WAITING FOR THE LORD IN HOPE

First Sunday of Advent

Is. 63:16b-17, 19b, 64:2-7; Ps. 80:2-3,15-16,18-19; 1 Cor. 1:3-9; M. 13:33-37

Armageddon, The Day after Tomorrow, 2012. These are just some of the “end of the world” films that ended up in the blockbuster list. These films captured the hearts and minds of many because they portrayed what may happen to this world that will bring the present civilization to the end of its days. People were entertained, yet deep within, fear was awakened. What if it will happen? 

For the past few days until today, we have heard the many apocalyptic narratives of Jesus. And if we understand them literally, we end up in fear and trembling. For sure, no one finds consolation in the words of Jesus in our Gospel, “Be alert! You do not know when the time will come!” Nobody wants an unexpected and uncertain future!

However, our Gospel today is not about making us fearful and afraid. It is about hope! Yes, we do not know “when the time will come whether in the evening or at midnight or at cockcrow or in the morning.” Yet we continue to be hopeful for hope has a name—Jesus Christ.

In one of his morning Masses at Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis has this to say, “Jesus, the hope, renews everything. He is the one who renews every wonderful thing of Creation; He’s the reason of our hope. And this hope does not delude because He is faithful. He can’t renounce Himself.” Hence, we do not fear when the Lord will come because he will come not to seek revenge to the unfaithful but to renew all things for the glory of his Father. We are also assured that all will be well when the Lord comes because he is faithful, he is a God who keeps his promises of love and mercy.

As witnesses of Christian hope, it is our mission then, as Pope Francis puts it, “amid so much darkness, we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others.” How then can we translate hope into action? Through works of mercy and compassion especially to those who have given up hope and have thrived in desperation, hope becomes alive. Hope becomes a making present of Jesus once again on earth.

I have a friend who was in Tacloban at the height of typhoon Yolanda. He saw with his own eyes the devastation and heard people calling for help while they were being swept away by the storm surge. After the storm, as he walked along the streets, all that he could see were lifeless bodies hanging around trees and electric posts and people begging for help and looking desperately for their loved ones. Having gone through such a great catastrophe did not make him desperate. Rather, such experience made him hold on to hope. And from that moment, he became one of those who volunteered to look for help outside of his place.

Typhoon Yolanda was not an “end of days” blockbuster film. It was a real event that left a scar in our history as a nation. Many of us became afraid. What if it will happen again? However, the Lord has assured us that we do not fear, for he will come not to judge and condemn the world but to redeem it. All that we have to do is to hold on to hope by becoming active witnesses of mercy and compassion now and for ever. Amen!

P.S. This homily is published in the special issue of Boletin Ecclesiastico de Filipinas on the occasion of the Papal Visit to the Philippines

NOT ME BUT THEM

SOLEMNITY OF CHRIST THE KING

Ez.34:11-12,15-17; Ps.23; 1 Cor.15:20-26,28; Mt.25:31-46

We are only counting the days, and soon we can see and hear in the news predictions about the future. What will happen next year? Will there be a breakup of another showbiz couple? Will there be another major political issue in our government? Or we might ask personal questions like, Will I still be married to this lazy husband or to this noisy wife? Will I have grandchildren next year? Will my son or daughter graduate from school? We do not know what will happen in the future. That is why our natural tendency is to prepare for tomorrow. Parents work hard for their children to have a stable future. Students diligently study so that they can have a secured tomorrow. Professionals save from their income in preparation for their marriage or their future retirement. In short, we prepare for the uncertain future. And if we try to examine all our preparations, we realize that they are all directed to ourselves! We work hard and invest our time and talent all for our own selves.

However, our Gospel today which is taken from Matthew, which is also the last discourse of Jesus before he enters into his passion and death, already tells us of what will happen in the future, in the end of everything. “The Son of Man will come in glory and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. Then he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” There will be a judgment of all nations! And what is the criteria? It’s not on how much have we saved in the bank. It’s not on how successful we are in our business. It’s not on how stable and secure we are in life. It is all about the OTHER! It is all about our NEIGHBOR—who was hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, ill, and in prison. St. John of the Cross has reminded us that “in the end of our lives, we will be judged according to love.” This love is not directed to the self but to the other. And how is this love expressed? Not through marvelous things but small things like feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming a stranger, clothing a naked, and visiting the sick or those in prison.

Today, we celebrate the feast of Christ the King! Christ became a King not because he owned a palace or had a great number of soldiers. Christ became a King because of the many simple and unrecognized acts of mercy and compassion he has done to the five thousand hungry men, to the thirsting Samaritan woman, to the weeping widow at Naim, to his friend in Bethany, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, and to the sinful and unworthy you and me! Christ prepared for the uncertain future by thinking and acting not for himself but others. His entire life was lived for others even unto death. To human’s deepest poverty, which is separation from God, Jesus brought God as he was himself God.

This is therefore our challenge today, that we prepare for the future not just solely for ourselves but also for others. If we are working hard for our family, may we also include the plight of other families. If we are saving for a secure tomorrow, may we never fail our present obligation to share and donate for charity. May we become an all-inclusive family, community, and Church rather than an exclusive and closed one! Let us make God present in our world through our small acts of mercy and compassion.

Let us prepare for the future by following the shepherd mentioned in our first reading and responsorial psalm today who “finds himself among his scattered sheep, who rescues them from every place where they are scattered, who brings them besides restful waters, and who spreads the table before the sight of the enemies.” The shepherd worked not for himself but for his sheep. Jesus lived in this world not for himself but for others. We too are called to live the present in view of the future not for ourselves but for others.

Mother Teresa once said: “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” Let us begin to do small things with great love so that our future will not only become stable and secured but rest in the heavenly throne of Jesus, the King!

Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat!

Photo taken from http://livingtheword.org.nz/

TO FEAR OR NOT TO FEAR

THIRTY – THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Prv. 31:10-13,19-20,30-31; Ps.128; 1 Thes. 5: 1-6; Mt. 25:14-30

No Fear! But we cannot live without it. Every time we wake up in the morning, we are always surrounded with fears. No wonder psychologists have given us a long list of common and strange phobias. If you are afraid of men, you are androphobic. If you are afraid of women, you are gynophobic. If you are afraid of white people, you are leukophobic. If you are afraid of black people, you are melanophobic. If you do not want to be alone, you are autophobic. If you do not want to be in a crowd, you are agoraphobic. If you are afraid to love, you are philophobic. If you have are afraid of debts, you are arithmophobic. We cannot live without fears!

In our Gospel today, we heard about the third servant who explicitly told his Master that "out of fear, I went off and buried your talent in the ground for I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant, and gathering where you did not scatter.” Fear made him act that way. And such the same fear determined his tragic end.

However, in our first reading today taken from the book of Proverbs, we heard a praise for this good wife not because of her deceiving charm and fleeting beauty but because of her fear of the Lord. And even our responsorial psalm today joyfully exclaims, “Blessed are those who fear the Lord!”

To experience fear in our lives is natural. It is not sinful. Every time we are threatened by others or when we think of the unknown future, we always become afraid. What is crucial is therefore what happens after our experience of fear. It is natural to be afraid in front of our bosses. It is natural to be afraid when we are about to undergo a very serious and delicate surgery. But what is important is on what we do with such fear. In the end, fears can either make us or break us!

And this is what happened in our Gospel today, though it is not explicitly mentioned that it was out of fear that the first two servants invested the talents, the third servant has in a way provided us with what kind of person their Master was. “You were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant, and gathering where you did not scatter.” Thus, it was natural for the three to fear him. However, the first two did something better. They invested the talents while the third servant did otherwise. Granting that the three of them acted out of fear, what matters in the end was on how they dealt with their fears.

That is why in another part of Scriptures, from the book of Deuteronomy, we realize that fear is only part and parcel of what God asks of us. “Now, therefore, Israel, what does the Lord, your God, ask of you but to fear the Lord, your God, to follow in all his ways, to love and serve the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord that I am commanding you today for your own well-being.” After fearing the Lord, we are asked to walk in his ways, to love him, to serve him with all our heart and soul, and to keep the commandments. More is expected from us! To fear is only the beginning.

We have received much from God! From the first day of our existence up to this very moment, God has continuously poured out his abundant blessings in our sinful and unworthy lives. Standing in front of God’s majesty and glory, we cannot but fear him. Yet, what matters in the end is on how we used these blessings – if we have followed him more closely through these blessings; if we have loved him more dearly through these blessings; and if we have served him and our neighbors more sincerely through these blessings.

Every day, we cannot live without fears. But we can always do something with them. To fear the Lord is only the beginning. More is expected from us. What follows after that fear, matters the most. How about you? What are your fears? Have they broke you or made you? Amen!

NB. Picture above is taken from www.sciencedaily.com

THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

THE DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN BASILICA

Ezekiel 47: 1-2, 8 – 9, 12; Psalm 46; 1 Corinthians 3:9c-11,16-17; John 2:13-22

November 9, 2014

What causes your anger? Usually, the main reason of our anger is when our expectations are no longer met or when things and even people cease to function accordingly. A mother gets angry when she discovers that her son is no longer going to school. A wife gets angry when she learns that her husband is already looking for another wife. When ideas, things, and people, no longer exist in harmony, anger enters into the scene.

And such is the anger of Jesus in our Gospel today. When he went to the temple area, he found those who sold animals for sacrifices and money changers. He made a whip, drove them all out of the area, spilled the coins, and overturned their tables! He was very angry because the temple which is the place of His Father has become a marketplace! He was angry because the temple which is a place for the people to encounter God has become a place for business. He was angry because the temple which is a place of life has become a venue for people to be overburdened.

What happened in our Gospel today is the exact opposite of our first reading. We heard of the prophet being brought by the angel to the entrance of the temple. From there, he saw water flowing out to the corners of the world. And wherever the river flows, there is life, there is an abundance!

Today, we celebrate the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. This basilica is important because it is the oldest basilica of our Christian religion. For quite some time, it has become the residence of the Popes. And upon its walls one reads the inscription, “Omnium Urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater, et caput.” (Mother and Head of the entire city and all churches in the world.) Thus, we realize an important identity of the Church: that she is a Mother! And as a mother gives life to her children, the Church too, must be a life-giving witness in the world today! The Church has to be like the temple in our first reading today that is the source of life and abundance in creation!

However, St. Paul in our second reading today furthered our understanding on the Church. The Church or the temple does not only refer to the building. According to Paul, “each of us is a temple of God where the Spirit dwells in us.” Therefore, we are the Church! Some of us might be a big as a basilica or as small as a kapilya! Nevertheless, by virtue of our baptism, we become the Church!

This is therefore our challenge today as we celebrate the dedication of the Lateran Basilica – that just as the Church is called to become a life-giving witness in the world today, you and me are also called to give life to others especially to those who are living along the peripheries. This is the meaning of New Evangelization  - that we go out to the world not to condemn it but rather share with it the abundance of life given to us by God!

What causes your anger? However, a deeper question would be: What kind of Spirit is living inside your temple? Is it life- giving or earth shaking? Amen!

CONSECRATE THEM IN THE TRUTH

COMMEMORATION OF ALL FAITHFUL DEPARTED

OF THE DOMINICAN FAMILY

FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF SUPERTYPHOON YOLANDA

November 8, 2014

Revelation 21: 1 -5, 6 -7; Ps. 122; John 17: 15 – 21, 24 - 26

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The Gospel reading for today is the last part of the long last supper discourse of Jesus which is something unique and peculiar to John. This time, Jesus asks his Father to “consecrate them to the truth!” Thus, we ask ourselves, Why consecrate us to the truth? Why are we made holy through the truth and not our good works? Why the truth? And if we move to the next chapter, we can read the conversation of Jesus and Pilate. And with Pilate, we ask: What is truth? Jesus in the same Gospel has provided us an answer – “Consecrate them in truth, for your word is truth.” What then is the word? Right at the Prologue of this Gospel we read, “kai o logos sarx egeneto” (and the Word became flesh!) This word, therefore, is not a mere lofty idea or a principle, but a person, Jesus, the Divine Logos who became man.

Truth then is an encounter with Jesus. You are in truth, when you are close to Jesus in a more personal way. It happens when no amount of words can explain such closeness with Him! More than words! And only when this encounter happens, can we be consecrated to truth! We are made holy because the truth is a person who is all holy!

This is then our challenge – that in every aspect of seminary formation, we encounter the truth, who is a person and not a mere idea. May we encounter Jesus, the truth, in the books that we read; in the spiritual exercises which we enter; in the poor whom we meet in our parishes; in the day’s schedule of the seminary; in the unlovable brother that we encounter; and even in this boring homily.

May we have that spirit of our Psalmist today who rejoiced when he heard them say, “Let us go to God’s house!” Because going to the house of the Lord is a moment of encounter with Jesus who can give us that newness of life promised in our first reading today – “ a new Jerusalem, a new holy city, where there is no death.”

As we remember today, all Dominican brothers and sisters who have gone to the next life, we pray for them that they will finally encounter Jesus in heaven and experience such eternal newness of life!

Then Pilate asked, What is truth? However, I would rather ask, Who is the truth for you? Amen!

A PARTICULAR BRAND OF LOVING

COMMEMORATION OF ALL THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED

Matthew 25: 31 – 46

We always recall things in a particular way. Every time we visit the dead in the cemetery, aside from praying for them, we always recall our memories, our particular memories with them. We talk about their favorite food; our unforgettable experiences with them; and most especially, those precious memories which happened weeks, days, or hours before they died. In my case, I could still remember the exact date and time when I was able to hug my mother for the last time – May 18, 2013 at 3:00 in the morning at the basketball court where our car was parked.

Our Gospel reading today which is taken from St. Matthew is the conclusion of the public discourse of Jesus. Yesterday, we heard his “inaugural speech” as he proclaimed the “Blessed” on his sermon on the mount. Today, Jesus once again acknowledged the “blessed ones,” “the sheep,” – those who have been faithful to the Lord up to the very end. And if we compare the two readings, we realize that Jesus was very particular in naming the blessed ones and condemning the wicked ones. The “Blessed ones” are those who are “poor in spirit,” “those who suffer because of Christ,” “those who fed and gave him drink.” “those who visited him while in prison and sick,” “those who clothed him and gave him a shelter.”

This is therefore our challenge in today’s Mass – that we love in particular! Every time we go to the cemetery, we are very particular in cleaning and repainting the niches of our loved ones. We spend a lot to buy the particular flowers and candles for our beloved dead. We even bring them their particular favorite food while on earth. There is nothing wrong with these kind of practices! However, our Gospel today reminds us to take care not only of the dead but also of the living! If we can give food and drink to the dead and provide them a good shelter, why can’t we give these things to the living?

Another important observation from the Gospel is that the demand of Jesus is not complicated. He did not praise the “blessed ones” because they have written volumes of books about God or have contributed millions to charitable works. He praised them simply because they recognized him in the poorest of the poor. Jesus’ demand of love is not only particular but it also asks each one of us to see him in the most ordinary and simple people. Why is this so? Because our human tendency is to love those people who are “extraordinary” to us – those whom we admire the most, those whom we idolized the most, those whom we consider special in our lives. We cannot simply love the ordinary. It is difficult to love those who need simple things – food, water, shelter, friends, and family. Why? Because all the while we think that these people can simply provide for their own.

This is our challenge today – that we love in particular and the ordinary! Alfred North Whitehead once said, “we think in generalities, but we live in detail.” It’s is so easy to think and talk about love. It is very general and ideal. However, it is not love unless it is lived in the particular and practiced in detail. Mother Teresa of Calcutta also said, “we cannot do great things! Only small things with great love!” We are not miracle workers. Yet every time we learn to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, visit the sick and those in prison, give clothes to the naked, and shelter to the homeless, is already a miracle of the ordinary, a work of love!

And so, may our visit to the dead in the cemetery, not only remind us of our particular and detailed experiences with them. Rather, may they also inspire us to love in particular and the ordinary by loving in detail and doing ordinary things with great love. Amen!