“FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISH”

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ

Gn 14: 18 – 20 / Ps 110 / 1 Cor 11: 23 – 26 / Lk 9: 11b – 17

We are living today in a “throw-away culture.”

When things, and even people, are no longer useful to us, we tend to “throw” them away. For example, if your cellphone is already outdated, then, you buy the latest one. If the baby is conceived out of “tilaw – tilaw lang,” then, you avail of abortion. If your wife has increased in size, then, you look at someone who is slim. If your boy/girlfriend is slowly becoming ugly each day for whatever reason, then, you start looking for a replacement. We choose the strong and useful because they increase production and efficiency. This is what it means to say that we are living today in a “throw-away culture.”

However, the opposite happened in our Gospel story today.

In the face of hunger, Jesus picked up the seemingly “useless” five loaves and two fish. After blessing them, he broke them and gave them to everyone around. They were all satisfied. In fact, there was even a surplus of twelve baskets! Looking at the story lovingly, we see that “abundance is found not in the purchasing power which is money, but in the power of the Lord.”

Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of the Lord, the Eucharist! In our second reading today, Paul reminds us that for the Lord to be remembered, for his selfless love to be experienced until today, Jesus instituted the Eucharist.

In the Eucharist, we see the priest, acting in the person of Christ, picking up the ordinary bread and wine. After offering these humble gifts to the Father, through the power of the Spirit, we receive not just an ordinary bread and wine but the most holy body and blood of Christ. What an experience of abundance! Indeed, “abundance is found not in the power to purchase with money, but in the power of the Lord.”

My dear friends, the Church continues to exist and it remains to be relevant until today not because of the influence of bishops, priests, and lay faithful but because of the Eucharist. Why the Eucharist? Because through it, we receive Jesus who is always “the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.” The Church’s abundance, as it is clearly seen, comes from our daily celebration of the Eucharist; it flows from our daily celebration of the real presence of Christ.

We therefore have a challenge: and that is to allow God to pick up our lives, allowing Him to “bless and break” us so that after having been changed by the Lord, we become gifts for others, we become a source of abundance for those who are living in scarcity. If we want an abundance of life, then, we allow him in humility - as Carrie Underwood puts it - to “take the wheel ‘cause I can’t do it on my own.” 

After experiencing many deaths in the family even to the point of suffering a mild brain damage, Susan Boyle rose to popularity after winning the Britain’s Got Talent competition. She was ridiculed for her looks, but when she sang Les Miserables’ “I Dreamed a Dream,” it immediately earned 10 million views in the first round of the competition. As you can see, Susan Boyle did not allow herself to be “thrown away” by her life’s unfortunate circumstances. Rather, she allowed herself to be picked up by her singing talent which eventually led her into “abundance.”

With the Eucharist, as the source and summit of our Christian life, let us not allow ourselves to be thrown away by the challenges and difficulties of life. Rather, let us allow God to pick us up so that we too can experience an abundance of life, not because of our own making but because of the Lord’s power of love.  Amen.

A TRINITY OF PERSONS AND LOVE

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Prv 8: 22 – 31 / Ps 8 / Rom 5: 1 – 5 / Jn 16: 12 – 15

After his talk, the seminarian was asked by a catechist, “Brod, we have been teaching children about the sign of the cross, now let me ask you, ‘who invented the sign of the cross?’”

To get away from embarrassment, he jokingly answered the catechist, “Sister, what a wrong timing. My Lola who knew the answer to your question died last month.”

My dear friends, the sign of the cross is not a mere introductory and closing statements of our every prayer. It is a reminder of the central doctrine of our Catholic Faith – our belief in the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – three distinct persons yet one God. Likewise, the Trinity is not just about a theological statement. We must realize that the Trinity is a relationship of persons who are alive and active.

Our Gospel today shows us the kind of relationship that exists in the Trinity.

Jesus tells his disciples about the role of the Spirit who tells them the things that are to come. But these things come from Jesus, as He claims that everything the Father has is his. And so, we realize that in the Trinity there is no “YOURS” and “MINE” but only an “OURS.” There is no possessiveness but a communion of persons. There is no uniformity but a unity of persons. And such communion is characterized by love. Why love? Simply because John tells us that God is love! What binds the three therefore is love!

My dear friends, since we are made in the image and likeness of God, we are then called to mirror in our relationships the relationship of the Trinity. We must not be possessive because others will be choked. And as we know, when people are choked up, they let go and leave. What we must have in our relationships is a communion of love. Our love for one another must result to communion because the more we are in love with the other, the more we want to stay close to the other. Mao na nga sa mga manag-uyab diha, if dili na gani na siya mo kupot sa imong kamot, it could mean one thing – may mahal na siyang iba – duna na tingali siya’y lain! That is why we stay close with the other because we find joy in them.

The communion of love in the Trinity must also find its dwelling in the family, the basic unit of society. A father must work well out of love for his family and not his neighbor’s family. A mother must control her voice out of love for her husband and children. And children must study well out of love for their parents. Thus, if everything is motivated by love in the family, then, such love will surely bear a unity, a communion in the family.

In one of the episodes of ABS – CBN’s The Story of Us, Christine Manalo frankly told Makoy Sandoval, “Umuna kana Makoy, hindi na ako sasama sa iyo… Hindi na magkakaroon ng tayo, Makoy.” There will never be an Us!

Fortunately so, such statement is not true for us Christians since we believe in a God who is not an “I” but a “WE.” We have and will always believe in a God who is a community of persons, a community of love.

In this Mass, we pray that our earthly relationships especially our families will always become a communion of love in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

THE HOLY SPIRIT OF CHANGE

Pentecost Sunday

Second Homily

Acts 2:1-11/Ps 104/ 1Cor 12:3-7.12-13 or Rom 8:8-17/ Jn 20:19-23

For change to take place, an agent of change is necessary. For example, typhoons, earthquakes, and pollution can trigger climate change. A death of a loved one can change our way of living. The joy of passing the BAR exam can also change one’s lifestyle. Also, an unexpected break-up in relationship can change our perspectives. But here’s an advice sa mga gibuwagan karon according to a Facebook post: ”It does not matter what broke you down or hurt you; what matters is who made you smile again.” Indeed, for every change to happen, there is always an agent of change.

Today, our Catholic Faith celebrates the great solemnity of Pentecost. Fifty days after Easter Sunday, Jesus finally sent to us the Spirit, the Paraclete, the Advocate.

Reflecting on our first reading today, we see that the change in the lives of the apostles after Jesus returned to Heaven was caused by the Spirit: from speaking one language to speaking many languages; from hiding in the Upper Room to boldly proclaiming the Gospel to all nations - these happened because of the Spirit.

Now, since the Spirit is the agent of change, then, we ask ourselves, “who is this Spirit?”

St. Augustine suggests: “the Holy Spirit is the love of the Father and the Son.” And his reason to this is, “since there in no greater gift than love, and there is no greater gift of God than the Holy Spirit, then, the Spirit is love!”

With this enlightened thought, we can say that if we have love in our lives, the Spirit must be with us! If we have love in our lives, we can always change for the better. Lastly, if we have love in our lives, we can also become agents of change.

Going back to our first reading, we see that after the apostles received the Spirit, they went out to the nations, and all of them except John received the crown of martyrdom.

This is true in our lives today: Love and Suffering go together. Therefore, if we love, because we have the Spirit, then, we should be ready to face pain and suffering. Mothers will notice that their unconditional love for their children comes with suffering. Students who love their studies suffer the consequence of extended study hours and extensive research periods. If you are a worker who love your work, then, expect to suffer a lot from your officemates, nga bati na gani’g nawong, bati pa gyug batasan! But why do we have to suffer? Well, the movie Fault in our Stars tells us that “without pain, how could we know joy?”

My dear friends, as we celebrate Pentecost Sunday, let us allow the Spirit to change our lives. And this change can only happen if we have love because, as we know now, the Spirit is the love of the Father and the Son. And after having been changed by the power of the Spirit, by the power of love, we can proclaim the Gospel of Jesus in our families and communities despite pain and suffering.

In the book, “Why Forgive?” we find the story of Steven McDonald who was a young police officer in 1986. He was shot by a teenager at New York’s Central Park. That incident left him paralyzed for the rest of his life. With that, McDonald wrote, “I forgave the shooter because I believe the only thing worse than receiving a bullet in my spine would have been to nurture revenge in my heart.” Steven’s life was changed because of the shooting incident and it has changed for the better because he was able to forgive. And I believe, he was able to forgive because within him dwells the Spirit of God who is love.

How about us? How about you? Who is dwelling in your heart? Do you breathe the good breath of the Spirit? Or are you breathing the bad breath of the evil one?

And so, we pray: “Come Holy Spirit, I need you! Come Holy Spirit, I pray! Come with your strength and your power! Come in your own special way… to change me, to change me for the better! Amen!

RECEIVE THE SPIRIT AND BE READY TO FORGIVE

Pentecost Sunday

Acts 2:1-11/Ps 104/ 1Cor 12:3-7.12-13 or Rom 8:8-17/ Jn 20:19-23

We are all familiar with the song, “let there be peace on earth.” For me, that is not only a simple song of peace; undoubtedly it is also everyone’s everyday prayer for peace!

Families pray for peace in the home, most especially when the husband loves the wine more than the wife, or when the wife finds more joy in money rather than in her honey.

Workers also pray for peace in the work-place especially if the boss, nga bati na gani’g nawong, bati pa gyud ug batasan, is around.

Indeed, peace is everyone’s prayer… it is everyone’s dream!

Today, we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. In the first reading, we heard the Lukan version of the sending of the Spirit which took place fifty days after the Lord’s Resurrection. Liturgically, today also marks the end of the Easter season. But our Gospel today narrates to us the Johannine Pentecost that took place on the same day of Easter. Now I do not want to talk about the nuances of both accounts because we are not having a class in Exegesis here. Rather, let me guide you into reflection: on the giving of the Spirit as narrated to us by Saint John.

Standing in their midst, Jesus said, “Peace be with you!” And after having said these words, he breathed on his disciples and said, “receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven; and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Reflecting on this Gospel, we notice that the peace which we have longed for has long been given to us by Jesus. And the way to that peace is through the reception of the Spirit. In Baptism, we too have already received the Spirit. But sadly today, it seems that we still do not enjoy peace. And so we ask ourselves, “why?”

Going back to our Gospel, when Jesus said, “receive the Holy Spirit,” he goes on to say, “whose sins you forgive are forgiven, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Here we see that the proof that the Spirit is with us is when we open ourselves to forgiveness “…for it is only through the power of forgiveness that we can breathe in the peace of the Risen Christ.”

This is therefore our challenge: to open ourselves to that gift of the Spirit. And the proof that we have received that gift is when we are ready to extend forgiveness to our brothers and sisters. As we celebrate Pentecost Sunday, may I invite you to show to the world that the Spirit is within you by slowly forgiving your enemies, especially the new found enemies during the recently concluded election season. Only then, when we forgive others, that we can truly breathe in the breath of Christ’s peace.

In the book, “Why Forgive?” we find the story of Steven McDonald who was a young police officer in 1986. He was shot by a teenager at New York’s Central Park. That incident left him paralyzed for the rest of his life. With that, McDonald wrote, “I forgave the shooter because I believe the only thing worse than receiving a bullet in my spine would have been to nurture revenge in my heart.” Steven is paralyzed until today but I can say that with his disposition he has been living in peace because he has always been breathing in the spirit’s forgiving power. How about us? What kind of air do we breathe, we may ask? Do we have a bad breath or the Spirit’s breath?

Yes, we are all familiar with that song, “let there be peace on earth” and that line goes on to say, “and let it begin with me.” To me, that is not only a simple song or an ordinary prayer. Rather, it is everyone’s everyday mission – to tell the world that there can only be peace on earth if, after having received the Spirit, forgiveness begins with you and me. Amen. 

AN ENDING AND A BEGINNING

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

Catholic Communication’s Sunday

Acts 1: 1 – 11 / Ps 47 / Eph 1: 17 – 23 or Heb 9: 24 – 28 / Lk 24: 46 – 53

There are two realities about an ending. When something ends, a certain reality closes in and a new reality opens up. For example, when a mother gives birth, it marks the closure of her 9 months of pregnancy and the beginning of her new life as a mother. Graduations are also called “commencement exercises” because students end the “academic” chapter of their life and commence (or starts, or begins) the “professional” chapter of their life.  For those who are brokenhearted, don’t worry about break – ups. It’s not yet the end of the world. Break – ups are new openings for your heart to fall in love again with another person. Hintayin mo lang ang tama’ng panahon (Wait for the right time). Surely, no matter how painful an ending maybe, just remember the wisdom of Lao Tzu: “new beginnings are often disguised as often endings.”

Scripturally, our Gospel today marks the end of the Gospel of Luke. However this ending also marks the beginning of the second volume of his work which is the Acts of the Apostles. Liturgically, we are moving towards the end of the Easter season. Tracing back the life of Jesus, we will realize that today marks an important end, and beginning, of his ministry for today we celebrate his Ascension into heaven. And just as an ending has two realities, there are also two movements which we have to take note when we talk about the Lord’s Ascension.

In our Gospel we read, “as he blessed them, he parted from them and was taken up to heaven.” The Ascension of Jesus marks the end of his earthly ministry at the same time it marks the beginning of his return to the Father. His ascension is a departure from the world in order to arrive in heaven. His ascension is his detachment from his earthly family in order to attach himself back to his divine family. Simply said, Jesus’ ascension into heaven is an experience of change…a change for the better.

It was a change for the better because through his ascension Jesus’ presence is no longer confined in time and space but is already a part of eternity. Thus, it is true to say, “Jesus is the same, yesterday, today, and forever!”

In life, we also have our own experiences of endings. Some of these endings are simply logical: you end your college life because you have completed the requirements of a course. Others are simply of the natural cycle of life. For example, a person dies because it’s time to die. There are also endings which are results of failure, just like a failure of relationship. One may leave a boyfriend because she does not love him anymore kahit pinilit man ang puso.

No matter what nature of ending it might be, the important thing is that we are aware that these endings are not final. Rather, we must be conscious that these endings are only beginnings of a better life ahead. And with this conciousness, we do not lose hope in continuing our life’s journey.

I once attended a funeral Mass of a parish benefactor. In one of the eulogies, the sharer said, “Amo gyud ni siyang gimahal pag – ayo, mao sakit kaayo karon nga namatay na siya. Tinuod, ako siyang gimahal, apan sayod ko nga mas gimahal pa siya sa Ginoo mao nga iya na siyang gipapahulay sa dayon (We loved him so much, that is why it is too painful to see him go. While it is true that we loved him, our love for him is nothing more than God’s love for him, that is why God has granted him eternal rest). My love is nothing compared to God’s love for my friend” My friends, such is an example of someone who is conscious that an end is only a beginning of a better life.

Barry Manilow sang this line of one of his songs, “…letting go is just another way of saying that you’ll always love me so.”

The Ascension of Jesus is Jesus’ letting go of his physical presence. But his ascension is also about his great love for you and me that goes beyond time and space. Amen!