Limitless

   

  Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

11 September 2022 

 

First Reading: Ex 32:7-11, 13-14

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19

Second Reading: 1 Tm 1:12-17

Gospel: Lk 15:1-32

 

Reflection

By: Grace Madrinan

 

"'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you, in just the same wqy there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance." - Luke 15:7

Today's Gospel is a relief for a repentant sinner but would appear as an injustice to the ninety-nine righteous ones. Imagine being upright all your life for the sake of the Kingdom while the other one is lavishing to his worldly desires. Then in a blink of a change of heart, the sinner is welcomed with warm hugs and butterfly kisses.

I actually can relate to the older brother in today's Gospel. Like him, I do feel jealous when I see how much my Mama gets excited when my older brother pays her a visit or does something for her. It hurts a little because I did not see that kind of affection from her when we were together. Sometimes I think of going away so I can be missed too.

But the Gospel gave me the answer, "My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours (Luke 15:31)." Among the siblings, Mama has been with me for the longest time and I have enjoyed her care and motherly love all these years. It is a pity that my brothers have not experienced the kind of mother she is. And that short moment my Mama had with my brothers is the only time she has to express how much she loved him. How can I be so selfish to deprive him of that?!

I believe the Holy Spirir led me to these conclusions. God's love is limitless. Sin cannot separate us from God. He constantly seeks us. Like a parent who misses his child, God all the more longs for the one who is lost. We should not monopolize God's love, His love needs to be shared. Our prize for remaining in His love? Being with Him and experiencing His love for the rest of our lives.

Prayer

God, our Father, grant me a forgiving heart to welcome my erring brother the same way You welcome a repentant sinner. We thank You for Your generosity and unending love. Amen.

A Father's Love for the Two Lost Sons

 

 Fourth Sunday of Lent

27 March 2022

 

First Reading: JOS 5:9a, 10-12

Responsorial Psalm: PS 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Second Reading: 2 COR 5:17-21

Gospel: LK 15:1-3, 11-32

 

Reflection

By: Jose Paulo M. Gonzales

 

There is perhaps no one on earth who would hold up to our parents when it comes to how well we have been loved growing up. From our tireless daily upkeep to the number of things in the home that need maintaining, not to mention the work they have had to balance with their own threshold for personal well-being, it is a marvel how our parents keep up with everything and have lots yet to spare for us children. If this is any amazing, how much more the love of our Father in Heaven?

The story of the prodigal son shows how genuine and even childlike in innocent expression is the love of the father for his son. To be asked for their young’s own inheritance when the parent is still alive is not for the fainthearted of parents to take, but the father in the story objects not and gives the son his sum anyway. Not even the extravagant escapade of his son was enough to turn him away and at the slightest sight of the son’s remorse, the son need not complete his way home. On his way, the father left home to greet and welcome him back—in full glory. This is the Father’s love for us, stubborn we may be over a life of our free choosing, at the faintest sign of our contrition, we would find no less a home in Him, warm in welcome and full in acceptance.

Imagine how decadent the son’s life was. He asked for his share and made a treatment of his father no different than a dead man. In a different circumstance had the father fallen the property would be called “estate” and the son “heir”; and the transfer would have been natural; but the father was alive, very much so, and not a hint of hesitation would be made out from his reaction. He willingly gave: no questions, no excuses. But the moment the son returned, can we believe it? The father made haste to admit him back into his house all with the choicest robe, a ring on his finger, (new) sandals on his feet, and a full celebration; for his son was dead but is now alive again, and that called for him a celebration. This shows us how the father’s… how our Father in Heaven’s love, beyond accepting, is completely restorative.

The second element worth keeping note of is this: the son who lost his way. In another story in the Bible specifically the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15), God likens Himself to a shepherd who would willingly leave the 99 only to find the lost one. “When he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, comes home, and calls together his friends and neighbors to tell them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my lost sheep!’” (Luke 15: 5-6) To find the lost one is such a spectacle to God that He said: “there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent” (Luke 15:7). At this point, if we feel we belong to the faithful 99, to suspend our indignation is advised. For it only takes a moment when we get lost ourselves to realize – God leaving the 99 is so important when the lost one is us; but if we stop to think at the basic level, with our own welfare already considered: why is it so special to find the lost if it is only one to the 99?

Everyone has his or her respective predisposition for being good. Thank God we have been born likely to be Christian. For a country whose majority represent the Christian fold, it comes no surprise how many, especially the posterity, are likely to turn to religion. A devotee grandparent who taught us the rosary and the novenas and knows at length her litanies, a faithful mother who first introduced us to Church, a lay minister father who would teach us the Bible, and prolific Catholic schools to supplement all these – we are greatly predisposed towards Christianity… towards overall religion and spirituality. But in other parts of the world, the situation would be different. There would be no grandparent, mother, and father to teach the Bible, let alone have anyone familiar count as a seasonal Church attendee. What of now the people with no access to spiritual materials, religious institutions, and spiritual contemporaries? What of the people who, though with virtuous potential, by faulty programming, developed a taste for delinquent behavior? And this is only for people who have had bare to no touchpoints with spirituality growing up. A person could grow up with the most lavish of comforts, with the most untiring support system, with the most extensive array of spiritual references, but suffer all the same from the unquenchable thirst to go for something that appears so “enchanting” … “exhilarating”. Are all these people barred entry into God’s congregation with no chance of redemption? A person could be fighting all nature – internal predisposition, corrupted moral instruction, and all other obstructions – to be admitted into God’s fold. The lost one could have had none close by—or anyone legitimate to refer to for spiritual instruction; the lost one could have had troubles that made for some aversion to any bit that represents anything Christian; the lost one could have come from a broken home, a neglected childhood, domestic abuse, a bullied youth, so difficult a circumstance to develop a vexing character, but here it is, the lost one, repenting… dead before, but is now alive again. This is the second element that was so impressive in the story of the prodigal son. In giving us reference to the parable of the lost sheep, we are shown how the love of our Father is so pure to actively seek out the lost, with so thoughtful consideration to the circumstance of their origin.

The third element that was noteworthy was this: the jealousy of the brother of the prodigal son. The jealous brother and the prodigal son can be likened to these groups of people: the jealous brother – those who have toiled long living a Christlike life, and the prodigal son – those who have been welcomed as new members or returning. Those who have tired long consistently in the Christian life can understandably feel indignant toward those who have just been welcomed, especially if the latter have been found to be accepted unconditionally; but the story of the prodigal son reminds us that the Father does not at all discount anyone’s labor, for those who have lived with Him “have always been with Him, and everything He has is [theirs], too,” (Luke 15:31)—and of course—the brother’s also. This sharing with each other is only natural in keeping with our Christian virtue. Furthermore, as Galatians 6:9-10 provides: “[We must] not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Today’s readings call us towards the following: the Gospel (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32), not to forget the Father’s acceptance no matter how far we think we have fallen from the fold, and the 2nd Reading (2 Corinthians 5:17-21), to reconcile ourselves to the Father in Christ and to propagate to our neighbors this salvific Message of the Lord so everyone partakes in this redemption, with us as His ambassadors.

Prayer

Lord, Thank You for being our good Father and for all the graces You give us. Thank You especially for the love You lavish on us, that it is not enough You spared not Your own life, that You go with us in our every day, but that You are willing more so to accept us despite our sins, if only to reconcile us to You and to make us Yours in love and perpetual joy. May we share with others incessantly the love You give us tirelessly. These we ask in Jesus’ most holy Name,

Amen.

 

Unwelcoming

Fourth Sunday of Lent 31 March 2019
First reading Joshua 5:9-12

The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” And so that place is called Gilgal to this day. While the Israelites were camped in Gilgal they kept the passover in the evening on the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho. On the day after the passover, on that very day, they ate the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.

Second reading                                                         2 Corinthians 5:17-21

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Gospel                                                                         Luke 15:1-2, 11-32

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him. And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So he told them this parable:

“There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them. A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.

When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs. He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and nobody gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.”‘ So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him. Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe ” the best one-and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.

“Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on. He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’ Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’ Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.'”

Reflection

By Bernard M. Borja

I have a friend who is now happily serving at a church he longed to belong to. But before he was able to serve, he went through a lot of challenges and ridicule. During his younger years, he spent his time with vices such as womanizing and health abuse. At 19 years old, having a wife and two kids did not stop him from continuing his vices. His family experienced emotional and physical abuse from him and after several years, his family left him. Few years past and he became worse that even his friends went to distance themselves from him. Feeling all alone and depressed, he then realized he was so tired. A simple prayer came out from him as he whispered, "Lord, I want to go home." He got so tired of all the things he pursued for his own satisfaction. He got tired of abusing the people around him especially those closest to him. He got tired of being alone and left out. There were only two ways that he was thinking on how we wants to go home. One is to take his own life and end it all so he can be home to wherever he thinks he might belong. He chose the other way which is to go back to the church where his family and friends belong. But when his former friends saw him there, they said many things to him such as "You don't belong here." and "Baka masunog ka dito (You might get burned here.)"

How easy it is for us to "excommunicate" people who we think have no hope of turning away from their wicked ways. And it is even easier for us to judge people who wanted to come home to God who are in the same family as we are in.

Jesus' message of repentance is still clear in our Gospel. The tax collectors and sinners draw near to listen to Jesus and this may be considered as their first step toward repentance. But those who are "serving" at the temple did not like how Jesus welcomes these people. Just like in the parable, when the elder son spoke to his father and said, "This son of yours...", he is somehow forgetting his relationship as his brother. He forgot that even though the younger son spent all his inheritance, he once belonged to the same house he is in. If we look closely in our society today, this is similar to what is happening. My friend who chose to come home almost gave up and thought of going back to his vices because of those people who were unwelcoming. Sometimes the very people who are always with God, and who has God's everything, are the ones who dissipate the blessings that were always meant for everyone. People think that the greater blessings are only meant for those who are in the house of God. This is somehow true because God has longed for us all to be part of His family. But to think that the riches of the Kingdom of God will only be inherited by the rich in spirit alone is dire. Worse is when we also think that we have always been doing the righteous things, not realizing that we also sin because of the things we did not do for our brother or sister.

Jesus continues to proclaim the Kingdom of God through the parable of the prodigal son. God always runs toward us to welcome us back when we repent. God also pleads with us to forgive each other and celebrate how we are found after being lost. Before Jesus died on the cross, he pleaded to Our Father saying, "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing." What if Jesus would plead to us with the same words, like the father in the parable, whenever our hearts are hardened to forgive our brother or sister? Should we open our hearts and welcome them if Jesus would say to us, "Please forgive him/her because he/she does not know what he/she was doing."? Or would we behave like the elder brother in the parable?

We must remember that when God calls us to repent, he also calls us to feast and to rejoice. God awaits for us and always sees us from afar when we come home. He also wants us to see from afar our brothers and sisters who wants to come home, for us to welcome them and celebrate because they have been found after getting lost. 

Prayer

Dear God Our Father, we thank You for Your generosity as You continue to give us every blessings and riches in Your kingdom. Open our hearts to share these graces to our brothers and sisters especially to those who want to come home to You. We also pray for the grace to ask forgiveness to those whom we have offended because of committed and omitted mistakes. May we welcome You in our hearts as we commemorate the passion of Your Son this Lent. We also ask Mama Mary for her guidance and intercession as we look up to her, overflowing with God's inspiration, to repent and amend our life. In Jesus' Name, Amen. 

Home

First Reading:  Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14

Yahweh then said to Moses, 'Go down at once, for your people whom you brought here from Egypt have become corrupt. They have quickly left the way which I ordered them to follow. They have cast themselves a metal calf, worshipped it and offered sacrifice to it, shouting, "Israel, here is your God who brought you here from Egypt!" '

Yahweh then said to Moses, 'I know these people; I know how obstinate they are! So leave me now, so that my anger can blaze at them and I can put an end to them! I shall make a great nation out of you instead.' Moses tried to pacify Yahweh his God. 'Yahweh,' he said, 'why should your anger blaze at your people, whom you have brought out of Egypt by your great power and mighty hand?

Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to whom you swore by your very self and made this promise: "I shall make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and this whole country of which I have spoken, I shall give to your descendants, and it will be their heritage forever." Yahweh then relented over the disaster which he had intended to inflict on his people.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19

Second Reading: 1Timothy 1:12-17

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength. By calling me into his service he has judged me trustworthy, even though I used to be a blasphemer and a persecutor and contemptuous. Mercy, however, was shown me, because while I lacked faith I acted in ignorance; but the grace of our Lord filled me with faith and with the love that is in Christ Jesus.

Here is a saying that you can rely on and nobody should doubt: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I myself am the greatest of them; and if mercy has been shown to me, it is because Jesus Christ meant to make me the leading example of his inexhaustible patience for all the other people who were later to trust in him for eternal life. To the eternal King, the undying, invisible and only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Gospel:  Luke 15:1-32

The tax collectors and sinners, however, were all crowding round to listen to him, and the Pharisees and scribes complained saying, 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.' So he told them this parable: 'Which one of you with a hundred sheep, if he lost one, would fail to leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the missing one till he found it?

And when he found it, would he not joyfully take it on his shoulders and then, when he got home, call together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, I have found my sheep that was lost." In the same way, I tell you, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner repenting than over ninety-nine upright people who have no need of repentance.

'Or again, what woman with ten drachmas would not, if she lost one, light a lamp and sweep out the house and search thoroughly till she found it? And then, when she had found it, call together her friends and neighbours, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, I have found the drachma I lost." In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing among the angels of God over one repentant sinner.'

Then he said, 'There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, "Father, let me have the share of the estate that will come to me." So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery. 'When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch; so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs.

And he would willingly have filled himself with the husks the pigs were eating but no one would let him have them. Then he came to his senses and said, "How many of my father's hired men have all the food they want and more, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired men."

So he left the place and went back to his father. 'While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him. Then his son said, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son." But the father said to his servants, "Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we will celebrate by having a feast, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found." And they began to celebrate. 'Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing.  Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about.

The servant told him, "Your brother has come, and your father has killed the calf we had been fattening because he has got him back safe and sound." He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out and began to urge him to come in; but he retorted to his father, "All these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed any orders of yours, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends.

But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property -- he and his loose women -- you kill the calf we had been fattening.  'The father said, "My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found." '

Reflection:
by Theresa Ballo

We all have our great stories of being lost, whether when we were a child, a struggling teenager or just a lost adult. We were all confused on which path to take, made mistakes and hurt people. Thus, we take delight in being found, in finding our way home.

Do you sometimes doubt the infinite love and mercy of God? Do you at times feel ashamed of presenting yourself to the Lord? Was there ever a time you felt you are not anymore worthy of the love of God? Just because you have offended God for so many times already, running away from Him seems the easiest thing to do.

The crises in my life always come late with my age. After college, I had the so-called. “teenager blues” or identity crises. I tried doing the YOLO (You Only Live Once) lifestyle, doing things that would give instant pleasure. My adventurous personality went beyond its limit. No fear, as the Nike ad would say, until my body got tired. I was wearing a beautiful mask, trying to present a responsible daughter and an energetic youth in the service of the Parish yet when the limelight was off; there I was staying on a dark pit. I was exactly like the prodigal son. Yet, instead of coming home, I literally ran away from home because of shame and guilt. My three years away from home, living with just the basics and dealing with strangers became my purification state. It was hard. I became so vulnerable to God’s loving mercy.

God’s love is always there for you. No matter who you are and no matter how grave the sins that you have committed, God’s love never ceases. It does not go empty. As a matter of fact God is always seeking you and ever ready to embrace you with his unconditional love once again. The Gospel this Sunday, tells three stories of God’s love and mercy. God never stops searching for the lost. He gives pardon without any condition. God’s love is always seeking and forgiving. Embrace therefore this love and win the battle of turning away from sins. Learn from our mistakes, move on and live with compassion and mercy for others, for we know how it is to suffer in the first place.

More so, let us strive not to become the Pharisees who only rejoice in the righteousness of oneself. As a Church, may we be like Jesus who welcomes the sinners. If we truly understand the grace of God, we will welcome sinners as those, like us, who are undeserving of God’s favor, and rejoice when they experience grace as we have.

Let us all be reminded that Jesus, whom we adore and worship, is a God of mercy, a God of forgiveness and a God of infinite love.

Prayer
Father God,

Teach us to be like you in accepting sinners, like us. May we show compassion to others who think and act differently from us. Give us a forgiving heart so we free ourselves from hatred. May we become instruments of your peace and love. Amen.

The Forgiving Father

 

Fourth Sunday of Lent

06 March 2016

First reading                                                                             Joshua 5:9-12

The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Today I have taken the shame of Egypt away from you.’

  The Israelites pitched their camp at Gilgal and kept the Passover there on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening in the plain of Jericho. On the morrow of the Passover they tasted the produce of that country, unleavened bread and roasted ears of corn, that same day. From that time, from their first eating of the produce of that country, the manna stopped falling. And having manna no longer, the Israelites fed from that year onwards on what the land of Canaan yielded.

 

Psalm                                                                            Psalm 33:2-7

             

Second reading                                                         2 Corinthians 5:17-21

For anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here. It is all God’s work. It was God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the work of handing on this reconciliation. In other words, God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself, not holding men’s faults against them, and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled. So we are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ’s name is: be reconciled to God. For our sake God made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God.
 

Gospel                                                                       Luke 13:1-9

The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus to hear what he had to say, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained. ‘This man’ they said ‘welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ So he spoke this parable to them:

  ‘A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, let me have the share of the estate that would come to me.” So the father divided the property between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.

  ‘When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began to feel the pinch, so he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled his belly with the husks the pigs were eating but no one offered him anything. Then he came to his senses and said, “How many of my father’s paid servants have more food than they want, and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as one of your paid servants.” So he left the place and went back to his father.

  ‘While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have been fattening, and kill it; we are going to have a feast, a celebration, because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life; he was lost and is found.” And they began to celebrate.

  ‘Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it was all about. “Your brother has come” replied the servant “and your father has killed the calf we had fattened because he has got him back safe and sound.” He was angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out to plead with him; but he answered his father, “Look, all these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed your orders, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your property – he and his women – you kill the calf we had been fattening.”

  ‘The father said, “My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.”’

Reflection

By Grace B. Madriñan

The parable today is more popularly known as “The Prodigal Son”.  I need not elaborate further what this is all about as I believe you have read and heard of this many times over.

      

To tell you honestly, there are actually times when I am having a hard time accepting how the prodigal son can easily move back to the comfortable life after squandering half of his Father’s wealth. I cannot blame the “responsible son” for reacting the same way.  If I were him, I could have acted the same way, maybe even gave him cold shoulders for a few weeks just to make him suffer a bit more.

     

Recalling one of the talks at the Feast (Catholic prayer gathering of the Light of Jesus family), our preacher shared that most Christians (including Catholic Christians), who are in the ministry or community, are like the “responsible son”.   We tend to be self-righteous to the point that we feel that we should be more privileged or more blessed because we have been good to our service. Even if we admit or not, we tend to get awry and even doubtful when a rebel returns home.

     

Over the years, I realized that the parable is neither about the prodigal son nor the better son. It is about the forgiving Father. The love and mercy of a Father is something that we cannot fully define. The only truth that we know is that no amount of sin is greater than the love of a Father. This is how our God is -- ever loving, ever forgiving. His love overwhelms our soul. His love cleanses and leads us to conversion. Sooner enough, His love magnifies our lives.

    

Who am I, then, to deny such love?

 

Prayer

 

Ever loving Father, we thank and glorify You for Your stubborn love for us. Never let us go from Your hold, and let Your love and generosity rub on us so that we can do the same for our returning brothers. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.

Coming Home

Solemnity of the Lord's Birth

December 25, 2015

First reading                                                                                           Isaiah 9:1-7

The people that walked in darkness

has seen a great light;

on those who live in a land of deep shadow

a light has shone.

You have made their gladness greater,

you have made their joy increase;

they rejoice in your presence

as men rejoice at harvest time,

as men are happy when they are dividing the spoils.

For the yoke that was weighing on him,

the barb across his shoulders,

the rod of his oppressor,

these you break as on the day of Midian.

For all the footgear of battle,

every cloak rolled in blood,

is burnt,

and consumed by fire.

For there is a child born for us,

a son given to us

and dominion is laid on his shoulders;

and this is the name they give him:

Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God,

Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace.

Wide is his dominion

in a peace that has no end,

for the throne of David

and for his royal power,

which he establishes and makes secure

in justice and integrity.

From this time onwards and for ever,

the jealous love of the Lord of Hosts will do this.

Psalm	Psalm 95: 1-3, 11-13

Second reading                                                                           Titus 2:11-14                        God’s grace has been revealed, and it has made salvation possible for the whole human race and taught us that what we have to do is to give up everything that does not lead to God, and all our worldly ambitions; we must be self-restrained and live good and religious lives here in this present world, while we are waiting in hope for the blessing which will come with the Appearing of the glory of our great God and saviour Christ Jesus. He sacrificed himself for us in order to set us free from all wickedness and to purify a people so that it could be his very own and would have no ambition except to do good.

Gospel                                                                           Luke 2:1-14

Caesar Augustus issued a decree for a census of the whole world to be taken. This census – the first – took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria, and everyone went to his own town to be registered. So Joseph set out from the town of Nazareth in Galilee and travelled up to Judaea, to the town of David called Bethlehem, since he was of David’s House and line, in order to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to a son, her first born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them at the inn.
  In the countryside close by there were shepherds who lived in the fields and took it in turns to watch their flocks during the night. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone round them. They were terrified, but the angel said, ‘Do not be afraid. Listen, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly with the angel there was a great throng of the heavenly host, praising God and singing:
‘Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace to men who enjoy his favour.’

Reflection

By Pam Manzano

We are all aware of how the story of the prodigal son went. In one way or another, we can all somehow relate to that stubborn kid who gathered all the estate due to him and left his father broken; only to realize in the end that where his father and brother are, there his home is.

Perhaps the blinding commercialism takes its toll on us during Christmas season. We are in a hurry to complete our shopping lists, to decorate our houses with garlands and wreaths. We are busy with planning what the Noche Buena menu should be and who are we inviting over. We get too preoccupied with wrapping our gifts or buying presents for our inaanaks (godchildren) and loved ones. It does not hurt to have all these adornments and festivities around us, but let us not forget that all these do not equate or even come close to the real meaning of Christmas.

The reason why we celebrate this day has been a cliche. We hear it all the time and we are as well reminded by homilies during simbang gabi why and I cannot emphasize the reason and importance of this day anymore than they do but let me give it a try.

CHRIST.

We are remembering the birth of a King. We are remembering how the Father sent the Son, how the Son took on human form to be one of us, one with us. The One who would later on bear all our shame and sins. The One who is the reason why we are saved. Him who became the ultimate sacrifice for mankind's sake.

We are celebrating God's mercy. We are celebrating His goodness, His eternal love that even death couldn't hold down. We are remembering the birth of the Emmanuel - Jesus Christ.

This is the season to renew our vows to the Lord. Now is the perfect time to acknowledge that without Christ we are lost. It does not matter how far we think we've drifted away from Him, today is the day we should come home to His loving embrace, to His mercy, to His never failing love.

How did the story of the prodigal son end? The son decided to come home and asked his father for forgiveness. The patient father welcomed him back into his household. They celebrated the return of the once lost son. They feasted. They rejoiced.

Let us not make this complicated: Jesus is the reason for the season. Let's make this all about Him. Like the prodigal son's father, He is patiently waiting for our return. Go back to Him. Come home to Him. Only then will Christmas, in its truest sense, be fully realized.

Prayer

Father, we want to thank You for Christmas; for Your unfailing love. We find peace and comfort in knowing that You are our home. Allow us to rest in You that we may find strength to continuously seek Your face. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Forgiving is Loving

Viernes de Dolores 27 March 2015

Gospel             Luke 15:11-32

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Reflection

By Fidji Rivera-Sarmiento

“…Yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends.”’

The naïve me used to think, ang daya (How unfair). Even in high school, each time this was discussed in the classroom or retreats, in my mind, I would mutter, ang daya-daya nung tatay (That father is very unfair). Of course, this is also me when I see good things happen to bad people.

Now I realized that this is the very core of that dangerous sense of entitlement, the “I-Deserve-This” thinking. It starts with jealousy or envy, then it escalates to a pity party. Entitlement borders on narcissism, and is way different than self-worth. Should the good son been genuine in being upright, then he should not feel in any way jealous of the prodigal son’s celebration. He must also not expect any reward at all from his compassionate father.

In the past, this parable centered on the prodigal son. Being prodigal means to spend resources, i.e. money, recklessly. I wonder why in Filipino this story usually translates to alibughang anak, when alibugha means taksil, more appropriately used on an unfaithful partner. Gladly, this parable eventually evolved to focus on the compassionate and forgiving father.

We can learn many things from this loving dad. How well do we forgive those who have wronged us? How many times have we given up on those who betrayed us? How do we deal with family members who went the wrong way?

Forgiving is loving. And when we forgive, we don’t do it for the other person. We do it to free ourselves.

So ponder on.

Who are you in this story? The prodigal son? The jealous brother? Or the brokenhearted father?

Prayer

Dear Jesus, more than anything today, we ask for Your Holy Spirit to help us manage our emotions. We believe that it is only with You that we can react to situations appropriately. You have shown us how it is to be a human, and we would want to follow You. Help us. Teach us. Fine-tune our thoughts, so we can proclaim Your kingdom through our ways. Amen.