FRUITFUL AND BLESSED

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Acts 9: 26 – 31; Ps. 22; 1 Jn. 3:18 – 24; Jn. 15: 1- 8

Mary Jane Veloso will no longer be an ordinary name in Philippine history. Her ordeal in Indonesia has forever left a mark in every life of the Filipino. In her farewell letter to her fellow kababayans, she has this to say, “‘Wag na kayong umalis sa ating bansa kahit na mas mahirap ang ating buhay, kasama naman natin ang ating mga mahal sa buhay.” (No matter how difficult life is in our country, please do not leave because anyway we are together with our loved ones.) Such is a plea from somehow who was about to face death. Thanks be to God, she was spared from meeting death at the last minute. Mary Jane asks her fellow Filipinos not to detach themselves from their loved ones no matter how difficult life is in the country. Her statement is a reminder for each one of us that when we are apart from our source, then, everything else will begin to crumble.

Such is the message of Jesus in our Gospel today. Jesus claims with authority that he is “the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.” He also asks us, the branches, to “remain in me, as I remain in you.” Why? Because “just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vines, so neither can you unless you remain in me.” And if we remain in Jesus, then whatever we ask will be done for us. Attaching ourselves to Jesus, the true vine, therefore, makes us fruitful and blessed.

And this is what happened to the early church in our first reading today. “The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. It was being built up and walked in fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the Holy Spirit it grew in numbers.” Despite the persecutions which have beset the church, she continues to live in peace and grow in number because it was attached not to Paul, nor to Barnabas, nor to the apostles, but to Jesus Christ, the true vine. Indeed, the church was fruitful and blessed.

However, St. John in our second reading is reminding us how to nourish and maintain such connection, such relationship with Jesus. “And his commandment is this: we should believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us.” For us to remain fruitful and blessed, we have to believe in the words of Jesus and never forget to love our neighbors.

In life, there are many things which money cannot buy. For the things which money can purchase are fleeting and fancy, therefore, we must not attach ourselves to those. Rather, we must attach ourselves to the higher values in life like truthfulness, understanding, integrity, care, concern, and love, so that we can truly grow and bear much fruit. However, what matters the most in the end is our connection with the source of everything, Jesus Christ. Apart from him, we can do nothing. Away from him, we cannot be fruitful and blessed.

And so, as we celebrate every Sunday the Lord’s Resurrection in the breaking of bread, may we take this opportunity to be an experience of “charging” ourselves to our source. May every Eucharistic celebration be a source of nourishment in our lives so that we will go back to our homes and communities fruitful and blessed by Jesus, the true vine. Amen. 

Photo courtesy of http://communio.stblogs.org/

AN EXODUS OF LOVE

Fourth Sunday of Easter

(Good Shepherd Sunday)

52^nd World Day of Prayer for Vocations

Acts 4: 8 – 12; Ps. 118; 1 Jn. 3: 1 – 2; Jn. 10: 11 – 18

The Exodus story found in the Old Testament remains until today of the most celebrated event in human history. In fact, just recently, a movie inspired by such story was released last year entitled, Exodus: Gods and Kings. I think the reason why we are still amazed until today by the story of Moses and the Israelites is because of the many wondrous events which took place in Egypt especially the ten plagues until the great crossing at the Red Sea. However, the core meaning of the Exodus event was the experience of liberation by leaving Egypt in order to go the land promised by God.  

In our Gospel today, Jesus claims that he is the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Such claim implies to us Jesus’ own experience of an exodus. He left the comforts of heaven in order to gather the scattered sheep and take away their fear from wolves. Peter in our first reading vividly tells us the result of Jesus’ exodus from heaven to earth. Jesus on earth was the “stone rejected by the builders.” His teachings and miracles led him not to a glorious kingdom but to the cross where he was crucified and died. However, such exodus of Jesus from heaven to earth made us as John tells us in our second reading, “children of God” And in his gospel, he tells us that it was the love of the Father that made Jesus ready to lay down his life for his sheep.

We are still in the season of Easter. And we have to remind ourselves that the Resurrection of Jesus is an Exodus event. Jesus left the empty tomb in order to fulfill his previous words to his disciples that he will rise on the third day. Such movement from the tomb to Galilee; from death to life is all because of love.

The Fourth Sunday of Easter has also been dedicated by the Church as the World Day of Prayer for Vocations. In his message this year, Pope Francis quoting Deus Caritas Est has reminded everyone that “Christian vocation is first and foremost a call to love, a love which attracts us and draws us out of ourselves, “decentering” us and triggering “an ongoing exodus out of the closed-inward looking self towards its liberation through self-giving, and thus towards authentic self-discovery and indeed the discovery of God.” Therefore, the Pope is challenging us that each of us whether, single, married, or ordained is called to an exodus of love. We leave our selfish selves and move towards a self-giving life so that in the end we discover God. It has to be an exodus motivated by love because the person who first called us into this life is God who is love.

In a special way, we offer prayers for Mary Jane Veloso, our kababayan, who is into a very difficult situation in Indonesia right now. May the Good Shepherd save her life from death and that she be brought to the wellspring of life and love. Amen!

TOWARDS GALILEE...TOWARDS HEAVEN...

Third Sunday of Easter

Acts 3: 13 – 15, 17 – 19; Ps. 4; 1 Jn. 2: 1 – 5a; Lk. 24: 35 – 48, Cycle B

Today, it is no longer enough to say, “to see is to believe.” Even if we see something or someone up close and personal, our minds continue to doubt whether what we see is really what we truly believe. For example, it is very difficult for a wife to be convinced of her husband’s acts of thoughtfulness after having found out that he is involved with another woman. It is also very difficult for a teacher to believe in the high scores of his student who is a known cheater in town. Indeed, “to see is to believe” is in wanting these days.

Such is the experience of the disciples after the death of Jesus, their Lord and Teacher. Even if Mary Magdalene announced to them the message of the Resurrection; even if Peter and John themselves saw the empty tomb; the disciples continue to lock themselves in the Upper Room while others left Jerusalem in order to move on with their lives. Our gospel narrative today taken from Luke is another example. Though Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of the bread, they still did not believe on his coming back to life. In fact, in our Gospel, Jesus convinced these two disciples in three instances. First, he asked them to look at his hands and feet and even invited them to touch him. Second, Jesus asked for something to eat to convince them all the more that he is not a ghost for he can eat like them. Finally, Jesus has to explain to them Scriptures in order for their minds to be opened.

In our lives today, there seems to be a non-conviction of the reality of the Resurrection. Despite the many Easter commemorations, our faces continue to look like Good Friday. Until today, we continue to carry our heavy crosses and experience being mocked and rejected by other people. Our life’s tombs have never been emptied. Instead, they continue to accumulate more problems and worries in life. We are like the disciples who were having a difficulty accepting the truth of the Risen Christ.

Thus we ask ourselves the reason why we have not fully experienced the joy of the Resurrection. Why we are not fully convinced of such a Good News in our faith? The reason for this is because we continue to live in sin. Yes, we go to Confession on holy week and perform all acts of piety. Yet, after holy week, we go back to our favorite sins. We nail ourselves once again to the cross of sin. We continue to live in the darkness of sin. In the end, Easter Sunday would only mean a day in the liturgical calendar of the Church when we remember Jesus’ victory over death and never as an opportunity of encounter with divine mercy.

Thus, Saint John, in our second reading today reminds us that “Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, is the expiation for our sins, and not only for our sins but for those of the whole world.” And as a response to such reminder, Saint Peter, in our first reading, is telling us to repent and be converted for the wiping away of our sins.

Hence, we can only say that we have truly experienced the joy of the Risen Christ if in the very first place, we have decided to leave our sinful lives and begin our journey of meeting him at Galilee where we shall see him ascend back to heaven in glory and majesty. In our Gospel, it was only when Jesus explained to them Scriptures that they truly believe that he is not a ghost but a person fully alive. In our lives, may every Eucharistic celebration, where the Word of God is proclaimed and Jesus himself is offered to the Father, be an opportunity for us to repent from our sins so that we can not only believe that he is risen but more importantly, savor the freshness of Easter peace!

And so, let our responsorial psalm be our prayer today: “Lord, let your face shine on us!” Let your face shine on us so that we will no longer continue to dwell in the darkness of our sinful tombs but rather journey with you towards Galilee, towards heaven. Amen!

IN THE MIDST OF THE RISEN CHRIST

Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)

Acts 4:32-35; Ps. 118; 1 Jn. 5:1-6; Jn. 20: 19 – 31

When one is thriving in darkness, one could hardly move. His thoughts and actions become centered on how to get his way out of the darkness. In life, when one is clouded with heavy emotions, one is advised not to make a decision for he is not in stable condition since feelings fluctuate.

In our gospel today, the disciples after seeing everything that has happened to their Master, were in fear for they might be the next target of the angry Jews. And so, they locked themselves in the room. They could hardly move. They were isolated from the rest of the community. This was also the case of Thomas. Probably, as a disciple, he could not move on from what happened to Jesus. And so, any news of the resurrection was giving him false hopes and adding to his frustrated expectations.

However, in the midst of their closed gathering, Jesus stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Then, he gave his friends the gift of the Holy Spirit. “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” In the case of Thomas, Jesus specially invited him to touch his hands and his side so that he may believe.

Such presence of Jesus made the disciples rejoice. For Thomas, having fully convinced of the resurrected body of Christ exclaimed, “My Lord and my God.”

Indeed, we can say that the Resurrection of Jesus was not simply meant for Christ’s own glorification and reward after having gone through a bitter passion and horrible death. It had its effects on the disciples, Thomas, and even to us, Easter people of today.

In our first reading, the Resurrection did not only give joy to the disciples but through it, “the community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common.” The Resurrection of Jesus did not only take away the fear of the Twelve but gave rise to a united community.

Thus, our communities for them to become effective witnesses of the Resurrection does not lie in being able to stage the best “Sugat/Salubong” productions or to grab flowers from the carozas of the Risen Christ and the Joyful Mother but in the sharing of goods and resources so that everyone will be included and not excluded.  We have failed to become an Easter people if until now there is inequality and injustice in our respective communities and families.

In our second reading today, the Apostle John in a way furthers the profession of faith of Thomas, “My Lord and my God.” For John, to profess that Jesus Christ is begotten by God means that he also loves God. And loving God means keeping his commandments.

Our Easter proclamation that Jesus is truly risen is not a mere profession of faith. It must lead us to loving God which means doing his commandments. We are liars if we say, “Jesus is risen!” Yet, our lives continue to wallow in sin. Our words of rejoicing for Jesus has been raised from the dead are empty if others are suffering and in sorrow because of our greed and selfishness.

Thus, the Resurrection of Jesus becomes a life-changing event in our lives even until today if we allow Him to stand in the midst of our communities and push us to sharing with one another. The Resurrection of Jesus becomes a life-changing event in our lives if we allow ourselves to translate our joyful words of Easter proclamation into life- giving actions of mercy and compassion especially to our suffering brothers and sisters in Christ.

Today, we are also celebrating Divine Mercy Sunday. What then is God’s mercy? It is His generous initiative of opening our locked and afraid hearts even if He knows that some will be unbelieving like Thomas. Yet, his abundant mercy passes through “locked doors” in order to offer to us his gift of peace, his gift of the Spirit so that our communities will grow and our words turn into fruitful actions.

Jesus, King of mercy, I TRUST IN YOU!

Photo courtesy of www.divinemercyministries.org

THE GREATEST TRANSITION OF ALL TIME

EASTER VIGIL MASS 2015

Life has always been made up of transitions – from crawling babies to walking teenagers to working adults then finally to sleeping oldies. However, what is important in these transitions is whether we have moved from better to best and not from bad to worst.

Our Liturgy tonight is filled with a lot of symbolic transitions. We began our Mass with the Church in total darkness but when we proclaimed that Christ is our Light, darkness succumbed to the power of light. In the past few days, the Church was bare and empty as a sign of grieving for the death of Christ. But tonight, the flowers and lighted candles capture our joy for the news of the Resurrection. After the homily, we shall witness the priest blessing the new water. After which, we also shall renew our promises we once made at our own baptisms. Such is the symbol of our moving away from an old self towards a more renewed Christian. However, the greatest and most important transition which happened tonight is what took place in our Gospel this evening – Christ’s passing from death to life, his Resurrection!

Mary Magdalene and the other women were early in the tomb of Jesus. When they arrived, they saw the stone rolled and inside the tomb they saw not the corpse of Jesus but a young man who told them not to fear for Jesus of Nazareth is alive and is in Galilee waiting for his disciples. Such was the experience of the women that they were in fear until the end of the Gospel. If we read the Matthean account of the Resurrection, we can read that after the women heard the news, they were rejoicing to share the news to the other disciples. We may easily judge these women for being faithless because of their fear. Such news was something new for them! Yes, they believed in the resurrection. Nevertheless, it will happen on the last day. Thus, such news of Jesus’ transition from death to life was something novel in their minds. However, in the end, they remained open to the news and informed the other disciples.

As we draw near the end of Holy Week 2015 and begin the Great Season of Easter, we are then challenged to experience a meaningful transition in our Christian lives. Like Jesus who conquered death through his glorious resurrection, let us also move away from our old sinful lives to a more grace filled living with the Risen Christ. As we renew our promises at baptism later on, may we truly mean what we are saying – that we reject Satan and believe in God.  Though there is still that fear in our hearts that we might fall again in the past, but let us allow the grace of the Resurrection to open our hearts for as Pope Francis puts it, “Let us not close our hearts, let us not lose confidence, let us never give up: there are no situations which God cannot change, there is no sin which he cannot forgive if only we open ourselves to him.”

A Blessed Season of Easter to all!

A Blessed Season of Joy, friends!

HE LOST EVERYTHING FOR US TO GAIN HEAVEN AND CLAIM ETERNITY

Good Friday of the Passion of the Lord

Is.52:13-53:12; Ps.31; Heb.4:14-16; 5:7-9; Jn.18:1-19:42

Our world today is teaching us that happiness can be acquired if we gain everything. We work hard and earn a living in order to gain more and have a happy and secured life. As a result, we become selfish and neglect other people’s needs. Instead of donating to charity, one would rather buy the latest smartphone. Nevertheless, we realize that despite having everything, there is still that deep longing inside for that which can really give us authentic joy.

In our passion narrative taken from the account of John, Jesus is teaching us the way to happiness. However, his teaching is not easy to accept for it contradicts what the world has been offering. We heard in the story that Jesus lost everything! He lost his close friends when they saw the impending danger in Jesus’ life at the garden of Gethsemane. He lost Peter, his trusted friend, when he was denied three times for fear of arrest. At the scourging at the pillar, Jesus lost his “humanity” when people mocked at him and brutally wounded his body. While carrying his cross, he fell thrice for he lost his strength. Finally, after hanging on the cross for three hours; forgiving those who were persecuting him; and entrusting his mother to the disciple; Jesus lost his life.

Yes, Jesus was stripped off everything -  from his friends, his dignity, and even his life. As Isaiah, in our first reading proclaims, “but he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like a sheep, each following his own way; but the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all…because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; and he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses.” Indeed, when Jesus said in the other part of the Gospel of John, “I came so that they may have life in abundance,” such coming includes losing everything so that in the end, we do not just live a half-filled life, but a life in abundance of grace and mercy.

We call this day, “Good Friday” because today, we have received something very good – through the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, we gained heaven! We claimed eternity! We also call this day, “Mahal na Araw” because the price Jesus paid for us to regain heaven was very expensive (mahal) for it caused his very life.

This year we are celebrating the Year of the Poor. And this is what the poor is teaching us. When we look at them, we see that they too have lost everything. They have lost their right to a decent living, to good nutrition and healthy lifestyle, to voice out their clamors, to live freely like you and me. However, despite their nothingness, we can still see happy poor people. After Yolanda struck the Visayas, many suffering poor continue to exhibit warm smiles of joy. Many still gathered together to celebrate the Mass despite being surrounded by misery and pain. The reason for this is because they have Jesus who has been their priceless treasure regardless of their nothingness. Such was the life of Jesus too, while hanging on the cross and slowly losing everything, he remained strong because he knew that he was doing the will of his Father.

In this Good Friday of 2015, let us learn from the poor, who do not have everything, yet, continue to experience joy because they have all, Jesus. As we meditate on the passion and death of Jesus, may we learn from him that we need to lose everything especially sin in order for us to gain heaven and claim eternity.

And so, let our responsorial psalm be our prayer today, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Amen!

 Photo courtesy of the-works.net

HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED?

EVENING MASS OF THE LORD'S LAST SUPPER

Ex.12:1-8, 11-14; Ps.116:12-18; 1 Cor.11:23-26; Jn.13:1-15

How do you want to be remembered? There is this old saying which says that in life for you to be remembered you have to do these three: “plant a tree, write a book, father a child.” Well, most would not certainly agree with such recommendation. What if the tree that you planted is cut? What if you cannot read or write? What if you cannot marry either because of consecrated celibacy or reproductive problems? Thus, the question remains: How do you want to be remembered?

In our first reading, the Lord instructed Moses and Aaron to inform the Israelites to prepare a meal on the night of the tenth of the month as the Lord goes through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of the land. Yet those houses marked with the blood, the Lord will pass over them and the household shall live. Towards the end of the reading, the Lord adds, “This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate with pilgrimage to the LORD, as a perpetual institution.” From that moment, the Israelites are to remember every year through the same meal that Passover of the Lord when they were in Egypt.

In our second reading, Paul wrote to the Corinthians something which has been handed down to him by the Lord Jesus Christ that is “on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.” This time it was Paul’s turn to hand over to these Christians that memorial of our Lord.

In our Gospel, Jesus was about to culminate his earthly life. On the night he was betrayed, he was dining with his closest friends. And just before the meal, Jesus left them a very important teaching, something which he wants to be remembered for. “He rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.” During the time of Jesus, the feet of those who dined at table needs to be washed because their feet were dirty since they were only wearing sandals and the roads were not cemented like today. This washing of the feet was usually done by the servant of the house. Hence, we can understand why Peter asked the Lord, “Master, are you going to wash my feet?” It was something new for him because only servants washed the feet of guests.

However, Jesus wanted his disciples to remember him not as their Lord and Teacher but as their servant. Such humbling act of Jesus was his way of summarizing his earthly life – after all, he came down into this world “not to be served but to serve.”

In this Mass, we solemnly begin the three most important days towards Easter. Indeed, this Mass of the Lord’s Last Supper is a night of remembering. In this celebration, we remember Christ’s institution of the priesthood. The priesthood which Christ established is a priesthood that is born from service and is meant for service. Hence, we pray for our priests that they continue to become living reminders of God’s service for you and me.

We also remember Christ’s institution of the Holy Eucharist. He left us not with royal and kingly gifts. Rather, Jesus gave us his very self, his body and blood, every time the priest offers the Eucharist.

Finally, when Jesus asked his disciples to wash each other’s feet, he was teaching them that what matters in the end is our “servant – loving” to our brothers and sisters especially the poor and the suffering.

The priesthood, the Eucharist, and “servant – loving” – these three make us forever remember of Jesus, the Eternal High Priest, who offered his very self back to the Father and has marked his lifetime not in vainglory but humble servant loving to the last, least, and lost in society.

May we be remembered not through the number of trees that we have planted; nor the libraries of books that we have written; nor the number of children that we have fathered; rather, may we be remembered for being “Christ-like” that is for forgetting ourselves through humbly serving others so that they too can have life in abundance. Amen!