Daniel 13:41-62 / John 8:12-20
As we listen to the readings at Mass, God speaks to us through His Word.
We reflect and meditate on the readings as we let the voice of God resonate in our hearts.
In responding to the Word of God, there is the Responsorial Psalm. Interspersed between the verses of the Psalms are responses.
The Psalms teach us how to speak to God, and the responses contain beautiful and profound expressions which can be used as our prayer to God.
In today's Responsorial Psalm, the response is: If I should walk in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear.
That response expresses confidence of the prayer of Susanna as she was wrongly accused of a crime and sentenced to death.
She was thrown into the valley of darkness and evil, but she pleaded for her innocence before the Eternal God. And God heard her pleas by sending Daniel to her rescue.
There are also many other responses to the Responsorial Psalm that we can use for our prayer, especially in our time of urgent and desperate need:
- Lord God, I take refuge in you
- The Lord is close to the broken-hearted
- O Lord, remember me out of the love you have for your people
So as we listen to the voice of God in the readings, let us also take up the responses from the Responsorial Psalm, and use that as our prayer-response to God.
It can be as short and as simple as this: Lord, make me know your ways; teach me your paths.
Sunday, April 7, 2019
Saturday, April 6, 2019
5th Sunday of Lent, Year C, 07.04.2019
Isaiah 43:16-21 / Philippians 3:8-14 / John 8:1-11
To say that someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed is to mean that he had a bad day and probably was still having a bad day.
Come to think of it, waking up on the wrong side of the bed is still better than waking up on the floor and in shock. Yes, waking up on the wrong side of the bed is still better than falling off from the bed.
Whatever it might be, a good king-size bed can assure us of a good night’s sleep with no worries of falling off the bed.
But what happens when we wake up and get out of bed can be quite another story. We don’t know what kind of day awaits us.
A priest celebrated Mass with a big plaster on his chin. He told the people that he was thinking about the homily while he was shaving and accidentally cut his chin, hence the plaster. It was a careless start to the day.
When the priest got back to his office, there was an email in the computer that read: Dear Father, please be careful. In future, think about your shaving and cut the homily!
We know that it is one of those bad days when we expected to get sympathy and some people turn our misery into a comedy.
And some people will even say that if we think we are having a bad day, we better be prepared that it might just get worse. What a consolation when we are in our desolation!
Of course we can prepare ourselves for a bad day, but we won’t know when it will happen and we won’t know what to expect.
In the gospel, it seemed to be just another day for Jesus. He was at the Mount of Olives, a popular place for prayer and meditation. Then at daybreak, He appeared in the Temple and as the people came to Him, He sat down and began to teach them.
All seemed well, until the scribes and Pharisees dragged in a woman who had been caught committing adultery. In full view of everybody, they asked Jesus for His judgement on her. And as the Gospel added, they asked Him this as a test, looking for something to use against Him.
Whenever the scribes and the Pharisees appear, they bring bad news, and it seems like it’s going to be another bad day for Jesus. So how is He going to handle this tricky situation?
We should know by now that not every day is a good day, but there is something good in every day.
And that is what Jesus wants to teach us. Every day He had to face the plotting of the scribes and Pharisees, and yet through it all, He teaches us something good.
And in this instance, Jesus taught us that He was not too concerned about the trickery of the scribes and the Pharisees and the trouble that He was facing.
Rather His concern was for that woman caught for committing adultery, shamed in public, and probably would be executed by stoning. It was a bad day for that woman and seems like it was only going to get worse.
But if her day was bad, her life was probably tragic. How did she end up in such a bad state, and now she is being used to trap Jesus and after that she will be disposed of. Hers was a sad life and coming to a sad end.
But Jesus took up the sinfulness of that woman and brought out the sinfulness of the others when He said, “If there is one of you who have not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
And just as that statement stopped them in their tracks, that statement should also stop us at our thoughts.
When things go wrong and turn bad, are we the first to throw stones? Or are we going to drop the stones to do something good?
Last week there was this story of an aircraft that was forced to make an emergency landing in a remote small airport that was 100 miles away from the destination.
Stranded in an empty airport, in the middle of nowhere, many passengers became irritated (who wouldn’t?) with the crew and airline staff. They were going to throw stones.
Among the passengers was this well-known actor, Keanu Reeves. While the airline staff was trying to solve the problem, Keanu decided to do what he could to keep the situation under control.
He kept the passengers updated about the situation, and he was cool and furthest thing from being upset.
He told the passengers where to pick up their luggage, and the travel options to get to their destination. He even advised them to take the shuttle bus instead of waiting for the plane to be fixed.
In between, he posed for pictures with the passengers at the airport and made it a moment to be remembered.
As much as he had the means to arrange for private transportation, he took the shuttle bus provided by the airline for the stranded passengers and he turned it into a fun ride for everyone on board, with trivia games and all.
The passengers were amazed at how Keanu Reeves would think of ways to keep people engaged and entertained. More than just a good actor, Keanu Reeves is a down-to-earth person who tries to bring out the good in a bad situation. May God bless him for that.
This reminds us that not every day is a good day but there is something good in every day.
Just as in the gospel scene, not everyone in it is a good person, but Jesus brought out that something good in each person - the woman caught in adultery, the scribes and Pharisees, the crowds.
And through this gospel passage, Jesus also wants to bring out the goodness in each of us.
Then we will truly understand what Jesus meant when He said: If there is one of you who had not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.
To say that someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed is to mean that he had a bad day and probably was still having a bad day.
Come to think of it, waking up on the wrong side of the bed is still better than waking up on the floor and in shock. Yes, waking up on the wrong side of the bed is still better than falling off from the bed.
Whatever it might be, a good king-size bed can assure us of a good night’s sleep with no worries of falling off the bed.
But what happens when we wake up and get out of bed can be quite another story. We don’t know what kind of day awaits us.
A priest celebrated Mass with a big plaster on his chin. He told the people that he was thinking about the homily while he was shaving and accidentally cut his chin, hence the plaster. It was a careless start to the day.
When the priest got back to his office, there was an email in the computer that read: Dear Father, please be careful. In future, think about your shaving and cut the homily!
We know that it is one of those bad days when we expected to get sympathy and some people turn our misery into a comedy.
And some people will even say that if we think we are having a bad day, we better be prepared that it might just get worse. What a consolation when we are in our desolation!
Of course we can prepare ourselves for a bad day, but we won’t know when it will happen and we won’t know what to expect.
In the gospel, it seemed to be just another day for Jesus. He was at the Mount of Olives, a popular place for prayer and meditation. Then at daybreak, He appeared in the Temple and as the people came to Him, He sat down and began to teach them.
All seemed well, until the scribes and Pharisees dragged in a woman who had been caught committing adultery. In full view of everybody, they asked Jesus for His judgement on her. And as the Gospel added, they asked Him this as a test, looking for something to use against Him.
Whenever the scribes and the Pharisees appear, they bring bad news, and it seems like it’s going to be another bad day for Jesus. So how is He going to handle this tricky situation?
We should know by now that not every day is a good day, but there is something good in every day.
And that is what Jesus wants to teach us. Every day He had to face the plotting of the scribes and Pharisees, and yet through it all, He teaches us something good.
And in this instance, Jesus taught us that He was not too concerned about the trickery of the scribes and the Pharisees and the trouble that He was facing.
Rather His concern was for that woman caught for committing adultery, shamed in public, and probably would be executed by stoning. It was a bad day for that woman and seems like it was only going to get worse.
But if her day was bad, her life was probably tragic. How did she end up in such a bad state, and now she is being used to trap Jesus and after that she will be disposed of. Hers was a sad life and coming to a sad end.
But Jesus took up the sinfulness of that woman and brought out the sinfulness of the others when He said, “If there is one of you who have not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
And just as that statement stopped them in their tracks, that statement should also stop us at our thoughts.
When things go wrong and turn bad, are we the first to throw stones? Or are we going to drop the stones to do something good?
Last week there was this story of an aircraft that was forced to make an emergency landing in a remote small airport that was 100 miles away from the destination.
Stranded in an empty airport, in the middle of nowhere, many passengers became irritated (who wouldn’t?) with the crew and airline staff. They were going to throw stones.
Among the passengers was this well-known actor, Keanu Reeves. While the airline staff was trying to solve the problem, Keanu decided to do what he could to keep the situation under control.
He kept the passengers updated about the situation, and he was cool and furthest thing from being upset.
He told the passengers where to pick up their luggage, and the travel options to get to their destination. He even advised them to take the shuttle bus instead of waiting for the plane to be fixed.
In between, he posed for pictures with the passengers at the airport and made it a moment to be remembered.
As much as he had the means to arrange for private transportation, he took the shuttle bus provided by the airline for the stranded passengers and he turned it into a fun ride for everyone on board, with trivia games and all.
The passengers were amazed at how Keanu Reeves would think of ways to keep people engaged and entertained. More than just a good actor, Keanu Reeves is a down-to-earth person who tries to bring out the good in a bad situation. May God bless him for that.
This reminds us that not every day is a good day but there is something good in every day.
Just as in the gospel scene, not everyone in it is a good person, but Jesus brought out that something good in each person - the woman caught in adultery, the scribes and Pharisees, the crowds.
And through this gospel passage, Jesus also wants to bring out the goodness in each of us.
Then we will truly understand what Jesus meant when He said: If there is one of you who had not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.
Friday, April 5, 2019
4th Week of Lent, Saturday, 06-04-19
Jeremiah 11:18-20 / John 7:40-52
The fastest and easiest way to come to a conclusion is to make an assumption.
An assumption is to take something for granted, a supposition.
Whether it is a correct or an incorrect assumption, we usually begin by saying "I think ..."
But when the assumption is wrong, then the conclusion is also wrong.
In today's gospel, there were a lot of assumptions made about Jesus and specifically about His identity.
In the midst of these assumptions, an unexpected challenge came from Nicodemus.
He challenged the people to give Jesus a hearing and to discover for themselves who Jesus was.
But the assumptions far outnumbered and eventually drowned out the challenge.
We too have our own assumptions about who Jesus is.
We also need to verify our assumptions about Jesus.
It is about moving from "I think that Jesus loves me" to saying "I know that Jesus loves me".
The fastest and easiest way to come to a conclusion is to make an assumption.
An assumption is to take something for granted, a supposition.
Whether it is a correct or an incorrect assumption, we usually begin by saying "I think ..."
But when the assumption is wrong, then the conclusion is also wrong.
In today's gospel, there were a lot of assumptions made about Jesus and specifically about His identity.
In the midst of these assumptions, an unexpected challenge came from Nicodemus.
He challenged the people to give Jesus a hearing and to discover for themselves who Jesus was.
But the assumptions far outnumbered and eventually drowned out the challenge.
We too have our own assumptions about who Jesus is.
We also need to verify our assumptions about Jesus.
It is about moving from "I think that Jesus loves me" to saying "I know that Jesus loves me".
Thursday, April 4, 2019
4th Week of Lent, Friday, 05-04-19
Wisdom 2:1, 12-22 / John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30
Generally speaking, we may think that good and kind people will be respected, and that religious and holy people will be looked up to.
More so when we see pictures or images of saints that give us a feeling of serenity and tranquility and we tend to think that good and kind, holy and religious people have no problems and worries in life.
But a serious examination of the lives of these people will tell us quite a different story.
For example, Archbishop Oscar Romero was shot for speaking up against violence and injustice, St. Maximilian Kolbe was tortured and finally killed for offering to take the place of a condemned prisoner, Martin Luther King was assassinated for speaking on human rights and Gandhi was also assassinated for advocating non-violence in the struggle for independence.
The list of good and kind people being persecuted goes on and on, and that makes us re-think our assumptions on how good and kind people are treated.
The 1st reading also state likewise. It gives us an idea of how the godless or wicked people will think in their misguided reasoning.
In short, the wicked and evil people have no hope that holiness will be rewarded and they can see no reward for blameless souls.
Even Jesus, the Son of God had to face persecutions and evil intentions of harming Him as we heard in the gospel.
Yet just as the truth will prevail, so will goodness and holiness.
But we have to persevere. The lives of the saints and holy people tell us this: goodness and holiness will always face persecution from evil and wickedness.
But just as Jesus triumphed over evil and death, let us persevere in doing good and leading holy lives so as to share in the victory of Jesus.
Generally speaking, we may think that good and kind people will be respected, and that religious and holy people will be looked up to.
More so when we see pictures or images of saints that give us a feeling of serenity and tranquility and we tend to think that good and kind, holy and religious people have no problems and worries in life.
But a serious examination of the lives of these people will tell us quite a different story.
For example, Archbishop Oscar Romero was shot for speaking up against violence and injustice, St. Maximilian Kolbe was tortured and finally killed for offering to take the place of a condemned prisoner, Martin Luther King was assassinated for speaking on human rights and Gandhi was also assassinated for advocating non-violence in the struggle for independence.
The list of good and kind people being persecuted goes on and on, and that makes us re-think our assumptions on how good and kind people are treated.
The 1st reading also state likewise. It gives us an idea of how the godless or wicked people will think in their misguided reasoning.
In short, the wicked and evil people have no hope that holiness will be rewarded and they can see no reward for blameless souls.
Even Jesus, the Son of God had to face persecutions and evil intentions of harming Him as we heard in the gospel.
Yet just as the truth will prevail, so will goodness and holiness.
But we have to persevere. The lives of the saints and holy people tell us this: goodness and holiness will always face persecution from evil and wickedness.
But just as Jesus triumphed over evil and death, let us persevere in doing good and leading holy lives so as to share in the victory of Jesus.
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
4th Week of Lent, Thursday, 04-04-19
Exodus 32:7-14 / John 5:31-47
The one thing that creates some problems for us and makes us feel aged is this thing called forgetfulness.
Forgetfulness afflicts everybody, and especially when we are no longer that young and we forget this and that, then we become the butt of jokes.
Anyway if our individual forgetfulness can give us problems, how about the forgetfulness of a nation?
Certainly it would be disastrous, as in the case of Israel.
It was not that long ago since they experienced the liberation from Egypt and the miraculous parting of the Red Sea.
But soon they forgot about the God who saved them and they created an idol in the image of an animal!
In fact, forgetfulness is too lame a word to be used here.
The word should be stupidity. The Israelites were stupid enough to forget, and for that they wondered in the desert for 40 years just to have their memory corrected.
The 40 days of Lent is indeed a time for us to recall and remember the saving acts of God and the wonderful graces He poured into our lives so that we won't forget the meaning of love and mercy.
It is also a time to cleanse ourselves of other distractions that have come into our lives that make us lose focus and forget about God in our lives.
For it is to God alone that we must say: You alone are my God.
The one thing that creates some problems for us and makes us feel aged is this thing called forgetfulness.
Forgetfulness afflicts everybody, and especially when we are no longer that young and we forget this and that, then we become the butt of jokes.
Anyway if our individual forgetfulness can give us problems, how about the forgetfulness of a nation?
Certainly it would be disastrous, as in the case of Israel.
It was not that long ago since they experienced the liberation from Egypt and the miraculous parting of the Red Sea.
But soon they forgot about the God who saved them and they created an idol in the image of an animal!
In fact, forgetfulness is too lame a word to be used here.
The word should be stupidity. The Israelites were stupid enough to forget, and for that they wondered in the desert for 40 years just to have their memory corrected.
The 40 days of Lent is indeed a time for us to recall and remember the saving acts of God and the wonderful graces He poured into our lives so that we won't forget the meaning of love and mercy.
It is also a time to cleanse ourselves of other distractions that have come into our lives that make us lose focus and forget about God in our lives.
For it is to God alone that we must say: You alone are my God.
4th Week of Lent, Wednesday, 03-04-19
Isaiah 49:8-15 / John 5:17-30
In a densely populated country like ours, it can be quite difficult to be alone. There seems to be people everywhere.
But as much as we might be surrounded by people and not quite able to be alone, that doesn't mean that we are not lonely.
Even in the midst of being in a crowd, we can feel lonely, especially when we are facing problems alone and there is no one to come to our help, or that no one seems to know, or worse still, that no one seems to care.
In this season of Lent, besides reflecting on our life and on how we have sinned and turned away from God, and hence this feeling of loneliness, we also must meditate on the sufferings of Jesus.
Every Friday, there will be the devotion of the Stations of the Cross and it is there there we reflect and meditate about that final journey of Jesus to Calvary and how He suffered along that way.
Indeed Jesus was alone in His suffering as He carried the Cross. But He wasn't overcome by loneliness despite His disciples deserting, denying and betraying Him.
He knew that God His Father was with Him and He believed that till the end when He gave up His life on the Cross.
It is quite a contrast from the 1st reading when the people complained that the Lord has abandoned them and forgotten them.
But God reiterated that He won't abandoned or forget His people, just like a mother will not forget her baby at the breast.
Yes God will not abandon or forget His people, and neither did he abandon or forget Jesus in His suffering. Neither will He also abandon or forget us in our loneliest moment.
In a densely populated country like ours, it can be quite difficult to be alone. There seems to be people everywhere.
But as much as we might be surrounded by people and not quite able to be alone, that doesn't mean that we are not lonely.
Even in the midst of being in a crowd, we can feel lonely, especially when we are facing problems alone and there is no one to come to our help, or that no one seems to know, or worse still, that no one seems to care.
In this season of Lent, besides reflecting on our life and on how we have sinned and turned away from God, and hence this feeling of loneliness, we also must meditate on the sufferings of Jesus.
Every Friday, there will be the devotion of the Stations of the Cross and it is there there we reflect and meditate about that final journey of Jesus to Calvary and how He suffered along that way.
Indeed Jesus was alone in His suffering as He carried the Cross. But He wasn't overcome by loneliness despite His disciples deserting, denying and betraying Him.
He knew that God His Father was with Him and He believed that till the end when He gave up His life on the Cross.
It is quite a contrast from the 1st reading when the people complained that the Lord has abandoned them and forgotten them.
But God reiterated that He won't abandoned or forget His people, just like a mother will not forget her baby at the breast.
Yes God will not abandon or forget His people, and neither did he abandon or forget Jesus in His suffering. Neither will He also abandon or forget us in our loneliest moment.
Monday, April 1, 2019
4th Week of Lent, Tuesday, 02-04-19
Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12 / John 5:1-3, 5-16
Some questions are difficult to answer, especially when the answer required has to be a "Yes" or "No".
In answering these questions, we reveal quite a bit about ourselves, about our convictions, about our expectations.
In the gospel, when Jesus asked the sick man "Do you want to be well again?" his answer tells us about his convictions and his hope and maybe even about his faith.
He was convinced about the healing powers of the waters when it was disturbed, but yet at the same time, he did not expect to receive it, simply because no one helped him to get to the water in time.
So his answer was a typical "Yes, but, you know ...", and followed by the "Ifs" and the "Maybes".
Jesus is asking us to be convinced about what He can do for us. No Ifs or Buts or Maybes.
As we pray and reflect on the Word of God, the question of our faith in Jesus will come up again and again.
Yet the question of faith is to help us come to a slow but sure and certain conviction of who Jesus is on our lives.
We may hesitate, we may even stop for a while in our journey of faith because of our doubts.
But let us remember that Jesus won't give up on us.
He will certainly help us; we only need to give Him a convicted "Yes".
Some questions are difficult to answer, especially when the answer required has to be a "Yes" or "No".
In answering these questions, we reveal quite a bit about ourselves, about our convictions, about our expectations.
In the gospel, when Jesus asked the sick man "Do you want to be well again?" his answer tells us about his convictions and his hope and maybe even about his faith.
He was convinced about the healing powers of the waters when it was disturbed, but yet at the same time, he did not expect to receive it, simply because no one helped him to get to the water in time.
So his answer was a typical "Yes, but, you know ...", and followed by the "Ifs" and the "Maybes".
Jesus is asking us to be convinced about what He can do for us. No Ifs or Buts or Maybes.
As we pray and reflect on the Word of God, the question of our faith in Jesus will come up again and again.
Yet the question of faith is to help us come to a slow but sure and certain conviction of who Jesus is on our lives.
We may hesitate, we may even stop for a while in our journey of faith because of our doubts.
But let us remember that Jesus won't give up on us.
He will certainly help us; we only need to give Him a convicted "Yes".
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