April 23, Divine Mercy Sunday

April 23, 2017

Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)

Acts 2:42-47; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31

I remember this story of a priest who was assigned in a coastal area. One day a parishioner said to the priest carrying a handful of sand and said, “Father my sins are as countless as the sands of the sea. How can I ever obtain forgiveness for all of them?” The priest said, “Take the sand back to the shore and pile up layers of sand. Then sit back and watch the waves come in and wash the pile of sand slowly, surely, and completely away. That is how God’s forgiveness works.  His mercy is as big as the ocean. Be truly sorry and the Lord will undoubtedly forgive you.”

Today, the Second Sunday of Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday. Mercy is one of the messages of the Risen Jesus to his disciples in the gospel today. How did the apostles experience the mercy of the Risen Christ? What effect did this mercy bring to the apostles? Let us reflect on this in three points.

GOD’S MERCY CAN PENETRATE THE HEARTS OF PEOPLE. In the gospel, we see that even if the disciples locked themselves in a room, the Risen Lord managed to enter the room. What were the first words of Jesus to his disciples? He said to them: “Peace be with you.” This greeting is very significant. Remember that during the passion and suffering of Jesus, where did the disciples go? They ran away and hid themselves. They abandoned Jesus at the moment when He needed the support of His close friends. But this time instead of Jesus reprimanding His disciples, instead of revenge, Jesus now appears to them to offer peace and forgiveness. This is how the mercy of God penetrates our hearts. Even if the doors of our hearts remain closed, God’s mercy can penetrate and enter our hearts not to seek revenge, but to offer us peace, mercy and forgiveness. This is the good news of the Divine Mercy.

GOD’S MERCY CAN HEAL OUR WOUNDS. One of the prominent characters in the gospel today is Thomas the apostle. He is known as the “Doubting Thomas” because he doubted the report of his fellow apostles that they had seen the Risen Jesus. Where did this doubt of Thomas come from? We also need to understand where Thomas is coming from. Perhaps he was also hurt. He was also wounded. Perhaps the reason why he was absent when Jesus first appeared to the disciples, was that he wanted to have some time alone by himself to grieve at the death of Jesus. When Jesus appeared again to the disciples, he greeted Thomas and said: “Peace be with you.” This encounter with the Risen Jesus who did not seek vengeance but offered peace and reconciliation, healed the wounded heart of Thomas. This led Thomas to believe and say: “My Lord and my God!”

My brothers and sisters, we are all like Thomas.  We come to the Lord as wounded people. Let us not be afraid to show the Lord our wounds: tell Him what is troubling and disturbing us, our hurts, pains, and failures. Like the wounded Thomas, may our encounter with God’s mercy bring healing to our own wounds. What happened to the disciples after experiencing God’s mercy?

EXPERIENCING GOD’S MERCY TRANSFORMS US TO BE “MERCIFUL LIKE THE FATHER.” As the disciples continued to preach about Jesus, people will persecute them and put them to prison. But learning from Jesus, their only response to these challenges, their only response to the wounds inflicted on them is mercy – not revenge, not violence, not anger, not hatred but mercy.  Pope Francis tells us that the mercy of God transforms us. It is true. It did transform and strengthened the disciples of Jesus to be merciful like the Father.

My brothers and sisters, as we celebrate today Divine Mercy Sunday let us look at the image of the Divine Mercy. It is the image of the Risen Jesus with nail marks on his hands and feet. In the silence of our hearts, let us say to Him: “Jesus I trust in you. Jesus I trust in your mercy. I trust that you can heal my wounds. Make me an instrument of Your mercy to others.”  Amen.

April 16, Easter Sunday

April 16, 2017

Easter Sunday

Acts 10:34a, 37–43; Colossians 3:1-4; John 20:1–9

Happy Easter my dear brothers and sisters in Christ! “The Lord is risen, Alleluia! Alleluia!” This is the good news of our faith this Easter Season. I remember this story about a  conversation between two friends – one is a Christian and the other is a Muslim. The Muslim wanted to impress his Christian friend about Islam so he said, “When we Muslims go to Mecca, we at least find a coffin of our founder, but when you Christians go to Jerusalem, you find nothing but an empty grave.” The Christian friend replied, “That is precisely the difference.  Mohammed is dead and in his coffin.  And all other founders of religions are in their coffins. But the Lord whom we believe in, the Lord who established our Church – Jesus the Christ is Risen from the dead and all power in heaven and on earth is given to Him.”

My brothers and sisters, what we celebrate today is not about a zombie rising from the dead. What we celebrate today is not about a dead man walking. What we celebrate today is the great mystery of our faith – that Christ rose from the dead, entered into a new realm of existence and continues to live up to the present moment. What is the significance of the resurrection of Christ? Why do we celebrate Easter every year?

Let us reflect on this in three points:

THE STORY OF THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS IS THE VERY FOUNDATION OF OUR FAITH. If we want to find proof, or evidence that will convince us that Jesus is not only human but also God, it is none other than the resurrection event. During the earthly ministry of Jesus, when he asked his disciples, Who do you say I am? All of them gave different answers - one disciple said He is Moses, another said He is Elijah, another said again He is John the Baptist. In other words, they were not sure if Jesus was God. But when He finally rose from the dead and showed himself to his disciples, his resurrection was the greatest proof telling us that Jesus is God.

This is how our Church started to grow. Without the resurrection, our Church would not have reached this far.  Without the resurrection, there would be no St. James the Great Parish. The Roman Catholic Church continues to exist up to the present moment because the one who built our Church is not just any other person. It is Jesus – true God and true man. It is Jesus, risen from the dead.

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS ILLUSTRATES THE TRIUMPH OF GOOD OVER EVIL. The death of Jesus on the cross is perhaps the greatest crime man has ever committed. The death of Jesus was not just about the killing an innocent man. The death of Jesus is about man killing God himself. Many thought that was the end of the life of Jesus. But God is so great that he can make good out of evil. God is so great that he can extract goodness out of evil. Death is not the end of the story. Injustice is not the end of the story. Jesus rose from the dead and conquered evil with goodness and love. This is our story too. The resurrection tells us that as we struggle in the battle between good and evil here on earth, we should never give up doing what is right, never give up striving to be better persons, because in the end, goodness will always triumph over evil.

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS GAVE US ETERNAL LIFE. What is eternal life? Eternal life does not mean that we are now immortal. It does not mean that we will not die. No. Before the resurrection event, the cycle of life consists only of: Birth – Life – Death – Corruption. But after the resurrection of Christ, the life cycle has been changed from Birth – Life – Death and Eternal life for those who believe in Christ. Death is not the end of our life. The Resurrection of Jesus tells us that after death, there is eternal life. Eternal life means belonging in that kingdom where there are no more tears, no more fears, no more pain, no more problems, no more goodbyes but only the reign of goodness and love.

My brothers and sisters, the resurrection of Jesus is the very foundation of our faith. It tells us that good will always triumph over evil and it strengthens our hope for eternal life. As we renew our baptismal promises today, let us also renew our commitment to be faithful to Jesus so as to share in the glory of his resurrection.  Amen.

April 9, Palm Sunday

April 9, 2017

Palm Sunday

Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalm 22; Phil 2:6-11; Matthew 26:14—27:66 or Matthew 27:11–54

When a new movie is about to be shown in cinemas, producers advertise the movie by making sure that the preview or movie trailer is well done. If the preview can capture the whole substance of the movie within 2 to 3 minutes then it is good.

My brothers and sisters, our readings this Palm Sunday can be likened to a movie trailer because they give us a preview of the events that will take place, this Holy Week. If we will compare it to a movie, perhaps this is a movie that we are all familiar with. Every year the Church does not get tired of repeating its observance of Holy Week. What is the point of repeating annually the story of how Jesus suffered died and rose again from the dead? As we begin the observance of Holy Week with Palm Sunday, let us reflect on this in 3 points:

IN LOCAL PARLANCE, WE CALL HOLY WEEK AS “MAHAL NA ARAW” WHICH LITERALLY MEANS COSTLY DAY. “Mahal” does not, of course, mean that for this week, the prices of basic commodities, gasoline, food and electricity will go up. No. We call this “mahal na araw” because God saved us at a very costly price. The price is none other than the life of an innocent man in the person of Jesus. This tells us how serious God is for our salvation. But do we take this seriously? For many people Holy week signals a long grand vacation from work and school. This week is not called “vacation week”, “friendship week” or “rest week.” It is called “Holy Week.” Let us therefore make this week holy by making time to go to Church, reflect, pray and meditate on the passion of Jesus.

WHAT MAKES THIS WEEK HOLY IS THE PASSION OF JESUS. Palm Sunday is also called Passion Sunday. The word passion refers to the suffering of Jesus. Human experience tells us that we all want to avoid suffering. We want a life free from pain and sorrow. But with Jesus it is different. He entered Jerusalem to face suffering. He entered Jerusalem to be ridiculed, beaten and humiliated. What motivated Jesus to face suffering and not avoid it? If we look at it closely, we will discover that Jesus was able to embrace suffering because of His DEEP trust and obedience in God. Look at what deep trust in God can do in the face of suffering. The suffering of Jesus is not a suffering because of stubbornness and carelessness. It is a suffering of someone who obeys and trusts God the Father. Without trust, Jesus might have run away from Jerusalem.  Perhaps this is something we can learn from Jesus. When we find ourselves in the human experience of suffering, instead of magnifying more our sufferings, let us magnify more the Lord, let us magnify more our trust in Him so that like Jesus we may find consolation that God’s help will never abandon us.

THE PASSION OF JESUS REVEALS HIS LOVE FOR US. The word passion can also mean intense desire or enthusiasm. The determination of Jesus to go to Jerusalem, face suffering and death reveals His love for us. Jesus knew that love is not a bed of roses. And because He is willing to love, he is willing to do anything, he is willing to suffer and die in order that God’s plan for salvation might be fulfilled. This is the passion, this is the determination of Jesus: to save us, and to bring us back to God.

My brothers and sisters, as we enter Holy Week this Palm Sunday, we see how determined, how passionate Jesus is to go to Jerusalem, face His suffering and His death. This is the costly price that brought us salvation. May we also be filled with passion and enthusiasm to make this week “holy” by making time to reflect, pray and meditate on the passion of Jesus.  Amen.

April 2, 5th Sunday of Lent

April 2, 2017

5th Sunday of Lent;

Ezekiel 37:12–14; Romans 8:8–11; John 11:1–45; John 11:3–7, 17, 20–27, 33b–45

When you invite a Filipino to attend a wake, you will probably hear him say in Filipino “parang natutulog lang ang patay” – that the dead is like in a state of deep sleep.  I believe this expression is biblically based. In today’s gospel, when Jesus was informed about the death of Lazarus, he said, “Our friend Lazarus is asleep but I am going there to wake him up.” (John 11:11). Sleep is a metaphor used to describe death. How should we believers look at death? Let us look at our readings for today and reflect on them in 3 points:

 WE SEE DEATH NOT AS AN END, BUT A TRANSITION. Perhaps one reason why we do not like to talk about death is because we look at death as the end of everything. We think that death is the end of communication because we can no longer talk to our loved ones, end of our dreams because we cannot pursue what we want, the end of communion because we are separated from the rest of the world. But the Christian way of looking at death sees it not as an end but as a transition to eternal life. Jesus says in the gospel: “Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” Death is not an end. Death is a transition to eternal life – life that does not end, life in the presence of God.

GOD WANTS TO RESURRECT US FROM THE DEATH CAUSED BY SIN. Aside from physical death, there is also what we call spiritual death as an effect of sin. In the first reading, the Israelites were thrown into exile because of their sins and infidelity to God. To be thrown to exile is a form of death – they lost their land, properties and they became slaves in the hands of their oppressors. God tells the prophet Ezekiel says: “I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel.” God wants to resurrect us from the graves we have made for ourselves because of sin. The problem is that oftentimes we choose death instead of life. What can help us to always choose life and not death?

WE SHOULD LIVE BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD. Paul says in the second reading that we should live not anymore by sin or by the flesh. We should live by the Spirit of God. If it is the same Spirit of God that resurrected Jesus from dead, this same Spirit will also resurrect us from our sinfulness. In other words, Paul reminds us that we should experience death now – death to the dictates of sin and allow the Spirit of God to work in us.

In this mass let us beg for the grace of openness to the guidance of God’s Spirit.  May this Lenten season be a journey that will lead us to resurrect from our sinfulness so that at the end of our earthly life we may enjoy eternal life with God. Amen.

March 26, 4th Sunday of Lent

March 26, 2017

4th Sunday of Lent – Laetare Sunday or Sunday of Rejoicing

1 Samuel 16:1b, 6–7, 10–13a; Ephesians 5:8–14; John 9:1–41; John 9:1, 6–9, 13–17, 34–38

One of the ways to gain access to internet nowadays is though the wireless connection called WIFI. I remember this story about a conversation between God and man about Wifi. There was once a man who asked God: “Dear God, you said in the Bible that you are always with us – that we can reach you anytime and anywhere. But why is it that I cannot seem to connect with you?” God replied: “I am like WiFi my child. I am available everywhere, but just like any other WIFI, you need to connect with me with a correct password. And the password is – FAITH.”

My dear friends, it is indeed true that God is everywhere and always available. But we need faith to be connected with God. What does faith do to us?  Let us look at our readings today and reflect on them in three points:

FAITH ENABLES US TO SEE GOD’S WILL. The experience of Samuel in the first reading illustrates this point very well. God sent Samuel to Jesse to anoint the next king of Israel. Perhaps on the way, Samuel started thinking: “What are the characteristics of a king chosen by God? How does he look like?” Samuel came up with his own criteria of a king. When Jesse presented his sons, Samuel looked at them to see who among them fits his criteria. But every time Samuel would say, “This is God’s anointed.” God would say, “No. Not him.” Even Jesse, the father had his own set of criteria. Perhaps Jesse told himself, “If Samuel is looking for the next king, certainly that king is not David – his youngest son.” But when David was presented to Samuel, the message of God was clear: “He is the one, anoint him.” God was teaching Samuel a lesson: “Human beings look at appearances. But God looks into the heart of the person.”

It is a good thing that the faith of Samuel led him to listen and be attentive to God. This is something we can emulate from Samuel. If we want our choices in life to be in accordance with God’s will, we need faith to connect with the Lord and be open to where God is leading us.

FAITH ACTS AS LIGHT IN THE MIDST OF DARKNESS. I often encounter the saying that faith is a leap in the dark - a leap in the unknown. But I think faith must rather be seen as light in times of darkness. Pope Francis said: “Faith as light is like a star that illumines our journey at a time when we are in need of light.” (Cf. Lumen fidei, 3-4). Isn’t this the experience of the man born blind in the gospel? There is so much darkness in his life. Imagine a person who is not only blind but also poor. But when the man born blind came to encounter Jesus and believed in Him, the blind man regained his sight. His faith finally led him to see and get out of darkness. Faith acts as light in the midst of darkness. This season of Lent we are invited to overcome the darkness of sin in our lives. How do we respond to this invitation?

FAITH CALLS US TO REPENTANCE. Paul tells us in the second reading: “Take no part in works of darkness. We are children of the light, not of darkness.” The problem is we often go back into the darkness of sin. Sin darkens our vision to what is good. Repentance on the other hand is turning from what is dark to what is light. Repentance is recognizing our need for the Lord’s help to restore our sight. Are there areas in our lives that are still in darkness of sin?  Lent is the time to respond to the invitation of faith to repent and be sorry for our sins.

As we continue our journey this Lenten season, let us beg for the grace of the light of faith to enable us to see God’s will, to act as light in the midst of darkness and to guide us in responding to the call of repentance.  Amen.