June 28, 2015 Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24/Psalm 30/2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15/Mark 5:21-43 (or: 5:21-24, 35b-43)
Today's Sunday Gospel gives emphasis on faith as an instrument in the miracles of Jesus. We witness two kinds of miracles of Jesus in our Gospel for this Sunday - a healing miracle and raising the dead back to life. In the longer version of our Sunday Gospel, Jesus heals a woman who has been bleeding for twelve long years and raises Jairus' daughter back to life. Faith is the key for the Lord to assist us in our needs. In the longer version of our Sunday Gospel, Jesus heals a woman bleeding for twelve full years. She has been to numerous physicians, but she was never cured. Not a single doctor could cure the woman of her illness. The bleeding she had could not stop for twelve full years and not a single physician could not stop the hemorrhage. The woman afflicted with hemorrhage then hears news about Jesus of Nazareth going into the area. She probably heard a lot about the Lord Jesus as a miracle worker. She heard that Jesus cured many people of their illnesses and afflictions. The problem is, there is a huge crowd following Jesus on the way to the house of Jairus. When she was following Jesus, the woman believed that she will be cured of her illness. With full faith that her bleeding will stop, she touched Jesus' garment, Jesus knew that He lost power due to someone touching Him. He was being pressed by the crowd, and yet He knows that one person touched Him, causing Him to lose power. Hence, the question of Jesus, "Who touched Me?" Jesus knows that someone touched Him. Jesus knows that He lost power due to someone touching Him. The woman openly admits that she was the one who touched Him, and by touching His clothing, she was cured of her affliction. Upon hearing the woman's testimony, Jesus assures her that it is her faith that has healed her. If the woman did not have faith in the healing power of the Lord, she wouldn't be cured of her illness. Now, on their way to Jairus' house, Jairus received news that his daughter has died. The messengers told Jairus not to bother the Lord. But, Jesus reassures him, telling Jairus to have faith and his daughter will be healed. When they went to the house of Jairus, Jesus raises the dead daughter of Jairus back to life. Christ commands the girl to get up. Upon the Lord's command, the girl came back to life. Faith in the power of God is the key to God listening and helping us in our needs. When we have faith in the Lord, He will not ignore or reject our calls or needs. Rather, the Lord will respond to us by helping and granting our needs.
June 7, 2015 Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) (B) Exodus 24:3-8/Psalm 116/Hebrews 9:11-15/Mark 14:12-16, 22-26
Our Gospel for this Corpus Christi Sunday, the Solemnity of the Precious Body and Blood of Christ, is the Last Supper narrative taken from the 14th chapter of the Gospel of St. Mark. In the Last Supper, Jesus institutes the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. As Catholics, we believe that Jesus is truly present in the Holy Eucharist. The sacramental bread and wine is truly the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Christ is truly present during the Mass in the form of bread and wine. There are different beliefs about the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. There are Protestants that believe that the presence of Jesus is just symbolism. Others say that Jesus is spiritually present in the Eucharist. But, for us Catholics, we believe that Jesus is truly and literally present in the Eucharist. We believe that Jesus is truly present in the Sacramental Bread and Wine. When Jesus instituted the Eucharist in the Last Supper, Jesus said, "This is My Body...This is My Blood." He did not say that the bread and wine are representations or symbols of His Body and Blood. Rather, Jesus said these words, "This is My Body...This is My Blood." Jesus Himself confirms His true, literal and real presence in the Eucharist when He instituted the Eucharist. In the Eucharist, Jesus satisfies our deepest hunger and thirst. We experience hunger and thirst all the time, but there are also hungers and thirsts that food cannot satisfy. Jesus knows our deepest hungers and thirsts. This is why He gives His Body and Blood as food for our soul. The Body and Blood of Christ is our spiritual food. Masses are celebrated not only on Sundays; Masses are celebrated daily. Whenever we go to Mass, Jesus is with us. Although He goes everywhere with us, the mysterious miracles occurs during the Mass. During the transubstantiation, the Sacramental Bread and Wine becomes the Body and Blood of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Christ becomes present and is with us during the Eucharist. He is present in order to satisfy our hunger and thirst that cannot be satisfied by physical food. As we celebrate Mass every Sunday or everyday, let us adore the Lord in the Eucharist. He is truly present in the Eucharist. The Lord Jesus Christ said that the Eucharistic elements (Sacramental Bread and Wine) are His Body and Blood. Who are we to doubt the presence of Jesus when He said that it He is truly present in the Bread and Wine?
February 15, 2015 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) Leviticus 13:1-2, 44-46/Psalm 32/1 Corinthians 10:31-11:1/Mark 1:40-45
Our Gospel for this Sunday shows the mercy and compassion of our Lord towards the poor. The Lord Jesus cleanses a leper out of mercy and compassion for the leper. Jesus shows His mercy and compassion to the leper who begged with all humility to cleanse him from his leprosy. Being the merciful and compassionate Lord as He is, Jesus grants the request of the leper and cleanses him from his leprosy. During the time of Jesus, whenever a person has leprosy, he would be declared unclean by the Jewish authorities. Just as how the Lord instructed Moses and Aaron in the First Reading, the Jewish authorities declared a person unclean if a person has any infections in his skin, especially leprosy. They were separated from society, their families and their friends until they are cured or until they die. Whenever there would be people passing by places where there are lepers, the lepers would have to shout, "Unclean! Unclean!" just so that those passing there won't be affected. Lepers lived very hard lives. The leper, upon hearing the news about Jesus Christ, did not hesitate to approach Jesus and ask for His mercy. He trusted that Jesus would be show mercy to him. He trusted that the Lord would cleanse him from his leprosy. Jesus, being the merciful and compassionate Lord, granted His request. The Lord's reply to the leper's request, "I do will it. Be clean." He showed His mercy and compassion towards the leper. The Lord knows how hard it is for the leper. The Lord knows that the leper is living a very hard life away from his loved ones. He was one with the pain and suffering that the leper experienced. At the request of the leper, Jesus cleansed the leper of his leprosy. At once, the leper was cured. The leprosy was gone from his skin. The skin of the leper was back to normal. He was healed from his disease. What Jesus did for the leper gave the leper great joy. The leper is finally free from the disease that separated him from his family and friends. After a very long period of time, the leper can finally go back to his loved ones. Like the leper, let us trust in the mercy and compassion of our Lord. Our Lord is truly merciful and compassion. He will show us His mercy and compassion when we ask. The Lord will listen to the plea of a sincere heart. God will never refuse to show His mercy and compassion to a person who is sincere and poor in heart.
February 1, 2015 Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) Deuteronomy 18:15-20/Psalm 95/1 Corinthians 7:32-35/Mark 1:21-28
Four years have passed since the Jesuit Communications Foundation (JESCOM) aired a documentary on ABS-CBN Channel 2 called, "Liwanag sa Dilim." (English translation: Light in Darkness) as part of the said channel's Holy Week special programming on Holy Week 2011. The documentary featured Fr. Jocis Syquia of the Archdiocese of Manila, Fr. Jojo Zerrudo of the Diocese of Cubao, and Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle of Manila (who was the Bishop of the Diocese of Imus, Cavite, at that time). The topic of the documentary? You don't have to think twice. It was a documentary on exorcism. I really liked the way Fr. Jojo Zerrudo described exorcism. Exorcism is not a demonstration or manifestation of God's power. It is an expression of God's love for the one being exorcised. The Lord used His power to drive out demons from the person the demons are afflicting and possessing. But, the main reason for the Lord doing this is His love, mercy and compassion towards the person being afflicted and possessed. Exorcism is a sacrament of love. God's love is shown towards the person being afflicted by the devil in the sacrament of Exorcism. Through God's great power, the Lord commands the evil spirits to go away from the person being afflicted and leave the person being exorcised. The devil may be powerful, but the power of the Lord God is greater than the devil's power. In the Gospel for this Sunday, we hear that Jesus drives out a demon after teaching with authority. Jesus displays His mercy and compassion towards the person being possessed by the devil. Christ did not want to see the person being possessed by the devil any much longer. The Lord wanted the person being possessed to live freely in order to serve Him. With all His power as God, the Lord Jesus Christ exorcises the person and drives the demons away from the person. The whole Church, especially in the Philippines, witnessed last January the Apostolic Visit of our Holy Father Pope Francis to the Philippines. The theme of the Papal Visit to the Philippines was, "Mercy and Compassion." In a span of four days, Pope Francis showed to all the Filipinos, especially the victims of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in Leyte the mercy and compassion of God. Pope Francis, the vicar of Christ here on earth, expressed to all of us, especially the Filipino Catholics, that the Lord God is merciful and compassionate to all. We hear the same message in today's Sunday Gospel. Jesus displays His love, mercy and compassion towards the person being possessed. By exorcising the possessed person, He shows how much He loves the person. The Lord Jesus will not allow the person to be afflicted or enslaved by the devil. He wants us to serve Him with all freedom and free will. He will free us from our afflictions, slavery, possessions, and evil things in life. REFLECTIVE SONG: "Mercy and Compassion" - Aia de Leon ft. Michael Bulaong (composed by Noel Miranda) From the Album: "MERCY AND COMPASSION: SONGS FOR POPE FRANCIS" (Jesuit Music Ministry)
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) Jonah 3:1-5, 10/Psalm 25/1 Corinthians 7:29-31/Mark 1:14-20
Our readings for this Sunday talks about the call to change. God calls everyone to change their ways. We hear in the First Reading how God sent the prophet Jonah to Nineveh in order to warn the people that God will destroy the city of Nineveh if they do not change their ways. At first, Jonah disobeyed the Lord because he didn't want to and went on board on a boat to another place in order to escape from the Lord. But, after the experience of the storm and being eaten by the whale, Jonah obeyed the Lord's command to go to Nineveh and preach the message of God. The people of Nineveh heard the message of God, and upon hearing it, turned away from their sinful ways and prayed to God for mercy. They wore sack clothes as a sign of repentance. No feasting went on upon hearing the news from Jonah. They had forty days to repent and turn back to God. As a result of their repentance, God did not continue with the plan to destroy Nineveh. God's mercy and compassion towards the sinners prevailed. The Lord spared the people of Nineveh from His wrath because they repented and turned back to Him. At the start of today's Sunday Gospel, we hear Jesus preaching repentance to all the people. He says, "The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the Gospel." (Mark 1:15) Jesus calls upon His countrymen in Galilee to repent and believe in the Gospel. He is calling everyone, even up until today, to repent and turn back to God. The second part of the Gospel this Sunday talks about the first disciples of Jesus. The first four disciples of Jesus were fishermen - Saints Peter, Andrew, James (the Great) and John. Despite being fishermen and unqualified, Jesus chose the four fishermen to be His disciples. The lives of the first four disciples - the fishermen - were changed since the day Jesus called them. Their mission is to no longer to be fishermen. Instead, they were chosen to be fishers of men. The first disciples now have a new mission. God is calling each and everyone of us to have a change of heart. What will be our response? How will we respond to God's call to change our lives and turn back to Him?
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (B) Is 42:1-4, 6-7 (or: 55:1-11)/Ps 29 (or: Is 12)/Acts 10:34-38 (or: 1 Jn 5:1-9) Gospel: Mk 1:7-10
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. This day is the official end of the Christmas season. We now transition to Ordinary Time where we will hear about the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. A misconception of many is that the Christmas season ends in the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. What many are unaware of is that the season of Christmas does not end with the Epiphany. Rather, according to the calendar of the Church, we end the Christmas season on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Why? Last Sunday, we celebrated the Epiphany of the Lord. We commemorate how God manifested Himself as a baby. The Lord, from being mighty and great, became lowly and humble, even small as a baby. In today's celebration, we commemorate another manifestation of the Lord through His baptism. The Lord manifests Himself as an obedient and humble servant of the Father. Jesus did not have to line up with everyone to be baptized by John the Baptist. Besides, Jesus had no sins at all. He is the one John the Baptist has been talking about. But, Jesus humbled Himself. We see the humility of Jesus. By being one with the sinners who line up at the Jordan River in order to be baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus shows His mercy and compassion towards every humankind. As Jesus rises from the waters of the Jordan River, we would see that the Father speaks from Heaven. The Father and the Holy Spirit introduces the Son. The Messiah has been manifested once again in the Jordan River. Because of Christ displaying His humility by lining up at the Jordan River to be baptized, the other two members of the Trinity - the Father and the Holy Spirit - exalt Him as He ascends in the waters of the Jordan River. The Baptism of Jesus also symbolizes the start of Jesus' mission. From staying with the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph in Nazareth (tradition has it that Joseph died before Jesus started His earthly ministry), Jesus moves out of His home and comfort zone and begins the mission and ministry the Father gave Him. Christ could have rejected the will of God the Father, but He chose to obey the will of the Father. Like Jesus, let us be obedient to the will of the Father. God has chosen us to become missionaries in this world. We are sent by the Lord to preach His word to each and everyone of us through our words and actions. God is calling each and everyone of us to serve Him by spreading His word to the world. We are called to be witnesses. We have a mission from God. It is up to us how we will respond to it.
January 4, 2015 Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord Isaiah 60:1-6/Psalm 72/Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6/Matthew 2:1-12
On this first Sunday of January, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. We commemorate on this Sunday the manifestation of the Lord. God reveals Himself to all the nations. Three wise men from the East, Gentiles in the eyes of the Israelites, came all the way to Israel to adore the Christ Child. Jesus, the Christ Child born in a poor stable in Bethlehem, was the reason of the journey of the Wise Men, also known as the Magi, from the East all the way to Israel. Although the Magi were Gentiles, they heard the prophecies of the Old Testament Prophets about a king, the Messiah, being born. They also used their knowledge about the stars in order to track where this newborn king is born. In today's day and age, most people around the world (I don't know in the Philippines, though; we in the Philippines might have though.) use GPS (Global Positioning System) in order to find a certain location. I just thought that if the Magi had a GPS at that time, they would be able to go the place of the Lord's birth immediately. But, there was no GPS obviously, so they studied the stars in order to track where the newborn king can be found. The Magi visited King Herod in Judea, first. They went to ask where can they find the baby Jesus, the newborn king. The Wise Men came to Israel, not for King Herod, but for the Child Jesus. The intention of the Wise Men caused everyone, even King Herod, to be surprised. Although it was proclaimed to the Israelites by the prophets that the Messiah will come, they did not look for the star that would lead them to the birthplace of the Messiah. King Herod was also shocked. He wants to be the king of Israel. King Herod does not want any competitors for his throne. When King Herod heard of the Messiah being born, he views the Baby Jesus as a threat to his political kingdom. In the later part of Chapter 2 in the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, we would hear that Herod ordered every baby boy to be killed in order to be sure about eliminating the baby Jesus. This shows King Herod being greedy. He abused his power as king of Israel. He sees Jesus as an interference to his political ambitions. In the Old Testament, the prophets prophesied about the coming of the Messiah. The Israelites, in the Gospel, were familiar of the prophecy, but they were not interested on looking for the Child Jesus - the promised Messiah - in order to adore Him. Not even the scribes and Pharisees in the Gospel were interested in looking for the Christ Child. Despite their knowledge about the scriptures, they neglected it and were not interested in looking for the newborn Messiah in order to adore Him. When the Wise Men and Herod learned about the whereabouts of the newborn King, the Wise Men were sent by Herod to go and search for the child. Herod even instructed the Magi to return to him after the Magi found the Christ Child so that Herod may worship Him as well. But, in reality, Herod plots to kill the Christ Child. Herod wasn't willing to give up his throne to anyone who is deemed a threat to his political kingdom. As the Wise Men went to Bethlehem, they found the star again. The star that led them to Israel. The star that would lead them to the birthplace of Jesus. The reappearance of the star of Christ gave great joy to the Magi. After a very long journey from the East, the Wise Men were able to find the birthplace of the Christ Child. Christ, through the light of the star, led the Magi to Him. The Lord knew the intentions of the Magi - find the baby Jesus. The star of the Lord appeared once again and led the Magi to the manger. Finding the Baby Jesus at last gave great joy to the Magi. After a long journey, the Wise Men found what they were looking for - the baby Jesus. Despite the Magi being Gentiles, it did not stop them from looking for the baby Jesus. The baby Jesus was the reason for the Wise Men going to Israel, particularly to Bethlehem. The Magi's journey to Bethlehem ended with great joy. Let us look for Jesus. Just like the Wise Men in the Gospel, let us journey in search for the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is the Alpha and Omega - the beginning and the end. He is the reason of our journey here on earth. We, one day, will return back to Jesus Himself. At the end of our life's journey here on earth, we will find Jesus once again. Jesus is the source of the great joy of the Magi and everyone. At the end of our journey here on earth, Jesus will give us great joy, if we look and search for Him with all our heart and mind, just like the Wise Men.
