in and allow Him to be our Guest – to be there and be part of our small tombs and our ordinary lives these days. And perhaps ask ourselves once again: What is the risen Lord offering me now here inside my tomb, inside my isolation? What is His resurrection in to me and what’s in for me? What are benefits and the purpose of letting Him be part of my life now: Healing, Peace, Mercy, Forgiveness, Hope, Mercy, Love, Release, Liberation, New Life, Holy Spirit… A chance to choose & do things right for our country…..?

    Although we are back to our usual normal lives & usual ways after Easter Sunday, we also know and believe that with the risen Lord in our lives now, LIFE will & should never be the same again and as usual, but ours would now be a new normal life and better than before, IF and Whenever we invite and allow our risen Lord to be part of our small tombs and our daily ordinary lives, as our in-house guest.

    Siya Nawa. Hinaut pa unta. Kabay pa. Amen.

  • Let God BE GOD now

    Let God BE GOD now

    April 13, 2025 – Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041325.cfm)

    For us Filipinos, there are three occasions in the year that we come home, get together, and spend quality time with our family: Christmas, All Souls’ Day, and Holy Week. These are the moments when and where us Filipinos BE with each other – that is where and when we experience, encounter, and meet each other again as family and community which usually lead to renewal, deepening and strengthening of bonding and relationships among family. While during Christmas, we are with our family and friends, and during All Souls’ day, with our family and relatives remembering our beloved dead members of the family, Holy Week is particularly our time and space with God.

    Today, Palm Sunday marks the beginning of our Holy Week this year of Faith & Hope. These days in this week of this year of faith is our time and space to BE with our God. This week is our God-time and God-space. Particularly this week is more than just our chance to be with God but more so God’s chance to be with us. Meaning, this week is not only our time and space with God but more so GOD’s time and space with us. It is more like God must be first and foremost Be with us rather than We must be with God. The center or focus of this week then is not ourselves but God. This week is not about us and ourselves but about HIM and His being with Us now. This is our chance then to experience, encounter and meet God in His own terms and not on our own terms. The best attitude then is to let Him set the agenda, activities, schedules, and venue of this week. Meaning, to let Him takes the steering wheel – let Him drive your life this week. Let God BE God, not be a god as we want or need Him to be, but as HE chooses to be with us now at this very juncture of our faith & life.

    To do this and make the best of this week, allow me to suggest some appropriate approaches & attitudes.

    First, REMEMBER. As I have said, this is not about us but about Him. So, once again be reminded, that is to put into mind – God’s story with Us which is the Jesus story. We are to remember (to make it member or part of ourselves) what God did, does and is doing to us through the life and mission of Jesus Christ. So, time and space to Recall, Remind, Remember God’s story with us through Jesus, rather our story with God.

    Then, REFLECT. This is an invitation to mirror back or reflect back God’s story with & along our faith-story with God now. In other words, Manalamin. To look and see our faith-life experiences from the point of view of God’s story and less from our own perspective. Meaning, Be moved. Be Disturbed. Be influenced. Be shaken. Be Challenged. Be transformed by God’s story, presence, words, movements, plans, agenda and will for us, you and I now.

    And above all, eventually RESPOND to what, when, how, when and where God is calling, inviting, and leading us now in whatever faith-life commitment we choose to be. Meaning, whether you are ordained, married, professed, or baptized Christian, be a BETTER version of Christian as you choose and committed to be.

    Today we begin Holy Week. Remember, Reflect, and Respond to what God did, does and is doing in You and Us now by being with God, not in our own terms but in His own terms.

    For us to let God be God to us now & anew, perhaps concretely, in view of coming elections, during this week we also remember, reflect & respond on what we have gone thru & is going on in our faith-life pilgrimage now as a nation of Filipino Catholics & so be guided by His will & be in tuned with God’s ways for us in choosing wisely & voting conscientiously our national leaders.

    May we, you and I have a blessed meaningful and inspired week ahead.

    So Be it. Amen.

  • Let go of the stone of condemnation

    Let go of the stone of condemnation

    April 6, 2025 – Fifth Sunday of Lent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040625-YearC.cfm)

    Do we find ourselves rejoicing at the faults of others? Are we delighted upon learning that our sister or brother has failed? Do we feel victorious when others are found guilty and shamed?

    When we find ourselves rejoicing, being delighted and feeling victorious over the sins, guilt and shame of others – this tells us that something is also wrong with us. Our heart becomes an accuser to people who failed.  We feel righteous because we are not like them. Then, we make “labels” to others. These are forms of “name-calling or stereotyping” to magnify their guilt and shame. We become rejecting and condemning. We demand evil for evil.

    Yet, in the deepest of our hearts, are we indeed sinless, guiltless and blameless? Or do we only hide our own failures and sins by magnifying those of others?

    This very kind of attitudes that may be creeping in our hearts as well as in our culture have been revealed to us today. On this Fifth Sunday of Lent, the Lord invites us to look deeply into our hearts. And so let us explore the readings and embrace God’s mercy and forgiveness.

    The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus who committed adultery. This whole affair of the scribes and Pharisees with Jesus was filled with malice and hatred directed both towards the woman and also to Jesus himself.

    In that culture, women were the only ones who can commit adultery. Men can’t. Women were perceived to be deceiver and caused of sin. This was the reason why the man was not in the picture.

    This culture was influenced by their machismo and patriarchal society. Hence, it was only the woman who was brought in the middle of the people. The intention was to shame her and not to bring justice. She was also brought there in an effort to kill her by stoning her to death.

    Such condemnation was so cruel. Yet, despite its cruelty and violence, people found delight and joy over it. They even demanded for such savagery because it was what the “law” mandated them to do.

    With the leadership of those influential scribes and Pharisees, they condemned this woman. With this attitude, they refused to give another chance and opportunity for the woman to change and redeem herself.

    They demanded punishment from Jesus who could also confirm such penalty according to the Law of Moses. This was where their malice and hatred towards Jesus was also to be found. They were trying to find fault in Jesus so that they too can accuse him of blasphemy and then condemn him to death. The thought of it gave them satisfaction.

    However, the event was turned by Jesus in the way they did not expect it to be. Jesus said, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”  At this, Jesus redirected the condemning fingers of Scribes and Pharisees towards them. By saying that, Jesus brought them to themselves, to look at their sinfulness. To recognize who sick their hearts were.

    It was very interesting at how the gathered people responded. They began to look at themselves and found that each of them was sinful. Each one was not worthy to carry out such punishment towards the woman. Each one was also guilty.

    What was more interesting was the way St. John described to us the first initiative of the elders to leave first. The elders of that community left the gathering first because they realized that the length of their life also meant more sins committed.

    This Gospel scenario invites us now to look closely at ourselves and to examine better our intentions, thoughts and actions. We are invited also to be more understanding of those who failed but not in the sense of condoning such failures and sins. We are invited to be merciful rather than condemning.

    This is what Jesus showed to the woman. Jesus said, “I do not condemn you. Go and sin no more.” The beauty of the Gospel lies here. God has delivered his judgment and showed His mercy. Jesus freed the woman and was commanded to sin no more and not to go back to her old sinful self. She had, surely, found her way to freedom and peace in Jesus.

    Pope Francis in his homily on this Gospel story said, “Jesus forgives. But here there is something more than forgiveness because Jesus goes beyond the law. Though Jesus was pure and the only person who is worthy to cast the first stone against the woman, but Jesus did not because he showed mercy. ”

    Mercy, as the Pope says, is difficult understand. “Mercy does not erase sins. It is God’s forgiveness that erases our sins. But then, mercy is the way in which God forgives. ”

    Thus, unlike the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus saw more in the person of that woman. The limited awareness and refusal of the Scribes and Pharisees to see more, prevented them to discover that there was always hope in every sinner, and that there was more in a person’s weakness and imperfection. This is how Jesus defends us, sinners from the just condemnation of death.  And it is because God always sees goodness in us.

    We are all invited now to let go of the stones from our hands and in return embrace a family member, or relative or a friend whom we know have sinned against us. Only then that reconciliation will also begin in us. Hopefully, as we enter the Holy Week next week, may our hearts be ready to celebrate the Easter joy of Christ. Hinaut pa.