Our God is incomparable for He loves us with a love greater
than any other. From the moment we were conceived in our mother's womb, even
before we were born, God already knows each one of us by name. Let us always align our will, intentions,
motives and actions with God. It is always good to check ourselves constantly
and regularly at every given opportunity. Nothing is ever wasted nor considered
useless for as long as we offer it to God. We have all been called by God for a
purpose. He already had a plan laid out for us even before we were born. We are
that special to God. Let us not forget our holy calling from God. Let us become
the man or woman God has meant us to be and live each day of our lives in
answer to this call. The readings for today continue to reflect on the Holy
Servant Songs of Jesus. The mention of being called even from a mother’s womb,
the 2 edged sword and polished arrow are symbols of God’s words. The Word that
reaches to the ends of the earth, penetrates the hearts of people and able to
separate soul and spirit. What we are
going to witness these coming days are not just a series of special events in
our faith but the fulfillment of prophecies more than 500 years before the event
took place. It is part of the plan that God revealed to the world. We have to
develop an awareness of these things and Jesus Christ Himself. Today’s gospel
from John begins after the foot washing and Christ has already told them and
given them a clue that there’s a betrayer. Jesus was deeply troubled of this
betrayal and bothers him. We might think that this disturbance started in the
agony in the garden but the greater disturbance begins in the last supper and
just continued to the garden. This betrayal is not something that He takes
lightly. The fact that His betrayer is one of His chosen to lead Israel
must be very hard on Him. He kept on mentioning that one of his chosen will
betray him even in His teaching of the Eucharist, He mentioned that Judas will
betray him. Nobody knows whom He meant for Jesus never mentioned his name.
Peter & John are frequently in the Lord’s presence and can read and
indicated in today’s gospel that they are the only ones who knew as it is
mentioned, that Peter instructed John to find out who the betrayer is. John
leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him, “Master, who is it?” Jesus
answered, “It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.” So
he dipped the morsel and [took it and] handed it to Judas, son of Simon the
Iscariot. We can see written in John 1
that Jesus is in the bosom of the father and we can see that the same word is
used in the gospel today. This closeness as in leaning back against Jesus’
chest is key to understanding why it is to John that he gives the sign. In the Middle East it is a sign of friendship if someone gets a
piece of bread, dip and offered it. Christ does this sign to Judas as a last
attempt to win him back over. But when he takes and eats the bread, satan
entered him and it did not become a source of friendship but an alliance with
satan. We have to be careful when receiving the Eucharist and always be in a
state of grace and maintain a position of closeness as in the bosom of God.
This is a sign for all of us to stay away from darkness. Judas took the morsel
and left and it became his hour of darkness. We need to avoid that and enter
into reconciliation with true repentance. This should be our attitude. Peter
also betrayed Christ because he said that he will always be faithful but denied
Christ. The difference is that Peter repented but Judas despaired of
forgiveness. This should never be our attitude rather always have hope of
reconciliation and be a penitent. Let us constantly build our confidence in God
who never fails. There is really nowhere else to go but to Him alone. By just
looking back at our past and present we can only come up with just one thing
which is God is constantly at work and in charge of our lives for as long as we
live even unto death. Many of our brothers and sisters all over the world suffer
persecution for their faith. This is a fundamental human right proclaimed to be
enjoyed by everyone. Religious freedom is the path to peace according to Pope
Emeritus Benedict XVI. It is a sacred right to have religious freedom. Without
openness to the transcendent, a human being withdraws to himself and fails to
experience authentic freedom which leads to violation of other human rights as
well. This is vital in building a just society.
Wherever religious freedom is denied human dignity is offended with a
resulting threat to justice and peace. We can not deny the assistance and
various contributions of religious communities and believers. It has proven to
be effective for the promotion of the common good. This is a force that could
not be reckoned with or the truth that we can not deny. No matter how radical
secularization tries to eliminate any reference to religion or any input the
voice of religion may have. It can not ignore the religious dimensions of a
society. This is a truth that we can not deny. Authentic religiosity is the
source of a loving approach of brothers and sister as a whole family. It has to
be freely chosen according to one’s conscience and not violently imposed. God
beckons humanity with a loving plan and calls for a free and responsible answer
that engages the whole heart. Amen. Hallelujah!
For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want.
Romans 7:19 Fr. Dennis gave us a sensible answer as to why St. Paul
We may now say that the missing link is the formation in the womb.
The woundedness of our souls started while we were being formed in the womb. It
becomes a weakness and if left unattended and cared for becomes a wickedness
and could lead to death of our souls. An example is an unwanted child, it
creates wounds in the soul in order to heal we need to realize that we come
from God and know that we are welcome and wanted by God. We must realize that
whatever behavior or attitude we have it is not who we are. If we see some
imperfections and wounds in ourselves that does not seem to conform with a
God/Creator who is all good and perfect then it's not God who made us that way.
People have different attitudes and behavior but let us not lose sight of this,
we are created in God's image and likeness. Let us remove all confusions.
People may think that we are created to be the way we are. We must not forget
that God does not create us to do things that are against His will. When our
1st parents sinned we have acquired concupiscence or tendency to sin but we
must not forget that Jesus redeemed us from sin. It is right to say that we are
saved, and as we continue to be part of this world then we are continuously
being saved and needs to cooperate with the saving grace of Jesus. We can't
deny the presence of sin in this world. We need Jesus in order to overcome sin.
Whatever we did in the past or are still doing now that does not conform to
God's image and likeness we can always live a new life with Jesus. Blessed
Mother Mary, pray for us. Jesus, King of Divine Mercy, we trust in you.
Amen
Isaiah 49:1-6
...The LORD called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he
gave me my name. 2 He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the
shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. 3 You
are my servant, he said to me, Israel ,
through whom I show my glory. 4 Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for
nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, yet my reward is with the LORD, my
recompense is with my God. 5 For now the LORD has spoken who formed me as his
servant from the womb,...
Let us not forget that our bodies are God's temple and we
should make an effort of maintaining our health at its prime, so that just like
Samson we can have the strength to hurdle whatever is coming our way. There are
many things that we don't understand especially the things that happen to us.
We can always choose to trust that it comes from God. We are His beloved son or
daughter with an awareness that God is fathering us and has brought us into a
family. We should have a childlike fearlessness that we can appropriate and
exercise as we trust God who never fails. In God we find the most secure and
safest shelter. If we will always fill our hearts with gratitude and praise for
God we will realize as we look back and recall that we really have a lot of
things to be thankful to God. Let us proclaim God's goodness and mercy. Our God
is incomparable for He loves us with a love greater than any other. There is
really nowhere else to go but to Him alone. By just looking back at our past
and present we can only come up with just one thing which is God is constantly
at work and in charge of our lives for as long as we live. The mention of being
called even from a mother’s womb, is one of the symbols of God’s words. The
Word that reaches to the ends of the earth, penetrates the hearts of people and
able to separate soul and spirit. It
should be our duty to spread God’s Word. Evangelization is defined with a very broad
meaning and although preaching is its core there's more to it than just that.
It is crucial that we reflect the values of Jesus. There is the so called
"Equipping the Saints". We need to go through a process to achieve
this. We process information in the mind, it is mind centered since it is a
quest for knowledge. Formation is soul centered, it is a quest for wisdom and
go through it by making decisions in the heart. Transformation is the meeting
of mind and soul since it is a quest for spirituality. Propagation is the
fullness of mind, body and soul resulting to authentic and meaningful faith in
action. It is sometimes called Evangelization. The Balloon Story tells us of a
child who saw balloons of different colors rising up in the sky. The child exclaimed
how beautiful it looked up there with all the different colors. An old man told
the child that it's not the colors that makes the balloons rise up but what's
inside of it. As we become formed and equipped for evangelization we become
Good messengers of the Good News. Furthermore, we need to differentiate between
good and great leaders. A good leader
when the company is doing good, is one who faces the mirror and look back at
the reason why the company is doing well but looks out of the window and to others
when the company is performing bad. On the other hand, a great leader is one
who looks out of the window and point to others as the reason why the company
is doing well but when things are bad, looks at himself and ask what he can do
to help. Jesus is a great leader because when things got really bad for
humankind, He did not point any finger but instead came as man and redeemed us
all. Evangelization should work towards making humanity whole again and free
men and women from things that hinder them from being whole again. We should
treasure the salvation that Jesus has given us. Do away with sin that makes us
broken. Avoid not just sin but the occasions of sin. When we speak of the 5th commandment which
is, "Thou shall not kill" there is an unwritten command too, that we
need to be peacemakers. There is no peace without justice. We need to fight
injustice and unjust structures.
The Principles of Catholic Evangelization1. Live the gospel-use words only when necessary. Walk the talk
2. Challenge others by one's example and lifestyle
3. Uphold true values. People before profit. Embrace peace and justice. A Capitalist value works differently, it upholds profit at all cost.
4. Open our hearts to the saving power of God. From a distance foolishness and wisdom look alike but if we come closer we'll find that foolishness is an open mouth and wisdom is an open mind. In evangelization we need to approach it in a manner of discovery with an element of surprise rather than deciding which means we already have an idea of it. In discovery, God brought us to where we are although not fully revealing but trusting. We discover God and the wonders of His wisdom.
5. Build community
6. Identify and really call injustice as injustice. Accept and handle the truth. Sometimes the closer we are to power the farther we become to truth.
7. Work for a better society. Life is a gift from God but what we make of it is our gift to God. Amen. Hallelujah!
R: I will sing of your salvation.
1 In you, O LORD, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. 2 In your
justice rescue me, and deliver me; incline your ear to me, and save me. 3 Be my
rock of refuge, a stronghold to give me safety, for you are my rock and my
fortress. 4 O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked. (R) 5 For you are
my hope, O Lord; my trust, O God, from my youth. 6 On you I depend from birth;
from my mother’s womb you are my strength. (R) 16 I will treat of the mighty
works of the LORD; O God, I will tell of your singular justice. 17 O God, you
have taught me from my youth, and till the present I proclaim your wondrous
deeds. To top it all, we need to realize that God is the Primary Agent of Evangelization. It is not about us but about God. He is the Chief Architect of it all. God is indeed at work in us always but we also have to cooperate at every given opportunity. As told by the gospel today 2 people were both given a warning by God as to their upcoming betrayal and denial and eventually did as foretold. They could have taken the warning seriously and decided to do the right thing. Sometimes in our lives we are like that, God is already giving us the people and circumstances that is obviously there to serve our purpose but due to our pride or whatever is holding us back to accept the right thing we are misled and choose to be stubborn. It is good to know that no matter how many times we fall God in His goodness never gives up on us. As we all know today, Peter who betrayed Jesus 3x is now the head of the Church just because He decided to repair the damage and repent. Let us always choose to do the right thing and not remain in our stubborn ways because there is always a bright future ahead of us in God the Almighty. If we are to measure the tears we have shed in our lifetime we may all come to the conclusion that it could fill up a full bucket. Peter also shed tears when he denied Jesus. “...He denied a third time; Jesus looked at him and he wept very bitterly.” (Lk 22,62). It gives a feeling of great consolation knowing that Peter was able to rise up from his denials of Jesus. He even became the first Pope of the Catholic Church and is considered as the rock where the Church is built. We, too in our weaknesses and denials of Christ can still rise up from it as we shed tears of repentance and gather all our strength to follow the example of Peter. We can not deny the fact that we are no different from Peter and Judas in our denials and betrayals. But we always have a choice, we can either choose to be Peter or Judas Iscariot. We can either rise up from our denials or choose to die in our betrayals. Amen. Hallelujah!
John 13:21-33, 36-38
21 Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply
troubled and testified, “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
22 The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant. 23 One
of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, was reclining at Jesus’ side. 24 So
Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant. 25 He leaned back against
Jesus’ chest and said to him, “Master, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is
the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.” So he dipped the
morsel and [took it and] handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. 27
After he took the morsel, Satan entered him. So Jesus said to him, “What you
are going to do, do quickly.” 28 Now none of those reclining at table realized
why he said this to him. 29 Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag,
Jesus had told him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or to give something to
the poor. 30 So he took the morsel and left at once. And it was night. 31 When
he had left, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified
in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself,
and he will glorify him at once. 33 My children, I will be with you only a
little while longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, ‘Where I go
you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you. 36 Simon Peter said to him, “Master,
where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going, you cannot follow
me now, though you will follow later.” 37 Peter said to him, “Master, why can’t
I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will
you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow
before you deny me three times.”
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