5th SUNDAY OF LENT (B)

Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.

Jn 12:20-33

Here we have the paradox of death giving birth to life. But it is true.

The death of Jesus gives birth to life, that is, his death leads to his resurrection. And for us, his death brings new life as children of God and the promise of eternal life in heaven. This new life and this promise of heaven become ours in Baptism. And when Baptism is performed by immersion, the symbolic passage from death to life becomes more obvious. Immersion symbolizes death and burial. Rising out of the water symbolizes new life as God’s children with the promise of eternal life in heaven.

The passage from death to life is not a one-time event. This is because we continue to sin after baptism. Hence, there is a need to continually put to death our sinful selves so that we may regain the new life we have received in Baptism. This process is called continued conversion.

There are two things we can do that can help us in this conversion process. The first is through the sacraments of confession and communion. These sacraments are means by which God comes to our aid. In confession God forgives us our sins and at the same time strengthens us against sin. In communion Jesus also makes us strong against temptation and sin. In fact, St. John Bosco has called communion the Bread that makes us strong.

The second thing that we can do is through the practice of self-discipline. We have a saying: “Nasa Diyos ang awa. Nasa tao ang gawa.” The equivalent English saying is: “God helps those who help themselves.” If we want to become strong enough to say “No” to temptation, then we must have the corresponding will power. Self-discipline develops will power. If muscle power is developed through exercise, then will power is developed through the exercise of self-discipline.

Rising when the alarm clock goes off in the morning is an exercise of self-discipline. Coming on time and not being late is an exercise of self-discipline. Cutting down or even giving up on cigarettes is an exercise of self-discipline.

Dying in order to give birth to life is not just the law of the spiritual life. It is also the law of our earthly life. If we want to enjoy better things, then we must have the courage to give up certain things.

You had to give up the security of being in the Philippines in order to enjoy a better life for yourselves and your children.

You have to give up the freedom of being single in order to experience the joy of the marriage and family life.

You have to give up the fear of what people will say in order to teach your relatives to become independent and in order to provide for your future when you can no longer work. I am not saying that you should not help your relatives. But if it happens that they think it is your duty to die working here so that they will not have to work anymore or so that they will have an easy life in the Philippines, then you have the give up the image of being a “good kuya” or a “good ate”.

Are you unhappy? Do you feel empty? Are you not satisfied with your life? Do you feel something is missing? Perhaps you need to ask yourself: “What do I need to give up in order to be happy, in order to feel fulfilled, in order to feel contented? What needs to die so that I may have life.”

GOSPEL EXPLANATION

Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus." Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

These Greeks were not necessarily from Greece. They were more likely Greek-speaking persons who either converted to Judaism or who were sympa-thetic to Judaism without actually taking up Jewish practices.

The Passover Feast recalls the liberation of the Israelites from the slavery of Egypt. It is one of the three great feasts of Israel. The other two are the Feast of Pentecost which recalls the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai and the Feast of Booths (or Tabernacles which recalls the protection God gave the Israelites during the Exodus).

Philip is a Greek name which means lover of horses. Andrew is also a Greek name and means either man or warrior. Did the Greeks go to Philip because he could speak Greek?

Bethsaida means “house of the hunt”. It is the birthplace of Peter, Andrew and Philip. Its exact location has not been identified.

To see Jesus meant to be talk to Jesus.

Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.

Here the word “hour” does not mean “chronos” but “chairos” . Chairos is God’s time, that is, the time when God intervenes in our history. In this particular passage God’s intervention is saving man through the glorification of Jesus.

In John’s gospel glorification means “passion, death, resurrection and ascension”. Ascension is not only Jesus going up to heaven but includes sitting at the right hand of the Father. The title “Lord” indicates this sitting at the right hand of the Father.

Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.

Hate is an Aramaic expression meaning “to love less”. This is the meaning of the sentence of Jesus in Lk 14:26 ("If any one comes to me without hating his father 7 and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.)

"I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour.

Jesus is truly human being. He experiences the same feelings that we have.

This calls to mind the agony at the Garden of Gethsemane (Mk 14:32-36).

Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it and will glorify it again."

The voice of the Father was heard at the Baptism of Jesus (Lk3: 21-22) and at the Transfiguration (Mt 17:5).

Now is the time of judgment on this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.

John uses the word “world” in two ways.

First, the world refers to God’s creation. “He was in the world, and the world came to be through him….” Jn 1: 10a).

Second, the world refers to people as object of God’s love (Jn 3:16) or as those who refuse his love as “…but the world did not know him” (Jn 1:10b).

4th SUNDAY OF LENT (B)

Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

Jn 3:14-21

The book of Numbers contain the story about Moses lifting up the serpent in the desert (Numbers 21:1-9):

But with their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!"

In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of them died.

Then the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people, and the LORD said to Moses, "Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover."

Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he recovered.

Notice that John’s gospel changes the verb “mounted” (Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole.) to “lifted”. This is because in his gospel, the verb “lifted” refers to the glorification of Jesus through his suffering, death and resurrection.

John wants to bring home the message that Jesus through his glorification brings salvation (eternal life) just as the bronze serpent of the Old Testament brought salvation (recovery) to the Israelites who were bitten by the poisonous snakes.

Moses mounted the bronze serpent on a pole so that it could easily be seen. When an Israelite is bitten by a seraph serpent, he would have no trouble finding the bronze serpent and thus, would escape death.

In the same way, John wants us to keep our gaze fixed on Jesus.

KEEPING OUR EYES ON JESUS

How do we keep Jesus in sight? In other words, how do keep ourselves from forgetting the presence of Jesus in our lives?

We can place the crucifix on the lintel of the door of our homes or above our beds or at the family altar.

We can place the statue of the Sacred Heart on the family altar.

If we have a car, we can place a rosary of the rear-view mirror or a statue of the Sto. Nino or the Sacred Heart or the Divine Mercy on the dashboard.

We can use holy pictures of Jesus (stampitas) as bookmarkers.

Bigger pictures of Jesus may be placed at strategic places in the house.

There is a saying, “Out of sight, out of mind”. By having these pictures, statues and crucifixes, we keep Jesus in sight and therefore, in mind.

There are other ways of keeping Jesus in sight.

Some go for daily Mass. Others go for a quick visit to the Church. There are those who prefer to stay longer with Jesus at the Adoration chapel.

If your devotion is to the Divine Mercy, the 3 o’clock habit gives you an opportunity to stop for a moment and focus on Jesus.

If it is does not bother people too much, setting your watch to chime every hour on the hour can be your signal to stop for a couple of seconds in order to think of Jesus.

There are times in our lives when we need to keep on looking at Jesus.

Do you remember the incident about Peter attempting to walk on the water? It is found on Matthew 14:28-30—

Peter said to him in reply, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water." He said, "Come." Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how (strong) the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"

Someone observed that as long as Peter fixed his gaze on Jesus, everything was all right. But when he shifted his gaze from Jesus to the waves, that were when fear took hold of him and thus, sank.

When we are in a fix, when we are faced with a difficult situation, we need to keep on looking at Jesus. We need to keep on praying.

During World War II, a group of sailors whose ship was sunk by kamikaze planes managed to survive long enough to be rescued. What kept their spirits up was prayer. The kept of praying the Our Father and the psalm, “The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want.” Prayer made them feel that they were not alone. God was with them. It also kept their faith alive. They kept on believing that God will not abandon them in the Pacific Ocean.

This is not an isolated incident.

Ingrid Betancourt was a French-Colombian politician who was kidnapped and kept hostage for 6 years by FARC, a Marxist rebel group. She and eleven other hostages were finally freed by government forces.

What kept her hopes high? The Rosary.

In the darkest night, prayer makes me remember that I am not alone, that God is with me and that he will never abandon me.

EXPLANATION OF THE GOSPEL

Jesus said to Nicodemus.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, who, according to the Gospel of John, was favourable to Jesus. He appears three times in the Gospel: the first is when he visits Jesus one night to listen to his teachings (John 3:1-21); the second is when he states the law concerning the arrest of Jesus during the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:45-51); and the last follows the Crucifixion, when he assists Joseph of Arimathea in preparing the corpse of Jesus for burial (John 19:39-42).

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

“That he gave his only Son” may have a reference to Isaac who was Abra-ham’s only son. Abraham was willing to give up his son in sacrifice on Mt. Moriah in obedience to God’s command (Gn 22:1-13).

God gave his son to us as a gift in the Incarnation and as an expiatory sacri-fice in the Crucifixion.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.

We find this universal salvific will of God in 1Tim 2:3-4: “This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.”

John Calvin, a Protestant reformer, who based himself in Geneva, taught the doctrine of predestination. He said that God predestines some to heaven and most people to hell without considering their behaviour.

Predestination brought St. Francis de Sales to a crisis in his youth. He somehow felt that he was among those predestined to hell. His crisis was resolved when he prayed: “If I am going to be separated from you for all eternity, at least here on earth let me love you.”

On his deathbed, St. Dominic Savio was bothered by the thought that he might not go to heaven. “Can I be certain that I will be saved?” St. John Bosco replied, “Yes, through the mercy of God, which will never be lacking to you, you are certain to be saved.”

In the final analysis, our salvation rests on the mercy of God who wants all his children to go to heaven.

Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.

In the Greek, the word has two meanings: condemnation and judgment.

The coming of Jesus makes judgment inevitable. You either accept or reject Jesus and his message. If you refuse to accept Jesus and his message (turn away from the light), you earn condemnation.

But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

There may be a fine line between showing off and witnessing. On the one hand, Jesus condemns those who announce to the world the charity that they do in order to gain applause (Mt 6:2). But on the other hand, Jesus also taught: “Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father” (Mt 5:15-16).

St. John Bosco got hold of a booklet that spoke of his work for poor and abandoned youth. After some thinking, he ordered that it be re-printed and distributed. When he was whether it was an appropriate thing to do (because it might appear self-glorification on the part of St. John Bosco), he replied that if people were to come and help them take care of poor and abandoned youth, these people must get to know the work they do. And that particular booklet would serve that purpose.

But ultimately the difference between showing off and witnessing may be found in one’s intention. But then only you and God will know what is exactly going on in your heart.

3rd SUNDAY OF LENT (B)

Stop making my Father's house a marketplace.

Jn 2:13-25

EXPLANATION OF THE GOSPEL

Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

St. John’s gospel indicates the presence of Jesus in Jerusalem for the Passover three times. This is the first Passover.

While Matthew and Mark place the cleansing of the Temple at the end of Je-sus’ ministry (Matthew on the day Jesus entered Jerusalem and Mark the day after it), John puts it at the beginning.

At the time when John’s gospel was written, the Christians already saw themselves as a group distinct from Judaism. Hence, the statement “Passover of the Jews”.

He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers seated there.

The animals were for the sacrifice at the Temple. The money in use were Roman coins that had images. As such they can not be used as offerings at the Temple. This explains the presence of money changers. These exchange Roman coins for Temple coins that had no image in them.

His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

This is taken from Psalm 69:10. There it reads, “Zeal for your house consumes me.” The verb “consumes” was changed to a future tense “will consume” in order to apply it to Jesus. It is an announcement of the coming Passion of Jesus.

This Psalm is a messianic Psalm. Its application to Jesus indicates Jesus as the Messiah.
Although not quoted, the action of Jesus is a fulfilment of Mal 3:1-4. “…And suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek…. and he will purify the sons of Levi….” This prophecy is also messianic in character.

At this the Jews answered and said to him, "What sign can you show us for doing this?"

The Jews (that is, the Jewish religious leaders) demand that Jesus perform a miracle in order to prove that he has the authority to do what he did.

The cleansing of the Temple was a decisive event in Mark’s gospel. Because of Jesus’ action, the religious leaders decided to find ways to put him to death (Mk 11:18).

Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

It is typical in John’s gospel for the words of Jesus to be misunderstood. We find this when Jesus spoke to Nicodemus and to the Woman at the Well.

Nicodemus thought Jesus was referring to a physical re-birth whereas Jesus was talking about being born from on high through baptism. The woman thought Jesus was referring to running water when in fact, Jesus was referring to the Holy Spirit.

The Resurrection of Jesus will be the sign that he has the authority to act this way with regards to the Temple.

While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, many began to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing.

In the bible, name refers to the person himself. Therefore, those who witnessed the miracles of Jesus began to believe in him.

But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all….

Jesus knew how fickle human beings can be. Their faith in him was not strong enough. In fact, their cries of “Hosanna to the son of David” at his glorious entry into Jerusalem at the end of his ministry (Palm Sunday) would readily turn to “crucify him!” a few days afterwards (Good Friday).

2nd Sunday of Lent (B)

Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves. And he was transfigured before them.

Mk 9:2-10

EXPLANATION OF THE GOSPEL

The other two accounts of the Transfiguration event may be found in Mt 17:1-9 and Lk 9:28-36.

Only Luke states that Jesus went up the mountain to pray.

Matthew and Mark says that the Transfiguration took place 6 days after the first prediction of the Passion and the instruction to the disciples about the doctrine of the cross. Luke, on the other hand, says that it took place 8 days later.

The Transfiguration event serves to counterbalance the talk of Jesus about the Passion. In fact, at the end of the episode, Jesus speaks about rising from the dead.

Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.

The mountain has been identified as either Mt. Hermon or Mt. Tabor.

If the encounter with Satan is in the wilderness, the encounter with God is on the mountain. Moses encountered God on Mt. Sinai (Ex 24:12-18). Elijah met God on Mt. Horeb (1Kgs 19:8-18).

And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.

Bright light and white garments indicate the presence of the heavenly (angel) and the divine (God).

Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses, and they were conversing with Jesus.

Elijah represents the Prophets while Moses represents the Law. The Jews referred to the Bible as “the Law and the Prophets”. Their presence suggests that Jesus fulfils the OT promises.

Then Peter said to Jesus in reply, "Rabbi, it is good that we are here! Let us make three tents.

Some commentators understand this to mean the desire of Peter to remain there on the mountain and continue enjoying this extraordinary experience.

Others, however, see in this an allusion to the Feast of Tents or Tabernacles. According to them it was widely believed that the Messiah would come during the Feast of Tabernacles. If this is so, then Jesus is being identified as the Messiah.

Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them; from the cloud came a voice, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."

The cloud was a sign of God’s presence. In the Exodus, the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting when God was there (Ex 33:9).

The voice was that of the Father. At his baptism at the Jordan, the Father also acknowledged Jesus as his beloved Son. Jesus is, therefore, divine.

As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead.

After the Resurrection the disciples would understand the meaning of the Transfiguration and could, therefore, talk about it correctly.

Jesus had spoken to his disciples about his impending death. His transfiguration was a preview of the Resurrection. By giving them a glimpse of the glory of the Resurrection, Jesus wanted to tell his disciples that while it was true that he was going to be put to death, it was also true that death was not going to be the end. He will rise again. And this they will only understand after Jesus had risen.

YOUR FACE IS THE WINDOW TO YOUR HEART

Many years ago a benefit show was in progress in the gym of Don Bosco Mandaluyong. Kris Aquino who was then a high school student was on stage for a song number. She invited one of the Bosconians to come up on stage and began interviewing him. Without any warning, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. I could have sworn his face glowed.

Why? What happened? Kris was the crush of teenagers then. That kiss warmed the heart of this teenager as only a crush can. Joy welled up from within. You can see it from his face.

The face indeed is the window to one’s heart.

But if a glowing face reveals the joy that is bubbling in one’s heart, what would a face without life and energy say about a person?

We would say: “You don’t look well. Are you sick?” This person might have some physical problem within.

Or we might ask: “You look sad. Is something bothering you? Do you have a problem? ” In this case, this person might have an emotional problem.

St. John Bosco used to say that sometimes you can trace an emotional prob-lem such as sadness to sin.

A mother who lost his patience with his son blurted out: “Bobo ka kasi [you’re stupid, that’s why.]” The hurt that the son feels can be traced to the sin against charity by the mother.

A couple (Peter and Esther) were good friends of Paul and Lydia (another couple). When Esther was hospitalized due to cancer, they were expecting Paul and Lydia to come and visit, even though the latter had moved to the province. But they never came. Imagine the hurt that Peter and Esther must have felt. That, of course, ended their friendship. Again the hurt can be traced to the sin against charity by Paul and Lydia.

Sometimes people hurt us either consciously or unconsciously. We keep that hurt within and nurture it through the years by keeping on replaying the event that caused us pain. And every time we replay that event, we also feel angry. And when that anger takes hold of us, we think of striking back at those who hurt us. The loss of inner peace because of the hurt and the anger can be traced to our sin against charity.

How can we restore inner peace? How can we be happy again?

They say that a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. In our particular case, we may need to take three steps.

First, St. John Bosco recommends confession. He believes that God’s forgiveness restores peace and happiness in a person’s heart. Confession seems to lift a heavy burden form our hearts. And experience confirms this.

Second, we need to reconcile with those we have hurt. To say “I’m sorry” is difficult because we have our pride. To say “I’m sorry” is also risky because the other person may not accept our apology. But the reward of peace and happiness that comes from an apology given and accepted is worth the attempt.

And third, we need to learn to forgive ourselves. If God has forgiven us, why should we not forgive ourselves? Think about it. The purpose of guilt is to make us repent and reconcile. In other words, to set things right. Once we have repented and reconciled, guilt becomes useless baggage. Throw it away and live in peace.

1st SUNDAY OF LENT (B)

"This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."

Mk 1:12-15

The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert.

SPIRIT
We say that Jesus saved us. That is true. But it is also true that the Holy Spirit and the Father saved us because all of them are involved in the work of salvation. In fact it was the Father who sent Jesus and it was the Holy Spirit who guided Je-sus as we see in this gospel episode.

WILDERNESS OR DESERT
It was considered the home of Satan. By going to the desert, Jesus confronted the power of Satan.

He remained in the desert for forty days, tempted by Satan.

40 DAYS
40 is a biblical number. The great flood came with 40 days and 40 nights of rain. The people of Israel wandered 40 years in the desert. Elijah walked 40 days and 40 nights to Mt. Horeb.
Here 40 days mean as many or as much as needed, that is, Jesus stayed in the desert for was long as needed to accomplish the purposes of God.

TEMPTED
Unlike Matthew and Luke Mark does not tell us how Satan tempted Jesus. Matthew says that the temptation occurred at the end of the 40 days, while Mark says it took place throughout the 40 days.

Temptation usually means luring someone to commit sin. The bible also uses the word “temptation” to mean purifying or proving or testing someone to see if he is fit for the task. Graduates of medical school are tested to see if they are ready to practice medicine. The temptation in the desert proved that Jesus is capable of carrying out the work of Savior.

He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.

WILD BEASTS
The mention of the wild animals may have two purposes. The first is to stress the dreariness of the wilderness. The second is to recall the harmony in creation which Adam disrupted and which Jesus will restore.

ANGELS
The angels who ministered to Jesus recall the angel who protected the people of Israel during the Exodus: “The angel of God, who had been leading Israel's camp, now moved and went around behind them” (Ex 14:19).
They are a sign of divine assistance.

After John had been arrested.

John the Baptist dared to tell Herod that it was not right for him to take as his own wife, Herodias, who was the wife of his brother, Philip. For this, Herod had him arrested.

Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God.

GALILEE
Jesus concentrated his preaching ministry in Galilee. He only went to Jerusa-lem which was in Judea to celebrate the great feasts (Passover).

GOSPEL OF GOD
The gospel is not only good news coming from God. The good news is the power of God for salvation of man (Rom 1:16). It proclaims the action of the Fa-ther in Christ.

This is the time of fulfillment.

There are two words for time in Greek: chronos and kairos.

What time is it? It’s 7:30 in the morning. This is chronos.

Kairos, however, refers to the time fixed by God when he will fulfil his prom-ises. It is the word “kairos” that Jesus is using in his proclamation.

The kingdom of God is at hand.

The kingdom of God is not a territory. That is why the better translation is “reign of God”. In this case, entering the Kingdom of God means accepting the reign of God. This implies recognizing God as Lord over me and therefore, I am willing to obey him.

Repent, and believe in the gospel.

REPENT
To repent is to turn away from sin in order to return to God. Repentance re-quires a change of mind and heart that leads to a change in behaviour.

BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL
It is not only to believe in the message of the Gospel. It is above all to believe in the messenger of the Gospel, Jesus Christ our Lord.

7th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (B)

"I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home."

Mk 2:1-12

Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them, not even around the door, and he preached the word to them.

There were so many people who wanted to listen to Jesus that the four men carrying the paralytic could not get through. The words of Jesus were powerful. His style was attractive. But most of all, his message touched their hearts.

When we read the Bible there will be moments when we will experience the same thing. It will help if we underline or highlight those words or phrases that touched us. Once in a while we may return to those words in order to be encouraged, inspired, comforted or strengthened.

In my case one of the passages that gave me great comfort and re-assurance is: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine. When you pass through the water, I will be with you; in the rivers you shall not drown. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned; the flames shall not consume you. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your savior” (Is 43:1-3). I am fortunate that this passage has been made into a song and I often listen to it.

But for God to touch us with his Word, we must first own a Bible. The Bible is not just any kind of book. It is like a letter that he wrote to communicate us. God does not want to be a silent God. He does not want to be a distant God.

After buying a Bible, we must set aside some time to read the it prayerfully. Setting aside 10 to 15 minutes every day will do. Reading the Bible prayerfully means that as we read it we are alert as to what God might want to say to us at that very moment. And if God does tell us something, we respond to him.

I have said at the beginning that we should underline or highlight those passages that inspire us. This will help us find those passages more easily if we want to read them again for comfort or inspiration or encouragement.

Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof above him. After they had broken through, they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith….

If they didn’t believe that Jesus could cure the paralytic, do you think they would go through the trouble of climbing the roof, of pulling the paralytic up the roof, of making a hole through the roof, of lowering the paralytic down the hole, and later of having to repair the hole they had made?

Faith is not something that only happens in the mind and in the heart. Faith is a force that moves us to action. And sometimes the action is just as simple as the following story--

“It was a Sunday. But it felt worse than Monday blues. The fridge just held water. The cupboard was bare. Payday was still a few days away and our moneybag didn't hold enough to get us through the day. Gina and I were afraid we'd go hungry. We weighed our options and prayed to God for help. Gina then asked if we should proceed going to mass. I said "Yes. God has never let us down. There is no reason to doubt." When we got home after the mass, we got the surprise of our lives. On our doorway were baskets of vegetables and fruits. They came unexpectedly from our godfather from Bicol – more than enough to last us a week.” Because the husband believed that God would provide them food, they went ahead and went to Mass. And as we saw God did not let them down.

The 4 men did not only have faith in Jesus. I think they also loved the paralytic. They were willing to go through the trouble of bringing him in front of Jesus because they cared about him. They wanted him to be cured. When we love someone, we are willing to make any sacrifice for that person.

One of our priests has only one kidney now. Why? His kuya’s kidneys were no longer functioning. He had to undergo dialysis. The only hope was a kidney transplant. This priest was the best match. He willingly gave his kidney to his kuya so that his kuya might continue to live.

It is easy to have a child. But it takes a lot of sacrifice to raise a child. One teenaged boy shared this story with me. In those days, there were no cellphones yet. He arrived home 2:00 in the morning. He was surprised to see both of his parents still awake. Perhaps, because of anger his mother gave him a slap on the face. She told him: “Don’t you know how worried we were? We were afraid something might have happened to you. You didn’t even call up to tell us you were arriving home at this time.” They could have slept. But they didn’t because they were worried and they were worried because they loved their son.

He (Jesus) said to the paralytic, "Child, your sins are forgiven." Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves, "Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?"

True. Only God can forgive sins because all sins are ultimately an offense against God. But it is also true that God uses human instruments.

For example, he used the prophets to deliver his message to his people. That is why the prophets would begin their preaching with words like these: “Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord GOD….” (Ez 36:22).

By becoming a human being, God made use of our humanity as an instrument to save us. If the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity did not become man, how can the crucifixion take place? There is no body to be crucified.

Because God makes use of human instruments, it is, therefore, not surprising that God makes use of priests who are human beings to forgive sins.

A high school student admitted that he doesn’t go to confession anymore. The reason is because priests are after human beings who also commit sins. But if we accept this logic, then no one of us should go to the doctor when we are sick because you can never find a doctor who never got sick.

Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, pick up your mat and walk?'

Obviously it is easier to say “Your sins are forgiven” than to say: “Rise, pick up you mat and walk”. When you say “Your sins are forgiven”, there is no way for people to see whether the sins have been really forgiven. But if you say, “Rise, pick up your mat and walk”, people can see if your words are effective or not.

But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth" —he said to the paralytic, "I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home." He rose, picked up his mat at once, and went away in the sight of everyone.

The miracles of Jesus are signs. They say something. In this case, making the man walk is a sign that indeed his sins were forgiven and consequently, that Jesus does have the power to forgive sins.

The external says something about the internal. The external is like a window through which we can have a glimpse of what is happening in inside. Our speech, for example, can give us an idea of what is going on inside the heart and mind of a person. We have a saying that a fish is caught in the mouth (ang isda ay nahuhuli sa bibig).

We encounter people who are often critical of another person. He or she likes to talk about the shortcomings of other people. What could be going on in-side this person? It is possible that he or she has a low self-esteem. It means that he or she does not have a high regard for himself or herself and thus, feels inferior to others. To relieve his sense of inferiority he has to bring others down through criticism.

Our speech is a good indicator of what is happening inside. What do we often talk about? What often comes out of our mouth? Is it criticism? Is it hurtful words? Is it about ourselves, our talents, our achievements, our possessions? Is it gossip about others?

Jesus healed the man of his paralysis. He also forgave him his sins. Jesus performed a physical and a spiritual healing. In other words, Jesus performed a holistic healing and this shows that he was concerned about the good of the whole person. He was concerned about his body and his soul.

Parents can learn something about parenting from the example of Jesus. Parents need to take care of all the needs of their children. What are they?

It is not enough to send your children to school, to buy him clothes, to feed him, and to provide him shelter. Those answer his intellectual and physical needs. But children also have emotional needs. Do you have time for your children? Do you make an effort to have a happy marriage? A happy marriage gives to your children emotional security.

Your children need your guidance. Do you talk to your children? Do they find it easy to talk to you? Do you pass to your children the wisdom you gained from life?

One of our priests shared with me this story. When he was in high school, he was with his father on their way home. They passed by the sugar mill. And his father made this observation: “Do you know that inside that warehouse is a mountain of sugar? And yet you will not find a single ant inside. Do you know why?” And he replied, “No.” And his father continued: “Because the mountain of sugar dehydrates the ants. It sucks the fluid out of the ants. That is life. Even good things, when used to excess, is harmful.” His father used that moment to pass on to his son some nuggets of wisdom.

Your children have spiritual needs. Do you teach your children to pray? Do you bring them to church? Do you share your faith with your children?

A father shared his faith experience with his children. He told them that he believed in Divine Providence because there were times when there was not enough money and the time for giving the salary to his employees was just around the corner. But somehow the money would come.

To be a parent is a great gift and a great responsibility. At the end of your life, what will give you the greatest happiness? Is it the millions that you have in the bank? Or is it your children all grown up, with a happy family and financially secure? All because you have raised them well.

Jesus cared for the whole person. Take care of your children, body and soul, heart and mind. Raise them up not only for this life but also for the life to come.

6th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (B)

"If you wish, you can make me clean."

Mk 1:40-45

A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said, "If you wish, you can make me clean."

Leprosy here does not refer only to what we call Hansen’s disease but to many kinds of disfiguring disease.

Lepers were driven away from the community. Even their families consider them already dead. They live outside of the town. They can not come near people. Some say they carry bells to warn people of their presence. If they attempt to come near, they would be driven away with a hail of stones.

This harsh treatment of lepers was due to the following reasons: 1) To prevent others from catching the disease; 2) the leper it was believed was being punished for his sins. The people of old interpreted physical misfortune like other misfor-tune as divine punishment; and 3) The Law of Moses commanded it.

Let’s examine further this last reason. Leviticus declared the leper as ritually unclean which means he can not mingle with others nor can he participate in pub-lic worship. His physical condition disqualifies him from physically manifesting the holiness of God’s chosen people. Furthermore, because he is ritually unclean, he also causes others who come in contact with him to be ritually unclean. This makes the behaviour of the priest and the Levite of the parable of the Good Samaritan understandable.

A corpse was unclean. If the priest and the Levite touched the victim and it turned out that he is dead, they would be ritually unclean, too and would be dis-qualified from serving at the Temple.
We have noted that lepers were not allowed to come near other people. Why did he dare approach Jesus? Was it because he was so desperate that he could not allow the opportunity to be healed to pass by? Or was it because of his faith in Jesus? He did not only believe in the power of Jesus to heal. He also believed in the compassion of Jesus. He believed that Jesus would not drive him away.

Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him, "I do will it. Be made clean."

Moved with pity can also be translated as “feeling sorry for him”. Compassion is both a divine and a human quality.

The Parable of the Wicked Servant (Mt. 18: 23-35) speak of the compassion of the Father which we his children should imitate. Moses tells the people of Is-rael that Yahweh is a compassionate God: “Since the LORD, your God, is a compassionate God, he will not abandon and destroy you, nor forget the covenant which under oath he made with your fathers” (Dt 4:31).

But compassion is also a human quality. Without it, we become like animals. During World War II news of the Holocaust started to filter out. In the beginning the Allies could not believe it because it was something that no human being could possibly do. Systematically killing off people by the millions was cruel and inhuman.

Leprosy is not a beautiful sight. That Jesus touched him meant that the compassion of Jesus was more powerful than any feeling of revulsion that the sight of the man might have aroused in him. It also showed the attitude of Jesus towards the Mosaic Law. The leper was ritually unclean and according to the Mosaic Law you should not touch that leper. But Jesus touched the man all the same. It was not that Jesus despised the Mosaic Law. It was because Jesus understood the spirit behind the Mosaic Law (and any law for that matter). The motivation behind it was for the good of man. Jesus did say: “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.” Thus, showing compassion to this man by touching him and curing him was more important than remaining ritually clean.

To touch and be touched is a human need. No man is an island. We need hu-man touch in order to feel connected. We need human touch in order to make con-tact and thus overcome the feeling of isolated.

A hug is a form of human touch. But it is more than just human touch. It is a natural expression of showing that you love and care. No wonder researchers say that we need 4 hugs a day for survival, 8 hugs a day for maintenance and 12 hugs a day for growth.

On the topic of hugging see – http://www.groundreport.com/Arts_and_Culture/It-only-Takes-a-Hug-to-Change-the-Lives-of-Others

He said to him, "See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them."

Jesus told the man who was cleansed of his leprosy to keep quiet about the incident. It was not because Jesus did want to be disturbed by people coming to him for a cure. What Jesus did not want was his healing ministry to take away the possibility of preaching. People will indeed come but they will not be disposed to listen to his message because all they want is to get their relative or themselves cured. Instead, if his healing is not advertised, he can carry out his preaching ministry unimpeded and at the same time have the opportunity to heal people of their sickness.

The man had to go to the priests because it is they who can certify that he is indeed cured and can, therefore, return to society and participate in public worship.

He is told to offer what Moses prescribed. Is it not but the proper thing to do that after having experienced the goodness of God, he should show his gratitude by offering a sacrifice?

5th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (B)

They brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.

Mk 1:29-39

Church over the ruins of the house of St. Peter in Capernaum

EXPLANATION OF THE GOSPEL

Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.

Simon Peter was a married man.

Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

Her cure was complete. She had no need of rest for fear of a relapse.

When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons

After sunset meant that the Sabbath was over and so they could lawfully carry their sick to Jesus. Carrying was considered work and was forbidden on the Sab-bath.

He cured many who were sick with various diseases.

The use of “many” here is not to be understood as: “He healed many of those who came.” This is an example of semitic speech. Many is to be understood as “He healed the many (or the multitude) who came”.

And he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him

Even if the demons spoke the truth, they would still use the truth for their evil purposes. It is enough to recall that when Satan tempted Eve, he told her the truth that eating the forbidden fruit would make them like God, knowing good and evil.

This is also an example of the so-called messianic secret. Jesus did not want to be publicly recognized as the Messiah for the simple reason that Jesus was the not the Messiah that people thought he was. For example, Jesus was not certainly a political Messiah who would get rid of the Romans.

Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.

Perhaps that was the only time he could be alone and pray.

He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also.”

Jesus was an itinerant preacher.

So he went into their synagogues.

Jesus took the opportunity of Sabbath worship in the synagogue to preach to his countrymen.

THEIR synagogue. This might imply that when Mark wrote his gospel, the break between Christianity and Judaism was complete. Some date the complete break between Judaism and Christianity to be 70 AD at about the time of the destruction of Jerusalem.

In the beginning, however, Christianity was thought to be a sect of Judaism. In fact, it was normal for the Christians to worship in the Temple. “Then he led them (out) as far as Bethany, raised his hands, and blessed them. As he blessed them he parted from them and was taken up to heaven. They did him homage and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple praising God (Lk 24: 51-53).

HEALING

What is the significance of the healing that Jesus does?

First, it is a sign that Jesus is truly God and truly man. Only God and only those with human hearts can be moved by the suffering of people.

Second, it is a sign that the conquest of evil by the power of the good has be-gun. When Adam and Eve sinned, they allowed the entry of evil in the world. Sickness and death which are forms of physical evil also entered the world. By curing the sick, Jesus shows himself more powerful over evil, not only over physi-cal evil but especially over sin which is called moral evil.

The 7 Sacraments of the Church were instituted by Christ so that he may be present in a special at important event in a person’s life. Birth is an important event. That’s why we celebrate it every year. There is a sacrament for that—Baptism.

Grave sickness is an important event in a person’s life. It is important in the sense that you can not take grave sickness for granted. There is a sacrament for that—Anointing of the Sick. The Church changed the name from Extreme Unction to Anointing of the Sick to tell Christians that this Sacrament is not only for the dying. It is for those who are gravely ill. The doctor can tell us if the sickness is grave. In that case, Jesus wants to accompany that sick person in his struggle to get well. Or if that sickness is fatal, Jesus wants to accompany him on his journey to the after life. Jesus does not want him to be alone.

The Fifth Commandment is “You shall not murder”. This commandment does not only prohibit taking away another person’s life unjustly. This commandment commands us to take care of our bodies and that includes taking care of our health and taking steps to restore our health if we do get sick.

We commit sin if we do not take care of our health. Excessive use of tobacco and alcohol is unhealthy and sinful. And if there is history of lung cancer in the family, use of tobacco can become even gravely sinful.

We commit sin if we do not take steps to restore our health. It is, therefore, sinful not to obey the reasonable orders of our doctor. For example, we have to take seriously our doctor’s orders about limiting sugar intake or about taking the medicine he prescribed.

Not only do our bodies need healing. Even our memories may need healing. We may have been hurt and we carry the memory of that hurt. Someone said that she was hurt because her father never showed interest in her children, his grand-children. He never asked how they were. And now her father was dead. What can she do?

Psychologists suggest several ways to healing. One is to write a letter. In this case, whenever that particular memory re-surfaces, she can write a letter to her dead father about what she feels. Once she finishes that letter, she burns it. She continues doing this letter writing every time that memory comes up and the hurt remains strong. She can stop writing once the hurt is no longer intense.

I have said that Anointing of the Sick is a sacrament of healing. That is true. But it is not the only sacrament of healing. Confession is also a sacrament of healing. It heals us of sin and its consequences.

For example, it feels good to talk about the mistakes or bad things that other people do. Which do you think people would want to talk about? No. 1: Hoy, kagabi daw nakita sina Joana at Mike sa harap ng simbahan ng Baclaran. (Hey, last night someone said that they saw Joana and Mike in front of the Baclaran church) Or no. 2: Hoy, kagabi daw nakita sina Joana at Mike sa harap ng Victoria Court. (Hey, last night someone said that they saw Joana and Mike in front of Victoria Court. [In the Philippines the name is connected with not so innocent activity.]) Such talk doesn’t do any good neither to the people talked about nor to the people doing the talking.

Confession will not only forgive the sin committed but it will also give the grace in order to overcome that sin. Though one confession may not be enough to eradicate the sin, just as taking an anti-biotic once will not be enough.

Receiving forgiveness from God in confession can be a rewarding experience. One Michael Magone after making his confession to St. John Bosco was moved to tears. He said he felt so happy. And then added: “If my friends in Carmognola were to feel what I am now feeling, they would run to be the first in line to confess to Don [Fr.] Bosco.”

Try it. Who knows? It might do you a lot of good.

4th SUNDAY OF THE YEAR (B)

On the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.

Mk 1:21-28

EXPLANATION OF THE GOSPEL

Then they came to Capernaum.

It is located on the northern shore of lake Galilee. It is the home of Peter, An-drew, James and John and Matthew, the tax collector.

Jesus made it his headquarter. “When he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea” (Mt 4:12).

Jesus expressed great disappointment with the people of Capernaum: “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sit-ting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum, 'Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.'" (Lk 10: 13-15).

The site is a ruin today. You can find there a Catholic church built over the ruins of the house of St. Peter.

On the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.

The day of worship for the Jews is Saturday. No sacrifice was offered in the synagogue because only in the Temple in Jerusalem can sacrifice be offered.

The worship at the synagogue consisted of singing, reading of scriptures and teaching.
Since Jesus had become a famous rabbi or teacher, it was not unusual for the leader of the synagogue to invite Jesus to teach when he was present.

The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.

When the scribes taught, they would quote famous rabbis to support their teaching. Jesus did not do that. He taught on the strength of his own authority. “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, 'You shall not kill; and who-ever kills will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Raqa,' will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna” (Mt 5:21-22).

His teaching was accompanied by works of power. Thus, the reaction of the people: "What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the un-clean spirits and they obey him."

I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"

This is not to be interpreted as a confession of faith in Jesus Christ. It was really an attempt of the unclean spirit to ward off the power of Jesus. It was an ancient belief that by knowing the name of an opponent spirit you gain mastery over that spirit. That was why when Jacob asked the name of the angel with whom he wrestled the whole night, the angel refused to tell him his name.

Jesus rebuked him and said, "Quiet! Come out of him!" The unclean spirit convulsed him and with a loud cry came out of him.

The New American Bible translates the command of Jesus as “Quiet! “ Liter-ally, Jesus was commanding the unclean spirit to “Be muzzled!” Muzzle is defined as a fastening or covering for the mouth of an animal used to prevent eating or biting” The picture that I get here is that Jesus is not merely giving a command to the unclean spirit not to speak. He was muzzling the unclean spirit so that even if the unclean spirit wanted to say something, he would not be able to do so.

Basing themselves on the description of convulsion, some are saying that Je-sus healed the man of epilepsy.

TEACHING

What do we mean by teaching? Who is a teacher?

Once there was an old lady who slowly made her way to the counter to pay for her groceries. She had been retired for some time and had not been feeling well lately. Ahead of her was a young man with long hair, tattoos and pierced ears and lips. The old teacher thought to herself, “What has become of our youth!” When the young man saw her, he politely invited her to go ahead of him.

“Why thank you, young man,” the teacher said in surprise. “Who taught you that?”

“Why you, Mrs. Richards. In second grade. I’m Bob, your student of long ago.”

By teaching we don’t mean teaching a subject but teaching something that has to do with life. A teacher is one who teaches something about life.

Parents

Parents are the first teachers of their children. They teach their children about life. For example, it is you parents who teach your children how to be a husband or a wife, how to be a father or a mother. It is you who teach your children how to raise a family or solve a problem.

Parents also pass on to their children lessons learned from life. These lessons from life are called wisdom. A writer told this story from his childhood. He was with his dad on a train. He adored his dad and thought of him as the wisest man on earth. To his surprise, he saw his dad talking to one of the train engineers. In those days, trains ran on coal and the train engineer was dirty all over with soot. When father and son returned to their seat, he asked his dad why he talked to that man. And his dad told him, “You can always learn something new from anybody.” That was a piece of wisdom father passed on to his son.

Life

All of us still go to school, even if we have already graduated many years ago. This school that all of us still go to is called the school of life. Unless we learn at this school, we are bound to lead unhappy and unproductive lives.

Ophrah shares one of the things she learned in the school of life. She says that there are no failures; there are no mistakes; there are only learning opportunities.

A philosopher learned how to deal with suffering. He says: “First, accept the fact that suffering is part of life. There is no way you can escape suffering. And second, focus on the positive.”

An executive of SM commenting on OFWs returning from Taiwan because of retrenchment said that what they need to do now is to learn another set of skills that will either make them employable or enable them to start a business of their own.

There is another lesson that life can teach us. Someone said: “Forewarned. Forearmed.” That is, if you don’t want the future to catch you flat-footed, you have to prepare for it. For example, if you get sick, are you ready for it? In five years time, your eldest will enter college, are you ready for it?

We can not always predict the future. But there are things that has a high probability of happening. Are we prepared?

Jesus

Jesus was called rabbi. In other words, Jesus was called a teacher. In today’s gospel, we find him teaching in the synagogue. Jesus does not do that anymore. But how can we attend the school of Jesus. How do we get to be taught by him?

1. Buy a bible with footnotes. The New American Bible or The New Jerusa-lem Bible. Read the bible regularly. Study the footnotes.
2. Listen to the readings and homily at Mass.
3. Radio and TV have programs about the Sunday Liturgy. Watch or listen to those programs. (For the Philippines, there is Bisperas sa Veritas every Saturday afternoon on Radio Veritas. For Italy, there is the program of Fr. Cantalamesa on RAI Uno.)
4. You can download the weekly reflection on the reading of the day on your mp3 player. You can find it at Pray as you go (http://www.pray-as-you-go.org/).

Teaching and learning are two sides of the same coin. We need to find a good teacher. But we need to be eager students as well, if we want to get anything from any good teacher. Jesus is there. Life is there. We only need to pay attention to them.

3rd SUNDAY OF THE YEAR (B). CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL

St. Paul is struck by a bright light on his way to Damascus.

The Call of the First Disciples

BAPTISM OF OUR LORD (January 11)

You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.

MK 1:7-11

One mightier than I is coming after me.

The image is of a procession or of a retinue. The first is lower in rank. The last is highest in rank.
The might or power of Jesus is revealed in his fight against Satan. Jesus is go-ing to destroy the kingdom of Satan.

I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.

This is the task of a slave.

I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.

The work of salvation begun by Jesus is presented as eschatological (pertain-ing to definite establishment of God’s reign at the end of time) purification or sanctification through the action of the Holy Spirit.

It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John.

The interest of St. Mark is not in the event of Baptism but in the heavenly revelation that follows. This is the key to understanding the gospel of St. Mark.
Mark does not mention any other witnesses.

On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him.

The heavens is being torn open as if it were a piece of cloth. This is the sign of God intervening in the history of man in order to fulfil his promises, in this in-stance, through the sending of the Holy Spirit.

The descent of the Holy Spirit identifies Jesus as the promised Savior.

There is no certainty as to the symbolism of the dove. It probably has no allusion to the dove that Noah released. Others see in the dove the symbol of the love of God coming down on the earth. Hebrew tradition saw in the dove the symbol of Israel. But there is also another Hebrew tradition that saw in the dove the symbol of the Spirit of God hovering over the waters at the creation of the world. If this is the meaning of the dove, then the Baptism of Jesus is to be interpreted as the beginning of the new creation.

You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.

Other translate “with you I am well pleased” as “I am pleased to choose you.”

At the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus, the Father recognizes Jesus as his Son.

Beloved Son has two biblical references. The first is the prophecy of Nathan of a royal son in 2 Sm 7:14, “I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me.”

The second is the Servant of Isaiah. “Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, Upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, Not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street” (Is 42, 1-2).

STO. NINO (JANUARY 18)

HISTORY

According to accounts, Magellan gave the image to Juana after the natives were baptized. Magellan was later killed while battling Lapu-Lapu and his men in Mactan.

Another Spanish expedition, under the leadership of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi, returned to Cebu in 1565.

After pillaging and razing a village, Legazpi’s soldiers found in a house spared in the fire an image of the child Jesus, similar in looks to the made-in-Flanders statue that Legazpi believed was given by Magellan more than 40 years earlier to the wife of the chieftain of Cebu. A church was then ordered built on the spot where the image was found. This church was elevated to the rank of a basilica during the 1965 celebration of the 4th centennial of the Christianization of the Philippines.

SINULOG

The Sinulog festival is one of the grandest and most colorful festivals in the Philippines. The main festival is held each year on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City to honor the Santo Niño. It is essentially a dance ritual which remembers the Filipino people’s pagan past and their acceptance of Christianity.

The festival features some the country’s most colorful displays of pomp and pageantry: participants garbed in bright-colored costumes dance to the rhythm of drums, trumpets, and native gongs. The streets are usually lined with vendors and pedestrians all wanting to witness the street-dancing. Smaller versions of the festival are also held in various parts of the province, also to celebrate and honor the Santo Niño. There is also a Sinulog sa Kabataan, which is performed by the youths of Cebu a week before the Grand Parade.

Recently, the cultural event has been commercialized as a tourist attraction and instead of traditional street-dancing from locals, Sinulog also came to mean a contest featuring contingents from various parts of the country. The Sinulog Contest is traditionally held in the Cebu City Sports Complex, where most of Cebu’s major provincial events are held.

from http://www.sinulog.ph/index.php/about/

CAUTION

Using the Sto. Nino instead of venerating it.

The statue of the Sto. Nino just like all religious statues and images are meant to remind us of spiritual realities. In this particular case, we are reminded of the fact that God became man. In fact, he was born of the Virgin Mary. He started out as a baby and grew to be a child, then an adolescent and then an adult. And because the statue of the Sto. Nino is a reminder of a spiritual reality, it is to be ven-erated, that is, respected.

But it can happen that instead of respecting it, we use the statue of the Sto. Nino for non-sacred purposes. This happens when we turn the Sto. Nino into a good luck charm, a magnet for raking in money. We display the Sto. Nino in our store not as an expression of our faith but for making our business successful. The Sto. Nino de Cebu becomes the Sto. Nino de la Swerte.

Getting fixated

Babies are attractive creatures. They catch our attention. They call forth in us gentleness and a caring and protecting attitude. They’re just so lovable. Perhaps it is for this reason that it is easy to evoke devotion for the Sto. Nino.

But it might happen that we get fixated with the Sto. Nino. We might forget that this Sto. Nino is Jesus who did not remain a baby but grew in wisdom, age and grace before God and men. In fact, he reached the age of 33.

The Liturgical year begins with Advent. But it does not end with Christmas. The Liturgical year does not end with the baby Jesus in the manager. It continues until his passion, death, resurrection and ascension into heaven. And it ends with the feast of Jesus, King of the Universe.

So also our devotion to Jesus should not begin and end with the Child Jesus. It should move on to devotion to Jesus the adult who is Lord and who calls us to be his disciples.

But it is not just our way of looking at Jesus that should grow. More impor-tantly, our faith should also grow.

GROWTH IN FAITH

Compare what you know about your faith 10 years ago to what you know now? Do you know more now than before? If there is not much difference, then you may need to do some reading. Buy a spiritual book. Do you already have a bible? Perhaps it is time to buy one now. And perhaps it is better to buy a bible that has footnotes such as the Jerusalem Bible or the New American Bible. These footnotes are important because they give you additional information.

How do you pray? Is your prayer ONLY about asking God for this and for that? Is your prayer ONLY formula prayers, such as the Our Father and the Hail Mary? Have you already learned different ways of praying? For example, have you already learned to pray by just sitting there in the presence of God without saying anything?

Have you learned to trust God more? When problems come, are you more confident now because you have learned to believe more strongly that God will be with you as you work out those problems?

CONCLUSION

In the musical Fiddler on the Roof, there is the wedding scene. In that scene, they sang this song entitled: “Sunrise, Sunset”. The beginning goes this way:

Tevye: Is this the little girl I carried? Is this the little boy at play?
Golde: I don't remember growing older. When did they?
Tevye: When did she get to be a beauty? When did he grow to be so tall?
Golde: Wasn't it yesterday when they were small?
Men: Sunrise, sunset (x2), Swiftly flow the days.

It was like yesterday when the bride and the groom were just little kids. And look at them now. All grown up and just married.

Growth is a sign of life. When you no longer grow, you’re dead. So also growth in faith is the sign of a living faith. When your faith no longer grows, it is because your faith may already be dead.

The feast of the Sto. Nino invites us to check on the state of our faith. Is it alive and growing? Or is it stagnating and dying?

FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT (B)

Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.

Lk 1:26-38

EXPLANATION OF THE GOSPEL

The angel Gabriel was sent from God…

The angel Gabriel is traditionally given the rank of an archangel. His name means “my Master is God.” There are two archangels mentioned in the Bible. They are Raphael (God heals) and Michael (Who is like God?). Raphael appears in the Book of Tobit while Michael in the Book of Revelation.

…to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,…
Although Jesus was born in Bethlehem, he grew up in Nazareth.

…to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David…

There is an allusion here to Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin/young girl shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” The original Hebrew word used may mean a young girl or a virgin. However, the Greek translation of the Hebrew bible called the Septuagint prefers the word ‘virgin’. And it is the Septuagint that Matthew and Luke use. Hence, Luke’s gospel states that the angel Gabriel was sent to a virgin.

Betrothed here is a technical term to mean a situation of a legal marriage con-tract where man and wife do not yet live together. In Galilee it was the last state of an engagement prior to moving in together.

The detail that Joseph is of the house of David is important for it is through Joseph that Jesus becomes part of the house of David and thus, fulfils the proph-ecy that the Messiah would come from David’s house.

“Hail, full of grace!”

Full of grace is also translated as “favored one”.

Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.

This is why Mary is the favored one.

“How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”

This response can not be taken as doubt because unlike Zechariah, Mary was not punished.

Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.

That God would send his Son is a startling New Testament assertion.

OBEDIENCE TO PARENTS

Obedience is defined as compliance with what is required by authority. It comes from the Latin words “ob” and “audire”. “Ob” means towards. “Audire means “to listen”. Obedience means to listen to what authority is saying in order to carry it out.

When the Fourth Commandment commands: Honor your father and your mother. It commands children to respect, love and obey their parents.

Obedience is about turning off the lights when a child is told by his mom: “Anak, patayin mo ang ilaw sa sala.”

Obedience is about washing the dishes without being told when it is your turn to wash the dishes.

Obedience, however, is above all about carrying out the teaching of your parents. The Panatang Makabayan goes this way:
Iniibig ko ang Pilipinas
Ito ang aking lupang sinilangan
Ito ang tahanan ng aking lahi
Ako'y kanyang kinukupkop at tinutulungan
Upang maging malakas, maligaya at kapakipakinabang
Bilang ganti, diringgin ko ang payo ng aking mga magulang
Susundin ko ang mga tuntunin ng aking paaralan
Tutuparin ko ang mga tungkulin ng isang mamamayang makabayan at masunurin sa batas
Paglilingkuran ko ang aking bayan nang walang pag-iimbot at ng buong katapatan
Sisikapin kong maging isang tunay na pilipino
sa isip, sa salita, at sa gawa.

By God’s will children are obliged to obey their parents so that parents can successfully carry out the duty of raising their children to become upright citizens and good Christians. If children do not obey the counsel of their parents, how can parents help their children grow up to become responsible adults and good Christians. This duty is so grave that in the OT punishment for a rebellious son or daughter is death by stoning.

Think about the counsel (payo) that your parents have been giving you during your growing years. Did you ever hear your mom or dad tell you: “Anak, pabayaan mo ang pag-aaral. Wala kang mapapala diyan (Son/daughter, neglect your studies. It won’t help you anyway.).” Or “Anak, siguraduhin mo na sasama ka sa mga masasamang barkada (Son/daughter, make sure you go with bad companions.).” Or “Anak, siguraduhin mo na bago ka makatapos mag-aral ay nakapag-asawa ka na (Son/daughter, make sure that you get married before finishing your studies.).”

The Fourth Commandment is not just about the duty of children towards their children. It is also about the duty of parents to their children. It is not just about the duty of obeying one’s parents. It is also about the grave responsibility of parents to raise their children to become responsible adults and good Christians. Therefore, by word and example parents are to teach their children.

Two other concerns.

I saw a drawing of an old woman confessing to a priest. She said her sin was of disobeying her parents. That made me laugh. Her parents were probably dead already. But even if her parents were still alive, she could not possibly have disobeyed her parents anymore because she was already an adult. She was no longer a minor who still had to be raised by her parents. (However, if one were still living with his parents, you still have to obey them in certain things such as house rules.) Having said that, the duty of respecting and loving one’s parents remain.

The second concern is about punishment. The bible says spare the rod and spoil the child. Years back this was understood as physical punishment. I am not for cruel physical punishment. But if you need to spank your child, don’t carry out the punishment when you are angry. For if you do, you are punishing out of anger and not out of love. My brother-in-law punished his children by having them stand in the corner. Others punish by grounding their children for some time. That is, not allowing them to leave the house for example, on weekends.

When Mary replied, “I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word”, she was giving her obedience to God. She is giving us an example. By carrying out the Fourth Commandment, we follow the good example of Mary. By obeying the Fourth Commandment, both parents and children like Mary give their obedience to God.

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT (B)

A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light.

Jn 1:6-8, 19-28

EXEGESIS

When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, “Who are you?”

In his Gospel John uses the term Jews for those who were hostile to Jesus, particularly the Jewish religious leaders.

Are you Elijah?

According to Malachi and Sirach, the prophet Elijah will return to preach re-pentance for one last time before the final judgment. “Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, Before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day” (Mal 3:23).

“Are you the Prophet?”

The expectation for a prophet at the end time was common. It is probably based on Deuteronomy 18:15. Moses spoke to the people, saying: “A prophet like me will the LORD, your God, raise up for you from among your own kinsmen; to him you shall listen.”

“There is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”

It was the job of a slave to remove the sandals of his master.

This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

This is not the Bethany where Lazarus, Martha and Mary lived.

NOTE:

The Gospel of John presents Jesus as if he were on trial. Witnesses are called forward to testify on behalf of Jesus. The first witness presented is John the Baptist.

THE DESERT

“I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘make straight the way of the Lord.’” An alternative reading would be: “I am the voice of one crying out, “In the desert, ‘make straight the way of the Lord.’”

The desert or wilderness is often mentioned in the Bible.

The Israelites would not enter the Promised Land on account of the discour-aging reports of the spies sent by Joshua to reconnoiter the Land. For their lack of faith and disobedience, God punished them. None of them would enter and occupy the Promised Land. And so they wandered in the desert 40 years.

On the Day of Atonement, a goat was chosen and all the sins of the people were laid on it. Afterwards it was sent to the desert. The desert was the abode of Azazel or Satan.

During the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, those who were faithful to the Jewish religion fled to the desert. “It was reported to the officers and soldiers of the king who were in the City of David, in Jerusalem, that certain men who had flouted the king's order had gone out to the hiding places in the desert” (1Mac 2:31).

After his baptism, Jesus went to the desert and stayed there forty days and forty nights. Within that period, he was tempted by the devil. But he came out victorious.

The monks of old fled the cities and lived in desert in order to find God there. St. Anthony was the most famous among them.

The desert can teach us something about how to prepare for Christmas. While it would be impossible for most of us to go to the desert or to the wilderness, we can in some way re-create the spirit of the desert. And in this way prepare the way of the Lord.

The spirit of the desert consists of three key words: silence, solitude and spiritual combat.

SILENCE

We need interior silence in order to hear God’s voice. Where did Elijah find God? Not in the strong wind. Not in the earthquake. Not in the fire. But in the tiny whispering sound. Where can we hear this whisper of God? In the examination of conscience. In sacred scripture. But n order to hear God’s whisper, we need inte-rior silence. But this interior silence is almost impossible to achieve when there is an overpowering exterior noise. This noise is not necessarily something that the ears perceive. Anything that catches the attention of our senses is noise. Anything that takes away our attention from God during the examination of conscience or during the prayerful reading of the Bible is noise. Using a portable device to pray the day’s scripture reading (see Pray As You God website) will be for many a practical way of creating interior silence even when one is commuting.

SOLITUDE

We need some time to be by ourselves. Solitude is not being lonely. It is not even being “alone”. Solitude is being present to oneself and being present to God. We need solitude so that we may step back and look at ourselves and at our life. We need solitude so that we can get in touch with the deepest desires of our heart. And having taken stock of ourselves, of our lives and of the desires of our hearts, we can bring whatever we have discovered for discussion with God. Who knows? God may tell us what he wants us to do.

SPIRITUAL COMBAT

It was in the desert that Jesus fought his spiritual combat against Satan. It was also in the desert that the monks of old fought their spiritual combat. We don’t need to go to a geographical desert to fight our spiritual battle, for the spiritual battlefield is right in our hearts. It is in our hearts where the battle between good and evil take place. It is in our hearts where the battle for supremacy is going on. Will God be supreme in our hearts? Or will it be the Evil One? It is not difficult to find help in tipping the battle in favor of God. There are three simple but power means: confession, communion and spirit of prayer. Confession exorcises the evil from our heart. Communion gives God possession of our heart. It is not just prayer but spirit of prayer. It means that we must find ways in order to remember God throughout the day. Or in classic terminology, we must find ways in order to lift up our minds and hearts to God throughout the day.

Christmas is not just about remembering what happened in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago. It is experiencing for ourselves what happened then. But what exactly did happen in Bethlehem? With the birth of Jesus God is truly with us. God is truly Emmanuel. Through silence, solitude and spiritual combat we hope to give God possession of our hearts. When that happens, is God not truly with us?