When Eternity Begins

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Nov. 14, 2010 (Lk 21:5-19)

While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, he said, "All that you see here - the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."

Then they asked him, "Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?"

He answered, "See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he,' and 'The time has come.' Do not follow them!

When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end."

Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.

Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name.

It will lead to your giving testimony. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.

You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.

There is much fuss over end-of-the-world claims of many people, either based on religion or on science. Some try their best to explain to all how the world will end and why they say it's about to end soon. They present signs, scientific data, historical facts and biblical references to support their claims. But a few people talk about how we need to prepare for the end of the world. Fact is, the world will end. It doesn't matter when. The fact that it will end should make us reflect. How does this fact affect our lives? Since we can't stop it, what do we do about it?

After speaking about the terrifying events that will take place before the end of the world, Jesus instructs us, His disciples, to be calm. He tells us not to fear tribulations. As Christians, we will be hated by the world, as our Master was. But we need not fear, for Jesus has conquered the world. Whatever problems we encounter becomes easy if we remain in Christ, for He never abandons His flock. We should not fear the wars and all the other disasters of this world.

Being faithful to Jesus' teachings and obeying the commandments, there is no need to fear even the end of the world. Our faith assures us that no matter who or what can kill us in this world, they can no longer hurt us when we are reunited with God in eternal life. If we truly believe in God and in His mercy, we can courageously face anything this world scares us with.

Jesus reminds us that we must not prepare what to say in tribunals beforehand. He Himself will speak through us. We must not fret too much about the end times. It is enough that we have Jesus. He is our salvation, our true judge. His wisdom will shame this world, and He will inspire us with this wisdom.

For us Catholics, the end of the world is not something to fear and to be nervous about. It is a reminder for us that this is not our home. This world will end and our real home awaits us. God has prepared the real dwelling of His faithful ones in eternal life with Him. So we must not fear, for, as Jesus said, not a hair on our head will be destroyed.

Our Father's Inheritance

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Nov. 7, 2010 (Lk 20:27-38)

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to him, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us, 'If someone's brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.' Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless. Then the second and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her."

Jesus said to them, "The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise. That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called 'Lord' the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."

Our recently concluded double commemoration of all the saints and of all the faithful departed is deeply rooted in a firm belief in life after earthly death and in the immortality of the soul. Of course, we could go on and on arguing philosophically whether man's soul is immortal and whether there is an afterlife, but that would only prove the immortality of philosophical debates. As Catholics, we firmly believe in the resurrection of the dead that is stated in our Creed. Christ's own glorious Resurrection reassures this faith.

Our First Reading presents us a very tragic story of a mother and her sons choosing to die rather than to disobey God's laws. It is inspiring how they were unafraid to face death because they believed that God raises His faithful ones from the dead. This mother and her seven sons remind us of the stories of our martyrs whose firm belief in the resurrection lead to their cruel yet glorious deaths, which they accepted courageously.

With these stories in mind, we come to wonder why today, we fear to die. It is natural for us as humans to dislike death, but to fear it is perhaps not Christian. Do we fear death because we don't believe in the afterlife? Probably the only Christian answer is that we fear death because we haven't lived good lives and are not yet ready to face God. But that only proves that we do not take our faith seriously. Our belief in the everlasting life God promised must be made manifest in the way we live. As Catholics, we must not give undue value to this world. We must treasure everlasting life more than we treasure our lives here. As Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. (Mt 6:33)"

Everlasting life is often viewed as a reward from God for those who are good. It is. But it is more fitting to say that everlasting life is God's inheritance for His faithful children. An inheritance has always been the right of a Father's children. In the same way, everlasting life has always been in store for all of us, since we are all God's children. But we need to be faithful children of God. If we run away from Him, He cannot force us to accept His promised eternal life. If we disobey His will, we act as if we were not His children and we denounce Him as Father.

In our Gospel today, Jesus clarifies that everlasting life is not like the life here on earth. As St. Paul said, "What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him. (1 Cor 2:9)" Eternal life with God will never be boring no matter how endless it is. The divine life He has in store for us is a life of eternal joy that is always new. The problem with us is that we believe in the eternal life but we treat it as a fairy tale, or something that has little relevance and urgency. We fail to see the great things that are in store for us and we give more value to what can be of use to us here and now. When we are old and are near death, only then will we realize the value of a life lived in accordance to God's law. Let's not wait.

A life that never ends awaits us after our earthly life. It is up to us to choose whether we want to spend it with God or without Him. The death which we will all face becomes only a birth to eternal life, as St. Francis puts it. We will no longer fear death but wait with Christian hope for the moment when we get to meet God face to face. All this is we only live a life of true faith. For if we work hard and study for how many excruciating years just to be "ready" to live our lives here on earth, how much more must we prepare for eternal life with God?

Jesus Passing By

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time Oct. 31, 2010 (Lk 19:1-10)

He came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house."

And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, "He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner."

But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over."

And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."

Looking back on the conversion of Zacchaeus, we come to wonder what it was that Jesus said to cause such a conversion. Jesus didn't talk to Zacchaeus about sin and repentance, but Zacchaeus suddenly talked about repaying four times every amount that he extorted from his fellow Jews. It was out of the blue, so to speak.

What probably touched Zacchaeus' heart was Jesus' invitation. He was moved by the fact that Jesus gave importance to him simply by gracing him with His presence and actually speaking to him. As a public sinner, Zacchaeus was probably shunned by society and perhaps often received a cold treatment. But from Jesus, he received a sincere and warm invitation to talk and to share a meal at his own household. Jesus recognized his existence. From that simple gesture alone, Zacchaeus was moved to conversion.

Jesus is always passing by in our lives. Zacchaeus went out of his way to see Jesus only out of curiousity, because he doesn't know Him well. We, on the other hand, know Jesus and have constantly been reminded that Jesus is kind and infinitely merciful. We know this yet we sometimes fear to come near Him in the sacraments of the Eucharist and of Reconciliation. We hesitate even though He Himself invited us when He said, "Come to me... and I will give you rest (Mt 11:28)." Like Zacchaeus, we must go and meet the Lord where He awaits us - in the sacraments and in a good private prayer life.

Aside from representing us sinners who should welcome Jesus is our homes, Zacchaeus also represents the public sinners who are condemned by society. Most of the time we judge these people - corrupt politicians, prostitutes, criminals and others whose sins are scandalous. We give them sentence as if we were Christ sitting on the throne. We tell them that they are going to hell and that they cannot be saved anymore. Because of that, they tend to stay in the box we put them in. They no longer come to Jesus because we make them believe that they cannot be saved anymore.

God wants all men to be saved (1 Tim 2:4). We go against God's will when we judge other people and condemn them. We should, instead, help them by prayer and admonition to repent and to come back to God. Jesus accepted Zacchaeus; so must we accept other sinners, in the name of Jesus. By doing so, we become instruments of God's forgiveness and salvation.

Jesus seeks to save all who are lost. But He can never save us if we do not want to be saved. Zacchaeus reminds us to come to Jesus with confidence and to let Him enter our hearts. As a community, we must come to Jesus, leaving no one behind. Together, we join Jesus in passing by Jericho and journeying towards the heavenly Jerusalem.

In Synch with God's Will

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Oct. 17, 2010 (Lk 18:1-8)

Then he told them a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said, "There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, 'Render a just decision for me against my adversary.' For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, 'While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.'"

The Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

Prayer is our connection to God. We, as mere creatures of the Almighty God are in need of His sustenance and care. Yet, for some reason, sometimes, we don't pray enough, we don't pray from the heart or we just don't pray at all.

We have so many reasons why we don't pray enough. Perhaps one reason is that people don't really know how to pray. There is that wrong conception of prayer as an elaborate recitation of words which follow a strict formula. We get this feel that there is a certain way of praying we should strictly follow. We should get rid of this notion. These "formats" or "formulae" are for children who really don't know what to say next when praying. We, on the other hand, as supposedly mature Catholics, must have already learned that prayer is communication with God, and is thus an open conversation where you can pour your heart out and where God speaks to you in the silence of your heart.

Prayer can be integrated in everything that we do. Remember, God is always with us. So speak to Him as if He were there beside you; because He is there, precisely beside you! While you're beating a deadline for your office or school, talk to Him. You won't feel alone. While you're stuck in traffic and are in a hurry, tell Him, "Lord, let's speed this up a little." When we talk to Him as a friend beside us, we radically change our prayer life. Actually, we transform life into a prayer, into one big conversation with God.

In the Gospel today, we see a judge granting the request of a widow. Here we find an example of persistent prayer. We must not be weary in prayer because it is an expression of our dependence on God. In our First Reading, we are presented with another case of persistence in prayer. As long as Moses raised his rod and outstretched his arms, the Israelite army won. Whenever he put his arms down, their army lost. He had to be assisted so he could keep his arms raised. This, perhaps, may seem superstitious and, perhaps, may also present the idea that God blindly obeys prayers as long as we push the right buttons. But this is not so. This story reminds us that faith must always be expressed in a lively prayer life. It is not enough for me to say that God is with me and I can do this and I believe. Faith must be expressed in prayer. Yes, God knows what I need, but have I asked Him for it? If I believe He is with me and is helping me in everything I do, then shouldn't I let Him in on the goals and the plans? Shouldn't we collaborate with our partner and speak with Him?

As a last point of reflection, I took notice of Jesus' imagery of a judge. When we pray for something, God acts as a judge who sees our real intentions. God decides which of our prayers are worthy to be granted and when they are to be granted. When we pray, God answers only in three possible ways. If our prayer is good, then He grants it. If it is not good for us, He rejects it. But He gives us something which, according to His wisdom, is better for us. Lastly, if our prayer is good but is not yet called for, He will give it at the right time. God's justice is never delayed, even if sometimes, we think it is. God's timing is perfect.

Our prayer is an act of uniting our will with God's perfect will. When we pray, our attitude must be that of surrendering to God's will. Our prayer should be, "God, this is my will. If it is in accord with Yours, let it be. If it is not, please show me Yours and let it be done in my life." Our prayer must be an affirmation that we need God to work in our lives, not a dictation of how we want Him to work. Otherwise, we will despair when we don't get things our way. When we surrender to God's will, we will see Him work in our lives in ways better than we could have imagined!

Jesus' Way is the Way of the Cross

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time June 20, 2010 (Lk 9:18-24)

Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?" They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, 'One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'" Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said in reply, "The Messiah of God." He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.

He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised."

Then he said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

"My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow me" (Jn 10:27)

These words from today's verse before the Gospel tell us that we have a shepherd who knows each of us and whom we must obey and follow. But we focus our reflection today on Jesus' question, "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus knows us, but do we know Him, whom we follow? Certainly, we cannot be followers of someone we don't know. And if we do not know Jesus, we cannot claim to be Christians.

Peter hits the jackpot when he answers that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah of God. Jesus was the savior that the Israelites have been waiting for. This was a moment of revelation for the Apostles. Jesus revealed His identity as the Messiah. The one they have been following is the Messiah.

But Jesus had to explain to them that He is not the Messiah that Israel was expecting. He was not a political figure who would free Israel from colonizers. He was not an earthly monarch. His glory does not come from pomp and power. His moment of glory is His suffering, death and resurrection. His way is not of the scepter; His is the way of the cross.

This revelation, assuming that the apostles fully understood it, comes as a shock. How could the Messiah die such a cruel death? Even the Gentiles who hears the story after Jesus' Ascension were shocked. How could God die? Why would God choose to suffer? Of course, today, we understand that Jesus' suffering and death is the redemption that God had planned, in His wisdom.

Jesus tells His disciples, and also all of us, that since we choose to follow Him, we must also learn to accept suffering and to see suffering in a new light. Taking up our crosses means that we must live according to the example of Jesus, being good Christians and taking the path that God has set for us. Doing this, we will certainly face a lot of challenges. But that is why it is called a cross. It may be difficult to bear, but we must do it out of love for God.

Jesus' mission on earth was fulfilled in His death and resurrection. We, on the other hand, are not all called to die for others or for our faith. But all of us, being Christians, are called to live for God and for others. We must "lose" the life we want to live and live instead as God wants us to live. In fact, we must let Christ live in us.

Following Christ entails sacrifice because He whom we follow has also sacrificed Himself for our salvation. We must learn from Him and imitate Him who carried His cross. We must carry our own crosses. The only way to life with God is the way of the cross.

Prodigal Siblings

11th Sunday in Ordinary Time June 13, 2010 (Lk 7:36-8:3)

A Pharisee invited him to dine with him, and he entered the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. Now there was a sinful woman in the city who learned that he was at table in the house of the Pharisee. Bringing an alabaster flask of ointment, she stood behind him at his feet weeping and began to bathe his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner." Jesus said to him in reply, "Simon, I have something to say to you." "Tell me, teacher," he said. "Two people were in debt to a certain creditor; one owed five hundred days' wages 12 and the other owed fifty. Since they were unable to repay the debt, he forgave it for both. Which of them will love him more?" Simon said in reply, "The one, I suppose, whose larger debt was forgiven." He said to him, "You have judged rightly."

Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet, but she has bathed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with ointment. So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; hence, she has shown great love. 13 But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little." He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." The others at table said to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" But he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

(Afterward he journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources.)

How we look at our relationship with God affects our relationship with others. We must realize that none of us have been saved except through the great love of God demonstrated by Jesus on the cross. It was out of God's love and compassion that we were all saved. On the cross, Jesus died for everyone. If we realize this, then we would see each other as fellow receivers of God's love and mercy.

We are all sinners. Nevertheless, sometimes we even have the nerve to look down on others whose sins are publicly known or are considered more grave than our own sins. These people will only run farther away from God if they are discriminated by the people they look up to as holier than they are. If they experience people holier than them harshly judging them, they will only think that God is also judging them in the same way. But that is not so. God wants them to be saved too. We must be instruments of God's love and mercy. We must be the ones to tell them that God wants to embrace them and to welcome them back.

Today, God calls us to go back to Him. He is trying to say that He loves us and that He is waiting for us, even though we have sinned so much. He is waiting for us to love Him back. As prodigal sons of the Father, we should return to Him. But along the way, let us call up our brothers and sisters who have also gone astray and invite them to return to the Father's house. What a family reunion that would be!

How Far God's Love Went

Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ June 6, 2010 (Lk 9:11-17)

Jesus received them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and he healed those who needed to be cured.

As the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve approached him and said, "Dismiss the crowd so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms and find lodging and provisions; for we are in a deserted place here."

He said to them, "Give them some food yourselves." They replied, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people." Now the men there numbered about five thousand.

Then he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty." They did so and made them all sit down. Then taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

They all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets.

In the Gospel today, we see how Jesus cared for the crowd that came to see Him, feeding five thousand people after a tiring day of preaching to them and healing their sick. Jesus knew about everything the people needed. He knew that they thirst for the Good News, that some of them wished to be healed and that they hunger for food. He took care of all these needs of the people, showing compassion on His followers.

Jesus' love for us is expressed in the many ways that He nourishes us. But the greatest expression of His love is when He becomes the nourishment Himself. This He did on Calvary and the merits of this supreme sacrifice come to us in the Eucharist.

The Eucharist is the sacrament wherein God shows us how madly in love He is with humanity. Here we see that even after God did the unthinkable by becoming man and dying on the cross, He still does more, to our amazement. God knows that the Calvary scene is chronologically distant from us who live more than two thousand years after Christ. That is why Jesus instituted the Eucharist, not to repeat His sacrifice, but to bring that very same sacrifice to us here and now.

Every time we reflect on the Eucharist, we cannot help but be amazed. Is it not awe-inspiring to hear that the God who once humbled Himself by becoming man and allowing Himself to be killed now further humbles Himself by becoming a piece of bread? Yes, this is the Eucharist - God's love that resulted to unimaginable humility.

It is up to us now not to leave God waiting. He became bread so that He can come to us. He has gone a long way just to be with us and to save us. Let us receive and worship Him as we would if we were with Him more than two thousand years ago. If we come to think of it, we are the ones who need Him. Yet He's the one making the greater effort to come to us. All we have to do now is receive Him, believing that it is Him and not bread that we are receiving.

By faith we see that it is Jesus, and no longer bread. By this faith we see and we rejoice that He who nourishes is Himself the nourishment. With this faith we receive the one who nourishes us.