2017November26,SUN34ORDA The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

2017November26,SUN34ORDA  The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Today we celebrate the Last Sunday of Ordinary Time A in which we celebrate The Christ as our King.

The Readings today give us the understanding of Kingship as Service. Christ as King is the one who serves. This is in view of the Jewish Concept of God as the One who serves and cares for His People. This is in contrast to the understanding of the World about King as the one being served by his people.

Prophet Ezekiel in the First Reading give us the proper understanding of God.  The Lord God himself proclaims Himself as the Pastor for Israel: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock.

For Prophet Ezekiel, God is God of the people and concerns Himself for the needs of Israel. I will rescue them from every place. I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest,. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal:

 This understanding of God is also the presentation of Moses in the Exodus, God is the God who walks with them. Likewise, Jesus has presented God in this way, God as the Emmanuel, God who is among us.

In the Second Reading from the Letter of Paul to the Corinthians, St Paul presented the problem of evil and death when Adam: the First Man sinned, death and suffering entered into the world BUT with Jesus who is the first born of the resurrection, won the victory over death and suffering.

              Through Adam , death entered the world and through Jesus Grace and Eternal Life has been opened for all. It is open for us BUT we have to enter the door.

And Jesus has given us himself as the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE.

It is through Him that we can enter the Grace and Eternal Life.

The Gospel of ST. Matthew has given us the ways and actions to inherit and be worthy the Kingdom of God. These actions are the criteria for judgment which are based on OUR actions in behalf of others regarding the basic needs in life : Food, drink, stranger, clothing, ill, in prison.

If we can recall from our Catechesis, these are the 7 Corporal Works of Mercy: 1.Feed the hungry, 2. Give drink to the thirsty; 3.Clothe the naked; 4.Shelter the homeless; 5.Visit the sick; 6.Visit the imprisoned; 7.Bury the dead

These are the way to God.

A Question : Why is it that there was no mention , were you baptized as Catholics ? Did you go to Mass on Sunday ? Did you pray ?

Let us remember that these actions given by the Gospel of St. Matthew are but a result of Life that is connected to God in Christ Jesus. This means that these are the products or fruits of prayer.

Going to Mass, having devotions and prayer,  lead us to these actions in the name of Jesus. It is like our Eucharist or the Holy Mass, there are two parts, prayer of the Word and Sharing of the Food. And sharing of the food, the body of Christ, does not end in Mass but continues in our lives and we become also the food drink, clothes, for others.

Brothers and Sisters our celebration of Christ as King, becomes real and true when we also become Like Christ to others. AMEN.

2017 Nov 23, Happy Thanksgiving !

2017 Nov 23, Happy Thanksgiving !

In the St. Joseph Facebook Bill F. posted Happy Turkeys ! But I am sure that turkeys are not happy this day.

This tradition of Thanksgiving is indeed one of the best traditions that we have to celebrate and continue to observe. For Thanksgiving presents the best in us as human persons. As Tradition tells us that thanksgiving is a recognition of the power of God in the lives of the people through the fellowship and sharing.

The person who thanks, is a person who recognizes his need for the other. That people can only live well and happily if they can live together in love and in service for one another. Our Thanksgiving is a solidarity for one another as ordained to us by God the Creator. We are made for one another.

However, Nowadays Thanksgiving Day has been politicized bringing in one’s group bias and hindering the unity for everyone. Likewise, Thanksgiving Day has been commercialized But as Christian let us focus our Thanksgiving as an integral part of our being human, our need for God and our need for one another.

In the Gospel that we have read today about the ten lepers healed by Jesus and one of them went back to thank Jesus, presents to us the power of thanksgiving. Jesus told the Samaritan who thanked him : Stand up and Go, your faith has saved you.

Thanksgiving presents the best in us as human beings, That is why, Thanksgiving must become our way of life as Catholics. It is also for his reason why the highest form of prayer that we offer to god as Catholics is called a Eucharist which also means thanksgiving. Every time we celebrate the Holy Mass or the Holy Eucharist, we thank God for all his blessings he has given us and through this we develop a Eucharistic Life, or a life of thanksgiving. AMEN

2017 November 19,SUN33ORDA

2017 November 19,SUN33ORDA

PRV 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31

1.         The blessedness of a good wife and husband in the family

2.         The good family life is where God is the in the Center

3.         Charity for the poor and the needy is part of a good home.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM PS 128:1-2, 3, 4-5

R/ Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

1 THES 5:1-6

1.         St Paul presents the identity of the community as the children of the light

2.         Becoming the children of the light is being alert always for the Will of the Father.

MT 25:14-30

1.         Personal Responsibility is the key to Salvation

2.         Becoming Responsible is making our lives fruitful for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

3.         Gratitude for God’s gift is caring, producing and sharing.

  

Good ……

Today we celebrate the 33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time A and the Theme of the Readings today is To Be Responsible for our lives, for our families and for our communities.  

Next Sunday will be the Christ the King Sunday which is the end of another season and we will enter a new season the Advent Season.

If we can recall the themes in the last Sunday’s Readings, in summary, there were the themes about the Kingdom of God, and followed by the misunderstanding of the Pharisees and Scribes about the teaching of Jesus, and followed by the theme that we are the saints of God called to be Holy, and the theme of becoming always prepared for God, these readings and themes prepare us for the celebration of the Christ The King.

And in Readings today, we can see a gradual teaching about our own responsibilities to our family, to our community and to ourselves as persons.

In the First Readings from the Books of Proverbs we are told of three things:

 a. The blessedness of a good wife and husband in the family : “When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls. Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize. She brings him good, and not evil, all the days of her life.”

 b. The good family life is where God is the in the Center: “the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Give her a reward for her labors, and let her works praise her at the city gates.

c. Charity for the poor and the needy is part of a good home : “She reaches out her hands to the poor, and extends her arms to the needy.”

The Book of the Proverbs put the harmony of the Family as the Responsibility and expression of the love between husband and wife.

In the Second Reading from the letter of St Paul to the Thessalonians, St Paul presented the responsibility and/or identity of the Christian Community as the children of the light. : St Paul says: But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness, for that day to overtake you like a thief. For all of you are children of the light and children of the day. For St Paul , Becoming the children of the light is being alert always for the Will of the Father. This means that God is the Center of Life of the Christian Community.

The Gospel of St Matthew focuses not on the Family, nor on the Community BUT on our responsibility as persons. For St. Matthew Personal Responsibility is the key to Salvation and Becoming Responsible is making our lives fruitful for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

God gave us talents depending on our capabilities. This is the reason why we should not compare ourselves with others, for we have different talents, nor be envious of what others have for they have different responsibilities. We have to appreciate our talents and make use of them, make them fruitful not only for ourselves but more so for our families and for our Christian communities, for our parish.  Let us remember that Being Responsible is our Gratitude for the gifts we have received.

When we can become responsible, the Father according to St Matthew will tell us : 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.’ AMEN. 

2017November 12,SUN32ORDA

BSP SORSOGON ,PHILIPPINES

2017November 12,SUN32ORDA

WIS 6:12-16

Responsorial Psalm PS 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 R. (2b) My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

1 THES 4:13-18

MT 25:1-13

Good….

Today we celebrate the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time A and the theme of the Readings today is to be always ready for God.

In the Scouting Community we usually hear: “Be always prepared” “ Be always Ready” and to those who are Scouts this motto is both the Goal and the Way. The Scouting Way is the Way to be always prepared. The Scout Training helps the Scouts to develop themselves to be always prepared for any eventualities of life.

Just like the Motto of the Scouting Movement, the Kingdom of Heaven is also our goal in this life and at the same time the Kingdom of Heaven is our Way of life. This is why Jesus teaches us that the “Kingdom of Heaven is here and not yet”. It is both the Goal and the Way to the Goal.

When we look to the parable of the Kingdom of Heaven in the Gospel today, it is likened to the Ten Virgins. The Gospel says: “Jesus told his disciples this parable: "The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.”

Here it is clearly stated that the Kingdom of Heaven will be likened to the Ten Virgins. But in our usual interpretation, we think that it is only the 5 wise virgins who took their lamps along with their oil. But the Gospel includes also the 5 foolish virgins into the Kingdom of Heaven but these 5 foolish virgins need to understand and grow better to be always prepared in their lives.

These parable of the Ten Virgins as likened to the Kingdom of God is the story of each one of us in our lives here on earth. We live our lives not always in the best possible way but there are times that we are in our worst. I believe that no one of us can say that we live always as good person as we can be. ( and If there is any, we can put him/her on a pedestal as our Saint.) We all know that we are both saints and sinners. There is always the struggle between these two forces in our lives. There is one Native American Story about the two wolves that always quarrel inside of us and the one who wins is the one that we feed. This is our lives as human beings. It is always an struggle for the better or for the worse, and it only depends on us on which one we choose to become: to be a better person or bad.

The First Reading from the Book of Wisdom offer us some help to choose the best in us. Wisdom is not something hard and foreign to us since it part of our being and that God’s Wisdom is readily found for it seeks its seeker. We can always find wisdom for wisdom seeks us also and all we have to do is to be open for it in our lives. Wisdom makes us a better person in view of the design of God for us as his own image and likeness.

For example: almost every day we pray as we pray the Lord’s Prayer: “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Wisdom tells us that we have to do what we pray for to make it ( the kingdom of God ) a reality in our lives, but we also know that in every day of our lives, we fail to do the Will of God because we want to do our own plans and desires. But we donot usually get our plans and desires And in failing to get or achieve our plans and desires, we become depressed , with depression we attract all kinds of evil in us and usually with this emotional pain comes physical pains and as a result we take pain medications and now this is one of the addiction that we have, addictions to Opioid and other drugs.

And so as Christians, we have to learn to put our trust in God for everything comes from Him and when we choose God in our lives, we will have everything that we can dream and desires. This is the better choice for us, this is the life that is always prepared. AMEN.

2017November 5SUN31ORDA

2017November 5SUN31ORDA

MAL 1:14B-2:2B, 8-10

1 THES 2:7B-9, 13

MT 23:1-12

Good….

Today we celebrate the 31^st Sunday in Ordinary Time A and the theme of the Readings today is to Worship God in Humility and in Service for the needs of one another.

We can consider our Gospel today as the conclusion of the controversy between Jesus on one side and the Scribes , the Pharisees and Herodians on the other side. During the last four sundays we hear this controversy. The First was the parable of the Landowner whose Son was killed by the tenants who wanted the land for them. The Second was the Parable of the Wedding wherein those invited were not worthy for the banquet. The third was the Entrapment whether to pay Census Tax to Caesar or not ? The Fourth was the question on Which Commandment is the Greatest.

And Now in the Gospel, Jesus teaches the Respect for the Pharisees, for they seat at Moses Seat as teachers of the Law but reprimands their action: The Gospel says: "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example.  For they preach but they do not practice.”

Jesus gave examples of the self-centeredness of the Pharisees : They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues.

These attitudes of the Pharisees are in contrast to the attitudes of St. Paul as we have heard in the Second Reading from the Letter to the Thessalonians. While the Pharisees tie heavy burden for others to carry; St. Paul proclaims:  You recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery. Working night and day in order not to burden any of you.”

While the Pharisees widens their Phylacteries and lengthen their tassels, St Paul proclaims: We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children. With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the Gospel of God, but our very selves as well.”

While the Pharisees loved the places of Honor; St. Paul says : “we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God and not a human word. And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly.”

In the examples of the Pharisees as given by Jesus and the example of the Ministry of St. Paul, we can clearly see that while the Pharisees were self-centered , they do everything for their own selfish interest; St. Paul’s Ministry is centered on God through the proclamation of the Good News and through the Service to the People of God.

These examples of the Pharisees and St. Paul,  are also the choices that we encounter today. The Choices to seek and serve our own selfish interests or to seek and serve the Word of God . These Choices are also the Choices given in the First Reading from the Book of the Prophet Malachi , a Choice between Obedience to God and or Obedience to our selfish desires. Prophet Malcahi reminded us that Obedience to God brings Blessings while Disobedience to His Will brings to perdition.

And as Christians Today, the example of St. Paul is the life that we are also called into: to worship God in humility and in service for one another. AMEN.

2017November 1, Solemnity of All Saints

2017November 1, Solemnity of All Saints


RV 7:2-4, 9-14

PS 24:1BC-2, 3-4AB, 5-6

R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.


1 JN 3:1-3

MT 5:1-12A



Good Morning …..

How was your Halloween ? Do you have plenty of chocolates and candies.? Did you celebrate the Halloween the Catholic Way ? or the Usual Commercial Way ? What did you bring out from your houses , the ghosts, the witches, the scary things Or the Saints of your houses.

As Catholics, let us celebrate Halloween in a Catholic Way, that is, presenting our saints as the models of our lives.

Let us remember that Halloween means Holy Eve or all hallows eve which precedes the celebration of the All Saints Day, That is why celebrating Halloween in a Catholic Way is bringing out the Holy , the Saints in our homes.

Today we celebrate the All Saints’ Day or the All Hallows Day. And for us Catholics this is an important celebration of thanksgiving and recognition for the person who have lived according the Will of the God and the Church recognized and proclaimed them as Saints.

The origin of this remembrance is the experience of Judas Maccabeus of the loss of lives of his men in the battle: he believed that his soldiers were good men, offered their lives for family, for community and in death where will they go. So he collected contributions from the remaining soldiers and offered the money to the temple with a request for the priests to pray those soldiers who have died. And this is the beginning of the belief in the life after death.

Likewise in Jesus Time: this has been a new teaching, the resurrection of the dead. And this has been the controversy with the Sadducees who do not believe in the Resurrection. Jesus said: I will go to the Father’s House and prepare a room for you so that where I am there you must go also.

It is in view of this that we understand the Saints as people who have live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They have live by the Code of Jesus which is the Beatitudes.

The Beatitudes or the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew is the CODE OF CONDUCT for all those who want to follow Jesus. The Beatitudes has a deep spirituality and present a deep knowledge of who God is. It has three themes of the which are : compassionate service, sacrifice and call to peace.

We can also say that the Beatitudes is the Revised Ten Commandments and the lives of the saints are examples of this Beatitudes. They have lived the Beatitudes.

As Catholics, we are called to become Saints : to Be Holy as your Father in Heaven is Holy .

And becoming Saints is living out his Beatitudes. we are saints when we follow God’s Will. AMEN

2017October 29SUN30ORDA

2017October 29SUN30ORDA

EX 22:20-26

Responsorial Psalm PS 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51

R. (2) I love you, Lord, my strength.

1 THES 1:5C-10

MT 22:34-40

Good…

Today we celebrate the 3oth Sunday in Ordinary Time A and the Theme of the Readings today is Love as the greatest commandment of our humanity.

In the Gospel today, we continue the polemics between Jesus and the Scribes and Pharisees. Last Sunday we heard about the trap of the Herodians whether it is lawful to give tax to Ceasar or not ? If Jesus answered Yes, it is lawful, the people who are burdened with the tax will dislike him and if Jesus answers No, it is not lawful, Jesus will have problem with the Romans who occupied Jerusalem and needed the Tax for the Wars. Jesus then asked the coin with face and inscription of Caesar and told the Herodians to give to Caesar  what belongs to Caser and to God what belongs to God.

In today’s Gospel  the Pharisees tested again Jesus when they asked: "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" Jesus answer was simple Love God with all your heart, mind and strength, This answer of Jesus comes from the Book of Deuteronomy (Dt 6:5) and the Jesus continued the Second is like it: Love your neighbor as you love yourself. This comes from the Book of Leviticus (Lv 19:9-18). Jesus concluded that Love summarizes  the Law and the Prophets which comprises the Hebrew Bible : the Holy Scripture of the Jews.

This Commandment of Love presents to us our basic humanity that we are made through love and for love that is why we are called to love one another as part of our very nature as human beings.

In the first Reading form the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, we are given the GMRC (Good Manners and Right Conduct) of life. This Conduct of Life is basic in living together in a community with the special preference for the needy and the poor.  Prophet Isaiah mentioned the Four Groups of People that we must be mindful of. The first is the Alien /the Foreigners  for you were once foreigners in Egypt. The Second is the Widows and Orphans , The third is the Poor and the Last is the Neighbor.  Prophet Isaiah proclaims that if these people cry out to the Lord for help, God will hear their cry for He is a Compassionate God. But those who mistreat these people will have their punishments.

In our Society today, we still have the same problems like the problems that Prophet Isaiah mentioned. There is a growing distrust for strangers and foreigners, like the immigrants that is always mentioned in the political circus of our society today. But we have to recall in the recent past that our ancestors were once foreigners in this land. They came to this land which is inhabited by the First Nations to seek a better life just like the present day immigrants who came to seek for a better life.

There is also a growing number of widows and orphans as the result of broken homes and families that is prevalent in our society today.

With these realities in our society, we are called once again to live our Faith  just like how the Thessalonians live their faith with the inspiration of St. Paul who turned away from their idols and serve the true and living God. This is what the Gospel proclaims as the greatest commandment to Love God with all our heart, mind and soul, To make God as the priority of our lives.

When we Love God and Love our neighbor, we orient ourselves beyond ourselves for true love is other oriented. In love, we prioritize our beloved and even sacrifice ourselves for the good of our beloved. And so with this we can see that selfishness is the opposite of Love for selfishness is self-oriented whereas Love is other-oriented. The greatest lesson of love is the example of Jesus who gave his life that we may live. Jesus love is unselfish , Jesus loves us all and now it is our turn to love one another. AMEN.