Christian Humility

 Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

27 February 2022

 

First Reading: SIR 27:4-7

Responsorial Psalm: PS 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16

Second Reading: 1 COR 15:54-58

Gospel: LK 6:39-45

 

Reflection

By: Sem. Carlo Alexis R. Malaluan

 

Have you ever heard of the consciousness examen? It is an integral part of the Ignatian Spirituality whereby you will look unto the past experiences of the day, examine each encounter, and recognize God’s presence throughout the day. During the examination, one also comes face-to-face with his own flaws and shortcomings. It is an opportunity to confront oneself in the light of the faith. It requires both honesty and humility.

This Sunday’s Gospel passage offers a concrete example.  Jesus' preaching seems only to be about loving our neighbor:  specifically, a sinful neighbor.  Since the two great commandments of Jesus—to love God fully and to love our neighbor as ourselves—converge in Him, we are not to look down on our sinful brother, but rather to look up at him.

You can only see the woundedness and fragility of the other through the eyes of Christian humility.  Both my brother and I are sinners.  We are equal in this – we both share in this.  But Jesus calls me to serve my brother as if I were serving Jesus Himself. Only if we have the capacity to see through our own wounds, we come to relate to other people’s wounds. If we cannot recognize our own weakness, we remain blind of the plight of others.  For this reason, from my state of sinfulness, I look up at my sinful brother.  From this stance, I may help him remove the splinter from his eye.

There are moments in my life wherein I am overwhelmed with my own share of sinfulness and feebleness. At times, I would deliberately ignore or pretend as if they are not present. When I consulted my Spiritual Director and told him this experience, he consoled me and told me: "That’s exactly what God wants you to experience. How can you imbibe the smell of your sheep if you are not one of them?" It makes more sense now. It is only through looking at our own experiences of darkness can we begin to understand and accompany our brothers and sisters.

This Christian way of looking towards others is not a judgmental act of comparing oneself to them, rather, it is an invitation to grow together in holiness. Jesus invites us to become good trees which bears good fruits. And how should we become good fruit-bearing trees? Jesus calls us to be deeply rooted in him – to go deep into our own dirt of woundedness and brokenness and to allow ourselves to be immersed in God’s transforming mercy and love. The more we go down, the more we produce good fruits. 

Prayer

God, we are Your beloved. Even in our unfinished state, You take delight in what we are and we will become. Help us to claim for our own Your gentle leading in our lives and help us to know that You are always hoping for more for us and from us. Give us the strength and peace of heart to be filled with Your power. Amen.

 

Being Blind in the Right Way

 Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

24 October 2021 

 

First Reading: JER 31:7-9

Responsorial Psalm: PS 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6

Second Reading: HEB 5:1-6

Gospel: MK 10:46-52

 

Reflection

By: Bernard Borja

 

Bartimaeus, the blind man, literally walked by faith and not by his sight. He knows how to call and come before the Lord by acknowledging His authority - son of David, and throwing aside something he owns (his cloak). This is in contrast to the wealthy man who came to Jesus and asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. The wealthy man came before Jesus, bringing his "accomplishments" and presented it to the Lord (Mk 10:20 "all of these I have observed from my youth.") He may have most of the qualifications to inherit eternal life, but his selfish desires made it useless when he walked away from Jesus. The two disciples, James and John, were also in contrast to how Bartimaeus asked Jesus. Although James and John acknowledges Jesus' authority when they called Him "teacher", their desire to be "on top" or greater than the others shows that their faith is misaligned. Like the wealthy man, James and John also brought their "status" so they can present it to Jesus and ask whatever it is that they want.

Bartimaeus' first request is not even "to see". It is for Jesus to "have mercy on him." He acknowledged his own weakness and sinfulness, even though he only met Jesus the first time. How many times do we pray and go straight to, "Lord, I want this. Do this for me." And when we are not praying, do we remember that we are still before the presence of God? Or do we only put ourselves in His presence the moment we want to pray? Bartimaeus teaches us of how great our faith can be even without seeing. He may have heard a lot of stories about Jesus before and he's waiting all his life for Jesus to pass by the road where he is begging. He may have already been living his life courageously even before he was told to "take courage", because his faith constantly reminded him to be ready for that day. To recognize that we are always in God's presence is to be ready for His call. To acknowledge that we are "blind" can help us strengthen our faith that God will always listen to our prayers.

There may be times when we look at ourselves and desire to be "superior" to others. Even in the faithful community or the Church, we sometimes look at others' "blindness" and maybe see them as unworthy to come before the Lord. There may be times when we rebuke them and tell them to keep their prayers to themselves, especially when they cry out and call upon the Lord more. We can learn a lot from the fatih and courage (whether it's authentic or misaligned), of those who call upon the Lord profusely. The wealthy man may have faith to believe that he will inherit eternal life through his accomplishments. James and John had the audacity to ask Jesus for greatness even in the presence of other disciples. The contrast in Bartimaeus' desire is that he fully understands who Jesus is and the proper way to respond which is to leave his possession and acknowledge his "blindness". There was no pride or even some coins that he wanted to offer in exchange besides his faith.

Today, we often see people offering a list of accomplishments in exchange for "greatness". They show a sense of false humility to the people for them to get what they want. To make it worse, they want the people to look away from their sinfunlness and just focus on their accomplishments. This "blindness" from the mistakes that a person has done (or continues to do) is never the same with Bartimaeus' blindness.

Bartimaues' faith grew stronger because of his blindness. Some people's blindness makes them grow a sense of false humility that drives them to do "good" works to nullify a sin. An accomplishment can never be used to forget an evil deed. In the same way, our status in life must not be a basis for us to look down on others, and believe that it is our right to be superior. Bartimaeus also teaches us how to pray - recognize God's authority (Our Father in Heaven), trust that God will fulfill our deepest desires (Thy will be done), be faithful that God always listens (give us this day our daily bread), acknowledge our sinful nature (forgive us our trespasses), and follow Jesus closely (deliver us from evil).

Prayer

Lord, in our blindness, may we all learn to strengthen our faith and be ready to come before You, and trust that You will fulfill the deepest desires of our heart. Amen.

 

Bulag na Kayabangan

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

28 October 2018

First reading                                                                  Jeremiah 31:7-9
Thus says the Lord: “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, “Save, O Lord, your people, the remnant of Israel.”
“See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, those with child and those in labor, together; a great company, they shall return here. With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back, I will let them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.”

Second reading                                                     Hebrews 5:1-6

Every high priest chosen from among mortals is put in charge of things pertaining to God on their behalf, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is subject to weakness; and because of this he must offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people.

And one does not presume to take this honor, but takes it only when called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest, but was appointed by the one who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you;” as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”

Gospel                                                                     Mark 10:46-52

As Jesus and his disciples and a large crowd were leaving Jericho, Bartimaeus son of Timaeus, a blind beggar, was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many sternly ordered him to be quiet, but he cried out even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way.

Reflection

By Nats Vibiesca

Kapag bulag ka, kayhirap makakita ng tutulong sa iyo. Hindi joke ‘yun. Napapansin ko kasi na ang mga namamalimos na bulag sa bangketa ay madalas na dinadaanan lang, hindi pinapansin, walang nakikialam, walang nagmamalasakit tumulong. Sa dinami-dami ng mga dumadaan, iilan lang ang magbibigay-limos. Maitatanong mo nga kung sino ba talaga ang bulag, ang pulubi o ang mga nagdaraan? Tulad ng kuwento sa Ebanghelyo, walang pumapansin sa bulag na si Bartimaeus, kahit pa nagsisisigaw na siya, nainis pa nga ang mga tao sa ingay niya kaya’t pinatatahimik ito. Naramdaman ni Jesus na sinsero ang paghingi ng tulong ng bulag kaya’t pinatawag siya nito.

Dalawang bagay ang gusto kong ibahaging pagmumunimuni: una, ang tungkol sa lihim na kayabangan ko; ang pangalawa nama’y tungkol sa mga kaawa-awang pulubi sa kalsada. Lahat naman siguro ng tao’y may kayabangan sa sarili, may mga sobrang yabang nga lang talaga na kapag nagsalita ay super bagyo o sa kilos ay tipong talbog ang lahat sa paligid kahit pa matapakan ang kapwa. Ang sa akin ay kayabangang tago. Hindi kasi ako masalita at may pagkamahiyain pa. Pero sa isip ko, sa loob-loob ko, ako dapat ang bida, ako dapat ang pinakamagaling. Ang nakikita ko lang ay ang sarili ko. Kaya sa sarili ko, ako ang mataas at ang lahat ay mababa; ako ang bida, sila ang talunan; ako ang may kapangyarihan, lahat sila’y  mahina. Ang problema, kung ano ang iginigiit sa isip, iyon din ang naisasapuso, at ang malala ay lumalabas ito sa kilos. Ang punto ko’y kung mayabang ako sa loob, ganoon din sa gawa.  Kaya’t anumang pagpapapansin ng mga maliliit na tao, dedma lang sa mga mapagmataas na tao. Hindi nga makikita ng mga mayabang na tao (tulad ko) ang sinumang nangangailangan ng tulong kahit pa nagsusumigaw na ito sa harap nila. Sa gabi, bago matulog, pagkatapos ko balikan ang mga kayabangan sa aking sarili, naghuhumiyaw ako sa Diyos na humihingi ng tulong upang maiwaksi sa araw-araw ang lihim na kayabangan. Tanging si Jesus ang siguradong makakarinig ng aking pagsusumamo kung tapat ang dalangin ko. 

Ang pangalawang bagay sa pagmumuni ko’y ukol sa mga kaawa-awang mga pulubi sa kalsada (kahit hindi bulag). Silang laging umaasa na mapansin ng mga taong nagdaraan at mabigyan kahit man lang barya.  Ang iba’y nangingiming tumulong sa mga pulubi dahil baka raw sindikato lang o may mga taong nasa likod ng kanilang pamamalimos. Kung minsan ay naiinis ang mga taong nakakakita sa kanila lalo na kung may mga bitbit pang mga bata o sanggol bilang pagpapaawa. Ipinagbawal pa nga sa batas ang pamamalimos at mismong pagbibigay ng limos, masakit daw sa mata ang makitang nakakalat sila sa kalsada. Pero teka muna! Hindi lahat ng pulubi sa kalsada ay sindikato o gumigimik lang para kaawaan. Karamihan sa kanila’y totoong nangangailangan ng tulong, silang wala na talagang matakbuhan kahit pa pilitin nilang magsumikap upang magkaroon ng marangal na pagkakakitaan pero pinagsamantalahan lang ng ibang tao. Ang nakalulungkot ay sa dami nilang naging tahanan na ang kalsada’y hindi sasapat ang kakaunting tao na tumutulong sa kanila o may pagkakataong wala talagang nagmamalasakit. Ngunit heto ang rebelasyon ng Diyos sa atin sa Ebanghelyo ngayon at para bagang sinasabi Niya sa ating mga dumadaan: Binulag na kayo ng inyong labis na pagmamahal sa sarili kaya’t hindi na ninyo maaninagan man lang ang mga taong nasa harapan ninyo na humihingi ng saklolo; walang-hanggang awa ang ibibigay Ko sa kanilang mga tapat sa pananampalataya at masigasig na humihingi ng tulong. 

Ito rin naman ang pag-asa nating lahat, kung masigasig din tayong hihingi ng tulong sa Diyos at tapat na mananampalataya sa grasya na ipagkakaloob sa atin na makakitang muli, dahil tayo naman talaga ang totoong bulag.


Sa huli, tulad ng bulag na agad pinagaling, kailangan din nating sumunod kay Jesus. Totoong lagi tayong pinapagaling ni Jesus at madaling sabihing susunod na tayo sa Kanya, ngunit lagi rin namang mahirap isakatuparan ang pagsunod o kung minsan pa’y muli tayong naliligaw ng landas. Kung sakaling manumbalik ang ating pagkabulag, wala naman tayong ibang matatakbuhan, kundi ang pagbabalik natin sa ating pananampalataya, paghingi ng awa at grasya ng Diyos upang magpanibagong sigla ang ating paningin. 

Prayer

Ama, maraming salamat po at Ikaw ay hindi bulag sa aming mga pangangailangan. Tulungan mo po kaming magising sa aming kayabangan at magkaroon ng pusong tunay na nagmamalasakit sa aming kapwa. Sa ngalan ni Jesus. Amen.

Different Blindness

Fourth Sunday of Lent Mar 30
First reading 1 Samuel 16:1,6-7,10-13

The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen myself a king among his sons.’ When Samuel arrived, he caught sight of Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed stands there before him,’ but the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Take no notice of his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him: God does not see as man sees: man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.’ Jesse presented his seven sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen these.’ He then asked Jesse, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’ He answered, ‘There is still one left, the youngest; he is out looking after the sheep.’ Then Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send for him; we will not sit down to eat until he comes.’ Jesse had him sent for, a boy of fresh complexion, with fine eyes and pleasant bearing. The Lord said, ‘Come, anoint him, for this is the one.’ At this, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him where he stood with his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord seized on David and stayed with him from that day on.

Psalm                                                                           Psalm 22:1-6

Second reading                                                       Ephesians 5:8-14

You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord; be like children of light, for the effects of the light are seen in complete goodness and right living and truth. Try to discover what the Lord wants of you, having nothing to do with the futile works of darkness but exposing them by contrast. The things which are done in secret are things that ashamed even to speak of; but anything exposed by the light will be illuminated and anything illuminated turns into light. That is why it is said:

Wake up from your sleep,

rise from the dead,

and Christ will shine on you.

Gospel                                                                       John 9:1-41

As Jesus went along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, for him to have been born blind?’ ‘Neither he nor his parents sinned,’ Jesus answered ‘he was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

‘As long as the day lasts

I must carry out the work of the one who sent me;

the night will soon be here when no one can work.

As long as I am in the world

I am the light of the world.’

Having said this, he spat on the ground, made a paste with the spittle, put this over the eyes of the blind man, and said to him, ‘Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (a name that means ‘sent’). So the blind man went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored.

  His neighbours and people who earlier had seen him begging said, ‘Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?’ Some said, ‘Yes, it is the same one.’ Others said, ‘No, he only looks like him.’ The man himself said, ‘I am the man.’ So they said to him, ‘Then how do your eyes come to be open?’ ‘The man called Jesus’ he answered ‘made a paste, daubed my eyes with it and said to me, “Go and wash at Siloam”; so I went, and when I washed I could see.’ They asked, ‘Where is he?’ ‘I don’t know’ he answered.

  They brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. It had been a sabbath day when Jesus made the paste and opened the man’s eyes, so when the Pharisees asked him how he had come to see, he said, ‘He put a paste on my eyes, and I washed, and I can see.’ Then some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man cannot be from God: he does not keep the sabbath.’ Others said, ‘How could a sinner produce signs like this?’ And there was disagreement among them. So they spoke to the blind man again, ‘What have you to say about him yourself, now that he has opened your eyes?’ ‘He is a prophet’ replied the man. However, the Jews would not believe that the man had been blind and had gained his sight, without first sending for his parents and asking them, ‘Is this man really your son who you say was born blind? If so, how is it that he is now able to see?’ His parents answered, ‘We know he is our son and we know he was born blind, but we do not know how it is that he can see now, or who opened his eyes. He is old enough: let him speak for himself.’ His parents spoke like this out of fear of the Jews, who had already agreed to expel from the synagogue anyone who should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ. This was why his parents said, ‘He is old enough; ask him.’

  So the Jews again sent for the man and said to him, ‘Give glory to God! For our part, we know that this man is a sinner.’ The man answered, ‘I don’t know if he is a sinner; I only know that I was blind and now I can see.’ They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ He replied, ‘I have told you once and you wouldn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it all again? Do you want to become his disciples too?’ At this they hurled abuse at him: ‘You can be his disciple,’ they said ‘we are disciples of Moses: we know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’ The man replied, ‘Now here is an astonishing thing! He has opened my eyes, and you don’t know where he comes from! We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but God does listen to men who are devout and do his will. Ever since the world began it is unheard of for anyone to open the eyes of a man who was born blind; if this man were not from God, he couldn’t do a thing.’ ‘Are you trying to teach us,’ they replied ‘and you a sinner through and through, since you were born!’ And they drove him away.

  Jesus heard they had driven him away, and when he found him he said to him, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ ‘Sir,’ the man replied ‘tell me who he is so that I may believe in him.’ Jesus said, ‘You are looking at him; he is speaking to you.’ The man said, ‘Lord, I believe’, and worshipped him.

  Jesus said:

‘It is for judgement

that I have come into this world,

so that those without sight may see

and those with sight turn blind.’

Hearing this, some Pharisees who were present said to him, ‘We are not blind, surely?’ Jesus replied:

‘Blind? If you were,

you would not be guilty,

but since you say, “We see,”

your guilt remains.’

Reflection by Mark Vertido

It is already the last Sunday of the month and the fourth week of Lent. During the past Sundays of Lent, we have journeyed with Jesus in a transformation of spirit. We continue the journey and let God change us more.

The different characters in the Gospel this Sunday presents to us our very own characteristics as humans. First, we have the blind man who was cured by Jesus. We are not physically blind, but how many times have we neglected with our own eyes the people around us? We really need Jesus to vanish the darkness that covers our eyes that we might see light, to see the situation that is happening around. More than ever, Christians are asked to become socially aware and active because Christ is everywhere through our brothers and sisters.

But this blindness that we have reflects also how we have become spiritually blind like the Pharisees. Being blind during the time of Jesus is concrete evidence that a person is a sinner for God himself have punished that person already. Thus, the Pharisees did not believe that the blind man is already healed for he was a sinner. They even doubted the work of Jesus saying that it could not be from God. This would only show how the Pharisees are insecure when others are given blessings by God. And sometimes we become a Pharisee when we think of ourselves superior than others.

Many of us have become spiritually blind. The first reading states “man sees with the eyes; God sees the heart.” We are too much empirical that we have become blinded by the physical appearance of a person. That is why Christ has come to us that we become the “children of Light”. And as such, we need to behave accordingly as “the fruits of the light are kindness, justice and truth, in any form”.

We need to ask God to heal this spiritual blindness that we might become truly His children. The process of healing starts with the Sacrament of Reconciliation which is always offered to us by God through the Church. Let us then begin and act in kindness, justice and truth for the sake of a just and humane society, that in all things God maybe glorified!

Prayer

Lord, in Your goodness, heal our infirmities, especially our spiritual blindness, that we may ever see the beauty of creation and the people around us. Help us to see what is inside of us rather than seeing only the sin of others. Teach us to seek You always that we may become the “children of Light.” And may our actions be kind, just, and truthful, especially to our brothers and sisters in need. Amen.