Waiting for Salvation

Feast of All the Faithful Departed
02 November 2019

First reading                                                                  Isaiah 25:6-9
On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death forever.
Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day, ‘Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.’

Gospel                                                                     Mark 15:33-39, 16:1-6

When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “Listen, he is calling for Elijah.” And someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day, the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him.

Reflection

By Pietro S. Albano

After sharing my reflection on God's glory last month, I had an interesting conversation with one of my colleagues in our Rosary group regarding what happens when we die. He asked me if the soul would go straight to heaven or will have a stopover in purgatory. I told him I don't know. We both agreed though that when the soul does go to purgatory, there is hope that that soul will someday go to heaven. Unfortunately, if the soul goes to hell there is no chance for it to go to heaven. Which is why we need to pray for those in purgatory so that they will soon be enjoying the presence of God. 

November is a time to remember all those who have died. There are those who made us laugh, feel loved, and inspired us. I am sure they will be on top of our list of people to pray for. However, there are those who may have hurt us, those we did not get along with, and those who rejected our love. Inspired by Jesus' forgiveness, let us also pray for them. This can oftentimes be difficult, but let's place them in the hands of God who knows what is best for us. Finally, there are those we do not know at all who may have no one to pray for them. Out of Christian charity, let's remember them too.

This month is also a time to think of our own death. Going back to the conversation I had with my colleague, I encouraged him to keep on praying for ourselves, particularly when our time is up because the Devil is doing everything it can, even in our last moment, to snatch us from God.  If he did that to Jesus (who turned him away at every instant, in the desert, in the Garden of Gethsemane, in Calvary), he will do the same thing with us who follow Christ.

Jesus passed on from death to new life. Like the people in this First Reading today, let us look forward, be glad, and rejoice in the Lord's salvation!

Prayer

Loving Father, You sent Your Son Jesus to save us from sin and death. Raise to new life all the faithful departed. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Seek the Lord!

Feast of All Saints

01 November 2019

First reading                                                                        Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14
I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to damage earth and sea, saying, “Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have marked the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads.” And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the people of Israel.
After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that nobody could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, singing, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” I said to him, “Sir, you are the one that knows.” Then he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Second reading                                                          1 John 3:1-3

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Gospel                                                                     Matthew 5:1-12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Reflection

By Pietro S. Albano

Our Rosary group here in Nottingham has just concluded our October devotion. In one of the homes where we held the devotion, I shared a reflection that we were made to share in God's glory. My view is, if we are happy for everything that God has given us - life, family, work, food, clothing, etc. - how much happier we will be if we can see Him face-to-face in heaven. Wala na tayong hahanapin pa! (We wouldn't look for anything else!) 

As I mentioned heaven, I couldn't help talking about hell. A priest once said that what is painful in hell is not the fire, but the absence of God. It's like being left to your own devices without any assurance of being saved.

Today, we remember all the saints - canonized or not - who now enjoy the presence of God. These people, coming from all walks of life, have soldiered through the night of sin and death, focusing all their efforts to please God. In the eyes of the world, these people may not be successful, but in the eyes of God they are His faithful friends. 

God desires every person to be saved, to share in His glory one day. Like the saints, let us always seek the Lord: in our poverty of spirit, in the many times we mourn over the plight of the oppressed, in our meekness amidst an "eye for an eye" society, in our hunger for justice, in showing compassion to the unlovable, in being single-minded in our service, in being agents of peace among our neighbors, and in remaining faithful in spite of people turning against us. 

God looks forward to our coming to heaven, to be counted among the saints in the future. How about us?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, You are always after our salvation. Through the intercession of all the saints, may we always strive to seek You in all we say and do so that we would one day be united with You in heaven. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Our Path to Salvation

First Reading: Isaiah 66:18-21

"For I know their works and their thoughts, and I am coming to gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Put, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations.

And they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as an offering to the LORD, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring their cereal offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD.

And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the LORD.

Psalm: Psalm 117:1-2

Second Reading: Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13

And have you forgotten the exhortation which addresses you as sons? -- "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when you are punished by him. For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.

Gospel:Luke 13:22-30

He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. And some one said to him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" And he said to them, "Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, `Lord, open to us.' He will answer you, `I do not know where you come from.' Then you will begin to say, `We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.'

But he will say, `I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!' There you will weep and gnash your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out. And men will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."

Reflection
By Mark Rodney P. Vertido 

A crucial thing for every Christian is the question of our salvation. In our growing years in the faith, we come to know about heaven and hell and our elders would always stress that we need to go to heaven. We need to attain salvation. Is salvation for real?

Like the one who asked the Lord if only a few will be saved, our curiosity asks who will be saved. And Jesus’ answer gives us an encouragement to strive to enter the narrow gate to salvation. Indeed, it is very hard to attain salvation yet Jesus had already paved the way for us when He died for us on the cross more than two thousand years ago.

This is one of the striking teachings that I have learned recently, the meaning of salvation. We are indeed being saved already by Christ and we call this as objective salvation. We were all saved by Christ for God willed it as a manifestation of His love to us.

“For God so love the world that He gave his only son and whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life,” says John 3:16, the most popular verse of the Bible. The first part of the text clearly shows how the love of God for us is manifested through Jesus Christ, who suffered for the world, our “sacrificial Victim.” Yet continuing the text it says that to attain eternal life or salvation, we need to believe in Him. We were saved through Christ yet this salvation is fully ours only if we become believers in His teaching. And the fullness of receiving Christ in our life is receiving wilfully the salvation that he has offered to us in the cross. Now, this is subjective salvation. We were saved yet the full attainment of salvation still depends on us whether we are accepting it or not.

Going back to the Gospel, Jesus tells His followers to “strive.” What does this mean? I believe that the path to salvation is a journey. It is both a journey of faith and action. As we take in the teachings of Christ and receive it, we grow in faith and understanding of the wisdom of God. But this inward growth does not end in there. Inwardness must extend outward through our actions, our works. Clearly, St. James would say: “faith without work is lame.”

We strive to grow in faith yet we strive to grow more in our action towards God and His people. Worship itself is an action towards God. As we worship and love God, God directs us to love our neighbors. These are the actions that God asks of us.

Accordingly, the Gospel teaches us that this “striving” needs to be consistent and persevering. That is why Jesus suddenly tries to illustrate salvation through the master and the sudden visitors who wants to get in the gate. We can see that if there is no consistency and perseverance in striving to enter the gates of salvation then the Master will not recognize us.

It is not enough that we just believe and be a member of the Church. It does not even guarantee that we will be saved already if we are a member of a religious denomination. Christians cannot boast that they are already saved even if they commit corruption and amass wealth from public funds in the government. If Christians were too perfect enough for salvation, then the concept of the state of hell will not be valid any more  Even Christians will be rejected by God if there is no consistency between faith and action.

Let us thank God in every way that we were Christians because for us the path to salvation is not already difficult. We only need to listen to God through the teachings of His Son. And we can fully listen and act upon the teachings of Jesus if we live up the Christian faith with the Church. 

I bid a short farewell to all for joining me for the last two months reflecting on the Sunday Gospels. I hope to share more things with you the soonest. But now I want to invite you to pray with me a very beautiful prayer that lets me focus on my journey every time that I feel I am not doing what I ought to do in “striving” to enter the Kingdom of God.

Prayer

The Quarter Hour Prayer

God, eternal truth,

We believe in you.

God, our strength and salvation,

We hope in you.

God, infinite goodness,

We love you with all our heart.

You have sent the Word as Savior of the world,

Make us all one in him.

Fill us with the Spirit of your Son,

That we may glorify your name. Amen.

St. Arnold Janssen, founder of the Society of the Divine Word, wrote this brief prayer that one can say every 15 minutes. You are encouraged to pause awhile from whatever you are doing, pray this Quarter Hour Prayer to unite yourself with the Holy Spirit who gives the wisdom and strength to fulfill one's task.