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Tag: Growth

  • We all have been Graced

    We all have been Graced

    October 22, 2022 – Saturday 29th Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102222.cfm)

    Do I feel inadequate? Do I feel insecure in one or many aspects of my life? Do I feel lacking in confidence and self-trust? Do I feel lacking in faith? The feelings of insecurities and insufficiencies from ourself could have come from our tendency to compare oneself from what others have and dwelling so much to the things we do not have. We could also have this belief when we too are constantly told that we are hopeless and that nothing is good about us. This can be very true to people especially with those who were subjected to humiliation and abuse that happened at home, at school, at work or even in our communities.

    This affects so much a person to the point that he/she can no longer see and recognize anything good in himself/herself or even outside the self. Certainly, when we fall into this trap, there is a need for us to be helped and to be reminded of who we are really. This is an invitation to discover and re-claim our person and the graces that we all have according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

    This is the good news for us today. St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians, addressed and reminded the Christian in the city of Ephesus of the graces they have received from the Lord. Christ who is the source of gifts, graces us individually. St. Paul described it further, “he (Christ) gave gifts to all… that he might fill all things.”

    What Paul tells us is God’s desire that we may all be filled through his gifts. This is something we can discover and ought to recognize and claim. We have been graced indeed, particularly of God’s presence, of the gift of faith and of the gift of friends and community.

    Hence, Paul reminds us also to grow in our knowledge of the Son of God, in Jesus. In knowing Jesus and recognizing how the Lord works in us, then, the more we shall also discover his gifts, his invitations for growth and come to know more ourselves. Knowing Jesus then, is also an invitation to our self-maturity, to our own growth in mind, in heart and in spirit. This is the significance of Paul’s hope, that we may not remain infants who are easily carried away by human trickery, deceit and abuse.

    The hope to fully grow and therefore, become fruitful is the invitation that we also have in today’s Gospel parable of the fig tree. The owner who expressed hopelessness in the fruitless tree wanted it to be cut down. Yet, in the person of the gardener, he intervened and promised to cultivate the tree. The gardener saw hope in the fig tree. Indeed, there was still hope for the fruitless tree. Perhaps, the tree was not taken care of in the past many years. It was left uncultivated and unfertilized. The promise of the gardener is an act of giving more attention to the tree, of taking care of it and of not giving up on it.

    This is also an invitation for us. We may come to give more attention to the gifts the Christ has given us, to cultivate, nourish and develop our gifts, whatever they are. We may also consciously know Christ more and encounter the Lord in our life and in the life of others so that we may grow in our knowledge of him and in our knowledge of ourselves so that we may have our fill and the fullness and fruitfulness of life. Kabay pa.

  • GROWTH AND FRUITFULNESS

    GROWTH AND FRUITFULNESS

    June 13, 2021 – 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061321.cfm)

    Have you ever witnessed the actual growing of a seed, or any plant or of a person? We could have claimed that we have witnessed it just as parents looked closely as their child grows, or just as a farmer tends everyday his plants and animals. Yet, because growing is a process, it takes time and it’s very slow. That is why, we don’t usually see with our own eyes how a seed begins to sprout and becomes a tree, or how a flower begins to grow and bloom or how a person develops physically and grows old. We only notice the gradual changes as time also goes by.

    Thanks to our latest technology because a camera can capture this process of growing particularly of a plant or changes that happen in our nature. Through a photographic technique called “time-lapse” we can witness how a seed begins to sprout, take its roots and come out from the soil and become a full bloom plant. This always amazes me to see that.

    (I want you to watch this short time-lapse of a growing seed in silence to bring yourself also into reflection and into calmness in the midst of noise, stress and anxiety that are around us today.)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyRw597JBVg

    With this amazement and wonder of the process of growing, this brings me into reflection for this Sunday’s Gospel. Jesus tells the people about the two parables of the Kingdom of God. These are the parable of the seed scattered on the land and the mustard seed.

    In these two parables, what is common among them is the theme of growth and fruitfulness. From here, I would like you to see and recognize how God is growing in us and inviting us to be fruitful.

    I would like to begin with the parable of the mustard seed which brings us into the invitation of God to let us grow, to be mature and to develop. In fact, the first reading from the Book of Ezekiel has revealed to us how God would plant us so that we may become majestic and fruitful. Indeed, God allows growth and makes it possible for us to become what God wants us to be.

    In this process of growing, we now understand GROWTH to be dynamic. It involves changes, adaptations, shedding off of what was old and transforming into something new. Meaning, growing is a transformation.

    Thus, the parable tells us of the process of growth in a non-aggressive way because growth is gradual, silent and calm. Moreover, it is empowering and life-giving.

    This reminds us of the wonder of creation. Creation is silent and relaxed, yet, destruction is noisy, distressful, aggressive and violent. In destruction, there is no growing because it suppresses and destroys. Surely, this is how we would find life distressful, filled with anxiety and worries, because when we do not grow or when we stop growing then, it leads us to destruction and to death.

    God’s desire is that we develop into our full potential as what God desired us to be. We are called to continue growing no matter how our hair have turned into white or our wrinkles have become more visible.

    Likewise, growing leads us towards maturity which also leads us to fruitfulness. The first parable of the seed scattered on the land which grew in silence and bore fruit, leads us into this invitation, MATURITY and FRUITFULNESS.

    Remember, the man who scattered the seed did not know the entire process of the growth of the seed. The seed silently grew and became mature and bore fruit. This tells us how the Spirit of God works in our life silently. When we allow the Lord to work in us, then, God also make wonders in our life. God will surely transform us into persons that God desires us to be.

    This tells us that the Kingdom of God is already in us because God is with us. The seed has been planted on earth as Jesus was born for us. The Lord is already in our hearts as we are being baptized. Moreover, the Kingdom of God manifests in us when we also become mature in our faith and relationships with God and with others.

    How do we recognize that we have become mature? It is when we are able to give life to others, when we become persons for others. The seed produced grain for people to eat and the mustard seed became the largest of plants and puts forth branches where birds dwell in its shade.

    Now, these are the signs as well as the invitations for us to recognize the Kingdom of God and to let God to grow in us.

    First, as the mustard seed grows the Kingdom of God also begins in HUMILITY not in any form of aggression or arrogance. It is humble and simple. Thus, the kingdom of God can be very present in a family who makes the effort to pray together, in a couple who expresses their faithfulness despite their differences, in a person who shows true kindness and generosity to another who is in need of help, and of a neighbor who refuses to join in a gossip as his or her act of concern.

    Second, the kingdom of God is empowering and life-giving.  The kingdom of God is present when our community empowers the weak. A community that discriminates, judges, condemns and indifferent never empowers but it oppresses the weak. However, when our community empowers, then it also gives life. Let us remember, to be able to give life, we need to give more chances and opportunities for growth. To give life is to give hope. Therefore, our community is truly a kingdom of God when we uphold and protect every life to survive and to mature.

    As we recognize the Kingdom of God in us today, let us also allow the Lord to grow in us, to bring changes and transformation in ourselves, in our attitudes and relationships. As we continually grow and become mature, we may also become individually, a person for others and also a community for others that gives life, gives hope and allows opportunities for growth and maturity. Hinaut pa.

  • God growing in us

    God growing in us

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    July 19, 2020 – 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/071920.cfm)

    Homily

    Who among us here have witnessed the actual growing of a seed, or any plant or of a person? We could have claimed that we have witnessed it just as parents looked closely as their child grows, or just as a farmer tends everyday his plants and animals. Yet, because growing is a process, it takes time and very slow. That is why, we don’t usually see with our own eyes how a seed begins to sprout and becomes a tree, or how a flower begins to grow and bloom or how a person develops physically and grows old. We only notice the gradual changes as time also goes by.

    However, thanks to our latest technology because a camera can capture this process of growing particularly of a plant or changes that happen in our nature. Through a photographic technique called “time-lapse” we can witness how a seed begins to sprout, take its roots and come out from the soil and become a full bloom plant. This always amazes me to see that.

    I want you to watch this short time-lapse of a growing seed in silence to bring yourself also into reflection and into calmness in the midst of noise, stress and anxiety that are around us today. (Click the link below)

    With this amazement and wonder of the process of growing, this brings me into reflection for this Sunday’s Gospel. Jesus tells the people about the three parables of the Kingdom of Heaven. These are the parable of weeds among the wheat, the mustard seed and of the yeast.

    In all these three parables, what is common among them is the theme of growing. From here, I would like to invite you that we dwell deeper into these three parables and recognize how God invites us today and how God is growing in us.

    I would like to begin with the parables of the mustard seed and of the yeast. Indeed, these are invitations of God for letting us grow, to be mature and to develop.

    We understand GROWING or GROWTH to be dynamic. It involves changes, adaptations, shedding off of what was old and transforming into something new. Meaning, growing is a form of transformation.

    Both parables, tell us of the process of growth in a non-aggressive way because growth is gradual, silent and calm. Moreover, it is empowering and life-giving.

    This reminds us too of the wonder of creation. Creation is silent and relaxed, yet, destruction is noisy, distressful, aggressive and violent. In destruction, there is no growing because it suppresses and destroys. Surely, this is how we would find life distressful, filled with anxiety and worries, because when we do not grow or when we stop growing then, it leads us to destruction.

    And this is not what God wants us. God’s desire is that we develop into our full potential as what has God desired us to be. Thus, we are called to continue growing no matter how our hair have turned into white or our wrinkles have become more visible.

    Likewise, growing also leads us towards maturity. The first parable of the weeds among the wheat leads us into this invitation, MATURITY. Remember, the owner of the good seeds waited for the wheat to mature before weeding out the weeds, that were sowed by the enemy. To weed out the weeds when the wheat are still young, it will endanger the life of the young wheats. The owner has to wait when the wheat becomes mature and ready for harvesting.

    This means that only when we have grown and become mature that we also gain wisdom to recognize what is bad and good, what is unhealthy and healthy, what is from the evil one and what is from God.

    This tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven is already in us because God is with us. The seed has been planted on earth as Jesus was born for us. The Lord is already in our hearts as we are being baptized. Moreover, the Kingdom of Heaven is manifested in us when we also become mature in our faith and relationships with God and with others.

    How do we recognize that we have become mature? It is by being able to recognize the works of God and the works of the evil one, the works of kindness and the works of selfishness and to choose freely God.

    Now, these are the signs as well as the invitations for us to recognize the Kingdom of Heaven and to let God to grow in us.

    First, as the mustard seed grows and the flour reacts with the yeast, the kingdom of Heaven also begins in HUMILITY not in any form of aggression or arrogance. It is humble and simple. Thus, the kingdom of heaven can be very present in a family who makes the effort to pray together, in a couple who expresses their faithfulness despite their differences, in a person who shows true concern and generosity to another who is in need of help.

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    Second, the kingdom of heaven is empowering and life-giving.  The kingdom of heaven is present when our community empowers the weak. A community that discriminates, judges, condemns and indifferent never empowers but it oppresses the weak. However, when our community empowers, then it also gives life. Let us also remember that to be able to give life is to give more chances and opportunities for growth. To give life is to give hope. Therefore, our community is truly a kingdom of heaven when we uphold and protect every life to survive and to mature.

    As we recognize the Kingdom of Heaven in us today, let us also allow the Lord to grow in us, to bring changes and transformation in ourselves, in our attitudes and relationships and in the way we look at things in life. As we continually grow and become mature, we may also become individually, a person for others and also a community for others that gives life, that gives hope and allows chances and growth for the weak and the helpless. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR