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Tag: Homilies

  • We too can bring others closer to Jesus

    We too can bring others closer to Jesus

    November 30, 2022 – Wednesday Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/113022.cfm)

    Who was that significant person who brought you closer to the Church and closer to Jesus? I am sure, each of us here has a particular person or people who became significant in our faith journey. Others could have their grandparents who were the very instruments for them to grow in their Catholic faith. Or perhaps a relative, a parent, a sibling or a friend, or an intimate friend who inspired us to come to Church and encounter God.

    Indeed, the celebration of our Vicariate Youth Day with its theme, “Pamatan-on: Padayon sa Misyon Kaupod si Maria,” is an expression of that experience of being inspired and motivated to come closer to the Lord. Certainly, this is a good reason to thank them for being an instrument for us in our journey of faith. So, I want you now to close your eyes and imagine that person to be in front of you and in silence, say to that person your words of gratitude for being an instrument of God for you. Say, your “THANK YOU.”

    As we express our gratitude to the people who have become significant in our journey of faith, let us be reminded as well of the feast that as a Church, we celebrate today. This is the Feast of St. Andrew, one of the original 12 apostles. So, allow me now to explore a bit this person of St. Andrew, how he has become significant to our church and on how the Lord invites us today as young people.

    You know, we know very little of St. Andrew. According to our tradition, Andrew became the first bishop in the community of Constantinople until he was martyred through crucifixion on an X-shape cross. The gospels tell us also that he was the brother of Peter. They were from Bethsaida, a town near the Sea of Galilee. In John’s gospel, we were told that Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist at first. In the same gospel, we found that Andrew had actually brought Peter to Jesus, telling his brother, “We have found the Messiah!” In the other gospels, it was Andrew who called the attention of Jesus about the boy with 5 loaves and 2 fish. Again, it was Andrew who told Jesus that there were some Greeks who wanted to see and meet Jesus.

    From here, we can sense that Andrew was actually an apostle with a typical role. Unlike his brother, Peter, he was not able to witness the transfiguration of Jesus at Mt. Tabor. Andrew was not part of Jesus’ inner circle composed of Peter and the 2 brothers, James and John. He was in fact an ordinary guy, an ordinary apostle of Jesus.

    However, Andrew had a remarkable faith in Jesus. Remember, his brother Peter doubted and even denied Jesus three times. But for Andrew, he was the first one to realize that Jesus was truly the Messiah. In his conviction, he joyfully shared what he found to his brother. He himself became an evangelist, a preacher of the good news to his own brother. Moreover, he brought others to Jesus like the boy and those Greeks. Andrew became a bridge between Jesus and other people. Thus, Andrew became the significant person for many people to encounter and to know Jesus more.

    This is what St. Paul told us in the first reading. As there is a need but there is also beauty in sharing one’s faith in Jesus to others. And we can preach Jesus by making our faith be manifested through words and actions so that what we preach will be heard by many. Paul’s letter to the Romans would help us ponder our own call to be a kind of apostle or bearer of the good news to others like St. Andrew.

    This reminds us now of our theme in this VYD, “Pamatan-on: Padayon sa Misyon kaupod kay Maria.” Mary, is indeed, another significant person in our journey of faith. This celebration of the gift of the young people in our Vicariate of St. Peter calls us to mission by preaching Jesus through our words and actions with Mary.

    Now, we usually think that preaching is only proper to bishops, priests, and deacons. Definitely, public preaching of the gospel in liturgical occasions like what I am doing now is proper to me as a priest and not to you as lay persons. But it does not mean that you cannot preach the Gospel or share Jesus anymore to others. As young Christians, we share the prophetic role of Jesus by virtue of our baptism. It means that each of us has both the responsibility and the privilege to be God’s messenger to others, and this makes us young missionaries.

    The Gospel tells us how we are being called as young missionaries today. To each of us, Jesus says, “COME, FOLLOW ME, AND I WILL MAKE YOU FISH FOR PEOPLE! I WILL MAKE YOU MY OWN APOSTLE!” This can surely be materialized when we preach with joy by our own example. But how? These are few examples.

    First, when we are happy with what we are doing and when we are honest in our relationships and dealings with others – we preach the person of Jesus.

    Second, when we are sensitive to others and volunteer to help without any selfish motivations whenever someone needs a helping hand – then, we preach the person of Jesus.

    Third, when we become joyful givers to those who have less;  when we become more understanding and compassionate with those who are experiencing difficulties in their life; then, we preach the person of Jesus.

    Fourth, when people around us feel the deep expression of our faith as we pray in the church, in our homes or with others… then, we preach the person of Jesus.

    Fifth, when we are able to stand and fight for justice, when we are able to confront what is evil and unjust in our institutions and society, when we choose life not violence and death, then, we preach the person of Jesus.

    Friends, people will see these things and will recognize that we are Christians. Then like St. Andrew and our Mother Mary, we will be able to bring other people closer to Jesus, by becoming bearers of the Good News through our very life. Kabay pa.

  • LONGING AND HOPING IN OUR EVERYDAY LIFE

    LONGING AND HOPING IN OUR EVERYDAY LIFE

    November 27, 2022 – First Sunday of Advent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112722.cfm)

    Have you been so overwhelmed by your issues and enormous problems at the moment? Or by the tragedies and traumas in your life? Or are you simply so caught up with the demands of work, family life, studies and in reaching out your dreams that you seemed to be always running out of time; so engrossed with the expectations that you begin to stress out; feeling terribly anxious and pressured that you forget other important aspects of your life?

    However, in realizing such situations we are in, we also begin longing and hoping for peace, reconciliation, healing and freedom. We have begun the first day of the new Liturgical Calendar in our Church today and we are being reminded to refocus our gaze, our longing and our hope to the Lord. Hence, those aspects of our life that would incline us to lose our awareness and sensitivity of the Lord’s presence are the very areas where we are invited to grow. So, allow me now to draw out God’s call for us on this First Sunday of Advent through the Scripture readings we have heard.

    In the first reading from the Book of Isaiah, the prophet expressed wonderfully the longing of the people for the coming of the Lord. This book was written at the time when the people have suffered from being exiled in Babylon. While being captured and made into slaves, they longed for the time when all of them will come home and will be reunited. They longed for that time of peace where there will be no more wars but abundance and joy.

    Isaiah expressed this hope for the people which was meant to uplift the spirit of the people. This reminds us of the significance of the first candle that we have lighted on this first Sunday of Advent. That candle symbolizes hope. This hope is what the prophets of the Old Testament have told us. Thus, the candle is also called as the Candle of the Prophets.

    This hope as told by the prophets is reechoed in our Psalm today, “Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.” This is an expression of a longing to be in the presence of God. Yet, let us also not forget our human tendency to lose hope particularly when things become overwhelming for us. Because of so much pain and of the suffering we endure, we too might feel of losing hope and forgetting our desire for God.

    This is what St. Paul in his letter to the Romans reminds us. Paul tells to be awake from sleep because of the discouraging and disappointing events that had happened in our life. We could have fallen asleep because we have become so tired from waiting for the Lord, because our prayers remain unanswered, because we have already failed several times in spite of our efforts, or your partner or a family member remains problematic despite your prayers, or until now you are not yet healed from your illness which gives you suffering, or your loved one was taken away from you because of a sudden death. Because these are discouraging, we would feel the absence of God just as the Hebrews felt when they were exiled. We could declare that we have lost our faith, because God seemed not to care for us. But, this is not true because God’s remains faithful to us and remains ever present in us. We are not just sensitive!

    Likewise, aside from the trials in life, there is another reason in losing our focus of God’s presence in life. This is basically the business of our usual days, of the demands of our everyday life, of our work, family responsibilities, studies, and everyday endeavors. This is the tendency of many who are occupied all day with many things. Indeed, the demands of everyday life are merciless. There is always more to do and not enough time to do it.[1]

    This is how Jesus reminds us today in the Gospel, “to stay awake.” This is the Lord’s invitation for us to grow in our longing and hoping for God’s presence in our everyday life. Jesus wants us to be always attentive of his presence and attentive to his everyday coming in our daily life – at home, at work or at school.

    Hence, as St. Paul teaches us in “conducting ourselves properly,” we are called to be more selfless by expressing our love for one another. When we become less self-centered, then, we also begin to recognize others and recognize God. By showing our concern for one another, we also become more aware of God. When we begin to build intimate connections with our family and friends by opening up ourselves to them, then, we also begin to open up ourselves for God. Our intimacy with others brings us, actually, into the intimacy we have with God. In other words, our closeness with those who are around us brings us into closeness with God.

    And when our routinary days are filled with demands, may we not tend to forget the Lord and lose our gaze on him and become indifferent of his presence. Thus, in the midst of our busy routinary life, let our awareness of God’s presence be intertwined in our work, in our studies, and in our activities. Therefore, it is still possible to become awake and aware of the movements of God and his invitations for us while we are working or doing something as long as we allow the Lord to be with us wherever we are. Let those moments of our awareness of God and encounters with God bring us to peace, to reconciliation, to healing, to freedom and to the fullness of life. Kabay pa.

    [1] John Shea, On Earth as it is in Heaven (Asia Trading Corporation: India, 2010), 28.

  • Already yet Still

    Already yet Still

    November 27, 2022 – First Sunday of Advent

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112722.cfm)

    A mother once knocks at his son’s door and have this following this exchange of words. Mother: “Son, wake up.” But the son said: “Mom, I don’t want to get up.” Mom continued: “Son, Get up now. You have to go to the church today.” Son said, “I don’t want to go to church today”. Mom asked: “Why not?” Son replied, “I will give you three reasons: “I’m too young to go church, it’s dull and boring in the church, and people there don’t like me.” Mom persisted, “Now, I will give you only three reasons you should go to the church. Today you have to be there, you are already 30 years old and it’s your wedding day. So, Wake up and get up now. You are already grown up – enough to just go back to sleep again.

    Which is more difficult nowadays: to lay down and go asleep in the evening or to get up and stay awake in the morning? Waking up and getting up in the morning, and staying awake the whole day have always been our daily struggle. We always want to go back to sleep. All day long there is a longing in us to go back to bed and sleep again. Even when we are up and awake, we still have bouts of daydreams and musings the whole day through. That is why we have a Filipino saying: Mahirap gisingin ang taong gising. “It is not easy to wake up someone who is already awake”. In other words, how can you wake up someone who is already awake?

    We may not only be dealing here about our getting up physically in the morning and the whole day through, but this may also be true about getting up and staying awake in our whole life.  This may also be about how awake and aware are we in living our lives.

    As we go through our lives, there are many moments that we are more asleep than awake. Habitually we may have found ourselves already physically awake but still actually unaware, out of sync, lukewarm, numb, and out of touch of reality. In life, we find usually ourselves in situations where we are already yet still – already awake yet still asleep. It is like, you already realize your mistake, but still doing the same mistake all over again. Same way as that son, who is already awake but still find reasons and excuses not to get up but to go back to sleep on his wedding day.

    Waking up and staying awake in life may be a struggle but it is also a choice. In other words, “to get up and stay awake OR to go back and remain asleep” in life is perhaps the first decision we have to struggle with and make daily in life. What is significant here is not only the action and decision taken but moreso on the awareness, realization, and choice of the present NOW in facing life. Since now you know your mistake, now you have the choice to continue the same mistake, or do something about it. Since you know NOW you are old enough to go to church today because it’s your wedding day as your special Day with your spouse before the Lord, you may get up OR to go back asleep.

    This is why on the first Sunday of Advent in preparation for the coming Christmas day, the Lord has very simple message to us: STAY AWAKE, and BE prepared.

    Human as we are, the Lord knows that we rather stay asleep than awake in life. He recognizes that we are already awake yet at times mostly asleep in life. He also knows however that we do have the choice NOW whether to stay awake or asleep. That is why He is particularly calling us to Stay awake, be prepared, get up and go forward for He promises that there are more and better in life yet to come.  His words in our gospel today are not His warning but a wake-up call to us to brace ourselves to the New Normal Life Ahead.

    To remain awake and stay aware in life, is indeed a struggle yet a choice in life. But if we continue to heed and do our part in the Lord’s invitation of staying awake and being aware now in our life, we will see more and eventually become witnesses to fullness of the New Normal life God can offer us now & the near future ahead.

    As the Lord reminds us today: Therefore, Stay awake and be prepared… for the Son of Man will come.”  In other words, Hoy Gising… Wake up for I am on-the-way coming NOW.

  • Better for others

    Better for others

    November 24, 2022 – Thursday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112422.cfm)

    A wise man once said: “We are like a bottle of medicine where God puts a label on it: SHAKE WELL BEFORE USING”.

    Like a good wine drink or a sumptuous dish, some good things in life are at their very best if and when they are well-shaken, cooked, stirred and well-processed. Same thing could be said to us, Christians. Human as we are, we prefer not to be disturbed, on distress and discomfort. However, we are at our best selves not when we are pure, perfect or unblemished. Usually our greatness lies in these moments of struggles and sufferings – when we are shaken and disturbed by life’s misfortunes and trials. Saints become saints and great not because they are perfect but because, despite their imperfections and life-struggles, they remain steadfast witness to faith and medicine to others. Like a bottle of medicine, for us to be effective medicine to others, sometimes we need to be disturbed by God from our comforts and shaken vigorously by the trials and sufferings of life. We are meant to be shaken well before using. 

    So when things are rough and tough; and when life seems so hard and confusing  perhaps we are being shaken by God in order to BE BETTER FOR others – a better person, witness and Christian for others. Just like what Jesus said: “When these things happen, stand up and raise your head for your salvation is near.”

  • What gives you hope?

    What gives you hope?

    November 24, 2022 – Thursday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112422.cfm)

    It’s gloomy and depressing, filled with death and destruction. Chaos is overwhelming and seems to be there is nowhere to go but a horrifying end. These are the images that we could imagine as the Book of Revelations and the Gospel of Luke describe today the end of time, the time of punishment and wrathful judgment, a time of horror and deadly calamities.

    John, in his visions, foretold the end of a great ancient nations of Babylon, who indeed, was once the superpower of the world. Babylon conquered many nations and peoples, plundered and exhausted their wealth. However, Babylon will end. It will be destroyed. Luke spoke as well of the end and destruction of Jerusalem, a great city, whose temple was adorned with gold and precious stones. The city will also be destroyed and its people will be scattered. Indeed, these happened and what history tells us. Babylon is nowhere to be found again. Jerusalem and its temple was destroyed. And those Christians during the time of Luke, witnessed this. With these images of death and punishments, horror and chaos, where shall we draw courage to hold on to faith? What shall give us hope, then?

    Though John and Luke began with those terrifying events and scenarios yet, both also gave a glimpse of hope and salvation. John, in his vision again said, “Blessed are those who have been called to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” This is the prayer that the priest pronounces as we are about the receive the Body of Christ in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. The Lord destroys evil and all those that corrupts life, yet, God through Christ, welcomes us into his presence. This is salvation!

    Luke, further, reminds us in the Gospel, “stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.” Again, the Lord shall judge and bring to an end what is evil and all those who rejected God and claimed to be god. The Lord shall come to rescue His people and bring them to safety and peace. This is hope!

    Indeed, as the readings today seemed to be dark and terrifying, yet, the Lord gives us hope that the end is something not to be afraid of. The Lord in his faithfulness remains for us and with us.

    This is the spirit that St. Andrew Dung-Lac and his companions showed us, whose memorial we also celebrate today. This Vietnamese priest and all those who together with him never gave up that hope to be taken away from them. Even in the midst of evil, persecution and death, they remained steadfast in their faith because they truly believed in God’s faithfulness.

    Let this give us courage. Let this inspire in us, hope. Even when we are facing so much difficulties in our life, in our relationships and in reaching out our dreams in life, may we find comfort in the presence of God who abides in us. When we are persecuted, hated and misunderstood, may we find courage and hope in the Lord who promised not leave us alone. Kabay pa.