I
have always loved to read quotations and positive words of wisdom. One of the
many quotes that I really like goes something like this, “Learn from your
mistakes and the mistakes of others and try to correct them since that's the
reason why pencils have erasers.” It may not be the exact words but the thought
being conveyed is quite the same. In today's 1st reading we can learn from the
1st sin of our 1st parents by examining very closely what really went wrong.
It's very obvious that they committed a sin against God but what made things
worst was when they hid themselves from the Lord God. The strategy here lies in
not giving in further to the deceit of sin after we've committed it. The
scenario could have been different if they admitted to their sins instead of
hiding and running away from God. Let us not be pulled farther away from God as
we allow ourselves to be deceived from one sin to another. If we continue to
give in to guilt then we can never rise up from where we fell. It's time to
keep in mind that we are God's beloved children and He will always forgive us
and grant His mercy on us.
Gn 3:1-8
...And when they heard the voice of the Lord God
walking in paradise at the afternoon air, Adam and his wife hid themselves from
the face of the Lord God, amidst the trees of paradise. ..
Jesus is fully human and fully
divine. These are the 2 opposite parts that make up the arch of Mark's gospel
and joined in the fulcrum or apex of its architectural structure.
The first half of the
gospel represents the Jesus as the Son of God and image of power and might and
can be found in Chapters1-8:26, Jesus who is in charge, giving orders, an
exorcist, and walks on water. Jesus is in control and source of strength, drive
and power. The Son of God focused on His mission who engages into rapid phase
of exorcisms and healing. He is truly the Son of God. Second half of the gospel
(Ch. 11:1-15:47), Jesus as the Son of Man and image of weakness and suffering.
No longer in charge and the one receiving orders, suffered greatly which is the
prelude to the Paschal Mystery, the suffering, dying and rising of Jesus from
the dead. We can often encounter in Mark's gospel, Jesus ordering them not to
tell anyone about the miracles He had done. It's because they won't understand
until Jesus is nailed on the cross. This is core purpose of Jesus' becoming man
to save mankind. The fulcrum or apex of the arch is found in the middle of the
gospel, Jesus as Savior which is the central theme of Mark's gospel where
Jesus' divinity meets His humanity in the cross as the perfect victim
(sacrificial lamb/scapegoat) of man's salvation. Mark is telling us and
intended for us to discover the arch in ourselves that will bring us closer to
the center/apex/fulcrum of our lives who is Jesus. We are too preoccupied with
our physical and material needs that we end up neglecting the most important
need, that of our eternal soul. When we get sick, we try to look for cure and
treatment in order to bring our bodies back in shape. We even resort to
different means in order to maintain our health and keep it in perfect shape by
eating the right kind of food and exercising. This kind of care that we give
our bodies should also be the same and even more for our spiritual bodies, our
souls. There is not much difference, when our souls are inflicted with wounds
of our sins, we must try to cure ourselves by going to God and asking
forgiveness right away before it gets any worse. We have to treat our souls
with utmost care and diligence. Though, nothing is ever impossible for God
because He can make us whole. The problem lies with us when we are deeply stuck
in our sins or we could also be just comfortably wading in the seashore of
sins. When these happen we either fall into the trap of false impressions that
little things won't hurt but before we know it we have become entangled in
those little things that we thought we could easily get away with. As
scriptures say, we ought to be ready at all times we might be caught unaware
and empty handed just like the Parable of the Virgins and the song which says,
"Give me oil in my lamp keep me burning until the break of day." We don't
want to be found with no more oil in our lamps. Or we could be too deeply stuck
in the mud of our sins that we tend to choose just to be left in our misery.
The small and unnoticeable wounds that we inflict on ourselves can eventually
amount into a big and ugly scar so it would be easier for us not to wait until
we're in a total wreck before we go to God. Leprosy is a disease that makes a
person look very ugly and unwanted. I remember this time when a friend and I
shared some thoughts about physical beauty when we met a priest from Italy . Just by
looking at him, one could not help but think that he could really pass off as
an actor in Hollywood .
He is very tall and handsome. During our conversation we both came up with this
thought that physical beauty could sometimes obstruct a person's holiness if
the person is not careful of his/her choices. It could lure him/her to a lot of
worldly options that are presented to him/her. It is a lot better to have a
beautiful soul for eternity than to be physically beautiful for a limited time.
We admired this priest for offering himself to God for he was not only handsome
physically but surely very wise for he realized the importance of making it big
in the kingdom of
God
Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 6, 7
R: Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven
1 Blessed is he whose fault is taken away, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt, in whose spirit there is no guile. (R) 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, my guilt I covered not. I said, "I confess my faults to the LORD," and you took away the guilt of my sin. (R) 6 For this shall every faithful man pray to you in time of stress. Though deep waters overflow, they shall not reach him. (R) 7 You are my shelter; from distress you will preserve me; with glad cries of freedom you will ring me round.
We must admit that we have
heard this story in the bible of the multiplication of the bread so many times
already since we were children and somehow lost the awe and wonder that we
experienced when we first heard about it. Or as mature Christians should the
case be so? Rather we should have developed a deeper and better understanding
of this story and relate it to our life in the most meaningful way. The truth
is that we should always feel the reality of these stories in our life and not
treat it as "their story" but rather be in a position to say that it
is also "our story". There is a God who loves and cares for us even
before we ask. He already knows our needs and will provide for it. There is
only one thing that could satisfy all our needs and that we can find in Jesus.
If sometimes we feel like we're about to give up just focus on Jesus because He
has been through a lot more than any of us could imagine and He is Son of God
the Most High. If we will just faithfully follow His leading in our lives no
matter how difficult life may seem, we can always count on Him to fill us to
satisfaction with all the good things and more. The multiplication of the
loaves is the only miracle that can be found in all 4 gospels. It is a
foreshadowing of the Eucharist and emphasizes the importance of this sacrament
of the breaking of the bread and wine. Its counterpart in the Old Testament is
the falling down of manna in the dessert. There are some important points to
ponder about this miracle in relation to the Eucharist. When Jesus fed the
multitude there is always some left over. The tabernacle in the Church where the
Sacred Host is kept is reserved for the sick, homebound and dying and is also
for private devotion for adoration. We should keep in mind the beautiful
effects of the Eucharist. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church,
the effects of the Eucharist, cleanses and separates us from venial sins and
commits us to solidarity with the poor. In the miracle it is said that they had
nothing to eat which is symbolic with the poor.
It communicates to us, through worthy reception, the mystery of the
communion with the Trinity. It also establishes the community of believers and
a foretaste of the future life in heaven. It is a way of advancing in virtue
and helps transform the person through Christ, by shunning and rooting out
vices. It provides increase of grace received in baptism which is a source of
penance. The effect to the human heart is immeasurable because it is true
spiritual food as we receive the body and blood of Jesus, the very author of
grace Himself. It unites one into belief with Christ. Through the Eucharist, we assimilate the life
of Christ and unites Christians. It unites us with the heavenly liturgy to be
realized fully at the end of time for those who are saved. We participate in
Christ’s one sacrifice on the cross because mass represents that one sacrifice
on Calvary . Take note of the word represent
which our protestant brothers and sister mistakenly take as repetition of the
sacrifice. St. Ignatius of Antioch
said that the Eucharist is the medicine of immortality without which we have no
life. This is what he said as he was on his way to his death sentence to be fed
to the lions. He assimilated himself with Christ and considered himself like
the crushed wheat in the mouth of the lion or that of the crushed grapes in the
wine press. As we eat the Bread of Life we are gathered into Christ's body and
made members so that we may receive the power belonging to this divine food. We
assimilate the suffering of Christ to allow one’s self to be crushed in our own
suffering. It could be any difficulty that we want to assimilate to the life of
Christ. St. Peter Chrisologus said that we should ask for our daily bread as in
Our Father prayer, as the bread of heaven, baked in the tomb of heaven, sown in
the virgin and brought to the altars to furnish the faithful with food in
heaven. The sum and summary of our faith and our way of thinking should be
attuned to the Eucharist and vice versa the Eucharist should be attuned to our
own thinking as stated by St. Ireneus. These are only a few of the quotes from
the Church doctors who tell about the beauty of the Most Holy Eucharist. The
source and summit of the Christian life, the Most Blessed Sacrament exalted
above all the other 6 sacraments. Baptism the gateway sacrament is received
before any other sacrament, penance wipes away sin and each of the other
sacraments has its own private place and effect the place it signifies. All of
these sacraments are bound up in the Eucharist which is the efficacious sign
and sublime cause of the communion of the divine life. It is the culmination of
Christ’s action to sanctify the world. We must conform our life to the
Eucharist and must realize the great gift we have in this sacrament. Amen.
Hallelujah!
Mark 8:1-10
1 In those days when there again was a great crowd without
anything to eat, Jesus summoned the disciples and said, 2 “My heart is moved
with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and
have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will
collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance.” 4 His
disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here
in this deserted place?” 5 Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?”
“Seven,” they replied. 6 He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then,
taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his
disciples to distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd. 7 They also
had a few fish. He said the blessing over them and ordered them distributed
also. 8 They ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over —
seven baskets. 9 There were about four thousand people. He dismissed them 10
and got into the boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha.
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