What Pain?

    

Fourth Sunday of Lent

10 March 2024

 

First Reading: 2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

Second Reading: Eph 2:4-10

Gospel: Jn 3:14-21

 

Reflection

By: Gharri Tulabut

 

One of the great practices that my charismatic community, Light of Jesus Family, started practicing recently is culminating its big events with the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. This was also the case last November at the Feast Conference.

At the adoration, I decides to kneel the whole time the Blessed Sacrament was venerates—from the moment the procession started, up until the lights were put off. And the whole time, my knees ached. Because the event took like what, 30-45 minutes? (And I forgot I have a leg handicap.😁)

Several worship songs were sung at that time, contemporary and traditional; even Latin like Tantum Ergo.

And as the pain on my knees' became unbeable, tears continue to fall from my eyes like water falls (hagulgol ba?), epecially when these lyrics were sang:

"You left the glory of Your throne

And chose to make a home

Here in the mess so You could walk with the unworthy

Almighty Son of Man

You chose a crown of thorns

So by Your blood we are redeemed and be made worthy" (Worthy, Holy be Feast Worship)

What is the pain in my legs compared to what the Son has endured for me?

What is an hour of sacrifice compared to what the Father endured looking at His Son's suffering?

That night, I was crying and smiling at the same time. I was crying asking for forgiveness for my sins after what He has done. Smiling knowing that God truly loved me so much that He gave His only begotten Son for me, for us.

Prayer

Thank You God for everything!

Glory be You Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Amen.

Blessedness in Nothingness

 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

13 February 2022

 

First Reading: JER 17:5-8

Responsorial Psalm: PS 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6

Second Reading: 1 COR 15:12, 16-20

Gospel: LK 6:17, 20-26

 

Reflection

By: Sem. Carlo Alexis R. Malaluan

 

Blessed are you! The Gospel for today speaks of the Beatitudes. We often think of blessedness as moments when our cup overflows with bounty and goodness. For us, freedom from pain and suffering is the very definition of blessedness. One might say, "I am blessed with new car! I am blessed with a loving partner and beautiful children! I am blessed with a new house or a job promotion!" And the list goes on. All of these are in contrast with the life's difficulties.

But Jesus speaks of a different blessedness – of grace beyond human comprehension and understanding. The blessedness in nothingness. But how come one is called blessed when he experiences poverty, hunger, tears or persecution? Human suffering is a mystery which even words fail to give meaning. But Jesus didn't stop with the sad plight of human suffering but transcends and points out to a more important reality – our total dependence on God's mercy. The mystery of our humanity's meaninglessness and futility finds its fulfillment and significance in the mystery of God's providential love. It is God who gives the riches in our poverty, the joy in our sad and depressed moments, the satisfaction of the great hunger of our hearts, and the consolation when the world can no longer understand and accept us. For Jesus, this is what blessedness truly means – to be emptied from the world and filled with God's loving presence. For Jesus, blessedness is not a material gain but our total dependence of God.

One might say, "Oh! He is so blessed! He was hired to his dream job! Oh, she was so blessed! She won the lottery!" We might fall in the temptation of chasing worldly values yet losing our eyes on the real treasure – the kingdom of God. Without God, the riches, our happiness and praise of the world is but a vain and fading glory – tasteless and fruitless. Only when we have realized that it is God who bestows on us the blessings and graces in our lives, then we will see everything, no matter how big or small it might seem, as a moment of beatitude. What are these moments? When we are able to give something for others when we feel we are in the days of our nothingness – a friendly smile or a warm hug, we build the Kingdom of God. When we are able to be present for a grieving friend or a depressed stranger, we are able to satisfy the hunger for connections and healing. When we are able to cry and to find comfort those who are going through rough times, we become God's loving consolations in the lives of other people.

The Gospel provides a different portrait of the beatitudes – there is indeed blessedness in brokenness. We are blessed when we realize how God is at work in our lives. And blessedness is not stagnant nor dry – we are the first beneficiaries of God's blessings and we, in turn, transmit those graces in the lives of other people. And so the ripples of the beatitudes go on creating greater waves of beauty, life, and grace.

Prayer

Loving God, we praise and thank You for Your unfailing goodness. We are truly blessed even when we feel that life has been tough and our days have been dry for You have sustained us along the way. As we have come to the realization of the blessings in our lives, transform us to become "blessings" where we can bring Your love and grace in the lives of our brothers and sisters. Amen.

 

Life, Hope, Resurrection

First Reading: Ez 37:12-14

Thus says the Lord GOD:

O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land; thus you shall know that I am the LORD.

I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

Second Reading: Rom 8:8-11

Brothers and sisters:

Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you.

Verse Before the Gospel: Jn 11:25a, 26

I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will never die.

Gospel: Jn 11:1-45

Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and dried his feet with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was ill. So the sisters sent word to him saying, "Master, the one you love is ill." then Jesus heard this he said, "This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it." Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that he was ill, he remained for two days in the place where he was. Then after this he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea." The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and you want to go back there?" Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in a day? If one walks during the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

But if one walks at night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." He said this, and then told them, "Our friend Lazarus is asleep, but I am going to awaken him." So the disciples said to him, "Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved." But Jesus was talking about his death, while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep. So then Jesus said to them clearly, "Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him." So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go to die with him."

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away. And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise." Martha said to him, "I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day."

Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world."

When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, "The teacher is here and is asking for you." As soon as she heard this, she rose quickly and went to him. For Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still where Martha had met him. So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her saw Mary get up quickly and go out, they followed her, presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Sir, come and see." And Jesus wept. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him." But some of them said, "Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man have done something so that this man would not have died?" So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.

Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him, "Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days." Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. And Jesus raised his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me." And when he had said this, He cried out in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"

The dead man came out, tied hand and foot with burial bands, and his face was wrapped in a cloth. So Jesus said to them, "Untie him and let him go."

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what he had done began to believe in him.

Reflection
By Carlo Alexis Malaluan

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26)

These are the consoling and comforting words of Jesus to Martha who was engulfed in grief and sadness upon the death of her brother, Lazarus. The Lord heard the cry of the bereaved, the Lord saw the pain in their eyes, the longing in their hearts, He had compassion for them.

The gospel today is the story of an encounter between the God of compassion and the human person in pain, between the author of Life and the victim of death. Martha asked for the help of the Lord and our Lord answered her call, deeply moved by the suffering of His friend. Jesus shared in her sorrow; he lifted up the heavy cross weighing on her shoulders.

We all have our moments of pain. Life has its twists and turns, ups and downs, bright spots and dark side. Whatever we do, whoever we are, we shall all stumble upon the cross. The Catechism of the Catholic Church has pictured a moving yet real scene of what pain is. “In illness, man experiences his powerlessness, his limitations, and his finitude”. The fragility of human life and the experience of our own weakness lead us to a full communion with God.

It is not easy to describe the feeling of pain and of sorrow, but we all know what it feels like. In sorrow we are in communion and God partakes in this human experience - the Divine shares in the experience of mere mortals.

This human experience of pain and suffering draws our attention to God. Like Martha, we are hopeless. We cry in anguish, in bitterness, in pessimism. Our vision of hope is obscure. We are fainthearted people. You yourself perhaps heave sighs of despair in the face of what appears an enormous tragedy in your life. But the gospel is a most powerful tool to restore our confidence in God amidst our hopelessness. Yes! Christ’s miracle of resurrecting Lazarus is a call for us to be happy and optimistic! Despite of the anguish, of desperation and of confusion ever present in the world today, we need to firm up our hope because Jesus stands by everyone who trusts in Him.

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, hope is defined as the virtue that "responds to the aspiration to happiness which God has placed in the heart of every man". And our hope is rooted in Christ! Why do we continue to hope? Because we are assured by Christ Himself. There is this constant voice that keeps on telling us not to fear but to be in His power. This is what keeps us moving forward. We are assured that in the face of pain and suffering, Christ is with us – carrying the cross, our burden, with us.

Suffering and pain are indeed inevitable parts of our human experience, but it is also true that the Lord of Life is with us – in Him, there is life! In Him, there is hope! In Him, there is resurrection!

Prayer


Lord Jesus, our life, our hope, and our resurrection, we praise and thank You for defeating sin and death. Strengthen us in our suffering and pain so that we too may proclaim Your compassion to "those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death". To You be glory and honor forever and ever. Amen

Do Not Fear, Only Believe

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 28, 2015

Come, ring out our joy to the Lord; hail the God who saves us, alleluia.

First reading                                      Wisdom 1:13-15,2:23-24

Death was not God’s doing,

he takes no pleasure in the extinction of the living.

To be – for this he created all;

the world’s created things have health in them,

in them no fatal poison can be found,

and Hades holds no power on earth;

for virtue is undying.

Yet God did make man imperishable,

he made him in the image of his own nature;

it was the devil’s envy that brought death into the world,

as those who are his partners will discover.

Psalm                                              Psalm 29:2,4-6,11-13

Second reading                              2 Corinthians 8:7,9,13-15 

You always have the most of everything – of faith, of eloquence, of understanding, of keenness for any cause, and the biggest share of our affection – so we expect you to put the most into this work of mercy too. Remember how generous the Lord Jesus was: he was rich, but he became poor for your sake, to make you rich out of his poverty. This does not mean that to give relief to others you ought to make things difficult for yourselves: it is a question of balancing what happens to be your surplus now against their present need, and one day they may have something to spare that will supply your own need. That is how we strike a balance: as scripture says: The man who gathered much had none too much, the man who gathered little did not go short.

Gospel                                               Mark 5:21-43 

When Jesus had crossed in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered round him and he stayed by the lakeside. Then one of the synagogue officials came up, Jairus by name, and seeing him, fell at his feet and pleaded with him earnestly, saying, ‘My little daughter is desperately sick. Do come and lay your hands on her to make her better and save her life.’ Jesus went with him and a large crowd followed him; they were pressing all round him.

  Now there was a woman who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years; after long and painful treatment under various doctors, she spent all she had without being any the better for it, in fact, she was getting worse. She had heard about Jesus, and she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his cloak. ‘If I can touch even his clothes,’ she had told herself ‘I shall be well again.’ And the source of the bleeding dried up instantly, and she felt in herself that she was cured of her complaint. Immediately aware that power had gone out from him, Jesus turned round in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ His disciples said to him, ‘You see how the crowd is pressing round you and yet you say, “Who touched me?”’ But he continued to look all round to see who had done it. Then the woman came forward, frightened and trembling because she knew what had happened to her, and she fell at his feet and told him the whole truth. ‘My daughter,’ he said ‘your faith has restored you to health; go in peace and be free from your complaint.’

  While he was still speaking some people arrived from the house of the synagogue official to say, ‘Your daughter is dead: why put the Master to any further trouble?’ But Jesus had overheard this remark of theirs and he said to the official, ‘Do not be afraid; only have faith.’ And he allowed no one to go with him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. So they came to the official’s house and Jesus noticed all the commotion, with people weeping and wailing unrestrainedly. He went in and said to them, ‘Why all this commotion and crying? The child is not dead, but asleep.’ But they laughed at him. So he turned them all out and, taking with him the child’s father and mother and his own companions, he went into the place where the child lay. And taking the child by the hand he said to her, ‘Talitha, kum!’ which means, ‘Little girl, I tell you to get up.’ The little girl got up at once and began to walk about, for she was twelve years old. At this they were overcome with astonishment, and he ordered them strictly not to let anyone know about it, and told them to give her something to eat.

Reflection

By Fely C Santiago

“Daughter your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your disease”

I have had so many instances how the Lord healed me through faith. There was one time when I remembered it right, I was scheduled for minor operation to remove a cyst. I was already given anesthesia and was groggy. I was already in the operating table to start the procedure. But the doctor could not find the cyst anymore. There is nothing to operate on anymore. So I was advised to dress up and just allow the anesthesia to subside and then to check out of the hospital. Amazing isn’t it? I consider it a miracle.

Another instance is when I was scheduled to leave for the U.S. for a  3-month assignment. I suddenly felt intense stomach pain. I went to the doctor for check up and he advised me to have a urinalysis. The results revealed that I probably had kidney stones that may need operation. I prayed so hard. I do not want to be operated on as I am leaving for the U.S. The doctor gave me some medication. After a few days I had another urinalysis, and guess what? Everything was normal! Amazing indeed! Truly God heals!

This year, two weeks before our company’s amazing incentive trip to UAE and Europe, I was experiencing chest pains. Although I have a strong faith but somehow I also got scared. What if I am going to have a heart attack. But I play badminton, I can climb stairs, walk far, have healthy lifestyle and so I said to myself it cannot be. Then, I also started thinking what if it is breast cancer as I am also feeling pain in my breasts. I started researching in the Internet what could this pain be. I found out the symptoms is very similar to Costochondritis. I am a person who does not take medicines even for headache, fever, or other pains. I just do deep breathing and relaxation exercises. So in this case, I just did hot compress which is a home therapy for this condition.

I also prayed for healing. And I also talked to the pain in Jesus’ name to get out of my body. If you have faith as small as a mustard seed you can move mountains. I believe in that. All the while I was at peace. I just offered my pain for my sins and for the conversion of sinners and peace in the whole world. The following day the pain was gone! I was able to enjoy our trip in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Paris and Rome and afterwards, attend the family reunion in Bohol and CDO. Next week, we are leaving for Australia! God is great!

I have learned to really surrender my life to God. He owns my life. But I also do take care of my physical health by eating a lot of fruits and vegetables regularly.  We do not eat meat at home on a daily basis. I exercise. And everyday, I always declare I am strong and healthy and getting better and better everyday!

But the most important health is the health of our soul. Stay connected with God all the time. Remove anger, resentments, regrets.  Be forgiving. Let go of negative emotions. Stay positive. Stay in faith. Live a simple life  and enjoy each moment. Always have a grateful heart. Everyday count your  blessing and focus on what you have not on what you do not have. Build relationships. Give love.

Let me share an excerpt from the book of Bo Sanchez’ Awaken The Healer in You –

“4 Prescriptions to Heal Your Body by the Power of Love, let me go to specific ways of healing.

Here are four things you can do to increase healing in your body by the power of love.

1. Open up More.

2. Touch More.

3. Volunteer More.

4. Accept More.

Live life to the full and celebrate it everyday! By doing so we give glory and honor to God our creator!

Prayer

Abba Father, I praise and honor You. Thank You for the gift of life. Everyday is a miracle. Use me Lord to be a blessing to everyone I come in contact with. May they see Jesus in me. Help me to become a miracle worker and give hope especially to the afflicted. I pray for healing especially to those who are sick. Let me live my purpose here on earth and find meaning in all that I do. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.