FOOT OF THE CROSS

We see in the Old Testament the cultic practices that they have to do in order to be in contact with God. On the day of atonement, a high priest go to the holy of holies. God’s mysterious presence is simply uncontainable. An altar is sometimes referred to as God’s footstool. Pope Benedict XVI said that this rite is an expression of the desire to cast off sins. This appointed contact of God and man took place in the cross of Christ which took away our sins. It allowed human wretchedness and God’s Holiness to meet. God touches us today through material things, the outward sign of water and wine in the Holy Eucharist, in the water in Baptism, the oil in the Anointing, the Holy Orders and all other sacraments. This is what helps us to touch Him 2000 years later. We touch the Divine, through the sacraments and the proclamation of God’s word. This is how we make contact with God. God gave His only begotten Son, Jesus who already paid the price of our redemption at a great cost. His humility goes beyond the washing of the disciples' feet and extends up to His death like a criminal on a cross. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. There's no other way and we have no further excuse. He has given us the perfect example and a model to follow. St. Paul gives us instructions on the greatest legacy of Christianity, the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. A death freely accepted, Jesus left us a remembrance of His great love for us by giving up His body and blood. It is very important that we commemorate this as often as possible, by participating in the Eucharistic celebration during Holy mass.  Jesus makes us holy through the sacraments and builds us as a people of God. It is very significant for our everyday life that we recognize the identity of the Body of Christ and that we are one body. Jesus is the True Lamb and True Passover. He is the New Passover by looking at what He did on Maundy Thursday and instituted the Eucharist before He died on Good Friday as a victim of Divine love. He did it not as a substitute but as a representative so that he could reproduce Himself in us in His sonship.  As in Phil. 2:5 Jesus is reproducing His living sacrifice that transforms our bodies into His body. Suffering without love is unendurable. Love is precisely what transforms suffering into sacrifice. The Eucharist transforms the suffering into a sacrifice for us to partake the resurrected body. The resurrected body of Jesus is what we receive in the Eucharist and who Paul encountered on his way to Damascus. Jesus asked Paul, why do you persecute me? This is so because Jesus identifies himself to the Christians. The Holy Spirit inspires Paul the full teaching of the Eucharist. He introduces the Corinthians to the mystery as a Jew and well trained Pharisee. The lamb has to be sacrificed and celebrating Eucharistic liturgy is a requirement. It is the backbone and powerhouse of our spiritual life. In Jewish custom it is an act to take out all sin in order to receive God pure. Every time we are attending Holy Mass we remember the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, our Savior who took away our sin so that we may share in the life of God for eternity.  Amen. Hallelujah!

Amen. Hallelujah!

1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33

17 Brothers and sisters: In giving this instruction, I do not praise the fact that your meetings are doing more harm than good. 18 First of all, I hear that when you meet as a church there are divisions among you, and to a degree I believe it; 19 there have to be factions among you... For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, 24 and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my Body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my Blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.

We need to persevere in prayer so that as we improve and daily grow in His knowledge and ways then we can easily discern and be more sensitive of how God speaks to each one of us in a very close and personal way. We should always listen intently to what God is telling us so we could effectively carry out what He wants us to do. It is God's will that we engage in activities that will enrich and deepen our faith in Him. In order to love someone better we have to know him/her better. The more you know about a person the more you become close to each other. The same way with God there is a need to really know more or everything there is to know about God. We must not be distracted and dissuaded to do otherwise when beset with problems and difficulties. If we have developed a great sense of confidence and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ then we can fearlessly and undauntedly do whatever He wills for us. We've got the very best friend we can ever have in Jesus. All we have to do is listen to and follow Him. He is the Rising Sun and Light of the world who came to live with us to direct our feet into the path of peace.  Doing God’s will may not be easy but if we have placed it in the center of our hearts then it will just come naturally as it becomes the powerhouse or mitochondria of our beings. The transcendent nature of humanity calls for dialogue and human understanding. In the face of difficulty and sign of contradiction we should never lose heart. Remember these words from the gospel, Mt. 5:10-12, “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Violence is not overcome by violence. The world needs God. Authentic weapon for peace is religious freedom as in to practice faith without coercion. Today we remember the plight of our brothers and sisters throughout the world who suffer greatly for the faith. We pray that religious freedom will not be eroded for those who can practice it. We continue to hope in the grace of God for that alone will suffice. It is also very important that we follow the example of Mary's perfect obedience to God's will so that we can find delight in following God's laws. May our Lord show us the path to peace and use us as instruments and builders of peace. Nothing should ever stop us from doing the will of God for it is ultimately the best option we've got. If we have developed a great sense of confidence and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ then we can fearlessly and undauntedly do whatever He wills for us. Once we've known who God is and what He is capable of doing in our lives then there is really nothing that should stop us in saying with all our hearts the responsorial psalm for today. Amen. Hallelujah! 

P S A L M 

Psalm 40:7-8a. 8b-9. 10. 17

R: Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.

6 [7] Sacrifice or oblation you wished not, but ears open to obedience you gave me. Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not; 7 [8] then said I, “Behold I come.” (R) In the written scroll it is prescribed for me, 8 [9] to do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart!”  (R) 9 [10] I announced your justice in the vast assembly; I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.

The most holy and sacred woman who ever lived here on earth is Mary. We are so blessed to have her as our own mother, for Jesus shared and extended to us this noble and holy privilege. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Our Lady of Sorrows and commemorate the courage and strength of Mary in carrying out the most noble task ever known to man which she has faithfully fulfilled thus it gives us the inspiration to not grow weary in facing further trials that come our way and not despair and lose hope. The passion and death of Jesus on the cross is the ultimate pain and suffering that a human being could endure. It follows that the ultimate sorrow a mother could experience is to see her very own son subjected to such an excruciatingly painful way to die. On an afternoon of unnatural darkness she had to endure such cruel pain and agony that more than human nature could endure. Mary had to stand by and see the soldiers come and claim as their own all that was left of her dead son (John 19:24-25, Matthew 27:35). There at the foot of the cross was the little heap of Christ’s earthly belongings. They are the only heirlooms and the only souvenirs that she could have. There is the seamless tunic that she must have woven stitch by stitch with such love. There was his headdress which she had mended and his sandals which she had kept clean. And now these men were casting lots as to whose they should be as a reward and recompense for putting her son to death. We know that this world of ours is cruel, cold and heartless. But it can be kind to all men on 2 occasions, at birth and death and to be born and to die. To come into the world and to go out of it finds hospitality easily even from the world. But how was our Lord treated on those occasions? Why was it that it seemed too much just for Him to be born? It took the Almighty all His time to obtain a visible foothold of His own world. He wasn’t wanted. There was no room for Him in the inn. Though, we did hear the angels voices singing on the hillside that night but those voices soon changed. It changed into wailings of women, mothers mourning the loss of their sons in the killing of the innocents because man had been seeking God to murder Him. And at His death He wasn’t allowed to die a natural death like the rest of men. In the very prime of manhood His life was trampled out of Him as if it was something tiresome. His body was swiftly buried or else it would be polluting the air of festivity in the city (Mark 15:42, John 19:31) Mary stood at the foot of the cross as her heart was pierced with so much sorrow seeing her only Son, Jesus crucified. Only a heart full of faith, courage, strength and conviction could withstand such kind of sorrow and pain.  Mary never fainted nor faltered maintained reverence in God in that time of great sorrow and remained obedient. She is the “Stabat Mater” (Standing Mother) and such is the heart of Mary, a mother, immaculate and strong. Mary is the Lady of Sorrows for all these but we know from our faith that the pain of our Lady from that afternoon is nothing to what she endures now every time she sees a soul lose the garment of sanctifying grace for we are her children for Jesus said “Behold, your mother.”  For whenever we sin, a human being made in the image and likeness of God is brought lower than the beasts.  All the beauty is turned into hideousness. All the love turned into hatred and despair. There is only one evil in our lives and that is sin. Sin means we lose our God, the light goes out of our soul and we have become withered branches fit only to be burned in everlasting fire. We are living in a world now that says that sin doesn’t matter. That sin is only a little word in a dictionary that has long since lost its meaning. “Times have changed” we are told. Sin is the source of Mary’s greatest sorrow. May we realize that it places us in a better position with God when we know that we have the Our Lady of Sorrows, none other than our very own Blessed Mother who will always be with us, offering her cries and tears as she constantly prays for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. She is perfect enough for God to be the mother of His only Son surely she will also be for us, more than perfect as our Mother. Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us. Amen. Hallelujah!

 

John 19:25-27 (or Luke 7:31-35 or Luke 2:33-35)

25 Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.