Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Category: Weekday Homilies

  • Seeing but not Recognizing

    Seeing but not Recognizing

    February 19, 2024 – Wednesday Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021925.cfm)

    Have you ever experienced searching for something yet could not find it? After a while, that object was actually right in front of you. You must have seen it but was not able to recognize that it is was what you were looking for. Perhaps, as you were walking on a street, a friend met you and greeted you, yet, you were unresponsive. You’ve seen the person but was not able to recognize that it was a friend of yours.

    In medical term, it is called as “agnosia.” This is a disorder of which a person sees an object despite the normal vision but cannot identify what the object is. In particular, this is called as “visual agnosia.” There is also so called “auditory agnosia” of which we heard something but cannot recognize what it was.

    In psychology, this is referred to as “inattentional blindness.” This means that we fail to notice or see something within our visual field because our attention or consciousness is so focused on something or somewhere else. This also applies to our hearing. As a result, we become absent-minded and out-of-focused.

    In our Christian faith, this can also happen. And this is best described in today’s healing story of the blind man in the Gospel of Mark. Jesus who took the blind man by the hand and brought him outside of the village performed the healing. Jesus has to do it twice for the person to see and recognize clearly. The man’s eyes were healed at the fist attempt yet, cannot distinguish between people and trees, thus, a “spiritual agnosia”. And so, for the second time, Jesus touched his eyes then his sight was completely restored.

    What the man received was not only physical healing but also spiritual healing. This means that he was both blind physically and spiritually. As he was healed and restored completely only then that he recognized the Lord’s face in front of him. Then, he was told not to go back to the village of Bethsaida.

    The actions in this healing story are filled with spiritual insights and so, let us take them one by one. Jesus needed to take the blind man out of the village and later told him not to go back. Bethsaida was a symbol of a place of evil, sin and rejection of God’s presence. Jesus was not accepted there.

    Hence, in order for the man to be freed from his illness, he too needed to be freed from that place that made him blind. He was told not to go back but to go home, so that he won’t be able to go back to his old cycle of darkness and sin.

    Jesus also allowed his disciples to witness this event to make them realize of the importance not just of our physical sight but also of our spiritual insight. The disciples actually struggled and found difficulty at recognizing of the wonders that Jesus did. They remained anxious on what to eat even though Jesus fed five thousand people. They were troubled when things got rough and difficult even when Jesus was with them in the boat. At this time, they were still figuring out who Jesus really was. Indeed, they too were blind, spiritually blind because their hearts were still filled with fear, anxieties and doubts. Hence, they too had spiritual agnosia.

    Yet, Jesus remained patient just like with the blind man, until such a time they too received the spiritual insight and recognized that God was with them all along.

    This calls us now to ask for the grace of spiritual insight. This begins by humble owning and acknowledging the beliefs, attitudes or experiences that continually bring us into darkness and sin.

    Indeed, we may have a perfect physical vision and some may have blurred vision and so the need of eye glasses, but most importantly, may we too have a perfect spiritual sight to see and recognize the Lord, his gifts and manifestations. Hinaut pa.

  • Goodness in the midst of Evil

    Goodness in the midst of Evil

    February 18, 2024 – Tuesday Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021825.cfm)

    The rise and popularity of the social media platforms have significantly reshaped our consciousness on many matters as individuals and society. The influences that we get and receive from constant interaction whether passive or active interaction in social media, affect how we think and believe, behave and act.

    In consequence, fake news and disinformation entertained by many have been very damaging into our culture and relationships. People who are not aware of the sources and the credibility of the reports, are being deceived and in effect brought more damage to the community by spreading them. However, through the social media, we also realize that it can be a medium to raise proper and correct awareness of the realities in our communities. Hence, this kind of influence promotes social awareness for activism and social change.

    Aside from this, there are also other “offline” influences that we get from around us. These may come from people whom we interact with personally. Significant persons, persons in authority, peers and organizations of which we are affiliated can also influence that way we behave and make decisions. Spiritually, we also believe in the influence from good or the evil spirit.

    Being aware of the many influences that surrounds us, Jesus also reminds us of this. In today’s Gospel of Mark the Lord firmly warned his friends, he said, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”

    The leaven is used to make the dough to rise, was used by Jesus as an image to depict the silent but cunning influence of the Pharisees and of Herod. The passive yet indifferent, aggressive and oppressive attitudes of the Pharisees and of Herod was so attractive to people who tend to seek recognition and praise and those who tend to worship the powerful and the corrupt, the arrogant and the aggressive. They portrayed that those who have the power and influence were always the victorious.

    Jesus seemed to see and realize such tendencies among the disciples. This was the reason why Jesus reminded them when they began to worry of having not enough bread. Even until that moment, they did not yet recognize that the Lord was with them and had already worked wonders by feeding thousands of people. This prompted Jesus to ask them, “Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?”

    The hardened hearts, the eyes that couldn’t see and the ears that couldn’t hear must have been gripped through the influence of selfishness.

    This is what we realize in the story from the Book of Genesis. We are reminded of the disheartening event where the Lord regretted and his heart was grieved. God found evil in the hearts of humanity. Their hearts had been influenced and consumed by wickedness and evil. With that, the Lord can’t play a blind eye to the atrocities committed by humanity. God decided to wipe out the earth and reshape it.

    Yet, Noah found favor with the Lord. Noah was neither influenced nor consumed by evil and selfishness. Rather, Noah remained obedient and devoted to God even when others were not. Noah carefully listened to God’s voice and followed God’s commands even when he was ridiculed and insulted. Noah remained concerned and faithful. Indeed, there was goodness in the heart of Noah even in the midst of evil around him. This was how the Lord found hope in us to reshape the earth and renew our hearts.

    Today, like the disciples and like what happed in the story of the Book of Genesis, the Lord also calls us to watch out those distractions or influences that may lead us away from the grace of God, from God’s presence and away from each other. We may always realize that God is working wonders in us and through us.

    Let us not allow our hearts be influenced by evil or selfishness or by our negative emotions. Let us recognize, see and understand those many wonders that God is doing in our lives. The Lord calls us that we may be influenced by God’s grace in our sacraments, by God’s words in the Bible, and by the Holy Spirit. Hinaut pa.

  • WHEN RESENTMENT CONSUMES US

    WHEN RESENTMENT CONSUMES US

    February 17, 2025 – Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021725.cfm)

    A person who becomes resentful in a relationship or work or in any other things, can easily nurture emotions like anger, frustrations and disappointments. When these negative emotions are being built up from within and being “nested,” the more the heart becomes resentful and even violent.

    Yet, our resentful heart does not acknowledge the wrong or the failure in us but only blames our frustrations and anger towards others. We could easily hold grudges against others; having a passive-aggressive expressions of anger in the forms of sarcasm, overly critical and inaction or indifference. And these are also forms of bitterness of the heart that slowly consumes and destroys our relationships.

    This is what happened in the story we have today in the Book of Genesis. Cain, the first born of Adam and Eve, grew resentful towards God and jealous towards his younger brother, Abel.

    Cain must have felt that God was unfair towards him because the Lord only accepted the offerings of Abel and his was rejected. Abel’s attitude was different from his brother. Abel offered the best and what was due to God. Abel offered those gifts as an act of thanksgiving. He offered his best gifts out of joy and gratitude.

    However, Cain only gave his offerings passively and complacently. It was rejected not because of the value of his gifts, but the attitude of his heart. Cain’s offering was not an act of devotion and gratitude to the Lord, and thus, his offering was rejected. His ungrateful heart has become seedbed of his resentment. He felt wronged by God and seen Abel as his competitor.

    This resentment grew more in his heart. The Lord God warned Cain of this, “sin is a demon lurking at the door; his urge is toward you…” This was how Cain allowed his resentment to consume him until he became vicious and violent. And so Cain, with a deceptive heart brought his brother Abel away and killed him.

    And worst, when God asked the whereabouts of Abel, Cain responded again with a resentful heart, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” This only confirms his guilt and the blood in his hands. This was such a horrifying and sad story between brothers.

    This resentful heart also reflected in today’s Gospel among the Pharisees who demanded signs from Jesus. It was the hardness of their hearts and vicious thoughts that made Jesus to “sigh from the depth of his spirit.” They asked for a sign, yet, they cannot recognize the greatest sign in front of them, already talking with them.

    However, despite this tendency in us, the Lord gives us a chance. God sees hope in us as well. This was the reason why God never condemned Cain to death, not to condone his actions, but give a chance for Cain to repent, to be renewed and to be freed from the evil in his heart.

    Indeed, we also ask the grace that our heart may not become resentful and bitter but will rather be grateful and contented. Having such attitude in our heart, may we always be mindful of God’s revelations and His presence. Hinaut pa.

  • Blaming Others vs Acknowledgement of Faults

    Blaming Others vs Acknowledgement of Faults

    February 15, 2025 – Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021525.cfm)

    Is it easy to own our failures and mistakes and take the responsibility for the consequences? The general behavior in us, as human beings because of social and cultural influences around us, is to appear clean and infallible. Mistakes and failures are mostly viewed negatively. In our upbringing, our experiences tell us that committing to a mistake or failure would bring us painful and sometimes shameful consequences.

    As a result, when we commit a mistake or failure, instead of acknowledging it immediately, we would try to deviate and make a lot of reasons to explain that it is not our fault but caused by something outside of us. We would make reasonable explanation that it was out of our control. But worst, we could also dare to blame others for the failure that happened.

    This is the very situation that happened in today’s story in the Book of Genesis. Hence, the man must have pointed his judging finger to the woman who gave him the fruit. “No, not me! It was her! She gave me the fruit!”

    Yet, the woman also responded to deny the accusation of her husband, “Not me either. It was the serpent!” See, both of them denied the responsibility of eating the fruit and realizing that they were naked. Both succumbed to the blame-game to deny full responsibility of their disobedience and disrespect to God’s commandment.

    Nevertheless, what was really the issue in this story? Was it because of eating a desirable fruit? Was it because of the presence of the serpent that tempted them? Or the presence of evil around them?

    Both of them, the woman and the man, were tempted not just because the fruit was desirable to eat. The fruit was only a symbol of a greater temptation. The cunning serpent, engaged the woman in a conversation by asking, “Did God really say that you will die?”

    The question was an opening of the serpent’s temptation for both man and woman to believe that they can become like gods. This means that the temptation was in believing that they will be in complete control of everything. They must have believed too that they did not have everything in paradise, that God deprived them of many things. The unquenchable desire to have everything must have consumed them. They can only have everything when they too will become like gods.

    However, the moment they tasted the fruit and came to know what is good and what is evil, they too realized their smallness and nothingness before God. This was the reason why they hid from the Lord God. They knew that they have sinned and that sin led them to fear. Fear is filled with guilt and shame.

    This is the reason why Adam and Eve were hiding. Their nakedness tells us of their guilt and shame. Yet, their guilt never made them to take the responsibility that they have sinned. As a result, they became trapped in the cycle of blaming. Adam blamed Eve. And Eve blamed the Serpent. And perhaps, we today, might also blame God for putting the serpent among them.

    Because of this, the intimacy between man, woman, and God was shattered. In the same way, man and woman lost their closeness with God. It was them who distanced from God. Thus, sin, without acknowledgment makes us hide yet, it leads to destruction and to death.

    But remember, this is also how God intervenes. God calls us. In the garden, God’s words, “Where are you?” were not of condemnation but of invitation to come closer. God continues to search us not to destroy us but to renew us, to recreate us, to give us the fullness of God’s grace and presence.

    This is how the Gospel of Mark tells us now of the heart of Jesus. Jesus felt the hunger of the people. Jesus felt their need to be filled and be satisfied. The heart of Jesus was surely, so close to the people. The Gospel said, the “heart of Jesus is moved with pity.” This is love that redeems and saves.

    For that reason, Jesus wants his disciples to learn from that kind of love. It was love that gives even when there is nothing left for us. It was a complete dependence on God’s generosity. That was how the miracle happened, as Jesus was moved with pity and so the disciples too and all those people around them.

    Therefore, let us allow the Lord to find us today as we humbly acknowledge our failures rather than blame others. Let us also learn from the heart of Jesus, that we may too be moved with pity so that God’s grace will truly fill and satisfy our every longing and desire. Hinaut pa.

  • Ephphatha-Be Opened!

    Ephphatha-Be Opened!

    February 14, 2024 – Memorial of Sts. Cyril and Methodius

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021425.cfm)

    There are two different contexts and situations in today’s readings that tell us of the spiritual significance of being opened. This is something that I want to share and discern with you today, as we also celebrate the Valentine’s Day!

    In the Book of Genesis, we are led now to the story of the temptation and falling from grace of humanity, portrayed in the actions of the woman and man. As they listened the words of the serpent that brought the temptation to them, the two can’t resist the idea of “becoming like gods.” The fruit that was forbidden to them, because it “looked good, pleasing to the eyes and desirable for gaining wisdom” was shared by the two. They were convinced that they can become equal to the Lord God, the creator and giver of life.

    Yet, they were wrong! As soon, as they ate the fruit, their “eyes were opened.” This brought realization to the man and woman of the great sin they have committed against the Lord God. The fruit did not open a door for them to become gods, but, it opened to shame, guilt and misery.

    This was the reason why they covered themselves with leaves and hid from the presence of God. They were filled with shame. Their nakedness did not only mean that they did not wear anything at all, but of the realization of having nothing at all because of their separation from the grace of God. They made themselves open to sin and misery, and open to evil and death.

    Yet, despite what happened, the Book of Genesis reminds us that the Lord God moved about in the garden looking for them. As the sinful man and woman hid in shame, God opened a new beginning for restoration and healing.

    This brings us now into the message of the Responsorial Psalm. The author acknowledges the shame and guilt brought by sin. In God’s mercy, sin is forgiven for those who humbled and embraced their weakness. God renews us as we declared, “Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.”

    Moreover, Jesus, in today’s Gospel, fulfills the longing for healing and restoration in the miracle story of a deaf and mute man. As Jesus showed his compassion for this man who must have been subjected to ridicule and mistreatment from others, he too was touched by those friends of the man. Unlike the common treatment and belief at that time, sick people were badly mistreated and rejected because of the fear of contamination.

    This became an opportunity for Jesus to work wonders and bring healing to the man. Jesus touching the man and using his saliva uttered the Aramaic word, “Ephphatha!” that is, be opened!

    At that, the ears and mouth of the man opened up and began to speak. This opening from the man removed his disability to hear and speak. The gift of healing received by the man made him be restored.

    Now, we see the differences between the two openings. The first was not of God and so it brought the man and woman to shame and guilt. The second was of God and brought the man to healing and restoration.

    This tells us now how the Lord, indeed, desires our completeness and freedom. The Lord desires that we experience and live life to the fullest.

    We are called and invited today to be open! Let the voice and word of Jesus, “Ephphatha” makes us open to God’s presence and wonders, to God’s mysteries being unfolded each day, to God’s unconditional love and forgiveness.

    Since it’s Valentine’s Day, let us also be open in our relationships in order to build trust, better communication. honesty and intimacy.

    Let us also be open to become loving and forgiving even with those whom we may consider as unlovable and unlikeable. Let us also open our ears and eyes to realize and respond to the needs around us. Let us open our mouth to speak about the injustices in our society as well as to share the Gospel of mercy and peace. Hinaut pa.