Category: Sunday Homlies

July 21, 2019 – 16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

From the Book of Genesis (18:1-10a)

The LORD appeared to Abraham by the terebinth of Mamre,
as he sat in the entrance of his tent,
while the day was growing hot. 
Looking up, Abraham saw three men standing nearby. 
When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them;
and bowing to the ground, he said:
“Sir, if I may ask you this favor,
please do not go on past your servant. 
Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet,
and then rest yourselves under the tree. 
Now that you have come this close to your servant,
let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves;
and afterward you may go on your way.” 
The men replied, “Very well, do as you have said.”

Abraham hastened into the tent and told Sarah,
“Quick, three measures of fine flour! Knead it and make rolls.” 
He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice steer,
and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it. 
Then Abraham got some curds and milk,
as well as the steer that had been prepared,
and set these before the three men;
and he waited on them under the tree while they ate.

They asked Abraham, “Where is your wife Sarah?”
He replied, “There in the tent.” 
One of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year,
and Sarah will then have a son.”

From the Second Letter of Paul to the Colossians (1:24-28)

Brothers and sisters:
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake,
and in my flesh I am filling up
what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ
on behalf of his body, which is the church,
of which I am a minister
in accordance with God’s stewardship given to me
to bring to completion for you the word of God,
the mystery hidden from ages and from generations past.
But now it has been manifested to his holy ones,
to whom God chose to make known the riches of the glory
of this mystery among the Gentiles;
it is Christ in you, the hope for glory. 
It is he whom we proclaim,
admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom,
that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.

From the Gospel of Luke (10:38-42)

Jesus entered a village 
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. 
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
“Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? 
Tell her to help me.” 
The Lord said to her in reply,
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. 
There is need of only one thing. 
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her.”

HOMILY

When a close relative or a close friend would pay us a surprise visit, this makes us feel uneasy. Our things might still be scattered around the house. We do not want a visitor to see how disorderly our place that is why, if a surprise visit happen we would also feel embarrass. However, despite the embarrassment that we would feel, we still welcome the visitor with grace and warm hospitality.

However, what if strangers will come and visit us? Are we still going to be hospitable and kind?

In today’s readings we have also heard about such surprise visits which brought blessing to those who were visited. In the Book of Genesis, Abraham was visited by three men. They were strangers to Abraham yet he welcomed them with kindness and openness. Abraham must have felt how tired and hungry those men were. He was sensitive to their needs.

However, Abraham did not know that these men were angels of the Lord. Through Abraham’s welcoming and kind attitude towards these strangers, the Lord blessed him and his wife. This blessing was the promise of a son.

This story tells us that even God would visit us also in a surprising way. And God’s visit will bring us blessing. Thus, it is also important that we remain welcoming and accepting of God’s surprises for us.

But then, God may also may visit us not just through strangers but also though ordinary people or even those to whom we are already familiar with. This is the story that we have heard in the Gospel today.

Martha and Mary who were sisters of Lazarus were good friends of Jesus. The Lord showed his affection towards them by visiting these women. And it is very interesting on how each of them responded to Jesus’ presence.

Martha was certainly a very good woman. She related with kindness to people around her. This was shown on how she would make herself busy in providing and making sure that everything was alright. She was indeed, sensitive to the needs of others. With this attitude, she surely welcomed Jesus with great kindness and warmth.

Nevertheless, there was something that troubled Martha. She was also a woman who easily get anxious and worried. She was caught with so many things that when Jesus visited them, she was overwhelmed with her anxieties on how to make Jesus feel provided and comfortable. Sad to say, her anxieties prevented her to have a deeper encounter with Jesus and making herself closer in the presence of the Lord.

As a result, she became complaining. She complained to Jesus on why her sister Mary was not helping her in the kitchen. She might have expressed bitterness towards her sister for not being sensitive to her. However, Jesus confronted her of her own anxieties and worries.

We would surely find ourselves too in this situation. We might find ourselves worrying and becoming anxious of personal struggles such as your failures and unfulfilled dreams and desires, or the overwhelming loads of our work and business, or the issues that our relationships are facing today, or the great demands that your family life is requiring you to do, or the illness of a loved one that pains you.

When we let these one or more issues to overwhelm us, then, we will certainly become disturbed. We will be out of focus. Like Martha, we might also become complaining. Consequently, our relationship with others and even with God will be affected. We could become negligent of our self-care and inattentive to our other relationships because our worries and anxieties have grabbed us to what are more essential and important.

Jesus is teaching us today through the person of Mary. Mary though she appeared passive and insensitive to her sister Martha, was praised by Jesus. Mary realized the greatness of the presence of the Lord. Mary realized also that Jesus wanted their presence that is why she chose to be closer to Jesus and sat at his feet. Mary found peace and true confidence with Jesus

This tells us that the Lord does not want us to keep ourselves busy and filled with worries and anxieties. As Jesus visits us, he desires that we become sensitive to his presence, attentive to his invitations and welcoming to his words.

This is also the same with our other relationships. We might need more awareness for ourselves, and a quality time to spend with our loved ones. With these, then, we will also see and realize what is more important and essential in our life.

Jesus invites us today not to allow our worries and anxieties to take us over but rather to allow the Spirit to make our hearts ever welcoming and warm to God’s visits.

Hopefully, by being able to learn these attitudes of Mary and Abraham, we too shall have a true and deep encounter with the Lord who comes to bless us today. Hinaut pa.

Jom Baring, CSsR

July 14, 2019 – 15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

From the Gospel of Luke (10:25-37)

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law?
How do you read it?”
He said in reply,
“You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your being,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind,
and your neighbor as yourself.”
He replied to him, “You have answered correctly;
do this and you will live.”

But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus,
“And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied,
“A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim,
poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.
Then he lifted him up on his own animal,
took him to an inn, and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,
‘Take care of him.
If you spend more than what I have given you,
I shall repay you on my way back.’
Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”
He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

HOMILY

I grew up in a community where neighbors know everybody. I have enjoyed playing and fighting with other kids. As kids, we were welcomed to take something to eat and even sleep no matter whose house would that be.

I have enjoyed very much my childhood when we have to make our own kites and toy cars, build our small houses, running around and getting hurt and dirty with other kids. Those days that I had were the foundation where I was able to relate and socialize with others. And most importantly, these early years of playtime and growing up of a child are the opportunities also where a child will develop his or her sense of responsibility, creativity and sensitivity to people around him or her.

That is why, we also find neighbors helping one another in times of need and sorrow and sharing their joys in times of abundance and blessing. We understand that our neighbor is someone who is close to us, somebody we know and someone we are familiar with. And we consider those outside this circle as strangers to whom we could easily show an indifferent attitude.

However, this kind of understanding of neighbor is being challenged today. This is what we have heard from the Gospel of Luke.

There was a lawyer who asked Jesus on how he would be able to attain eternal life. What he asked was not just actually about what lies after death but also of the present moment. Eternal life then means eternal joy and this joy can already be found now.

The lawyer knew the answer, that is why, he also answered his own question to Jesus. This joy can be attained by loving God and loving one’s neighbor. This love of God can only become concrete when a person also shows the same love to his or her neighbor. And so it means, that these two are inseparable.

But, the lawyer asked Jesus again and clarified, “who is my neighbor then?” And Jesus’ answer must have left the lawyer speechless. In the parable that Jesus gave, a neighbor is somebody who is in need regardless of the persons’ belief, culture, race or status.

This is the reason why the victim in the story was portrayed to be naked and unable to speak because he was half-dead. The person had no particular culture or race, or language or belief. The person then symbolizes anybody.

Moreover, a neighbor is also a person who responds to those in need. A neighbor is a person who feels the suffering and pain of the other and because of this, a neighbor is moved to extend help and assurance to that person in need. This is done out of generosity and kindness.

Thus, the priest and the Levite in the story who merely showed indifference to the dying person were not neighbors. Their fear of becoming unclean and not being able to enter the Holy Temple or perhaps fear to do something that it might be just a trap of the thieves, prevented them to extend their hands to the person. They must have surely felt pity for the victim but then they remained in the feeling and did not move into action.

That is why, to only feel pity for the person in need without changing anything from us, is empty. True pity leads to mercy which also leads to kindness, a generous action.

This is how we realize also that being a believer in God, your faith and my faith does not mean to be static or passive. Faith is not dependent on letters or traditional practices and rituals as shown by the priest and Levite. But faith is dynamic and pro-active because it is about a relationship. This is what the Samaritan showed.

Therefore, true faith builds relationship, friendship. It is sensitive and generates kindness, generosity, mercy and compassion. In other words, action!

Thus, Jesus invites us today that to attain eternal life or eternal joy is also to build relationship. The Samaritan despite the discrimination against him by the Jews as heretic, impure and lowly was able to build relationship by recognizing that victim as his neighbor. He did that because he recognized God in that person.

This is the invitation for us. We are called to accompany and mentor the young by inculcating in them the value of building and creating relationships. Our young people indeed need companions, friends and mentors who will assure them that they are not alone. We are able to do this when we also become a true neighbour to the young who will assure of them of our company, of our presence and friendship.

Today, one of the biggest difficulties of the young is the tendency to be lonely and alone. As a result, high rate of suicide among our young people is evident. Let our young people know and feel that they are not alone and that God and our community are much bigger than their problems and struggles. Each of us is called to be a companion and a friend and a neighbour of the young and of one another especially with those who are suffering for being abandoned, discriminated and oppressed.

This will only be possible when we also learn how to treat each other as neighbors, with love, understanding and compassion. Let our differences, biases, fears and hesitations go so that we will be able to express our faith in God actively and lively by becoming a true neighbor to the young and to whoever they are. Hinaut pa.

Jom Baring, CSsR

July 7, 2019 – 14^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

From the Book of Isaiah (66:10-14C)

Thus says the LORD:
Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her,
all you who love her;
exult, exult with her,
all you who were mourning over her!
Oh, that you may suck fully
of the milk of her comfort,
that you may nurse with delight
at her abundant breasts!
For thus says the LORD:
Lo, I will spread prosperity over Jerusalem like a river,
and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing torrent.
As nurslings, you shall be carried in her arms,
and fondled in her lap;
as a mother comforts her child,
so will I comfort you;
in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.When you see this, your heart shall rejoice
and your bodies flourish like the grass;
the LORD’s power shall be known to his servants.

 

Responsorial Psalm        PS 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20

R. (1) Let all the earth cry out to God with joy.
Shout joyfully to God, all the earth,
sing praise to the glory of his name;
proclaim his glorious praise.
Say to God, “How tremendous are your deeds!”

“Let all on earth worship and sing praise to you,
sing praise to your name!”
Come and see the works of God,
his tremendous deeds among the children of Adam.

He has changed the sea into dry land;
through the river they passed on foot;
therefore let us rejoice in him.
He rules by his might forever.

Hear now, all you who fear God, while I declare
what he has done for me.
Blessed be God who refused me not
my prayer or his kindness!

From the Letter of Paul to the Galatians (6:14-18)

Brothers and sisters:
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
through which the world has been crucified to me,
and I to the world.
For neither does circumcision mean anything, nor does uncircumcision,
but only a new creation.
Peace and mercy be to all who follow this rule
and to the Israel of God.From now on, let no one make troubles for me;
for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit,
brothers and sisters. Amen.

Homily

Do you also desire peace and prosperity for your family and for our community? I am sure that each of us desire this kind of life. With all the troubles that we experience in life such as personal problems, failures and struggles; family demands, conflicts and grudges; and crimes, disasters and corruption in the community, we want peace. If only we have peace within ourselves, in our families and communities, then, our life would be very different.

Such promise of peace and abundance had been prophesied by Isaiah. We have heard it from the first reading on how Isaiah had seen the day when Jerusalem will be comforted with peace and prosperity. The people of Israel agonized much from oppression and slavery. Wars had been waged left and right and the people suffered greatly from these devastations.

Yet, God is not blind of this suffering. In God’s goodness, peace and prosperity will be upon his suffering people. That is why, the message of Isaiah is, “rejoice and be glad.” God will see to it that He will comfort the grieving and suffering people. God’s comfort will surely bring joy, peace and satisfaction.

Similarly, Paul in his letter to the Galatians also expressed his experience of peace and confidence in Jesus. Despite the many trials that he underwent, Paul found peace and confidence in Jesus. Even the conflicts within Christian communities will never destroy the peace that he received from the cross of Jesus which he was boasting about. Nothing will trouble Paul because he has Jesus with him.

In that cross of Jesus, Paul experienced tremendous love and forgiveness. Because of this, Paul also found his true self and became a witness of Jesus. This moved Paul to preach the Gospel, and in fact, to preach to others the peace and confidence that he received from Jesus.

Moreover, Jesus sent 72 people in pairs to bring peace to the homes that they will visit. Jesus is aware that homes are in need of peace. Even though that the 72 went ahead of him to prepare the people of his coming, yet, the peace that they were giving to the people was Jesus himself.

This is the promise fulfilled in Jesus as what has been prophesied by Isaiah. Jesus is the peace, the comfort and the confidence that God has promised. This peace brings openness to God’s friendship and healing.

But notice also, Jesus employed the help of his disciples to bring peace to whatever house they enter. This tells us now that preaching and being a witness of Jesus is not just limited to the close group of the 12 apostles. This means that everyone of us is being sent by the Lord to preach and bring peace and healing to wherever we shall go.

Indeed, the promise of peace, confidence and prosperity are not fulfilled outside of us but, through us and within us. The confidence and peace that Paul was telling about was not an outside experience, but rather, Paul himself experienced it personally. It is through his personal encounter with the risen Jesus.

The 72 people were able to bring peace to many homes, not because of an outside influence but coming from their personal relationship with Jesus. The presence of Jesus in their life allowed them to be agents of peace and healing.

This is the invitation for us this Sunday. Jesus calls us and sends us to be part of that fulfillment of the promise of peace and abundance in our families and communities. The Lord, certainly, fulfills his promise through us and with us. Peace is achieved not outside of us. Confidence is attained not apart from us. This tells us again that God’s wonders are made through us.

That is why, God desires that we become part in working wonderful things. This involved in bringing peace and healing to our troubled and wounded homes, relationships and communities. Jesus reminds us too that being part of God’s work, let not material things trouble us. Paul also did the same thing. He did not allow anyone and anything to trouble him and remove him from the peace that he experienced from Jesus.

Let us not allow our complains and anger, hate and bitterness and even our insecurities to steal from us the peace that Jesus has given to us. Let us rather allow the joy of having Jesus in our life to empower us in bringing peace and healing. Hinaut pa.

Jom Baring, CSsR

June 23, 2019 – Sunday of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

GN 14:18-20

In those days, Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine,
and being a priest of God Most High,
he blessed Abram with these words:
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
the creator of heaven and earth;
and blessed be God Most High,
who delivered your foes into your hand.”
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

PS 110:1, 2, 3, 4

R.(4b) You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek.

The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand
till I make your enemies your footstool.”

The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion:
“Rule in the midst of your enemies.”

“Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor;
before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.”

The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:
“You are a priest forever, according to the order of  Melchizedek.”

1 COR 11:23-26

Brothers and sisters:
I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread, and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.

LK 9:11B-17

Jesus spoke to the crowds about the kingdom of God,
and he healed those who needed to be cured.
As the day was drawing to a close,
the Twelve approached him and said,
“Dismiss the crowd
so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms
and find lodging and provisions;
for we are in a deserted place here.”
He said to them, “Give them some food yourselves.”
They replied, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have,
unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people.”
Now the men there numbered about five thousand.
Then he said to his disciples,
“Have them sit down in groups of about fifty.”
They did so and made them all sit down.
Then taking the five loaves and the two fish,
and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing over them, broke them,
and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
They all ate and were satisfied.
And when the leftover fragments were picked up,
they filled twelve wicker baskets.

The Gospel of the Lord.

During reunions of families and friends, we usually recall old stories and past events where we have been together. We cherish those moments as we remember important events. Usually, remembering of the past is done over a shared meal.

Mostly, it is around the table that we gather to remember our story. During those moments of remembering, we become more alive and present with one another. Thus, during reunions, friendships and family relationships become stronger and more treasured.

But what is the reason for these gatherings? What compel us to gather and celebrate family relationships and friendships? Is it not because that we are so grateful to God and grateful of the presence of one another that we gather together? Yes, reunions and other family events are organized because we are thankful. These occasions derive from being grateful.

What we are doing now in this Eucharistic Celebration is a kind of a reunion, but a sacred reunion. And most of all, what we do is an act of thanksgiving. In fact, the word Eucharist means Thanksgiving. As individuals and as community, we recognize how grateful we are to God because of the many blessings that we have received, from our life to the offer of salvation and freedom.

It is also a remembering of the past but making it alive today with us. What we do in this mass, happened in the past, but we do it again because Jesus told us to, “Do this in memory of me!” That is why, our readings today brought us back into that beautiful memory of God’s action within human history.

In the first reading, the Book of Genesis recalls of the victory of Abram against the enemies who kidnapped his nephew Lot. Abram recovered the possessions and his nephew against his enemies. At his return, Melchizedek, the king of Salem, which also means the king of peace and whose name also means the king of justice, brought bread and wine for Abram and his soldiers. Melchizedek who represents God blessed Abram and nourished Abram and his soldiers with the bread and wine that Melchizedek offered to them. Because of this, Abram was so grateful that he gave a tenth of all his possessions. Abram shared them not because he was merely obliged but because he was thankful to God.

Paul has shared such gratefulness also as recalled in the second reading. Paul reminds the people at Corinth of the command of Jesus, “Do this in memory of me!” This meal is meant to be shared to all and should come from a heart that is grateful. Once this is done out of the context of the community and without gratefulness, then, it ceases to be a memory of Jesus.

Paul wrote this letter to remind them of the errors they did. The people became neglectful of the true meaning of the Lord’s Supper. It became to be merely an occasion of eating and drinking. The Lord’s Supper is more that than but doing it in the memory of Jesus, making the bread and wine into true body and blood of Christ.

Moreover, the people lacked an essential aspect of the Supper. Because they were neglectful of its significance, it was not done in the spirit of gratitude. It was not an act of thanksgiving. Thus, there was a tendency of mistreating the needy in the community. The poor, the hungry and the thirsty were not welcomed because the supper had only become an occasion of mere eating and drinking where one gets full and drunk and others go hungry and neglected.

We also see this in the Gospel. The disciples of Jesus suggested sending the people away because food was not enough if they were to remain. The disciples were anxious of their little food left. Yet, Jesus told them to give the people something to eat from that food that they had. And so the disciples complained that they did not have enough.

The wonder of this story lies here. Jesus took that little food of the disciples and offered them to all the people. As that little food of five loaves and two fish were shared, people were given enough food. The food was multiplied because there was a change of heart from the people. Most probably also, each of them took out their own food and shared the little that they had to those who were in need. Indeed, it was a miracle!

The miracle happened because the people became open and generous to others. This has become possible because they had become grateful of their gifts. That gratefulness that was showed first by Jesus infected others and the sharing of food that Jesus did, inspired them too to share.

Today’s solemnity reminds us of this wonder of being grateful and of sharing. This tells us that when we become grateful of the gifts that we have no matter how small that could be, we also become generous. Thus, the bread and wine turning into true body and blood of Jesus was not out of “magic.” This happened in real because of the act of thanksgiving of Jesus and his willingness to share his very self to us. Jesus is grateful of the love of the Father and so he gives himself to us as his concrete action of loving us. And the Lord does it every time we celebrate the Mass.

Now, to be able to share the body and blood of Jesus means that we become one with him or that we actually become him, becoming the Jesus of today!

That’s why he says to you and to me now, “Do this in memory of me!” “To remember me and become part of me.” To know that Jesus is with us and within each of us is to be able to find peace and serenity, satisfaction and contentment despite the troubles, problems, concerns and hungers, wants and other desires that we have. When we become more conscious of the meaning of being one with Jesus and having Jesus in us, we also become, hopefully, Jesus for others.

This is the implication when we participate in the memory of the Eucharist because the Eucharist is not supposed to stay only inside this building. When we go out from this Church it also means that we carry in us the Eucharist, we carry in us Jesus. The Eucharist continues when we step out from this Church and go back to our homes or to your workplaces and meet people. Thus, we become grateful and generous people, and people who are joyful and life giving.

This is the challenge for us this Sunday, “be the Jesus today! Consciously, with gratefulness in our hearts and with generosity bring Jesus with us because he is truly in us!” express the Jesus in you, through your words and deeds as you meet people today and tomorrow, as you talk and dine with your friends and family, and as you encounter strangers and the needy on the street and in the places where you go. Hinaut pa.

Jom Baring, CSsR