Glorifying Jesus in the Saints

Solemnity of All the Saints

November 1, 2015

First reading
Apocalypse 7:2-4,9-14 ©

I, John, saw another angel rising where the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God; he called in a powerful voice to the four angels whose duty was to devastate land and sea, ‘Wait before you do any damage on land or at sea or to the trees, until we have put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.’ Then I heard how many were sealed: a hundred and forty-four thousand, out of all the tribes of Israel.

  After that I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language; they were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands. They shouted aloud, ‘Victory to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels who were standing in a circle round the throne, surrounding the elders and the four animals, prostrated themselves before the throne, and touched the ground with their foreheads, worshipping God with these words, ‘Amen. Praise and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen.’

  One of the elders then spoke, and asked me, ‘Do you know who these people are, dressed in white robes, and where they have come from?’ I answered him, ‘You can tell me, my lord.’ Then he said, ‘These are the people who have been through the great persecution, and they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb.’

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Psalm	Psalm 23:1-6 ©

Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.

The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,

  the world and all its peoples.

It is he who set it on the seas;

  on the waters he made it firm.

Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.

Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord?

  Who shall stand in his holy place?

The man with clean hands and pure heart,

  who desires not worthless things.

Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.

He shall receive blessings from the Lord

  and reward from the God who saves him.

Such are the men who seek him,

  seek the face of the God of Jacob.

Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.

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Second reading	1 John 3:1-3 ©

Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us,

  by letting us be called God’s children;

  and that is what we are.

Because the world refused to acknowledge him,

  therefore it does not acknowledge us.

My dear people, we are already the children of God

  but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed;

all we know is, that when it is revealed

  we shall be like him

  because we shall see him as he really is.

Surely everyone who entertains this hope

  must purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ.

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Gospel Acclamation	Mt11:28

Alleluia, alleluia!

Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened

and I will give you rest, says the Lord.

Alleluia!

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Gospel	Matthew 5:1-12 ©

Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:

‘How happy are the poor in spirit;

  theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Happy the gentle:

  they shall have the earth for their heritage.

Happy those who mourn:

  they shall be comforted.

Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right:

  they shall be satisfied.

Happy the merciful:

  they shall have mercy shown them.

Happy the pure in heart:

  they shall see God.

Happy the peacemakers:

  they shall be called sons of God.

Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right:

  theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.’

Reflection

By Edgardo Tulabut

I was to hail a bus in Cavite on my way to my home province of Pampanga when I decided to drop by a DVD sale. This was the All Saints’ Day break many years ago and I extended my vacation leave to a whole week. Although I know it will only be what it is called now as “staycation” because I was only using up my unused leaves and I just wanted to rest. Therefore, there might be some time for a DVD or two; or maybe a movie marathon. As I was busy browsing through the titles, the sales lady offered me their special “horror” packages.

I told her, “Are you kidding me? Every channel on TV is screening horror films nowadays and you offer me horror films?” Of course we are already “suki” that’s why I can say those things to her directly.

Yes, everything on TV was horrifying, glorifying the dark side instead of what the occasion is supposed to be.

There are several write ups one can read on the origins of Halloween, may it be it is Christian origin, Celtic, pagan, or something else…. And I am not going to discuss them here. What I know is that as far as Christians are concerned, Halloween is supposed to be the eve of All Hallows’ Day or All Saints’ Day—The Feast of All Saints.

We should be celebrating the lives of saints and how they can lead us to lives pleasing to God;  not giving glory to the prince of darkness through horror films, trick or treat, and monstrous outfits.

Though little by little, many groups are now doing things differently to counter the western Halloween celebrations. One of them is the Holy Rosary Parish in Angeles City where every year they sponsor a parade for children dressed up as their favorite saints. I know there are also many organizations advocating this. I hope there will be more.

Today’s second reading says “The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.”

Let us tell the world about Jesus. Let us tell the world that we do not glorifying the evil one. A simple denouncing  of the distorted image/celebration of Halloween can be a good start. I know it may be hard, especially for those with kids. But for sure there will be ways.

Or maybe a simple social media greeting of “HAPPY FEAST of ALL SAINTS” will do for now. This is for everyone to know that before the western influence, before commercialization, and before this becoming a social activity and a family reunion, it was first of all a CATHOLIC CHRISTIAN celebration of the FEAST OF ALL THE SAINTS.

Prayer

Father God, We glorify You and You alone are our God.  Help us denounce all evil deeds even in simple acts. In Jesus' name, Amen.

All the Saints in heaven, pray for us!

Hearts On Fire

First Reading: Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10

Then the princes said to the king, "Let this man be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm." King Zedeki'ah said, "Behold, he is in your hands; for the king can do nothing against you." So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchi'ah, the king's son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mire, and Jeremiah sank in the mire. E'bed-mel'ech went from the king's house and said to the king,

"My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern; and he will die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city." Then the king commanded E'bed-mel'ech, the Ethiopian, "Take three men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies."

Psalm: Psalm 40:2-4, 18

Second Reading: Hebrews 12:1-4

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

Gospel: Luke 12:49-53

"I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." 

Reflection
By Mark Rodney Vertido

This Sunday, the Gospel talks about Jesus’ declaration that he came not to establish peace, but to give division on earth. It sounds confusing because we believe that it is only through God that the peoples of the nations will be united yet the declaration of Jesus shows that there is real division if we will believe in Him.

Is this not observable in our times today? There is real division because of our belief in Jesus. The evidence is the presence of thousands of Christian denominations who broke with Rome starting the 16^th century. Each of these denominations would claim that they are the true Church, etc. Though they come in small numbers, but the very foundations of the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic church is being threatened also. Well, we clearly see that our brother and sister Christians are authentic in their faith yet the question goes on to the authenticity of their doctrines. And the Roman Catholic Church still holds the true faith handed down by the apostles and disciples since the first century. These apostles and disciples were surely the first Christians whose hearts were on fire.

Is your heart on fire for the love of God to do His will? This is the story of every Christian who, in our last week’s reflection, had found where their heart is. When our hearts are on fire for God, we can do the things that He wants of us with no hesitation at all. This is the same story of the Prophets, the Saints, and many of us today, the Church. Simply, if we believe in God and place our trust in Him, it is not impossible also that we will ablaze for God’s love.

Let us take for example the founders of the many religious orders and congregations that we have today. All of them experienced persecutions, doubt, and hatred coming among their colleagues, their families, their friends, their superiors, etc. This is because their hearts are on fire and their desire is burning to do the will of God that even though many will be against them they still need to do it for they were called to do so. Though it shows that in the end all shall be well, all shall be reunited because what they have done is purely of God’s will.

In the Church today, we are being persecuted as Christians. Many of our churches, especially where we are a minority, are being burned and Christians themselves are burned alive or murdered because of their belief. Many of them are not easily discourage for this malediction against Christians. Amidst the darkness of persecution,  their hearts are ablaze with the fire that Jesus spoke in the Gospel.

In the Philippines itself, the Catholic Church is continued to be persecuted by the civil government, the media, and other groups of Catholic-haters. This is very evident as the Church still fights against the passage of anti-life bills. The biased media would throw everything to the Church to silence it. The civil government would conspire to pass immoral bills. And the Catholic-haters will simply destroy and misinform people about the Catholic Church. We see division, there is no peace.

This is reality. As our hearts are on fire, the more that the world will be against us. Is your heart on fire? What can you do then? It is very simple. You just do what God wants you to do and never be afraid for if it comes from God. As proven by Salvation History, God will also make sure that  the work He entrusts to us will be accomplished by being at our side. You just need to listen to your heart because it is there that you will find God. It is there that He keeps you attuned to His will. And it is through this that you will find peace even in the midst of a divided world. Let us then contribute to the evangelization of the people in every nation that this world may be at peace also.

Prayer

Guide us all, O Father, especially the young people, to heed the call of Christ. Give us a burning desire and strength to do Your will. May You live in our hearts and in the hearts of all people. Amen.

Genuine Christian

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time

June 16, 2013

First Reading: 2 Samuel 12:7-10, 13

Nathan said to David, ‘The Lord the God of Israel says this, “I anointed you king over Israel; I delivered you from the hands of Saul; I gave your master’s house to you, his wives into your arms; I gave you the House of Israel and of Judah; and if this were not enough, I would add as much again for you. Why have you shown contempt for the Lord, doing what displeases him? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, taken his wife for your own, and killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. So now the sword will never be far from your House, since you have shown contempt for me and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.”’


David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Then Nathan said to David, ‘The Lord, for his part, forgives your sin; you are not to die.’

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 31:1-2,5,7,11

Second Reading: Galatians 2:16,19-21
We acknowledge that what makes a man righteous is not obedience to the Law, but faith in Jesus Christ. We had to become believers in Christ Jesus no less than you had, and now we hold that faith in Christ rather than fidelity to the Law is what justifies us, and that no one can be justified by keeping the Law. In other words, through the Law I am dead to the Law, so that now I can live for God. I have been crucified with Christ, and I live now not with my own life but with the life of Christ who lives in me. The life I now live in this body I live in faith: faith in the Son of God who loved me and who sacrificed himself for my sake. I cannot bring myself to give up God’s gift: if the Law can justify us, there is no point in the death of Christ.



Gospel: Luke 7:36-8:3
One of the Pharisees invited Jesus to a meal. When he arrived at the Pharisee’s house and took his place at table, a woman came in, who had a bad name in the town. She had heard he was dining with the Pharisee and had brought with her an alabaster jar of ointment. She waited behind him at his feet, weeping, and her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them away with her hair; then she covered his feet with kisses and anointed them with the ointment.


When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would know who this woman is that is touching him and what a bad name she has.’ Then Jesus took him up and said, ‘Simon, I have something to say to you.’ ‘Speak, Master’ was the reply. ‘There was once a creditor who had two men in his debt; one owed him five hundred denarii, the other fifty. They were unable to pay, so he pardoned them both. Which of them will love him more?’ ‘The one who was pardoned more, I suppose’ answered Simon. Jesus said, ‘You are right.’

Then he turned to the woman. ‘Simon,’ he said ‘you see this woman? I came into your house, and you poured no water over my feet, but she has poured out her tears over my feet and wiped them away with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she has been covering my feet with kisses ever since I came in. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. For this reason I tell you that her sins, her many sins, must have been forgiven her, or she would not have shown such great love. It is the man who is forgiven little who shows little love.’ Then he said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ Those who were with him at table began to say to themselves, ‘Who is this man, that he even forgives sins?’ But he said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’

Now after this he made his way through towns and villages preaching, and proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom of God. With him went the Twelve, as well as certain women who had been cured of evil spirits and ailments: Mary surnamed the Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and several others who provided for them out of their own resources.


Reflection

By Fidji Rivera-Sarmiento

My grandfather recently passed on, mostly of old age and other health complications. But it was not a struggle as he breathed his last while we pray the Rosary. He was a famous pioneer dentist in our town. He was a high ranking member of the Knights of Columbus, and also an active Rotarian. He used to travel a lot, in and out of the country. To me, I remember him to love Baguio, bowling, and beer. Yes, never a day without a bottle of San Miguel Pale Pilsen. (I even saw a half-filled bottle inside the fridge the day he died.)


I also remember him to be someone who is not fond of going to Mass, while my grandmother never skipped a day during her active days. Lolo is not the religious kind of man. I do not recall seeing him going to confessions, until that day when a priest anointed him and Lola days before he departed. But every so often, I would see him quietly praying the Rosary. And truly, upon my Aunt’s confirmation, his personal Bible is very well used, especially the Book of Proverbs. Seeing the kind of life he lived, he must have followed those highlighted verses to the dot. He may not be perfect, as we all are, but I have heard several judgments from my relatives of how nominal of a Catholic he is. However personally, I believe that he was a better Christian than some of the people I know who regularly hears Mass. He was more of a Catholic when he generously offered his dental services for free, or when he attends to his less affording relatives. He was more of a follower of Christ when he prays the Rosary wholeheartedly, than those who merely mouth the prayers on auto pilot.

How many among us are genuinely Catholics? Are we guilty of thinking that we are a better Christian than some? That we are on top of our Novenas? That we know the saint of the day? That we are the better brand of religion than those who do not know Jesus? While we cannot even tame the judgmental kind of perception we throw around on some people?

Think again. Judging never did any good. It builds walls instead of bridges. It leads to gossiping, and it ends relationships. Cliché as it is, but only God can judge all of us; He who can see everything; He who is perfect.

If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. (James 1:26)

Prayer

Dear Jesus, forgive us when we cannot tame our judgmental minds. We criticize too many times, but fail to recognize our own faults. We keep on correcting others but fall short in looking into our own misdoings. Jesus, help us to be humble so we do not feel that we are superior over others. May we learn to celebrate our individualities. Remind us to uplift the good in each other and not to condemn the bad. May we stop judging because other sin differently than us. Fill us with your Spirit of compassion and acceptance. Amen.

Sincere Leadership

First Reading: Genesis 14:18-20

Melchizedek king of Salem brought bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High. He pronounced this blessing:

‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High, creator of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High for handing over your enemies to you.’ And Abram gave him a tithe of everything.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 109: 1-4

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26

This is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me.’ In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.’ Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.

Gospel: Luke 9:11-17

Jesus made the crowds welcome and talked to them about the kingdom of God; and he cured those who were in need of healing.

It was late afternoon when the Twelve came to him and said, ‘Send the people away, and they can go to the villages and farms round about to find lodging and food; for we are in a lonely place here.’ He replied, ‘Give them something to eat yourselves.’ But they said, ‘We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we are to go ourselves and buy food for all these people’ For there were about five thousand men. But he said to his disciples, ‘Get them to sit down in parties of about fifty.’ They did so and made them all sit down. Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven, and said the blessing over them; then he broke them and handed them to his disciples to distribute among the crowd. They all ate as much as they wanted, and when the scraps remaining were collected they filled twelve baskets.

 Reflection

By Fidji Rivera-Sarmiento

The Gospel for today is the only miracle chronicled in all of the four Gospels, which only proves its significance in the entire salvation history. It could really be that Jesus did all the multiplication. That was how I thought it was. Something like magic, and boom! Bread became so many and the fish magically appeared. However, some experts say that the actual miracle here is the act of generosity and the sharing per se. Historians theorized that Jesus’ followers actually had “baon” with them. Upon knowing that the Apostles only gathered five loaves of bread and two fish from a boy (as narrated in the Gospel of John), the early Christians brought out and shared what they had to everyone. Jesus instructed the Apostles to collect the leftover and they gathered twelve baskets more.

This only presents the basic human behavior of self-preservation. We all have that instinct to bring with us things we need when we travel, to save for ourselves during the rainy days, to keep what we need in order to survive, to be always certain that we have enough. But how many among us can be like that innocent boy who can be selfless enough to give out everything he had? Whether he was coaxed or intimidated by the Apostles, he was willing to give away what he had for that day. That boy presented a model of unconditional trust in Jesus. No questions, no conditions. That kind of utter dependence on the Lord to bless our efforts of goodwill.

This Gospel also points out our thirst for a genuine Church leader, from the parochial level to the entire Catholic flock. Pope John Paul said, “The more Christian and conscious people are of their dignity and of their vital role in the Church, the more they urgently feel the need for priests who are TRULY priests.” This is much evident during Cardinal Tagle’s rise to fame after Pope Benedict stepped down. It is not surprising that the Catholic Church would seek someone who is of young blood, someone who IS among us, someone who is not on a pedestal. With all the scandals a number of priests have committed, we cannot blame the doubters and those who leave our Church to seek for a more sincere leadership. But Pope Francis is not here to let us down. We can see how humble he is. His name choice is true to his character, like St. Francis who lived a sincerely simple life. He is doing his best to rebuild the kind of flock Jesus has originally instituted.

Most importantly, today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, or Corpus Christi, which literally meant the Body of Christ. It is usually celebrated during the Thursday after the Trinity Sunday, but was transferred today as reflected on the liturgical calendar. Today we all commemorate the institution of the Eucharist, the breaking of the bread, which is in fact Christ’s offering of Himself for the salvation of all. By participating in the Holy Mass, we become that which we actually celebrate. We become the Body of Christ.

Prayer

Jesus, our model of trust in God’s will, may we ever remember to put You on top of our needs. Human as we are, we tend to be selfish and be merely occupied on how we can acquire temporal desires, which do not seem to be always enough. We keep on wanting more, when in truth, we can live simple lives. May we channel this longing to be more generous, of not only our material possessions, but more importantly of ourselves. May we use our abilities for Your vineyard, the way You offered Your Body and Blood for humanity. Amen.

Tough Job!

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
04 September 2011


Come, let us rejoice in the Lord: let us acclaim God our salvation, alleluia.


First reading Ezekiel 33:7-9
The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows: ‘Son of man, I have appointed you as sentry to the House of Israel. When you hear a word from my mouth, warn them in my name. If I say to a wicked man: Wicked wretch, you are to die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked man to renounce his ways, then he shall die for his sin, but I will hold you responsible for his death. If, however, you do warn a wicked man to renounce his ways and repent, and he does not repent, then he shall die for his sin, but you yourself will have saved your life.’

Psalm: Psalm 94:1-2,6-9

Second reading Romans 13:8-10
Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love. If you love your fellow men you have carried out your obligations. All the commandments: You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and so on, are summed up in this single command: You must love your neighbour as yourself. Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments.

Gospel Matthew 18:15-20
Jesus said, ‘If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you: the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain any charge. But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector.
‘I tell you solemnly, whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.
‘I tell you solemnly once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.’

Reflection
By Gharri Tulabut

Just a few weeks ago, there was this controversial artist who participated in an art exhibit at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP). His medium was the images of our Lord Jesus Christ, The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Crucifix and many other religious symbols which he blasphemed by doing different sort of things such as putting condoms on one, adding a male organ to another, among others. Many, of course, were offended. Me, personally, I could not even find his works artistic. At first, though I also felt offended, I did not bother to care. I was then thinking that he was only trying to get attention and he does not deserve mine. But when even my non-Catholic friends were posting protests against him on Facebook, I became ashamed and sorry for my initial reaction.

Good thing, the Church leaders did not have the same initial response as mine. The Church was ready, as always, to take the necessary actions to rebuke what they think is not according to the will of God, especially something blasphemous or sacrilegious.

Today in the first reading, God tells Prophet Ezekiel that he must warn the people of their wickedness so that they may be saved. If he did not warn them, he will be held responsible for their death. But if he warned them and they refused to listen, Ezekiel will not be responsible.

Tough job for prophets, huh? Maybe that is why prophets were the least tactful people in the world. They will tell you in your face if what you are doing is not according the will of God. According to this book I read a long time ago, “tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy.” True enough, prophets made enemies with the people whose ways they try to reprove or reprimand. The consequences? Well, not only were they abhorred, many of them were put to death. Just look at what happened to St. John the Baptist. Or even what happened to our Lord Jesus.

This is also what’s happening to the Church nowadays. In the example I gave, it just so happen that many, including national artists, also found the artist’s works as distasteful, irresponsible, and disrespectful. That is why the Church was not hit that hard by the public, especially by the netizens (people using the internet). But there were other issues wherein possible consequences are far greater than what those so-called artworks, can bring. Issues such as the RH bill and divorce law where the Church’s stand did not receive popular support.

If you are the Church leaders, what would you do if you see something about to happen that will change the morality of the people and will destroy the Filipino family for good, just like what happened to the nations that embraced these kinds of change? Will you just not care like I first did with the issue of the artworks? Or will you warn about the consequences just like the prophets have done?

Forgive us Lord for failing to defend You at times. Grant us the strength, courage, and wisdom to always stand by You. And Lord, may Your body here on earth be firm in fighting against the disguises of the evil one. And should our efforts be not enough and suffer temporary setbacks, give us the courage and integrity so that we may not fall to the pressure of compromising our values for the sake of what is popularly acceptable to the world. Amen.