Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Category: Year 2

  • Believing is Loving

    Believing is Loving

    October 11, 2022 – Tuesday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101122.cfm)

    When we have people or even just one person at our back who truly believes in us, who believes the goodness in us, the talents we have, the potentials and the gifts we have, this gives us the confidence and the presence we need in life. That is why, we take comfort when we are being cheered up and our back tapped to continue and to hold on in realizing our dreams and hopes because their presence become our strength. And we understand such actions of people at our back as their way of loving us. Yes, in believing in us they also express their love for us. That cheers us and lightens the load that we may be carrying in life.

    Believing in a person is our way of loving. Being present with a loved one is our way of expressing our affection. How much more when we express this to God? When our way of loving is our way of believing? When loving is an act of faith?

    This is the very invitation we have today revealed in our readings. St. Paul wrote his letter to the Galatians to remind them not to be too overwhelmed with the letters of the law and of human practices. Christ has set us free and that’s what is important.

    The Galatians were actually somehow influenced by Jewish Christians to submit themselves to Jewish beliefs and practices particularly of the tradition of circumcision. Paul was quite indignant in this because the Jewish-Christians claimed that the non-Jewish Christians like the Galatians must become Jews first before becoming a Christian. However, such practice was not important at all. Whether circumcised or not, what is essential is faith that works through love.

    Faith in the Risen Christ is not about being faithful to human practices. This is what Jesus also pointed out in today’s Gospel. The Pharisee who invited him for a meal observed Jesus if he would follow the Jewish customs. But, Jesus did not. Jesus did that to make a point to the Pharisee and bring out his warning and invitation. Therefore, Jesus confronted the Pharisee’s over-emphasis to trivial things but with a heart filled with plunder and evil.

    Thus, a person’s over-emphasis on trivial matters, on particular religious customs and practices can become a cover up of a heart that is filled with malice and evil. This is the warning of Jesus and warning to us all.

    We are called to confront such tendency and recover that faith, indeed, works through love and not over trivial matters. Our belief in the Lord is best expressed when we show concrete actions of loving, of taking care of each other, of showing concern and understanding and in having the capacity to welcome others despite our differences. Certainly, believing is loving. Faith works through love, as St. Paul reminds us. May our faith, then, grow more in that area of loving. Kabay pa.

  • Give me a sign Lord

    Give me a sign Lord

    October 10, 2022 – Monday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101022.cfm)

    Do you also ask signs from God? This is surely a common experience to many of us to ask signs from God especially when we are about to make a major decision in life or undergoing difficult situations. We take comfort and assurance when we also believe that we already have the sign that we have been asking. This belief must be coming from our need to see something physical or concrete because we want certainty and security.

    However, the divine signs that we ask for may not appear to what we expect it to be. Meaning, we could be more focused to look for what is extra-ordinary and out of this world signs when in fact, the Lord reveals his presence and graces through ordinary means. This is something that we have heard in today’s Gospel which is both a warning and an invitation for us.

    The people who were around Jesus asked for a sign from him. They want Jesus to do something extra-ordinary, perhaps, some kind of magic. This was the sign that they wanted to ask before they would believe in him. Yet, as Jesus said, no sign shall be given them.

    They did not realize that Jesus himself, his very presence in their midst is the greatest sign shown by the Lord God to them. Jesus is the Word-made-Man, God who dwells among us, nevertheless, people were unable to recognize such Divine Presence because they were blinded and deaf. They were blinded by hatred and bitterness in their hearts. They have become deaf to God’s invitation because of being self-righteous and self-centered.

    Indeed, we could become a person who is blinded and deaf of God’s self-revelation and invitations when we only think of ourselves and more busy of looking for extra-ordinary things to happen. Let us remember, God manifests himself in ordinary ways, through our human experiences, through the movements of the world and the whole creation. Let us be more welcoming of the presence of a person in our life, of an embrace of a loved one, of the kind words and generosity of our friends.

    Thus, we are invited to be more attuned to God’s many manifestations in our life and in the world. It is by being able to discern and recognize God’s invitation that we also discover more God’s desire for us. Kabay pa.

  • Transformed by Faith

    Transformed by Faith

    October 8, 2022 – Saturday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100822.cfm)

    How does my faith in God mold may ways of thinking, behaving and speaking? How does my faith in God play a role in my relationships, in my career and profession, in my studies and endeavors? How does my faith in God transform me as a person?

    These questions would be very good to take into our heart and see how our Christian faith works in our life. Having faith is not limited with doing religious practices and faithfully observing religious obligations. Having faith is not limited on Sundays as well or during seasonal religious celebrations during Holy Week or Christmas only. When faith is only a “part” in our life, then faith becomes our extra-curricular activity.  Faith is a way of life and as Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said, “faith is our human response of love to God who first loved us.”

    Faith, therefore, is a human response, an active response of love. This response is basically spontaneous, neither obligated nor mandated by any law. It’s spontaneous because it comes from a heart filled with so much love and gratitude to God. Consequently, faith brings us into an intimate relationship with God who calls us and loves us first. “Through faith we become children of God in Christ Jesus,” as St Paul reminds us today in his letter to the Galatians. And because we are made children of God, it is only right that we call each other sisters and brothers and breaking any division caused by hatred and indifference among us. We become one in Christ Jesus. This is what it means to be a Community of Faith.

    Moreover, in today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that “blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” And Mary, the mother of Jesus and our mother heard the word of God, accepted and embraced the word in her whole life and let the word to grow within her. This is how faith in the life of Mary transformed her life because the Word of God grew in her heart and was made flesh through her. In that way, the life of Mary became an instrument of bringing God’s presence to all.

    This is also how we are called today as we accept and embrace the gift of faith, to let it grow in our hearts, in our lives and allow the Lord to transform our whole life. May our thoughts, actions, words and our relationships, work and our very person become ways of loving that bring blessing to all. Kabay pa.

  • Pray the Rosary to dearly see Jesus

    Pray the Rosary to dearly see Jesus

    October 7, 2022 – Memorial of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100722.cfm)

    Many have become accustomed in wearing or bringing rosary beads and keeping them in wallets, bags, pockets or cars. Some would consider it as a spiritual weapon. Others would even believe that it is an amulet or a lucky charm. In fact, the rosary is the most handy religious item we have as Catholics and one of the most common things that many of us bring.

    Today, the whole Church honors Mary, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, a feast that reminds us of the importance of this popular and ancient devotion. Actually, using beads as a way of praying is not unique to us Christians. Even Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism, Sikhism and others use prayer beads as a form of devotion. Thus, this is something that we share with other religious traditions.

    But for us, what is the significance of the devotion in praying the rosary in our Christian faith? The rosary which comes from the word “rose,” is indeed, not just any amulet or a lucky charm that we could just bring around or wear to ward off some evil spirits. It is also not a way of bargaining with God that in praying the rosary, then, God will be obliged to grant our requests. This is also not a mere decoration of our identity but a tool for us to contemplate the life of our Lord Jesus and how he calls us today.

    The rosary has its own rich history and developed later on into a religious instrument for us to carry in order to pray easily the mysteries of our faith. Moreover, the rosary reminds us of the life of Jesus and the participation of his mother Mary whose life is so significant in the story of our salvation.

    This is how the mysteries assigned in each decade allow us to reflect on the actions of God within our story, within our human experiences. Just take for example the latest addition to the mysteries of the rosary, “The Mysteries of Light” which were added by St. John Paul II in October 2002.

    “The Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan” tells us how the Spirit of God coming from heaven in a form of a dove confirms and affirms the identity of Jesus as the beloved Son of the Father to whom we are called to listen.

    “The Self-Revelation of Jesus at the marriage in Cana” where Mary his mother played an important role telling the servants to “listen to whatever he tells you.” It was through Mary’s intervention that Jesus revealed the glory in him for the couple in Cana. That self-revelation of Jesus tells us of the abundance of grace that Jesus brings to us and of Mary’s role in the story of our redemption.

    “The Announcement of the Kingdom of God with the Call to Conversion” is a time of grace in which we are all invited to be in the presence of God. This implies that we too are called to embrace God’s mercy and forgiveness by humbly recognizing our sins and failures.

    “The Transfiguration of Jesus” calls us to be also transfigured into the image of Christ whose glory has touched us. Again, it was in this event in the life of Jesus that we are once again called by the Father “to listen to him.” Indeed, in listening to Jesus that we are empowered to be transformed into his likeness since we too are all God’s beloved.

    “The Institution of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper as the Sacramental expression of the Paschal Mystery” calls us to make the memory of Jesus ever alive in our life and in the life of the Church. Thus, every time we celebrate the Holy Eucharist, Jesus’ life is not just remembered as something from the distant past, but allowing the Lord to be intimately with us, among us and in us in the here and now.

    Indeed, these mysteries of light allow us to discover and contemplate how God brings light into our lives, to break the darkness of sin and to embrace us with the joy that his presence brings today.

    Thus, pray the rosary that our heart and mind may change according to God’s desire for us and not the other way around. Pray the rosary and develop it into a habit but not merely to just murmur prayers, but as our way to realize God’s divine revelation in our life. Pray the rosary with our Mother Mary who is our powerful companion that we may dearly see Jesus and discern clearly His desire for us. Kabay pa.

  • Are you so stupid? 

    Are you so stupid? 

    October 6, 2022 – Thursday of the 27th Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100622.cfm)

    Many must have felt that prayer is an obligation, that it is some kind of a to-do list item or a strict law that one must observe and follow. When I was young, I was taught that I “must and should” pray so that I become a good boy and avoid God getting angry. Many of us have developed ways of praying and different devotional practices like praying the rosary and the various novenas to the saints. Yet, many seemed to believe that prayer is indeed a legalistic duty.

    This must be the reason why many would feel guilty for not doing their prayers or the devotional prayers people think should be observed. With this, a strong desire can develop to “observe such obligation” to the point it can become an obsession. Indeed, we could be caught up by the externals that we would tend to forget what is in the heart. Our motivation then could be only grounded on pleasing others and pleasing God to look more righteous on the outside.

    This was something Paul warned to the Christians in Galatia. The Galatians seemed to be influenced by the false teachings of the Judaizers (Christian Jews) that in order for them to be righteous and become true followers of Christ, then, they must strictly observe as well the “works of the law.” This means that the Galatians must also observe the Jewish practices of circumcision, dietary restrictions and keeping of feasts and holy days. Galatians seemed believed in this that they too must observe such externals so that they will be accepted and justified as righteous followers.

    Paul did not agree with this. This was the reason Paul strongly told them, “Are you so stupid?” It is through faith and the gift of the Spirit that one is graced and not with the “works of the law.”

    In the same way, Jesus invites his disciples to be persistent in prayer. Yet, this does not mean that one is merely obliged to pray as if this is some work to be faithfully done only. Indeed, never did Jesus impose this to the disciples. This allowed the disciples to realize the importance of prayer, not as a mere obligation to observe but as a way of life in developing a closer relationship with God, to an intimate friendship with the Lord. This was something they have witnessed in the life of Jesus who is intimately close with his Father in Heaven.

    Truly, Jesus teaches us to be persistent in prayer and to continuously develop our closeness with the Lord. Jesus gives us these three attitudes of the heart as we pray.

    First, Ask. This brings us into a deeper awareness of ourselves which includes recognizing our sins and failures, our needs and deepest hunger, our deprivations and real intentions. This calls us to become more accepting of ourselves. Only then, that we can truly ask the Lord to satisfy the deepest desire of our hearts, and we shall surely receive the grace.

    Second, Seek. We seek for wisdom and understanding because in the process of asking the Lord, we might become weary and anxious from waiting. Thus, we pray to seek what remains hidden and undiscovered within our hearts so that we will be able to find and recognize the Lord working in our human experiences.

    Third, Knock. When demands from work, from home and from our relationships, and expectations from others begin to suffocate us, we long for a break. When failures, pains and guilt begin to take hold of us, we long for an embrace that will give us assurance of love and mercy. Thus, we pray to knock at the heart of God, most willing to embrace and accept us as we are. Do not be afraid then, to pray in order to knock at His heart. The Lord will certainly open His arms for us for He longs to embrace us. Kabay pa.