Some people try to go pass the cross to get to the glory. This is the in line with what Jesus taught. To be his disciple, we must follow him and take up our cross. It is through the cross that he redeemed us. He embraced it out of love for the Father and out of love for us. A life without the cross is a life without Jesus. But what was at the heart of the cross for Jesus? It was to do the will of the Father even if it meant death by crucifixion. What is at the heart of the cross for us? To do the will of the Father whatever he sees fit for us to remain one with him. It is not suffering that God wants but a desire to be one with him because of all he has done for us. Scripture says that God chastises his sons and daughters. The cross our chastisement. Like Paul we need to glory in the cross so that we may glory in the resurrection.

 

Our purpose sometimes change throughout our lives. What we thought of at an earlier stage of our life to be our goal may not be true later on. When children are asked what they want to be when they grow up, the answers may vary from being a pilot, a fireman, an astronaut, a nurse, a teacher etc. Ask the same person the same question in high school, the answer probably will be different. Why? We have had new experiences and things have changed in our lives. Again, ask the same person twenty years later, you may get a different answer. Why? If we have not found what we are missing, what could give us true happiness, we will continue to search. But once we have found our purpose for existence to be for God and to be with him forever, we set our compass or we lock in our GPS on this destination.

 

Homily: Twenty-fifth Sunday Year A

 

Reading 1: This reading speaks of an obvious mystery. Have you ever wondered, can God forgive me of my sins after all I have done? How could God forgive the terrorists or the abortionists or the serial murderers? The answers are beyond me. God’s ways and God’s thoughts are beyond our understanding. At the same time, we are to seek him and to call to him, even though we cannot begin to comprehend the plan of God, the love of God, the infinite mercy and forgiveness of God.

 

He chooses the foolish and confounds the wise; the weak to confound the strong. Of all the nations of the earth he chose Israel to be his chosen people. Of the seven sons of Jesse, he chose David, the youngest. He chose to become man. He chose to be born in a stable in Bethlehem, the least of the town of Judah. He chose to save us from our sins through the cross. We cannot make logical sense of God’s ways, because they flow not from the human process but the divine process of his loving being.

 

We are told by the prophet to seek the Lord; call to him; turn away from sin and turn back to God who is generous in forgiving. This word, generous, is key to the Gospel.

 

Gospel: Human beings demand justice towards themselves when it is to their advantage versus God’s extravagant mercy, which is given to all. It is good to be just versus unjust, but better to be merciful and generous.

 

Last week we heard the response of Jesus to Peter: forgive not 7 x 7 but 70x70. We are to both receive and acknowledge God’s mercy as well as extend mercy. Last Sunday the master forgave the larger debt of his servant, but the servant would not show the same mercy to another servant who owed him a much smaller fraction.

 

Here the invitation to work in the field is a grace/gift and the wage was a gift. Yes, the workers responded. But the gift was from the owner to the others was complained against because they saw that they were owed more than the one who work less.

 

God’s ways are mysterious. He is just and merciful. We judge according to human standards of justice or expectations. He who does more should receive more. Salvation is not something we earn or gain, but a gift we receive from the bounteous goodness of God.

 

In Jesus’time, the Pharisees and Scribes could not understand or accept that pubic sinners, such as prostitutes and tax collectors, could be saved. These Jewish religious leaders could not accept that pagan believers could be saved without becoming circumcised and following the Mosaic Laws.

 

On the human side, people who worked longer and harder should be paid more than someone who worked only one hour. From God’s perspective salvation is a gift from him. He determines the rules, if you will. God’s ways are not our ways. If he wishes to grant salvation to the thief on the cross at the last moment of his life, who am I to object. He received the mercy of God as I received the mercy of God. We can’t be presumptuous over God’s mercy and forgiveness. We have to be willing to respond at the moment.

 

We want mercy for ourselves but not others. What the men who worked all day wanted was justice and they got justice. Had they rejoiced in the mercy shown to others, they would have received mercy as well. Do we want to be judged with the blind scale of justice or by the generous scale of God’s mercy? The measure with which we measure will be measured back to us.

 

Reading 2: Paul was so in love and so committed to Jesus as the Lord of his life that he desired to die and be with his Lord. What he wanted to do was to please Jesus whether in life or in death. He did not fear death, but saw it as the final moment before seeing and being with Jesus eternally. At the same time, he knew that if he continued to live, he would be doing what God wanted him to do, namely to proclaim the Good News of salvation to others. Whether he lived or died he belonged to Christ. All he wanted was to be and do the will of Jesus.

 

His final statement is a haunting challenge for us. Conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of God. Live as Jesus has called us to live. Have we gotten there yet? Am I conscious of magnifying Christ in my body, so that whether I live or die, it makes no difference, as long as I am glorifying Christ?

 "After all, maturation in a spiritual sense is a growing willingness to stretch out my arms, to have a belt put round me, and to be led where I would rather not go (John 21:18)." (Henri Nouwen)

It is hard for us to totally trust in God's providential care for us, We are afraid of where he may lead us, what cross he may ask us to bear. We would rather be in control of our life. But how many times that has led us to dead ends in our life, to decisions that have been self-destructive? When will we ever learn that God's plan for us is our eternal happiness with him? When we finally do, we will be ready to surrender the control of our life to the Author of our life. Even the difficulties he may lead us through will be beneficial and not destructive. Remember the words of the Lord. "My ways are not your ways, my thoughts are not your thoughts."  His was is the surest and safest one.

 Twenty-fifth Sunday Gospel A

Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Going out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard, and I will give you what is just.' So they went off. (And) he went out again around noon, and around three o'clock, and did likewise. Going out about five o'clock, he found others standing around, and said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?' 

They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.' When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.' When those who had started about five o'clock came, each received the usual daily wage. So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more, but each of them also got the usual wage. And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying, 'These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day's burden and the heat.' 

· Have we ever felt that God’s ways are unfair?  Or is it that God sees things differently than we do?

· Instead of thinking about money, substitute grace. If no one earns grace,--it is freely given by God to whomever he chooses-- does it make any difference who gets what?

· Or look at it from the point of view of eternal life, which is also a gift from God. If God chooses to give the repentant thief on the cross eternal life does that take away anything from the same gift to us? Being a disciple for many years or being a disciple for a short time, God chooses to give eternal life freely to both. Their equality comes not from what they did but from what God freely gave them.

· What is their real complaint? They got what was agreed to at the beginning of the day.  They figured that if the owner was going to be generous towards those who worked less, he should be more generous with those who worked longer. Human standards vs Divine standards.

He said to one of them in reply, 'My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? (Or) am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? 

· How does Christ’s words challenge the world’s understanding of justice (and maybe yours)?

Are you envious because I am generous?' Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last." 

· Is there envy or jealousy in our hearts over what God seemingly does for others? His blessing to them in comparison to his blessings to us?

· How grateful are we for the generosity of God whose gifts are gratuitous?

 

A hard-working parish priest, after a lifetime of ministry, died and went to heaven.  When he got there he was assigned an attractive two bedroom house to serve as his heavenly abode.  He was rather pleased with his house until he took a walk around the neighborhood and ran into a parishioner who had been a cab driver and now was living in a mansion with a swimming pool and tennis courts.  The priest went directly to St. Peter to complain.  He said, “I’ve worked my whole life long serving God’s people.  Now this parishioner of mine is a very good person, but he was a cab driver!  Why is he living in so much bigger a house than I am?”  St. Peter said, “Here’s how it goes.  When you preached, people slept.  But when he drove, people prayed.”

Why are we jealous of other's good fortune? Because we think we are better than another or are more deserving than the other? What is the root of jealousy? Not accepting ourselves as we are and not rejoicing with another? If we would work more on ourselves than on comparing ourselves with others, maybe we would be appreciative of all the good things we have. Count your many blessings not your lacks. Be grateful to God for all your blessings and for all other's blessings. Jealousy leads to other sins. Gratitude to other blessings. 

 Do we have a driving purpose that gives meaning to our life? 

Purpose grounds us: Being grounded means knowing ourselves and our purpose. Implied in this, of course, is knowing what one is not and does not want to become.  St Catherine of Siena stated “If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world ablaze!”  To become that person is the mission God gives each of us. God has willed that we share his divine life eternally. We became his sons and daughters in the waters of Baptism. Our whole life is to be that person God sees and wills us to be. We fall short many times. That is not as important as that at the most important moment in my life--the moment of death--I am that son or daughter, living in union with him. I will then fulfill my purpose. 

 “‘Standing by the cross of Jesus was his mother’ (Jn. 19:25). The Virgin, with her mother’s grief, participated in a quite particular way in the Passion of Jesus, cooperating deeply with the salvation of mankind. Like Mary, each of us can and must unite with the suffering Jesus in order to become, with his own pain, an active part in the redemption of the world which he effected in the Paschal Mystery." (St. John Paul II)

We can never begin to comprehend the depth of Mary's sorrow, as she stood at the foot of the cross. She could have chosen not to be present. But she didn't. This was the will of the Father that Jesus should give his life for our lives. She embraced that will. Simeon had previously said that a sword would pierce her heart. She stands in support of her Son, uniting her sorrows with his sufferings. This is the lesson she teaches us. Suffering can be wasted or it can be beneficial. Wallowing in our suffering , complaining, "why me?" is useless. Suffering united to Jesus', allows that suffering to be part of the Paschal mystery of salvation. 

 "Had there been no cross, Christ could not have been crucified. Had there been no cross, life itself could not have been nailed to the tree. And if life had not been nailed to it, there would be no streams of immortality pouring from Christ’s side, blood and water for the world’s cleansing. The legal bond of our sin would not be canceled, we should not have attained our freedom, we should not have enjoyed the fruit of the tree of life and the gates of paradise would not stand open. Had there been no cross, death would not have been trodden underfoot, nor hell despoiled." (St. Andrew of Crete)

As we celebrate the Feast of the Exultation of the Cross, we have these words from St. Andrew to reflect on. The cross was not something Jesus looked forward to with excitement, otherwise his prayer to the Father would not have been necessary. "Father, take away this cup." But Jesus embraced the cross because he loved the Father and he loved us. The price Jesus paid for our eternal salvation was his own life. He suffered the excruciating torture and death of crucifixion, so that we may not have to suffer alienation from God in eternal fires. With St. Paul we can proclaim that we rejoice in the cross of Jesus. So we make the sign of the cross as a remembrance. We wear a cross to profess our faith. We adore Jesus crucified in gratitude. 

 

Homily: Twenty-fourth Sunday Year A

 

Reading 1: Listen to the first statement: “Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.” Many times we have an eye for an eye mentality. We are commanded by God to forgive the sins of others, so that our own sins may be forgiven. We pray in the Our Father, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

 

Anger is a spiritual cancer more deadly than any physical cancer. Hate and vengeance poison our whole system and leads to eternal death.

 

However, how often do we nourish anger against others, while expecting God to forgive us our sins. What is missing? Remember your last days. Remember we will face God in judgment. Remember we will die and our eternity will be determined by our actions. Refusal to forgive another tells God not to forgive us. Sometimes, we make vows that need to be broken and undone through true repentance and forgiveness.

 

Gospel: Unmerited mercy is a free gift, which needs to be responded to with mercy in turn. The ungrateful servant forgot this. He demanded justice, when he himself was given mercy. He refused mercy to an equal after having been graced with mercy by a higher person. In this he sealed his fate.

 

There is a story about a woman in hell, who complained that she should not be there, because she had done many good deeds in her life. God was merciful. He lowered a rope for her to grab on to. As she did and began to be pulled up, others in hell grabbed on to the same rope, slowing her accent. In her desperation she began to kick and push each one off the rope. It was hers. And all of a sudden the rope broke and she fell back into hell. God said: “The reason you are in hell is because when mercy was shown you, you refused mercy to others in your lifetime.”

 

God has been merciful to each of us. We have sinned gravely against God many times. We can never pay back our debt to God for turning away from him and embracing our sins. Yet God in his infinite mercy has chosen to forgive us. Having received and continuing to receive his mercy and forgiveness, how can we refuse to forgive another, whose sin against us cannot be compared to our sins against God?

 

Let the words of Jesus burn in our hearts and minds. “My Father will do to you the same, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.” It is not that you forget what the other has done, but you remember more what God has done for you. You choose not to nurture anger and un-forgiveness in your heart. Instead, you focus more on gratitude to God for his mercy.

 

Reading 2: Would we act any different if the reality of the Lordship of God over us was central in our thinking? Adam and Eve failed to remember that God was the source of their lives. They made themselves the beginning and the end. They were more focus on what would pleased them. They were falsely told that they would be equal to God and no longer under God.

 

Paul reminds us of the truth. None of lives for ourselves. If we live for the Lord and if we die, we die for the Lord. We belong to the Lord. We came from the Lord. We are destined to return to the Lord. From the time of our birth to the time of our death, we sin. Yet Jesus in his great mercy has saved us through his death and resurrection. He has reconciled us to the Father. We belong to God. We are eternally indebted to God.

 

Does our present life reflect this truth? To what extent is Jesus the Lord of our conscious life? He is our Lord by virtue of our creation.  We belong to him. He is our Lord by virtue of our redemption from the eternal effects of sin. We belong to him. He is our Lord because in Baptism he adopted us as his sons and daughters, sharing his own divine life with us. We belong to him. Have we embraced fully this reality? Or are we still falling for the lie of Satan, seeking to be independent of God, to be our own master?

 

 

 “Laughter has been implanted in our soul, that the soul may sometime be refreshed.” (St. John Chrysostom)

How often do we laugh at ourselves and at the things we do in life? We are too serious and uptight about things that do not matter in the long run. Laughter helps to put things in right perspective. It helps us to keep our eyes on the Lord and not on ourselves. I think this is the intent of St. Paul's admonition, "Rejoice in the Lord always." Direct our anger at sin, which can destroy us, not at our imperfections, which reminds us of our dependency upon the Lord. 

 Twenty-fourth Sunday Gospel A

Then Peter approaching asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?" 

· Peter thinks he is generous by saying “seven times,” since the religious standard of those days was three. 

Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. 

· What is demanded of a disciple of Christ is limitless forgiveness. The obvious reason is that is how God treats us. If God treated us the way we would want to treat others, what will our life be like?

· Which is harder: to receive forgiveness or to give forgiveness?

· Does forgiveness depend on who the person is or what was done?

That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan.

· Compare this to God’s generous mercy to you.  Look at what you have done in your life and look at what God has done in response. Is there any comparison?

When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt. 

· Have I in the past refused to forgive others even though God has forgiven me much more? Why the double standard?

· Have others refused to forgive me when God has forgiven them?

Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. 

· Earlier the person experienced the mercy of God. Now he receives the justice of God. Do we want God’s mercy or his justice?

So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.” 

· How have you experienced God’s forgiveness in your life? How have you responded to his forgiveness?

· Notice Jesus specifies the source of the forgiveness: “from the heart.” This means that it is true, sincere, and total.

· How should our life be impacted in the future as a result of this teaching?

Do we find ourselves living in the success-failure syndrome, the emotional highs and lows, feeling loved and not loved roller coaster? Do we find ourselves longing for some stability in our lives? Then, we need to ask the question what will give us the evenness I desire? I propose it is Jesus. Rather than let the highs and lows of life control us, give your life to Jesus as Lord. He will not take away the highs and lows but he will give us the strength we need to ride the storms of life, knowing that he is in the boat with us. As St Paul said, if Jesus is for us, who (or what) can be against us? Instead of making the ups and downs as our focus, make Jesus the center of our life, keeping our eyes on him, seeking to do his will in all things.

 

 

It is hard sometimes for us to embrace our mortality. As human beings our existence in this life will come to an end. But our existence will continue in eternity. This is the mystery Paul reminds us of. We were not created for nothingness. We were created to be God's adopted sons and daughters and to share in his divine life eternally. Unfortunately, the sin of Adam and Eve put a block in this process, but a block that was removed by the death and resurrection of Jesus. But just as Adam and Eve put a block, so now we can put a block by again alienating ourselves from God through personal sin and dying in this alienation. Or we can cling to the mercy of God and live in relationship with God so that our mortality will change into immortality and our corruptible body will become a glorified incorruptible body through the grace of God. 

 Death was not intended for us by God. Death is now part of our journey. The Evil One tries to make us fearful of death. Jesus came to break the bondage of this fear by restoring our union with God. For those alienated from God because of their sinful choices, after Jesus' gift of re-generation, should be afraid of death. Because there death will lead to the second death, eternal alienation from God. But for those who remain in God and die in Christ should have no fear of death. For them it will an act of love from God for them. For their death will be a momentary passage from this life to eternal life with God. For the unrepentant sinner, death is an eternal darkness. For the saved, death is entrance into eternal light.

 Twenty-Third Sunday Gospel  A

Then Peter approaching asked him, "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?" 

· Peter thinks he is generous by saying “seven times,” since the religious standard of those days was three. 

Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. 

· What is demanded of a disciple of Christ is limitless forgiveness. The obvious reason is that is how God treats us. If God treated us the way we would want to treat others, what will our life be like?

· Which is harder: to receive forgiveness or to give forgiveness?

· Does forgiveness depend on who the person is or what was done?

That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount. Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.’ Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan.

· Compare this to God’s generous mercy to you.  Look at what you have done in your life and look at what God has done in response. Is there any comparison?

When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ But he refused. Instead, he had him put in prison until he paid back the debt. 

· Have I in the past refused to forgive others even though God has forgiven me much more? Why the double standard?

· Have others refused to forgive me when God has forgiven them?

Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. 

· Earlier the person experienced the mercy of God. Now he receives the justice of God. Do we want God’s mercy or his justice?

So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart.” 

· How have you experienced God’s forgiveness in your life? How have you responded to his forgiveness?

· Notice Jesus specifies the source of the forgiveness: “from the heart.” This means that it is true, sincere, and total.

· How should our life be impacted in the future as a result of this teaching?

 Some people are afraid of being open to God, even to the point of not receiving his love. One reason is their understanding of God is still immature and childish. They see God more as a judge rather than as a loving Father. They know they have done wrong and are afraid of being punished by God. Like a child, they try to run away and hide, hoping he will not find them. This attitude may be due to some memory they had of being punished by a parent. Yet, there is an inner desire to be loved. What will break this bondage of Satan? A decision to trust God and to allow God to reveal his deep love for the person. Yes, God is a judge, but he is  first of all a loving, merciful Father, who wants to best for us. That is why he created us, to bring us into true happiness, the fulfillment of our purpose for existence. That happiness is in relationship with him. Pray for that grace of trust.

 "I am accustomed to visit my elect in a double fashion, that is, with test and with consolation. And I read to them two lessons each d ay: one to rebuke them for their faults; the other to exhort them to increase their virtue" (Imitation of Christ)

When God tests us, it is because he wants us to know if we truly love him. He knows, but we know by standing strong in the time of test. When we do, we, at times, experience some form of consolation. These are given to strengthen us.  We don't like to be rebuked, even when we know we have done wrong. His rebuke is a sign of his love for us. He wants us to repent and live in right relationship with him. Not only does he correct us for our faults but he exhorts and encourages us to grow in the virtues, especially the virtue of love. We should be grateful both for the test and for the consolation, for the rebuke and for the exhortation.

 St. Paul reminds us in his First Letter to the Thessalonians that it is the will of God that we are to be holy. If it is God's will, should it not be our will as well? In fact, this is everyone's first and ultimate vocation: to be holy. Why is this so? The purpose of our existence is clear again from St. Paul in his Letter to the Ephesians.  God has willed that we be his adopted sons and daughters, sharing his own Divine Life, so that we may be with him eternally, praising his glory. God created us for this purpose, to be holy, which is what sharing in his life really means. Someone has said that the saddest moment in one's life is not to be a saint when death occurs. What does this mean? It means that if we are not sharing in God's Divine Life when we die, we have failed the purpose of our existence. Holiness is not an option but a command and a just expectation, not for a few canonized persons, but for each of us. It is the will of God.

 Vincent van Gogh: “It is true there is an ebb and flow, but the sea remains the sea.”

While our life is like the ebb and flow of the waters, God is steadfast and remains the same. Our life is full of falls. We call these sins. Our life is full of rises. We call these grace. We have times of sadness and times of joy, times of desolations and times of consolations. Like the pendulum we go back and forth, never able to remain in the center. Yet, throughout all these moments, God is steadfast in his love for us. He loves us in spite of our sinfulness. He loves us when we return to him. It is his love that enables us to recognize our sinfulness, repent and return to him once more. While we have the knowledge of our ebbs and flows, we have the faith conviction of his steadfast love and mercy, which we should never take for granted but be grateful for.

 

Homily: Twenty-second Sunday Year A

 

Reading 1: Jeremiah did not want to be a prophet for the Lord, but he submitted to the will of God. Even though God told him that the people would resist and reject his word, Jeremiah probably believed that eventually the people would respond. When they didn’t and when they responded by persecuting Jeremiah, the prophet uttered this cry to God: “You duped me. You tricked me.”

 

He realized at that moment the hopelessness of his ministry, the ineffectiveness of his message and indeed the suffering he was enduring. He was tempted to abandon the prophetic message and ministry. But something within him would not allow this. He called it a “fire burning in my heart”. What was this? It was his relationship with God, who had made such a major impact in his life that he could not deny nor walk away.

 

As a result, Jeremiah continued to prophesy, even though he was rejected and persecuted. Without this personal relationship with God, Jeremiah knew his life would not be the same.

 

Each of us by virtue of baptism and confirmation has been called and anointed to be a prophet of the Lord. We are called to speak the truth of God’s love and plan in word and in action. For this we may suffer. For this we may shrink back and try to run away from the call. Like Jeremiah God pursues us to carry out his message.

 

Gospel: In last Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus asked the apostles who do you say I am? Peter responded: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” He answered correctly under the inspiration of the Father, but he did not fully comprehend the full truth of the statement. This is obvious from today’s reading.

 

Jesus begins to explain to the disciples what it means for him to be the Christ. The Son of Man will suffer greatly at the hands of the religious leaders like Jeremiah, be killed but on the third day rise again. The Christ is to be a suffering Messiah, not a political, revolutionary messiah, which was Peter’s notion.

 

Just as immediately Peter had proclaimed the truth, he blurted out his real understanding which was not from the Father. Jesus rebuked him for thinking in human terms rather than in God’s. Jesus had freely chosen to do the will of that Father, even to the death on the cross. He came to set the world free from the domination of Satan. He knew he would be rejected and have to give his life for our life. To all this he freely said yes. He didn’t feel duped like Jeremiah. Even when he humanly cried to the Father: “Father, take away this cup of suffering”, he followed with “but not my will but yours be done.”

 

But Jesus went further than Jeremiah. He said that those who follow him as disciples must in their own way so fall in love with God that they embrace his will in all things. Whatever the cross is, however small or large, the Lord is present with us, inviting us to keep our eyes fixed on

him with the faith assurance of life eternal with him.

 

Reading 2: Paul is concerned about the growth in holiness for the people whom he led to Jesus. Paul, too, experienced rejection and persecution for speaking the message of salvation to Jews and Gentiles. But Paul’s life had been changed by the grace and mercy of God. Paul was called to be an apostle of the Good News. Not only was he concerned to bring people to salvation in Jesus, but to urged them to grow in their new life, so that one day they may be with God forever in glory.

 

What is his message? They were not only to be converted but to be transformed by the renewal of their minds. How? They were to discern God’s will for them and choose to do what is good, perfect and pleasing to God. This is what Jeremiah sought to do. He chose not to let the people’s negative reaction determine how he should live but to seek to discern God’s will and do it.

 

Is this our attitude? Peter put it another way. “It is better for us to obey God than man.” It is not easy to discern the will of God. But even this effort and desire is the first step. For it shows that our heart is focus on the Lord and not on others.

 

 One of the sins Jesus condemns is hypocrisy. He says that is when people's lives are not consistent. On the outside they look holy and righteous, but on the inside they are prideful, judgmental, self-righteous and hardened of heart. Their lives are a show.  On the other hand, Jesus honored the sinner who was repentant, open to change, and teachable. They knew there was something essential missing in their live and they sought the truth.  Jesus said he came not for the self-righteous, those who did not need healing. He came for the sinners who are seeking healing. We are struggling sinners always in need of God's mercy, always in need of change and renewal. When we think we can stand on our own, then we will fall on our face. When we acknowledge our need for Jesus, then we can stand leaning on him.

 Twenty-second Sunday Gospel A

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you." He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." 

· Prior to this, Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do people say I am?” Peter responded: “You are the Messiah.” But the Messiah Peter was thinking about was not the Messiah Jesus was called to be. He would not be a political or military messiah, but a suffering servant who would lay down his life freely out of love and obedience for the salvation of people.

· Peter’s refusal to accept Jesus’ understanding of a suffering servant Messiah, who would die a cruel death but rise again, is seen by Jesus as a distraction from Satan. It was an attempt to divert Jesus from the Father’s call to him. It was the continuation of the temptations in the desert.

· What were the times we did not understand God’s plan in our lives but were distracted by a subtle ploy of Satan to deflect us from what God desired of us?

· How do you think Peter felt when Jesus rebuked him in this way? What would you feel if Jesus said the same to you?

"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself take up his cross, and follow me.

· To deny oneself is to remove oneself as the center of one's focus and instead to make God’s plan our focus.

· What crosses have you had to embrace on your spiritual journey? How has your life been affected and transformed by these crosses?

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct. 

· What do these words of Jesus say to you?

· Jesus makes clear that the condition for being a true disciple is the willingness to give up one’s life for him.

· What are you being called by God to give up in your life so that you will find real meaning in your life?

· Like the disciples, we hear sometimes part of and not the whole message. They stopped listening at the point of his predicted death, but they did not hear the resurrection.  We hear Jesus speak about the cross but we do not remember the reward after death: life everlasting in glory.

· What resolution do we make in response to the words of Jesus?

 There is a wise person of prayer who once wrote these words: “When I was young I was a revolutionary. My prayer to God was: ‘Lord, give me the energy to change the world.’ As I approached middle-age and realized that my life was half-gone without my changing a single soul, I changed my prayer to: ‘Lord, give me the grace to change all those who come into contact with me. Just my family and friends and I shall be satisfied.’ Now that I am old and my days are numbered, I have begun to see how foolish I have been. My one prayer now is: ‘Lord, give me the grace to change myself.’ If I had prayed for this from the start, I would not have wasted my life.” 

We don't have to wait to end of our life to realize that the most important person that needs changing is ourselves. What needs to change? Anything and everything that is not pleasing to the Lord in my life, which includes thoughts, words and actions. Can I think, say or do this and still stand in the presence of the all holy God? Life is too short for me to waste my time dealing with insignificant things, things that do not matter eternally. What ultimately matters is my relationship with God and because of this relationship, my relationship with others. God made it simple. Love God with my whole being and love my neighbor as God has loved me. Do this and we will live eternally with God.

 "There is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future." St. Augustine

St. Augustine was talking from personal experience. His past pre-conversion was not praise worthy. He was a man of the world, seeking his happiness in the things of this world. He had his mistresses and even fathered a child out of wed-lock. But then came the defining moment in his life, when God became the most important relationship in his life. From then on nothing else mattered but God. "My heart is restless, O Lord, until it rests in you." His search for happiness was rooted in his relationship with his Lord and Savior. What does this say to you and me? Our past does not define us. Living in the relationship with God does. The Evil One wants us to live in the past in the bondage of shame and guilt and defeat. God wants us to live in the present in the freedom as his adopted son or daughter in love with gratitude and hope.

 When the man came to Jesus and ask what must he do to gain eternal life, Jesus told his to review the basics of relationship with God and act on them. What are the basics? Love God with your whole heart and love your neighbor as you have been loved by God. Sometimes we forget the basics and focus on other things that are of lesser importance. What I am doing is not as important as why I am doing it. I can give a drink to someone because I feel sorry for him or I want him to see me as a gracious person. Or I can give that person a drink because of my love of God and love of this person. In doing so, I am not looking for any reward.  How often are we conscious of doing what we are doing out of love of God in response to his great love? Keeping the basics is not easy, but it is the only way to live a full life now and eternally.

 We are called to be guileless as followers of Jesus. Paul tells us that we are to speak the truth in all we say. Many of us struggle with what we call "the little lie". We even try to justify it as not that bad. But in the eyes of God a lie is a lie, no matter how much we try to sugar coat it. The lie is one of the ways the Father of lies try to trip us up. It is a deception. It is not a reflection of the Father of Truth who lives in us. To be guileless is not easy. It takes discipline and cooperation with the grace of God. We have to learn to think before we speak or react. We have to be committed to speak the truth no matter the consequences. Not easy, but necessary if we wish to grow in holiness. 

 Homily Twenty-first Sunday Year A

Isaiah in the first reading denounces Shebna because he has failed to use his position as the King’s treasurer to care for the people. In his place, Eliakim was to be chosen to be “the father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the House of Judah”. This prophecy is messianic in that Eliakim was a figure of the ideal ruler who would bring God’s true justice, love and compassion to the people.

Two Sundays ago we saw where Jesus tested Peter’s faith. Peter wasn’t sure he was seeing a ghost or Jesus walking on the water. Peter said, “If it is you, tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come.” Initially Peter’s faith allowed him to walk towards Jesus on the water, as long as he kept his faith in the person of Jesus. But when faith became fear as he took his eyes off the Lord, Peter sank.

In Today’s Gospel, we have the beginning of Peter’s public faith proclamation about Jesus. Interiorly, he believed that Jesus was the Messiah. That is why he left all to become a disciple. But private faith is good but Jesus will say “if you do not acknowledge me before others, I will not acknowledge you before my Heavenly Father.” It was important to Jesus that those who will be the foundation of his Church should be willing to profess faith in who he is to them publicly.

The twelve have been his disciples for awhile. They have heard his message of salvation. They have witnessed his power in the miracles. Is he just a Rabbi, teacher to them? Is he just another prophet? Is he just a miracle worker? So the question, “Who do you say I am?” Has companionship with him give them a different insight than what the crowds thought?

Peter’s first faith response is a grace from God, as Jesus acknowledged. Every faith statement and action is a result of a grace from God. Faith starts from God as an unmerited gift. To  leap from the known—what people think—to then speak a revealed truth is the result of grace from the Holy Spirit. Faith flows from a personal relationship with Christ.

Even though Peter spoke the truth, he didn’t fully comprehend what it meant for Jesus to be the Messiah, as we see from the episode following this. His understanding of Jesus the Christ was initially colored by the thinking of the time. He could not accept Jesus to undergo the suffering of crucifixion. In this he was a stumbling stone, not a foundation stone. Peter’s faith had to develop as it does, even he fails the test at times. The fruition of this initial faith reaches its peak in the resurrection scene in which Thomas says, “My Lord and my God!” From you are the Christ to Lord and God.

But for now, Jesus sees this faith proclamation as the foundation of Peter’s role in the the kingdom of God. “You are Peter the rock on which the Church will be built” In the first reading Elakim, because of his faithfulness to God was given the keys, which symbolize authority and power. Peter received authority and power from Jesus in his role as head of the Apostles and head of the Church.

Who do you say that I am to you, Jesus asks each of us today? Do we profess him as my personal Lord and Savior? Is  our proclamation evidenced in our daily life? Do we acknowledge him publicly or merely silently in our hearts for fear of what others may think of us?

To know about Jesus is not enough. Many people know about him. This doesn’t change hearts and lives. To know Jesus because of a personal encounter that has changed our lives is needed

 

“Is there any affliction now endured by mankind that was not endured by our fathers before us? What sufferings of ours even bear comparison with what we know of their sufferings? And yet you hear people complaining about this present day and age because things were so much better in former times. I wonder what would happen if they could be taken back to the days of their ancestors—would we not still hear them complaining? You may think past ages were good, but it is only because you are not living in them.” (St. Augustine)

 Twenty-first Sunday Gospel A

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi 

· It is called Caesarea Philippi to distinguish it from the town of Caesrea in Samaria. The former town was originally called Paneas It was rebuilt by Philip, a son of Herod the Great. It is situated about twenty miles north of the Sea of Galilee at the base of Mt. Hermon. When it was rebuilt by the tetrarch Philip he changed the name to Caesarea Philippi in honor of the Emperor Caesar Augustus and in honor of himself.

and he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”  

· Notice Jesus equates himself with the title of Son of Man. This title is found in the prophet Daniel.

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 

· In Mt 14:2 Herod had wrongly identified Jesus as Elijah, because of his prophetic and charismatic personality.

· Others thought he was Elijah who was believed to return before the Messiah.

· Some identified Jesus with the great prophets of old because of his message.

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 

· This is the same question Jesus asks each of us. The answer to this question determines our relationship with Jesus.

 Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  

· As we will see, it is very significant that Peter was the one who spoke up. For he has been chosen  by God to be the head of the Church to be established by Jesus.

· To say that Jesus is the Christ means that he is the Messiah. To say that he is the Son of the Living God indicates Jesus’ unique relationship to God in the eyes of Peter.

· As we will see, to say the right words is not enough. We must also embrace the full meaning of what we profess.  Peter gave the right answer but his understanding of what it meant for Jesus to be Messiah was not accurate.

Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.  For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.  

· Jesus acknowledges that Peter’s answer came through the revelation of God and not through human reasoning. To proclaim Jesus as Messiah was a bold move on Peter’s part.

And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.  

· For Peter’s faith proclamation—even though he didn’t understand the full impact—Jesus rewards him with the new position of the head of the Church the Messiah would establish.

· The powers of darkness will attempt to destroy it, but will be unable, because it is established by the God/Man and not just by a human being alone.

I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.  Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 

· The keys signify the authority that Peter is given by Jesus. See Is 22:15:25.

Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

· This passage is foundational to our understanding as Catholics to the primacy of Peter as the Vicar of Christ on earth as well as the authority given to Peter and his successors in governing the Church.

· What does it mean for Jesus to be the Messiah in your life?

 There is a double side to freedom: freedom from and freedom to. We all want freedom from oppression, from the bondage of sin, from sickness, from poverty, from misunderstanding, etc. But do we really seek and earnestly desire freedom to respond to the grace of God, freedom as an adopted son or daughter of God to share in his divine life, freedom  to love and serve others in response to God's command, freedom to enjoy the many blessings of God with a grateful heart? Both freedoms are part of our life's journey. But the greater freedom is the freedom to. We shouldn't get too focused on the one and forget the greater.

Sometimes it is harder to receive a gift from another than to give a gift. This may be true in our relationship with God as well. Henri Nouwen said: " A gift only becomes a gift when it is received; and nothing we have to give will ever be recognized as true gifts until someone is open to accept them." Why is it so hard? Is it because we are unworthy? Possibly. Is it because in giving a gift we are in control but in receiving one we feel vulnerable? Possibly. But how many gifts God has poured upon us and we have not been opened to them. What a loss! So many precious graces and signs of his love which could have enhanced us, were never received. Could that be a sign of ingratitude? Lord, help me to be open to all that you want to give me and in turn help me to give what you want me to give to others. In that way we will both grow.

 Sometimes, we wonder why our prayers seem not to be heard by God. We persist in our prayers even though we are not getting the answer we are hoping for. God may be testing our faith. Like Peter, we can be very brash and quick to speak. "Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water." "Come." Peter's faith was initially strong, but his fear became stronger than his faith. He began to sink. Peter failed the test that he himself set. In contrast, the Cannanite woman, a foreigner, who wanted Jesus to deliver her daughter from a demon, began by saying in faith, "Lord, Son of David." She acknowledged that Jesus was the possible Messiah. Jesus doesn't act immediately. He tested her faith by seemingly ignoring her and even dismissing her. But her faith that he could heal her daughter and the love she had for her daughter were stronger than her personal feelings. She persisted, even humbling herself. She passed the test of faith. Jesus healed her daughter. Are we persistent in our faith, even if no response is given to us? Don't give up. Keep knocking.

 

Homily: Twentieth Sunday Year A

 

Reading 1: Isaiah is speaking to his fellow Jews, who have not lived up to their covenant with Yahweh. He reminds them: observe and do what is right and just according to the commands God gave them.

 

In contrast to the infidelity of Israel, Isaiah says that foreigners are showing the Lord the proper response more than the Israelites. They are joining themselves to the Lord, loving him, serving him and obeying him. Those who keep the Sabbath holy, are faithful to the covenant; their prayers will be heard.

 

Relationship with God was not automatic because one was a descendant of Abraham, or was circumcised, or externally went through the motions of worship. Relationship with God came from a commitment that resulted in doing all from the heart, reflecting that God was at the center of one’s life.

 

Things have not changed from Isaiah’s time till now. Just as the Old Testament people failed to live up to their call so the New Testament people have done the same. 

 

Gospel: Here we have an example of the mercy of God shown to a foreigner or Gentile. Jesus emphasizes her faith in him to be able to heal her daughter from some demonic affliction. But this faith is tested not questioned, so that the woman would grow to a deeper surrender to the will of God.

 

Her faith endures the initial silence of Jesus and the rebuke of the disciples. She persists. Her faith is further tested by Jesus’ response, which on the surface seems harsh and demeaning.  She persists. She is more concerned for the healing of her daughter than for her personal feelings. The test consists in how far will she go for her daughter?

 

Jesus was stretching her, drawing her more fully into God’s mercy and love through her love for her daughter. Jesus could have easily granted her request at first contact, but did not. He wanted something greater for her than a quick fix.

 

Sometimes we bring before the Lord our concerns and it seems that the Lord is silent or distant or unconcerned. Rather he is calling us into a deeper relationship of trust and self-surrender, of unconditional love. He desires that we experience a greater understanding of his love and mercy. He doesn’t want to be a quick-fix God, but a God with whom we desire and have an intimate, personal relationship that is based, not only on the answer to our prayer, but to our love and self-surrender to him. Is our relationship based on what he can do for me or on who he is and who I am in relationship with him?

 

Reading 2: Paul felt continual rejection by the Jewish people to whom he preached the Good News of salvation. In contrast, he found a greater openness among the Gentiles. Even so, Paul still desired the salvation of his own people, regardless of their negative response and ill treatment.

 

In last Sunday’s reading, Paul stated that he was willing to be separated from God, if it would mean the salvation of the Jews. He believed that God’s call of the Jewish people and the gifts he has given them were irrevocable. The key word is mercy. Until the day of judgment God’s mercy is evident. The gift of salvation is not deserved or earned by Jews or Gentiles. It is a gift from an all-loving God.

 

Just as God has shown us mercy though we have sinned repeatedly, so Paul believed that God’s mercy will extend to the Jews as well in spite of their rejection of Jesus as Messiah. If it wasn’t for the mercy of God, where would we be?  However, the Day of mercy will cease; the day of judgment will take place.

 

St. Clement of Alexandria said: “For the sake of each of us He laid down His life, worth no less than the universe. He demands of us in return our lives for the sake of each other.”

In theory we can assent to this. But in practice we may have a hard time doing it. Jesus has commanded us to forgive those who have hurt us. That is laying down our life for the other. Jesus did this when we were enemies, alienated from God because of sin. At the moment that we refuse to forgive the other, we are treating them as enemies. Jesus suffered the death on the cross to reconcile us. He is asking us to do far less in forgiving the other. Remember the consequence of not forgiving. "If you do not forgive the other, your Heavenly Father will do the same for you." Are we willing to risk our eternal life because of our pride and anger, our hardened heart against another? If so, we are following, not the voice of God, but the voice of one who desires our eternal separation from God.

 Twentieth Sunday Gospel A

At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.

· Tyre and Sidon are cities on the Mediterranean Sea in non-Jewish or pagan territory.

· Jesus withdrew to provide rest for himself and the disciples.

And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!  My daughter is tormented by a demon.”  

· Being a Canaanite woman indicates that she is non-Jewish.

· Jesus’ reputation as a healer has preceded him, even though he sought anonymity.

But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her.  

· Both Jesus’ initial non-response and his later apparent tone when he addresses her seems out of character.

Jesus’ disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” 

· The disciples’ remarks are probably more typical of how we may have handled the situation if we were there.

He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 

· Jesus first acknowledges his primary call from the Father is to the Israelites, the Chosen People.

But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” 

· This gesture of homage is very significant. It says that she recognizes Jesus more than just a healer but a holy man close to God. She may have seen something in Jesus that the apostles had not grasped.

He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.”  

· This sounds harsh coming from Jesus. But it is another way of saying that his first mission is to the Jews and not the Gentiles.

She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”  

· The woman doesn’t take offense. She is more concerned about her daughter than about her own feelings. She too acknowledges that in Jesus’ eyes the Jews are his primary concern. But she pleads with him to show mercy on her and her daughter. She is persistent and steadfast.

Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith!  Let it be done for you as you wish.”  And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour.

· Jesus was stretching her, calling her to a deeper faith. He was not playing games with her nor putting her down. Instead, he was inviting her to a greater expectation.

· Her faith in Jesus’ mercy and love even towards one who was not worthy was what freed her daughter to experience the healing/deliverance.

· What application can you make in your personal life from your reflections?

· Where is Jesus stretching you when you come to him with your concerns?

 On this Solemnity of the Assumption we celebrate the mysterious love of God for Mary. She was given many privileges and special graces. In lieu of her future grace as Mother of the Savior, Mary was conceived in  her mother's womb free from sin. Her Immaculate Conception. As the Mother of the Savior, Mary remained a virgin, before, during and after the birth of Jesus. Another grace. Jesus himself identified one of the graces given to Mary. She was totally obedient to the will of God. Free from the effects of Original Sin, though Mary died, as Jesus died, Mary's body did not suffer the consequences of death. As Jesus rose from the dead, so Mary was assumed into heaven, where she is crowed Queen of Heaven and Earth. This is her final grace from God. Mary's assumption reminds us that if we die in Christ and our bodies undergo corruption in the grave, one day God will raise our bodies to be reunited to our spirit to share the eternal glory of God. The Resurrection and the Assumption underlie the words of Paul: "Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?" Our God is good and merciful. Nothing is impossible for God!

 "My beloved, may every fall, even if it is serious and habitual sin, always become for us a small step toward a higher degree of perfection. In fact, the only reason why the Immaculate permits us to fall is to cure us from our self-conceit, from our pride, to make us humble and thus make us docile to the divine graces. The devil, instead, tries to inject in us discouragement and internal depression in those circumstances, which is, in fact, nothing else than our pride surfacing again. If we knew the depth of our poverty, we would not be at all surprised by our falls, but rather astonished, and we would thank God, after sinning, for not allowing us to fall even deeper and still more frequently.” (St. Maximillian Kolbe) 

To fall into sin shows our human weakness when we depend on our own strength and power to overcome the Evil One. To rise quickly and return to the Lord depends not on our own ability but on the grace of God. The longer we stay in sin the greater the hold of Satan has over us. The quicker we return to the Lord, repentant of our weakness, the surer is the love of God holding us up. We can only avoid sin because of the grace and mercy of God, who loves us beyond measure. Remain in his love and you will remain free from sin. 

 "Blessed are the pure of heart, they shall see God." A pure heart is utterly simple and focused. It simply wants on thing: to love God with one's whole heart and one's whole mind and one's whole being and to love the other because of the primary love. The pure of heart see the good, want the good for others, and  bring that good to the other. The see God in the other and the good God wants for the other. If our hearts are pure we see through the lens of God's love everything and everyone around us. Strive for this purity of heart in this life and see God in the next.

 

St. John Vianney: “We are beggars who must ask God for everything. How many people we can call back to God by our prayers! Ardent prayer addressed to God: this is man’s greatest happiness on earth,”

The power of intercessory prayer. There are many examples of this in the scriptures and in our own lives. Moses  interceded for the Israelites often during their forty years in the desert that God would not destroy them for their disobedience. Esther plead before the Lord to spare her people for their proposed destruction. Mary interceded at the wedding feast of Cana. There is the prayer of the persistent woman before the unjust judge. St. Monica prayed for the conversion of St. Augustine for thirty years.  Many times all we can do is to intercede for another person who is going through difficult times. In doing so, we are acknowledging that God alone can make a difference. We can't make it happen, but we can pray that God will make it happen according to his will. Never cease to intercede for others.