Memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, priest Jeremiah 18:1-6/Psalm 146/Matthew 13:47-53
In the Philippines, the Jesuits is one of the famous priests in the country. The Jesuit priests in the Philippines run the Ateneo de Manila University. They evangelize through their programs on television, such as Kape't Pandasal every Monday-Friday mornings on ABS-CBN and The Word Exposed with Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle every Sunday mornings on ABS-CBN Sports+Action, ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC), and PTV Channel 4. Asides from media, most songs that is sung during Mass in the Philippines, English or Filipino, are mostly composed by Jesuit priests, such as Fr. Manoling Francisco and Fr. Eduardo Hontiveros. I know some Jesuit priests and some priests who studied at the San Jose Seminary at the Ateneo de Manila University. The San Jose Seminary at the Ateneo does not only train seminarians to become Jesuit priests. They also train Diocesan priests. Priests such as Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, Msgr. Clem Ignacio of Quiapo Church, among others. These priests are not Jesuits, but they are Diocesan priests who studied at San Jose Seminary. Diocesan priests who are alumni of San Jose Seminary are also known as Josefinos. Today is a very special day for Atenista (people who studies in Ateneo) and Jesuit priests around the world. Why? Today we remember the founder of the Jesuit Order, St. Ignatius of Loyola. Before he became a saint, Ignatius of Loyola was a soldier for Spain. He suffered a very bad, if not fatal, injury during a war. That injury started the process of St. Ignatius of Loyola's conversion. While he was recovering from his injury, he read books about the life of the Lord Jesus and other saints. These books inspired him to change his life and become a soldier of our Lord. If an ordinary person would see that Ignatius quitting being a soldier, he would probably think, "Why would he do that? He got all the riches in the world. He is living in novelty. Why would he leave all his riches behind?" For some people, they would think that St. Ignatius of Loyola is not being smart. They would think he is being dumb. Why? Because according to them, if they had the amount of riches Ignatius of Loyola had, they would literally keep it and have it only for themselves. They would think it would make them richer and richer and richer. But, Ignatius is exchanging things. St. Ignatius is exchanging all his riches for God, the true treasure. He has chosen God over all the riches of the world. St. Ignatius made the right decision in choosing God over all the riches in this world. In God, St. Ignatius found the true treasure. He is more than satisfied because he has chosen God. Ignatius became poor in spirit. He chose to become poor in spirit and God has rewarded him. For St. Ignatius, he is truly rich because he has chosen God. St. Ignatius feels more richer than ever because he has chosen God to reign over his life. He allowed God to reign on him and this makes him richer than he was when he was a soldier. The song "Take and Receive" was taken from the Suscipe Prayer of St. Ignatius. The very first words of this prayer, "Take, Lord, and receive my understanding, my memory..." By surrendering everything he has and his whole life to God, Ignatius is gaining more than what the world could give him. St. Ignatius of Loyola surrendered everything about him and was rewarded by God. In surrendering all of his riches in this world, Ignatius gave glory to God. As the motto of the Jesuits says, "Ad majorem Dei gloriam." (For the greater glory of God) St. Ignatius of Loyola surrendered everything for the glory of God. Today's Gospel is about a Parable of Jesus. We heard the last part of it in the long form of the Sunday Gospel. It is now being used again for today. The message from today's Gospel reading is if you choose God above everything and do as he wishes, you will be rewarded by God. God will reward you by allowing you to enter the kingdom of Heaven. The kingdom of God in Heaven is our main goal. What are we supposed to do in order for God to reward us being under the kingdom of Heaven? By being poor in spirit and allowing God to reign in our hearts and in our lives. Like St. Ignatius of Loyola, let us surrender ourselves to God for the greater glory of God. By surrendering ourselves to God, we are giving glory to God and becoming truly rich. God Himself is the true treasure that we should seek for. St. Ignatius became poor in spirit by leaving all his earthly riches. But, by losing his earthly possessions, he is gaining something better - the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is the greatest treasure of all. Being under the reign of God is much greater than any treasure in the world. Because of surrendering his whole life to God, St. Ignatius became truly rich. By surrendering ourselves to God, we are giving glory to God. We are gaining something better - much better than all the treasures of this world.
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12/Psalm 119/Romans 8:28-30/Matthew 13:44-52 (or 13:44-46)
Whenever I would watch a Canadian or American TV channel, usually during the NBA Regular Season until the NBA Finals, I would sometimes catch attention to advertisements during commercial breaks. The advertisements of some products usually end with the saying, "Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back." This statement basically means that if you are not happy or satisfied with the advertised product, there are refunds available for the product so that your money will be returned to you. In today's Sunday Gospel, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God in Heaven to riches being found in this world. How happy does a person become when he/she finally finds the treasure he/she was looking for. After all the hard and tiring work of trying to find the treasure, the treasure has finally been found. The feeling of finding a treasure is very good. A person feels relieved once he finds the treasure he has been looking for. The hard work has paid off. He finally earned what he has worked for. For Jesus, there is only one treasure that all of us should strive for - the Kingdom of God. The very first words Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, "Seek first the kingdom of God." The kingdom of God should be the first priority in life. Our main goal in life should be attaining and submitting ourselves to God. By doing so, we would obtain the promise of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is greater than any wealth in the world. How do we submit ourselves to the kingdom of God? By being poor in spirit. Christ said in Matthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven." This is very hard for all of us. Why? Because a lot of people don't like being poor. It is hard to become poor in spirit. Being humble needs strength to do so. We are being taught nowadays that we have to become aggressive and we can't be humble. But, in the eyes of the Lord, we have to be humble because we are all human beings and He is greater than us. Remember the young man who approached the Lord and asked Him what he should do to gain eternal life? When the Lord told him that he should sell all his belongings to the poor and follow Him, the young man felt torn. The young man could not decide. Why? Because he had a lot of riches. The young man was very rich. He found it hard to let go of all his riches. Letting go of his riches is not easy. He needed strength to let go of his riches. But he couldn't. Why? The amount of riches he has (although not mentioned) was quite tempting for him, in my opinion. Money could be good and could be bad. The good thing about money is we get to buy all the things we need like food, clothes, etc. We would have better life because of money. Money is a blessing from God. The bad part about money is when it is abused or misused. Another bad part about money is that the amount of money could be tempting. People nowadays are tempted whenever they see huge amounts of money. For example, the lottery. When the lottery jackpot prize is like a million dollars or pesos, how could a person not ignore it? How could a person resist it? It's too tempting. We get carried away by the amount of money. Some people even think that money is the source of everything and money can buy everything. This is how money can carry away and tempt humans. The truth is, money is not the source of everything in this world and there are things that money cannot buy. Money is not the source of everything? Why? Because the Lord God is the source of everything. What are things money cannot buy? Love, human beings, souls, life, etc. Everything is not always about money. Allow me to share with you this story I heard from Fr. Jerry Orbos SVD. For those of you who do not know Fr. Jerry Orbos SVD, he is a priest of the Society of the Divine Word of the Philippines. For more information about him, you can just Google him if you have time. There was this story about a man who was walking on the street one day. As he was walking, he found one dollar on the ground. He was so happy because he was able to find one dollar. The story could have ended there. But, since that day, whenever he walks on the street, he body is bent because he is looking for that one dollar on the ground. He doesn't have time to look at the surroundings, the sky, his family or other people. He would probably ask if he happens to be meeting another person, "Does this person have one dollar?" It's all about money for him. Money, money, money. Worst of all, he doesn't have time to look at God, the source of everything. Brothers and sisters, let us not forget that God is the source of everything. Just because we have lots of money doesn't mean that we should forget the source of every blessing - God. God provides us with everything we need. God can provide the things money could not even buy. This is why we should always rely on God. There are things that money can't provide. Only God could provide us with everything. Everything in this world would not be here if it weren't for God, the source of all that is good. Just as how people work hard and strive to find a treasure, we should work hard and strive to attain the kingdom of God. Although there may be sacrifices, the sacrifices are worth it. For Jesus, the kingdom of God is the greatest treasure of all. No matter how many treasures there are, no matter how much they are worth, the kingdom of God is much more than a treasure. Once we obtain the kingdom of God, satisfaction is guaranteed. There will be no regrets. We will not regret sacrificing earthly things for God's kingdom. Because God's kingdom is more than enough for us.
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) Wisdom 12:13, 16-19/Psalm 85/Romans 8:26-27/Matthew 13:24-43 (or: Matthew 13:24-30)
The readings for this Sunday focuses on the goodness and mercy of God towards mankind. God does not stop loving mankind, no matter how many times mankind has sinned against Him. Although He gets angry, He does not stop loving mankind. God condemns the sin, not the sinner. His anger is not the same as humans. God still loves the sinner, but He hates the sin. As the saying goes, "Love the sinner, hate the sin." God's anger is holy. God gets angry whenever mankind sins, but He is merciful towards mankind. He gives them a second chance to start again. His anger does not decrease His love for mankind. The First Reading tells us of God's mercy and kindness towards mankind. God is the most all-powerful among everything. Although God is the all-powerful among everything, He uses His power to love His creation, especially mankind. If God willed, He would've said, "I am the most powerful of all beings. I do not care about what you do." God would've just ignored His creation. But, God did not choose to ignore us. God chose to humble Himself and love us despite our imperfections. The First Reading also challenges us to love and be kind to one another, just as how the Lord God is loving and kind towards us. Just because the Lord is merciful, loving and kind towards us doesn't mean we can't share it with others. The Lord is merciful, loving and kind towards all us, and He wants each and everyone of us to experience His mercy, love and kindness. We have to share it. We have to be merciful, loving and kind to others, just as how God is merciful and loving towards us. The Responsorial Psalm for this Sunday also shares the same message: God is merciful and kind. God is slow to anger. He does not get angry at once just because mankind has sinned against Him. God is still merciful and kind towards mankind. Not a single sin stops God from being kind and merciful towards us. The Lord God listens and answers our prayers. Just because humankind has sinned against Him, it doesn't mean God will not listen and automatically rejects our prayers to Him. Instead He listens and answers our prayers. This is how merciful and kind God is to us. In the Second Reading, Saint Paul the Apostle tells us that we are not alone when we pray. The Spirit of the Lord helps us pray. We could not pray by ourselves. We are not worthy to call upon and pray to the Lord God. This is why the Holy Spirit helps us. He helps us unworthy sinners to pray to God. He is the Paraclete, our Helper. The Spirit of God is always there to help us to call upon and pray to God. God listens to the prayers of the Spirit for us. This is how the Spirit helps us pray to God. The Spirit prays with us to God. The Spirit prays to God for us. Jesus continues to explain in the Gospel how God is kind and merciful towards mankind. He explains how God is kind by using another parable. The good seed or the wheat being sown represents the good people and the weeds that was sown represents the bad people. The vineyard also represents the earth. When the householder along with his slaves came outside to look at the vineyard, the householder realizes that an enemy is responsible for the weeds being sown among the wheat. It is no fault of anyone except for that enemy. When the slaves offered the householder to pull the weeds at once, the householder prevented them from doing so. Why? Because the wheat might be pulled as well. The householder could have chosen to sacrifice the wheat just to get rid of the weeds. But no. The householder was very smart. For the householder, the wheat were important to him. So, he waits until harvest time. When harvest time comes, then he will separate the weeds and the wheat, keeping the wheat and burning the weeds. This shows how patient the householder is. He would wait until harvest time to get rid of the weeds. This is also the same case as God and us. God is patient with us. He doesn't judge as quickly just because we sinned against Him. Although God gets hurt and angry whenever we sin against Him, He doesn't judge us quickly. God waits patiently for us to change. He knows that just because we've sinned, it doesn't mean that we will have no chance of changing. God gives us a chance to change our lives and turn back to Him. He knows that at some point, we would change our lives and turn back to Him. This is why God gives us this opportunity to change ourselves. But, just because God is patient, it doesn't mean we can abuse the patience of God. The time will come when God will judge mankind. When will that take place? The end of time. The Lord will judge the living and the dead. The Lord will separate the good ones from the bad ones. At the end of time, He will reward the just and punish the wicked. The Lord will put an end to all the evils around the world. God is being patient with us, so we better use the chance God gave us wisely. We have a lot of time to change our lives and turn back to God, but we don't have forever to do it. The time will come when we will be judged by the Lord. The question is, which side will each and everyone of us be on? The side of the just or the side of the wicked? The weeds or the wheat? No matter how bad the sins we committed are, it would not match the mercy and kindness of God. In one of the Lord Jesus' appearances to St. Faustina, He said, "My Mercy is greater than your sins and those of the entire world." The Lord is kind, patient and merciful towards us, and He gives us the opportunities in our lifetime in order to change our lives. He does not judge us quickly. Let us use the opportunities given to us by the Lord God in order to change our lives and ask His mercy and forgiveness from Him. He is waiting for us. Why? Because He is patient, kind and merciful. Not even one sin could prevent the Lord from being merciful towards us.
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) Isaiah 55:10-11/Psalm 65/Romans 8:18-23/Matthew 13:1-23 (or 13:1-9)
The Gospel for this Sunday is a very long one. Today's Sunday Gospel is about the Parable of the Sower, and in the long form of today's Gospel, Jesus provides an explanation about the parable. Jesus compares the Word of God to a seed being sown in the fields by farmers. He also compares mankind to the four types of land where the seeds fell. By this parable, Jesus describes how different people accept the Word of God. Not everybody accepts the Word of God the same. The Lord tells us through this parable that no matter dynamic the Word of the Lord is, it will not bear fruit in our lives if we do not cooperate. How do we cooperate to the Word of the Lord bearing fruit in our lives? By listening and living by the Word of the Lord. Our cooperation is needed in order for the Lord's Word to be fruitful in our lives. It will not instantly bear fruit when we just hear it once. If we do not cooperate, the Word of God will not bear fruit within us. It will not grow. Listening to it will not be enough for the Word of God to bear fruit in us. The Word of God will not automatically bear fruit in us if we do not do our part. Yes, the Word of God is powerful and dynamic, but it will not bear fruit in us if we do not cooperate with it, no matter how powerful and dynamic the Word of God is. The Word of God needs our permission to bear fruit in our lives. God gave us free will. He respects our free will. No matter how much the Lord wants to give us eternal life, He will not force us. The Lord respects what kind of land we are in. He is the sower. The Lord sows His word to all of us. It is up to us if we will either accept the Word of the Lord, or make it unimportant. We will either be the path, the rocky ground, the thorny ground, or the good ground where the seed will be able to bear fruit in it. The Lord will not make us allow Him to do what He wants to do if we do not want to. God respects our free will. What is our cooperation in order for the Word of God to grow in our hearts? We have to accept the Word of God in our hearts. Listening to the Word of God is not enough. It does not instantly bear fruit, like instant coffee or instant noodles. Before the Word of God can bear fruit, we have to accept it in our hearts. Accepting the Word of God in our life is like a consent form. For example, a child travel consent form. In order for a child to travel alone, the child would need the consent of his/her parents in order to travel alone. By accepting the Word of God in our hearts, we are consenting God to give us life. The Word of God has the power to give life. When our Lord Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, one of the three temptations of Satan was changing stone into bread. Christ answers the devil's temptation by saying, "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Mathew 4:4 and Luke 4:4) Food and water is very important for our life. We need food and water to survive. If we do not eat and drink, we will obviously die. But, the Word of God is more powerful than food and water. The Word of God is the main reason why we live. If it is not for God's word, we would not be living. We won't be moving or breathing if it is not for the Word of the Lord. St. Peter himself said that Jesus has the words of eternal life. When Jesus' followers left Him, He asked his twelve disciples if they wanted to leave because the followers that left did not understand what Jesus was saying. St. Peter answers for the twelve disciples, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words that give eternal life." (John 6:68) Jesus has the words that give us eternal life. If it is not for the Word of the Lord, we would not have life within us. We will not be living right now if it is not for the Word of the Lord. This is how the Word of the Lord is very powerful. St. John, in the beginning of his Gospel, said, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1-2) Who is the Word that St. John was talking about? None other than Jesus. Jesus Himself is the Word of God. St. John also said about Jesus being the Word of God, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." (John 1:14) The Word of God became flesh through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Word made flesh. As the Word of God, Jesus gives us life. His words, just like what St. Peter said, are the words that give eternal life. But, when Jesus was in the world, He was not known as the Word of God made flesh. Instead, He was known as the son of a carpenter and the son of Mary. For His countryman, Jesus was another countryman. He is not important to them. He is irrelevant. For them, Jesus is just like everybody else. Jesus is just like another countryman of theirs, another acquaintance. He doesn't look important to them. Christ is just like a small seed that looks unimportant. They do not realize that there is something more in Jesus. Jesus is more than just their assumptions. Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is God. Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, that God promised to send in order to save His nation. Jesus is the Word made flesh. The Word of God became human in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is true God and true man. Jesus has the words that give eternal life. But, Jesus humbled Himself and became man, like everybody else. He become a brother to all of us. He became one with us. Not only that, He also gives life to each and everyone of us. Jesus' words are very powerful. If it weren't for His words, we would not have life in us. We would not live if not for Jesus. St. Peter said that the words that give eternal life can only be found in Jesus. No one has the words that give eternal life. We will not find the words that give eternal life from anybody else. We can only find it in the Lord Jesus Christ. To who shall we go? No one else but Jesus Himself. Why? He has the words that give eternal life. In order for the Word of God to bear fruit in us, we have to do our part. We have to accept the Word of God in our hearts. No matter how powerful it is, it will not bear fruit if we do not accept or allow it to. Just like the seeds that fell on the good ground, let us accept the Word of God with all of our heart. Listening to the Word of God is not enough. If we just listen to the Word of God, it would only come in to one ear, and instead of going into our hearts, it will go out the other ear. We have to accept the Word of God in our hearts for it to bear fruit in us. The Word of God is the word that gives eternal life. Where can we find it? Only in Jesus. Jesus has the words of eternal life, and will grant eternal life to those who accept the Word of God. Let us be like the good ground that accepted the seeds in order for the seeds to grow and bear fruit. Let us accept the Word of God into our life for it to bear fruit in us.
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) Zechariah 9:9-10/Psalm 145/Romans 8:9, 11-13/Matthew 11:25-30
It is important for us humans to rest. Part of our life as human beings is fatigue. We obviously get tired everyday. For example, if we play basketball for about two hours, just like players in the NBA, don't we get tired? We obviously do get tired. How would we know if we get tired playing sports like basketball? When we sweat and breathe heavily. These are two of many signs that show that we are tired. So, it is important for us to rest. By resting, we gain strength once again. Rest gives us the chance to regain the strength that we lost from tiring things such as playing sports or work. In today's Gospel, Jesus calls those who are tired to come to Him and He will give them rest. These are words of mercy coming out from the mouth of the Lord. The Lord Jesus shows his mercy towards us by calling us to come to Him in order to gain rest. Jesus knows that the rest we get from this world is not the same rest that He will give to us. The peace of Christ is different from the peace of this world. The rest Christ gives to us is different from the rest the world gives us. The Lord is calling us in order to experience the rest and peace He give to us. The peace and rest from the Lord is the true peace and rest. We could not get rid or escape fatigue in our life. It's part of our lives. At work, for example, we get tired. Whatever our profession is in life, we would get tired. Engineers, doctors, teachers and priests, especially, get tired. They have a lot of work that they do. They are very busy people. No matter how very good they are in their profession, they would always get tired. But, work is very important for us. Doctors, teachers, and engineers work in order to get a good life. They work and earn money for a living. Students, like me, also get tired. They have a lot of work to do in school and at home. For example, teachers give them a lot of assignments. Wouldn't it be tiring, especially if it is quite difficult and time consuming just to finish an assignment? Yes, it sure is. Why? I experienced it as a student. I am still a student up to this day (I am going in to Grade 10 which is 2nd year high school in the Philippines, I think). The amount of wok given to us by our teachers may seem very tiring and time consuming. Some assignments may also cause stress among students. Who will not get tired if a teacher assigns a lot of homework and/or schedules an examination in the week? NO ONE. It is going to be a very tough and tiring week ahead of them. But, on the brighter side, studies help students prepare for the world they will experience after they finish their studies. Once they successfully finish their studies, they will have a brighter future. This is why parents, mainly Filipino parents, would always tell their children to study hard because their studies will help them get a better future. Studies would help students become successful in life. It is for their own good. Studies prepare them for a brighter future. This is why studying hard is very important for students. Although people have finished their studies, learning does not end there. Learning is also part of everyday life. Everyday, we still learn. Although we may not stay away from fatigue all the time, the Lord continues to call us to experience the peace and rest He gives to us. Christ knows that we have strengths and weaknesses. Christ also knows that we are not strong all the time. He knows that we, as human beings, experience weaknesses. Out of mercy, the Lord calls us in order for us to experience the true peace and rest that comes from Him. We will not find true and perfect peace and rest from the world, anyone or anything else. We could only find it in Jesus. So, if we are feeling tired and think that we can not do any more work, do not hesitate to go to the Lord. Do not be hard-headed. Do not brag that you do not need to go to the Lord. Do not force ourselves if we do not have the ability to do it. The Lord Jesus is calling us to come to Him in order to experience the peace and rest that He gives to us. We will only experience the true peace and rest from Jesus if we become meek and humble of heart, like Him. In becoming meek and humble of heart, we experience true and perfect peace and rest. We will not find it anywhere else. We will only find it in Jesus.
