Hope Came Through A Child

   

Feast of the Sto. Nino

19 January 2025

 

First Reading: Is 9:1-6

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 98

Second Reading: Eph 1:3-6

Gospel: Lk 2:41-52

 

Reflection

By: Anton B. Ocampo

“Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49) These are the words of the Child Jesus in response to His mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, once He was found by both Mary and Joseph in the Temple of Jerusalem after three days. With these words, the Child Jesus exhibits awareness and knowledge of the mission as the promised Messiah and Savior sent from heaven. 

For the entire Catholic Church in the Philippines, this Sunday is a very special one as it is dedicated to solemn celebration of the Feast of Jesus as the Most Holy Child, also known as the Santo Niño. This special solemn celebration which is held every year on the third Sunday of January is a reminder for all of us about the very reason why the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world. The Lord Jesus Christ wholeheartedly and willingly decided to take upon our humanity, even the stage of childhood, for our sake. The only thing that Jesus did not assume when He took upon Himself our own human nature was the sinful nature of humanity. 

The Readings for this Sunday focus on the mission of the Lord Jesus as the bearer of true hope which comes from heaven. By wholeheartedly deciding to come into this world as the promised Messiah and Savior, He has brought hope to humanity. A prophecy concerning the arrival of the promised Messiah is featured in the First Reading. It is clearly stated in the prophecy featured in the First Reading that God will give us a Child who will be born for all of humanity. This Child is the promised Messiah. Saint Paul the Apostle stresses this fact in the Second Reading. Out of love and mercy for all of us, God has decided to send Christ Jesus to the world to save humanity. 

The Responsorial Psalm says: “All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God” (Psalm 98:3c). Through the Holy Child Jesus, God has shown the power of the gift of salvation He brings to all. By doing so, He has given us hope. 

Jesus became a Child to bring hope to us. Let us spread this gift of hope that He brings to all of us. 

Prayer

O Most Holy Child Jesus, You came into this world to bring hope to all of us as the promised Messiah and Savior. We humbly thank You for doing so. Give us the strength to spread the hope that You bring to all of us. Amen.

Our Persecution and Jesus in our Homes

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

28 March 2021 

 

At the Procession of Palms - Gospel: MK 11:1-10

First Reading:  IS 50:4-7

Responsorial Psalm:  PS 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24

Second Reading:  PHIL 2:6-11

Gospel:  MK 15:1-39

 

Reflection

By: Emerson C. Maala

 

Holy Week observance is one of the solemnly celebrated Christian traditions observed by Filipino Catholics. It starts with the celebration of Jesus' entry into the City of Jerusalem which is popularly called Palm Sunday. Filipino Catholics bring some coconut fronds or "palaspas" and wave them as a sign of their faith acclaiming Jesus. However, due to the CoVid-19 pandemic, for two years now, Filipinos were and will not be able to wave their "palaspas"  in the Churches due to the restrictions by the government's community quarantine.

Jesus' glorious entry to the city of Jerusalem was the start that He was to suffer from passion and death. People acclaim Him as a messiah shouting "Hosanna!", which means "Save us!". On the contrary, this cry alarmed the Jewish High Priest of the danger that Jesus would create an uprising with the people. However, Jesus enters the City as a meek and humble person not creating violence but peace.

In our current situations, we may not be given the chance to celebrate in the Churches to acclaim Jesus with our "palaspas". But in this way, this may be a cross to accept. We may experience suffering given the restriction to celebrate in the Churches to acclaim Jesus. Nevertheless, it is our chance that maybe, we let Jesus enter our Homes just like how Jesus enters the City of Jerusalem by accepting every opportunity to give charity to the members of the family or the others. And in this way, that amid our suffering, we may experience the meek and humble heart of Jesus.

 

Prayer

 

Jesus, Thank You for entering into Jerusalem to bring salvation to us. May we always welcome You in our homes and in our hearts each day. We pray for courage to carry our cross passionately as we reflect in Your loving sacrifice forever and ever. Amen.

 

 

 

In Hopeful Patience

Third Sunday of Easter

26 April 2020

First reading                                                                        Acts 2:14, 32-33
Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say: This Jesus God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you both see and hear.”

Second reading                                                        1 Peter 1:17-21

If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. Through him you have come to trust in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.

Gospel                                                                     Luke 24:13-35

Two of the disciples were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking together, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?”

He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place. Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early that morning, and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him.”

Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them. When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.

They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Reflection

By Pietro S. Albano

When was the last Mass you have physically attended? Mine was 19th March, the feast of St Joseph. When news broke out that public Masses will suspended, it felt really different. It felt, as some news commentators would say, like World War 2. I suddenly remembered the story of how my late grandparents would still go to church for daily Mass during those times. My Lola told me that there were moments when only she, my Lolo, and the priest were present in the liturgy. Fast forward, you would see and be inspired with priests and their collaborators offering the Mass on live stream.

The suspension of public Masses (and the mandatory quarantine), for me, brings us back to those two disciples in today's Gospel. They were sad because they have lost their Master and friend. Their sadness overwhelmed them a lot that they became "foolish...[and] slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared". Their sadness prevented them from recognizing Jesus who walked with them to Emmaus.

Covid-19 has brought the world to its knees. It has caused a lot of anxiety on people and, if we are not careful, it may lead us to selfishness, complacency, hopelessness, depression, illness, and death. At times, we can be tempted to be like those two disciples to the point of failing to see and hear Jesus.

Thanks to God for creating technology, we are able to still participate in the Holy Mass and other spiritual exercises such as the Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet, novenas to the saints, recollections, etc. Let's take these opportunities to stay connected with the Lord. In hopeful patience, let's allow Him to keep "our hearts burning within us ... while he [opens] the scriptures to us" and breaks bread with us. My Lola used to echo the teaching that the family, the home is the domestic church. Indeed, this has been made more obvious when the lock down was enforced. Relating to the Gospel, our homes have become the new Emmaus!

And as we keep ourselves sustained by the Lord's Word and Sacrament online as it may be, let's look forward to the day when we could once again be back to our other Emmauses - our churches and chapels - eager to hear His Word and receive His Body and Blood. Lest we forget, our story doesn't end in Emmaus. Like the disciples, we're called to eagerly return to the Jerusalems of our lives - our peers, neighborhoods, workplaces, parishes, organizations, etc - and share the good news: "The Lord has risen indeed!".

Prayer

Lord Jesus, in these uncertain times, like the two disciples, we beg You: stay with us. Keep our hearts burning and yearning for Your Word and Body. Keep our hearts burning and yearning to proclaim Your Word and share Your Body. Keep our hearts from anything that would prevent us from knowing, loving, and serving You. Amen.

From Jericho to Jerusalem

Palm Sunday17 April 2011
Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who was tempted and suffered for us.

First reading Isaiah 50:4-7
The Lord has given me
a disciple’s tongue.
So that I may know how to reply to the wearied
he provides me with speech.
Each morning he wakes me to hear,
to listen like a disciple.
The Lord has opened my ear.
For my part, I made no resistance,
neither did I turn away.
I offered my back to those who struck me,
my cheeks to those who tore at my beard;
I did not cover my face
against insult and spittle.
The Lord comes to my help,
so that I am untouched by the insults.
So, too, I set my face like flint;
I know I shall not be shamed.

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 21:8-9,17-20,23-24

Second reading Philippians 2:6-11
Jesus Christ’s state was divine,
yet he did not cling
to his equality with God
but emptied himself
to assume the condition of a slave
and became as men are;
and being as all men are,
he was humbler yet,
even to accepting death,
death on a cross.
But God raised him high
and gave him the name
which is above all other names
so that all beings
in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld,
should bend the knee at the name of Jesus
and that every tongue should acclaim
Jesus Christ as Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Gospel Matthew 27:11-54
Jesus was brought before Pontius Pilate, the governor, and the governor put to him this question, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ Jesus replied, ‘It is you who say it.’ But when he was accused by the chief priests and the elders he refused to answer at all. Pilate then said to him, ‘Do you not hear how many charges they have brought against you?’ But to the governor’s complete amazement, he offered no reply to any of the charges.
At festival time it was the governor’s practice to release a prisoner for the people, anyone they chose. Now there was at that time a notorious prisoner whose name was Barabbas. So when the crowd gathered, Pilate said to them, ‘Which do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?’ For Pilate knew it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. Now as he was seated in the chair of judgement, his wife sent him a message, ‘Have nothing to do with that man; I have been upset all day by a dream I had about him.’
The chief priests and the elders, however, had persuaded the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas and the execution of Jesus. So when the governor spoke and asked them, ‘Which of the two do you want me to release for you?’ they said, ‘Barabbas.’ ‘But in that case,’ Pilate said to them ‘what am I to do with Jesus who is called Christ?’ They all said, ‘Let him be crucified!’ ‘Why?’ he asked ‘What harm has he done?’ But they shouted all the louder, ‘Let him be crucified!’ Then Pilate saw that he was making no impression, that in fact a riot was imminent. So he took some water, washed his hands in front of the crowd and said, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood. It is your concern.’ And the people, to a man, shouted back, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ Then he released Barabbas for them. He ordered Jesus to be first scourged and then handed over to be crucified.
The governor’s soldiers took Jesus with them into the Praetorium and collected the whole cohort round him. Then they stripped him and made him wear a scarlet cloak, and having twisted some thorns into a crown they put this on his head and placed a reed in his right hand. To make fun of him they knelt to him saying, ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ And they spat on him and took the reed and struck him on the head with it. And when they had finished making fun of him, they took off the cloak and dressed him in his own clothes and led him away to crucify him.
On their way out, they came across a man from Cyrene, Simon by name, and enlisted him to carry his cross. When they had reached a place called Golgotha, that is, the place of the skull, they gave him wine to drink mixed with gall, which he tasted but refused to drink. When they had finished crucifying him they shared out his clothing by casting lots, and then sat down and stayed there keeping guard over him.
Above his head was placed the charge against him; it read: ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’ At the same time two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.
The passers-by jeered at him; they shook their heads and said, ‘So you would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days! Then save yourself! If you are God’s son, come down from the cross!’ The chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him in the same way. ‘He saved others;’ they said ‘he cannot save himself. He is the king of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He puts his trust in God; now let God rescue him if he wants him. For he did say, “I am the son of God.”’ Even the robbers who were crucified with him taunted him in the same way.
From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you deserted me?’ When some of those who stood there heard this, they said, ‘The man is calling on Elijah’, and one of them quickly ran to get a sponge which he dipped in vinegar and, putting it on a reed, gave it him to drink. ‘Wait!’ said the rest of them ‘and see if Elijah will come to save him.’ But Jesus, again crying out in a loud voice, yielded up his spirit.

(Here all kneel and pause for a short time.)

At that, the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth quaked; the rocks were split; the tombs opened and the bodies of many holy men rose from the dead, and these, after his resurrection, came out of the tombs, entered the Holy City and appeared to a number of people. Meanwhile the centurion, together with the others guarding Jesus, had seen the earthquake and all that was taking place, and they were terrified and said, ‘In truth this was a son of God.’

Reflection
By Jeanne Therese Hilario-Andres

  How I miss waving a brightly-decorated palaspas on Palm Sunday! Here in the UK, all we get is a dried piece of bark, blessed and folded into a small cross. But whether it’s a fresh green palaspas or a dried tree bark, no matter the shape or colour, I remind myself that at the beginning of Holy Week, it is how I welcome Jesus into my heart that really matters.

Jesus’ final journey from Jericho to Jerusalem was a well-attended one. He had gone around towns and villages curing the sick, gathering a large crowd of followers around him. As He left Galilee, crossed the Jordan and went to Judea, this crowd went and traveled with Him.

Now, the distance between Jericho to Jerusalem was around 15 miles (24 km) – roughly, perhaps, like the distance from Quezon City to Alabang. In those days, and accounting for an elevation increase of about 3400 feet (1060 m), that journey would have taken around 8 hours to cover on foot. Why did these people bother coming? What did they think Jesus was going to Jerusalem for? Perhaps they thought, since Jesus was the Messiah, that He was planning to take His rightful place and become the King they had been waiting for? They probably looked forward to His coronation once He had established Himself as the new King of Israel.

A triumphal, kingly entry. Out of so many visitors entering Jerusalem that day, why the fuss over Jesus’ arrival? It wasn’t His first visit to Jerusalem. In fact, He must have traveled this route and passed through this particular gate many times throughout His life as an ordinary Jew. Why all the excitement? Probably because the large crowd that accompanied Him from Jericho was hailing Him as a new King coming to be crowned in the city.

Imagine that a big, important celebrity is coming to your town. Imagine, for instance, that your city is on the route to be taken by Britain’s Prince William and soon-to-be Princess Catherine on the way back from their wedding. The royal carriage will pass through your street! How loudly will you cheer? Will you wave banners? Sing songs? Try to catch their eye as they drive past?

Similarly, if you had been living in Jerusalem then, wouldn’t you do the same if you found that Jesus, the renowned Teacher and Healer, the One called the Messiah, was coming to your city? I certainly would!

I remember listening to a homily once: These people who welcomed Jesus so joyfully when He entered Jerusalem, where were they when He was tortured and tried before Pilate on Thursday night, and crucified on Friday afternoon? What became of the large crowd who had marched with Him into Jerusalem? Why was Jesus left alone to suffer? How could the jubilant, palm-waving crowd of Palm Sunday have been replaced by the scornful, mocking crowd that insisted that Pilate condemn Jesus to death?

Which crowd are you a part of?

Today you stand with your palaspas ready, eager to welcome Jesus into your town, your church, your home, your heart. Where will you be on Holy Thursday and on Good Friday? Are you ready to stay and suffer with Him, too?

Lord, I welcome You as King and Savior into my heart today. You know my heart and its hopes and fears. I know that my choices matter to You. Help me to choose, every single day, to stay with You, not only through happy, triumphant moments, but more so during times of suffering, pain, betrayal and rejection. Let me never be part of the crowd that nailed You to the cross. Let my thoughts, emotions and actions remain in You and with You throughout this week. Let me never forget your deep and personal love for me, that led You to through the streets of Jerusalem, all the way to Calvary. Amen.


 Next week on God-speakJesus Rose For You!