TAKE IT LITERALLY

In today's 1st reading the disciples of Jesus saw a paralyzed man healed and a dead woman raised up. In those days the followers of Jesus were being persecuted and they surely needed that kind of boost. Nowadays, we have the richness of this glorious background and enjoying the freedom to exercise our faith in Jesus. We need God and His presence in our lives to quiet the storms we are experiencing and receive peace. In Jesus we find forgiveness and salvation. He gives Himself to us to have the fullness of life. He is the Good Shepherd. He does not possess us but wants to have a relationship with us. He knows us individually and intimately. We are made in God's image and have a body and soul. This reality exists and we have to know ourselves in a deeper level not just in the material alone but the spiritual component that images God. Only in the light of Jesus can we find ourselves. By looking through this lens that invite us to this spiritual knowing and live as the Lord has lived. Amen. Hallelujah!

Acts 9:31-42

... “Tabitha, rise up.” She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up. 41 He gave her his hand and raised her up, and when he had called the holy ones and the widows, he presented her alive...

When we hear of amazing stories we can not contain our excitement. May we be always mindful of it at all times and filled with this kind of emotion in all circumstances. We all have sinned and bore the guilt in us. We have all been destined to die but Jesus took upon Himself all our sins and paid it in full. He made an offering of Himself for our sake. The least we could do is to give honor to this Holy Sacrifice. Let us cloth ourselves with the blood which Jesus shed for us in Mount Calvary, let us not forget what Jesus did for us so that God's mercy will always be upon us. We have to endure to the end and be found deserving of a great blessing that awaits us. The ignorance of our faith is ignorance about Jesus. We may sometimes think that evangelization is just work for the priests and the religious. It is not limited to them but anyone who is baptized should take on this responsibility. JFK once said, "Here on earth, God's work must truly be our own." Nothing should ever stop us from being part of the work of God. God made man in His own image and likeness. (Gen 1:26) In this context we need to define personhood well and know the perils of limited definition. It could be classified into 2 definitions, nominal and real. Nominal definition of personhood is decided by man. It is approaching something that we don't know but we already have the answer. We make decisions and play God. The dangers of this definition of a person are:

1. nominal- when we deny to identify a person as a real person. Example is abortion, when doctors deny the fact that at the moment of conception a person already exists.

2. real but limited - We do not deny but identify them as persons but with lesser worth like the sick and terminally ill. Just because they are old, weak and sick they deserve to die as in the case of euthanasia.

3. full and real but limited - Kills people as in the Holocaust.

The whole principle involved here is discovery and deciding. When our approach is discovery then we are being led to the events in our life with a sense of total surrender, trust and faith in the Lord's Providence for the realization of things that are unseen and hoped for. God may not fully reveal and present us with a surprise but we maintain full confidence in a God who brought us to wherever we are right now. In deciding, our approach is a lot different since we already have an answer for something that we don't know yet. It boils down to the fact that we think we know too much but we don't. We end up playing God. We need to remain as man and allow God to be God of our life. When man becomes god, we lose everything because we are not God. We have to realize the impact in our life of discovery versus deciding.

We should ascribe to the real definition of personhood. It answers the question what, how and what is it meant to be. Our approach in life to achieve faith and righteousness is by discovery and through an authentic Christian life. Discovery can be best defined in the sense that we are open to the intention and purpose of God for us. With a seeking and expectant faith we should allow God to lead us in discovering what is ahead of us and prepared by God. The approach should be in a manner of discovering what God's intention is and respecting it. We've heard of several occasions when people are spared from death or any tragic or unpleasant event because they missed the bus, woke up late, got stuck in traffic and something just came up which delayed them. I guess, it has happened to us too, somehow. After feeling annoyed and impatient because of that incident, we just found out that what appeared to be a nuisance and a problem turned out to be a blessing. It will always be good to undergo trials and hardships in life and remain steadfast in the Lord for everything will pay off in the end. Not a single thing that we've been through for the glory of God will ever be in vain. It is only right that we give all glory, honor and praise to God. We need not wait and see any longer for it is in our very own lives that God wants us to start paying attention to in order to make a return for all the good he has done. What Jesus has done for all of us is the ultimate sacrifice of love ever known in the entire history of mankind. It is impossible for us to repay what He has done but with hearts full of gratitude we can follow what the psalm reading today is telling us. It is only right and fitting that we honor our vows and promises.  This shows how grateful, confident and assured we are of the Lord’s goodness. It is only right and fitting that we give 100% loyalty to God who deserves more than all the praises we can give. Let us cloth ourselves with the blood which Jesus shed for us in Mount Calvary, let us not forget what Jesus did for us so that God's mercy will always be upon us. The blood that marked the houses of the Jews during the Passover spared them from death. We, as true believers and followers of Christ had been marked with the Most Efficacious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is really good that without us making a way, He was the One who made the way. No amount of thank you will ever suffice to what God has done for all of us. This and only this should we always have in mind, the least we could do is to always put God first in everything we do. Let Him become our motivation and inspiration knowing that He shed His blood for our sake. We may look different, strange and queer for some because of our intense desire to please God in return for all the good that He has done for us. It may still be imperfect or could be unbecoming if based on the standards of some but we must continuously strive to do our best to pay reverence, homage and loyalty to the one and only Supreme Lord of all in the presence of all his people at all cost in the best way we can. We have to feel the abounding joy and peace in our heart as we remind ourselves of the many promises of God that we have been patiently waiting for to be fulfilled. God is going to fulfill all His promises this easter season. It should give us renewed strength and courage to confidently stand up and remain steadfast in His love against all odds. We can be a people radiating with goodness that others can see the contrast. We can choose modesty, chastity and purity over the values that the world tries to influence us with. We should be able to know our definition of happiness and love and be the person God has made us to be before the world defines it for us. In doing so we can face God on that day with faith and enter the ark of salvation into His heavenly kingdom. Amen. Hallelujah!

Psalm 116:12-13, 14-15, 16-17

R: How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me?

12 How shall I make a return to the LORD for all the good he has done for me? 13 The cup of salvation I will take up, and I will call upon the name of the LORD. (R) 15 Precious in the eyes of the LORD is the death of his faithful ones. 16 O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your handmaid; you have loosed my bonds. (R) 17 To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving, and I will call upon the name of the LORD.

Some things do not always come easy. There are things that we might find hard to accept and believe unless we are totally convinced of it. So how do we become totally convinced of something? We must be able to witness it and come to a decision that it is proven and tested. There is a need to make use of our faculties in order to achieve this. The nature of Jesus’ death on Calvary is a sacrifice. All Christians recognize this sacrifice as a mystery. That Jesus offered His life on the cross as a supreme sacrifice but most Christians don’t realize how difficult it would have been for 1^st century Jewish Christians to come to that conclusion. Why? If we were there on Calvary on Good Friday even the most devout Jewish disciples would have been unable to describe that experience as a sacrifice because for them there’s really nothing more to it than a Roman execution. It took place outside of the walls of Jerusalem, far from the place where there were no burnt offerings, odors and no priests and thus there is no sacrifice. And yet in one generation all Christians came to conclude that indeed what Jesus suffered on the cross was the supreme sacrifice. How did they reach such a conclusion? Only by looking at Good Friday in a light of what Jesus did on Maundy Thursday. When He instituted the Eucharist He didn’t simply celebrate the feast of the Passover He established the Passover of the New Covenant and it was more than just words. He took bread and said, this is my body which is given up for you and then he took the chalice and spoke about how this blood of the new and everlasting covenant will be poured out for the remission of sins do this in remembrance of me. Was this just a rhetoric and ritual or is there a reality and truth to what Jesus said and did? The proof that Jesus really gave us His body and allowed his blood to be poured out for the remission of sins is precisely given to us there on the cross. But the nature of Jesus’ death on the cross is illuminated as a sacrifice only by retracing and looking at it in the light of the Passover of the new covenant. The Eucharist and Calvary are inseparable.  There are 2 sides to the same sacrifice. Jesus shows us that in His death He did not lose His life for in the Eucharist He already made His life a gift of love. This love is what conquers death and the conquest of death is what occurs on Good Friday. As Catholics we have a lot to teach other Christians who do not understand the mystery of the Mass. For indeed it’s the Eucharist that illuminates the mystery of Jesus’ death as a sacrifice just as Jesus’ death shows us that the Eucharist is more than just mere ritual but is the mystery of Jesus high priestly act of self giving love.  Sometimes we reach a point in our lives when we experience so much trials and hardships in life that makes us doubt and lead us to question God. We better be convinced and not falter knowing that God is able to fulfill all His promises. In this day's gospel, Jesus asked Peter if he wanted to leave, may we also find ourselves saying these same words that were professed by Peter. We should carefully look back and examine our own lives. And very often this is what I always hear people say especially Christians who have a big faith in God. At hindsight we come up with a better understanding of the things that have already occurred and could come up with the best judgment in relation to the things that are happening. I believe that God has given us enough proof and evidence for us to be totally convinced and believe. The only question lies if we are willing to not just profess the same words of Peter in today's gospel but really believe, act on it, find the courage to live it through and hold on until the end. The gospel for today is a continuation of the Bread of Life discourse which is the heart of the gospel of John. There are many words of Jesus in the bible where we are not supposed to take literally but rather figuratively. His words that spoke of Himself as the Gate, Door and the like are titles attributed to Him that are meant to be taken figuratively. The Bread of Life should be understood literally and sacramentally. If we are to read the previous gospel from John we would see that Jesus makes a noticeable shift and used the verb "eats", "drinks" and "feeds". The reaction of His followers in today's gospel and in the previous explain and attest to this. Jesus really meant it when He said to eat and drink His blood. It is indeed a very hard teaching that we ought to accept and believe. Take note of John 6:66 (which has the #666)in today's gospel " As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him." We need to be clear of this truth and be united with Christ in Holy Communion. We must receive with the proper  disposition for this to take effect in our soul. Anyone aware of mortal sin and receives Communion is receiving unworthily. We must receive worthily otherwise we are putting judgment on ourselves as St. Paul says"...whoever eats in an unworthy manner is guilty of profaning our Lord..., he who eats and drinks without discerning brings judgment upon himself..." (1 Corinthians 11:29) We have to receive Christ in a state of grace. According to St. Justin, no one may take part in the Bread and Wine, the Eucharist unless he believes what the Church teaches is true and lives in keeping with what Christ taught. Unworthy Communion is a sacrilege. It outrages God more than all other mortal sins because it attacks not just the 10 Commandments but the Person of Jesus Christ. It is a profanation, crucifies Jesus Christ in our hearts and brings to ourselves chastisement. It is a greater crime than in Mt. Calvary. It imitates and renews the crime of Judas. It is an outward sign of love to God just like the kiss of Judas but inwardly it aims to betray and capture Jesus. It is like leading a hypocritical or "double life". On the other hand if we receive worthily we get to enjoy the effects of Holy Communion. An intimate union with Christ, preserves, increases, renews and multiplies the life of grace received in Baptism.   As in the Parable of the Talents, to one who has more,  more is given. It separates us from sins, strengthens charity or love of God and neighbor, wipes away venial sins, preserves us from future mortal sins and unites to the Mystical Body of Christ. It makes us commit to the poor which relates to what St. John Chrysostom said that if we have already tasted the blood of the Lord then we should be able to recognize our brother and be merciful. We need to have a profound love of the Eucharist and be united and transformed by Holy Communion. It is the root of all holiness. Jesus offered bread and wine and turned it into His own body and blood. The faith required of the believer is more than just being fed physically and satisfied but has to go beyond it. God is humbling Himself daily in the altar in the hands of the priest. As we see bread and wine with bodily eyes we should see it as the Holy Body and Blood, living and true. When we receive the bread and wine turned into the body and blood of Christ during the mass, He becomes a part of us. It is only right that we make ourselves a fitting sanctuary and make the necessary preparation in receiving Him. Amen. Hallelujah!

John 6:60-69

60 Many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” 61 Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you? 62 What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. 65 And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.” 66 As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. 67 Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”