03 August 2012 Friday

Modern-Day Prophets

 

“And not listening to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I send you constantly though you do not obey them.” – Jeremiah 26:5

 

Terry prioritized gimmicks, girls and “good time” instead of books and assignments. His friend, Andy, admonished him to take his studies seriously. Terry just laughed and even ridiculed his friend and called him a killjoy. Eventually, Terry dropped out of college because of poor grades. He should have listened to Andy.

Marie’s mother constantly reminded her not to get into a relationship yet because she wasn’t ready. She insisted that she was mature enough and carried on with her affair. She ended getting pregnant out of wedlock. She quit school. A few years later, she separated from her husband.

We all have people around us who tell us what we don’t like to hear. God uses them for our own good. Their words may ring badly in our ears but most often, they are what we really need. Whether it’s a priest’s homily, a reflection we’ve read, a parent’s advice or a friend’s warning, we need to heed the truth in what they speak. Most often, the right thing to do is uncomfortable or would hurt us, but it’s necessary.

Pay attention to the people God sends to you. Listen and obey. Jun Asis (mabuting.balita@gmail.com)

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REFLECTION:

Who are the people whom God sends to me? What are they saying?

 

Lord, may I discern and follow the message You give through the people I meet. Amen.

 

St. Peter Julian Eymard, pray for us.

 

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1^ST READING  

 

The Temple is destroyed according to the prophecy of Jeremiah. It is amazing how we keep repeating the same mistakes of our forefathers. We tend to forget all that happened in the past at that moment. The Scriptures are full of God calling His people to repentance but they rarely listen to the call. It comes again and again. Come to think of it, the same is true in the Church today.

 

Jeremiah 26:1-9

1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, this message came from the Lord: 2 Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the house of the Lord and speak to the people of all the cities of Judah who come to worship in the house of the Lord; whatever I command you, tell them, and omit nothing. 3 Perhaps they will listen and turn back, each from his evil way, so that I may repent of the evil I have planned to inflict upon them for their evil deeds. 4 Say to them: Thus says the Lord: If you disobey me, not living according to the law I placed before you 5 and not listening to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I send you constantly though you do not obey them, 6 I will  treat this house like Shiloh, and make this the city which all the nations of the earth shall refer to when cursing another. 7 Now the priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the Lord. 8 When Jeremiah finished speaking all that the Lord bade him speak to all the people, the priests and prophets laid hold of him, crying, “You must be put to death! 9 Why do you prophesy in the name of the Lord: ‘This house shall be like Shiloh,’ and ‘This city shall be desolate and deserted’?” And all the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

 

P S A L M

 

Psalm 69:5, 8-10, 14

R: Lord, in your great love, answer me.

4 [5] Those outnumber the hairs of my head who hate me without cause. Too many for my strength are they who wrongfully are my enemies. Must I restore what I did not steal? (R) 7 [8] Since for your sake I bear insult, and shame covers my face. 8 [9] I have become an outcast to my brothers, a stranger to my mother’s sons, 9 [10] because zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me. (R) 13 [14] But I pray to you, O Lord, for the time of your favor, O God! In your great kindness answer me with your constant help. (R)

 

GOSPEL

 

It was difficult for Jesus to work in the provincial area where He grew up. This is because people knew Him as a kid and could not accept that He was anything other than the ”kid they grew up with.“ The same still holds true today – and sometimes it seems that our families are the hardest to evangelize. Perhaps the only real response here is to live the Gospel as best we can and hope that by the witness of our life we will cause those who know us to reflect upon their own response to God.

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

The word of the Lord remains forever; this is the word that has been proclaimed to you.

 

Matthew 13:54-58

54 Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? 55 Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56 Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this?” 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house.” 58 And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.

1st READING 2nd READING

think: Let us live the Gospel as best we can and hope that by the witness of our lives we will cause those who know us to reflect upon their own response to God.2n

 

d 

 

LISTENING AND OBEYING

 

It does not make too much sense in English, but in Latin, the two words “listening” and “obeying” have very much in common. The root word of obedience is “audire” (ob-audire), which really means to listen. For one to obey, one first has to listen, and not the other way around.

Jose Rizal’s famous story about a young moth, who refused to heed the advice of mother moth to never get too close to the burning candle, illustrates clearly this close connection between listening and obeying. The little moth “wouldn’t hear any of it,” as native English speakers would say. In other words, it disobeyed its mother’s well-meaning warnings and pleadings. True to its mother’s worst fears, the young moth got too close to the fire and got singed. Disobedience was the cause of the young moth’s undoing.

The story strikes close to our own personal experience. I remember my grandmother decades ago who never tired of repeating the same lines over and over again. In so many different ways, what she told us kids then all boiled down to one and only one thing: heed the teachings and reminders of elders.

The Lord today, speaking through Jeremiah, does as much. He reminds us basically to “listen to the words of my servants the prophets.” But like the hapless moth, we tend not to “hear any of it,” and “not obey the prophets.”

Rizal’s famous allegory does have a lesson to teach us. But God’s Word does more than teach. It convicts, even if it means giving us a little warning of the consequences if we don’t heed it. But there, too, is a high price to pay for heeding the warnings. Obedience for the moth meant not getting close enough, and not enjoying the warm glow of the burning candle. Obedience for Jeremiah translated into a lot of scorn heaped on him by the very people he was trying to help. Doing as God would have us do leads us into a possible life of undeserved pain, even as it brings us indescribable joy and fulfillment. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Do you have experiences of disobedience? What were the consequences?

 

Grant me an obedient heart, Lord, that I may be able to listen to You and fulfill Your will for me.

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02 August 2012 Thursday

The Potter’s Signature

 

“You are in my hands just like clay in the potter’s hands.” – Jeremiah 18:6

 

Hidden in a small town in my province Quezon is a quaint potter’s garden. It’s the studio cum shop of well-known ceramic artist Ugu Bigyan. This beautiful setting showcases his high quality pieces that are sought by the elite and ritzy establishments like Aman Pulo.

I had the chance to drool over the exquisite, expensive pottery he makes when I interviewed him for an article. Ugu told me that he is very strict about the quality of his work. Before putting pottery in the kiln, he checks each piece and signs it when his standards are met.

When we come into this earth, we are not yet finished pottery that has been fired in the oven. Our lives are like unbaked clay. Each experience, each difficulty is God’s way of molding us to perfection. When we fall, fail or falter, God turns the wheel to recreate us into finely crafted pottery. But we have to be pliable enough for Him to mold. When we surrender everything to God, He will make of us a wonderful creation. In the end, after a life well-lived, we will bear the Master Potter’s signature.  Lella Santiago (mirellasantiago@yahoo.com)

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REFLECTION:

Am I supple enough for God to mold in His image? Or has disobedience hardened my heart?

 

Take me and mold me, Lord, until I am worthy to bear Your mark.

 

St. Eusebius of Vercelli, bishop, pray for us.

 

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1^ST READING  

 

A number of hymns have been based on this text that talk about choosing to go to the house of the potter and allow Him, the Lord, to shape and reshape our lives according to His will. Sin deforms the life God has created and we constantly need to return to Him and ask Him to repair the damage we have done through our ill-considered choices.

 

Jeremiah 18:1-6

1 This word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 Rise up, be off to the potter’s house; there I will give you my message. 3 I went down to the potter’s house and there he was, working at the wheel. 4 Whenever the object of clay which he was making turned out badly in his hand, he tried again, making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased. 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 Can I not do to you, house of Israel, as this potter has done? says the Lord. Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.

 

P S A L M

 

Psalm 146:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R: Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.

1 Praise the Lord, O my soul; 2 I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God while I live. (R) 3 Put not your trust in princes, in the son of men, in whom there is no salvation. 4 When his spirit departs he returns to his earth; on that day his plans perish. (R) 5 Blessed he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord, his God, 6 who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them. (R)

 

GOSPEL

 

Just as lives will be sorted on Judgment Day, so do we have to sort through our experiences every day and decide which are worth keeping and which we should discard. There are good and bad influences in the world. It is our responsibility to select the good ones and use these as the foundation upon which we build our lives. If we choose the wrong ones we can be sure that there will be problems later.

 

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Open our hearts, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son.

 

Matthew 13:47-53

47 Jesus said to his disciples: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. 48 When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. 49 Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” 51 “Do you understand all these things?” They answered, “Yes.” 52 And he replied, “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.” 53 When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.

GOSPEL PSALM

TODAY’S

think: Just as lives will be sorted on Judgment Day, so do we have to sort through our experiences every day and decide which are worth keeping and which we should discard.

 

 

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LIKE CLAY IN THE HAND OF A POTTER

 

Obedience is not a very popular virtue. By nature, we are self-willed beings, endowed with the gift of free will and intellect. These two gifts make us humans exactly like angels, who can always say no to God, like Satan did by crying out, “Non serviam!” (I will not serve!) For all Jeremiah’s initial protestations, he was basically an obedient man. He gave in to the Lord’s bidding and obeyed. This is not to say, though, that it had all been easy for him. It took some time for the reluctant prophet to reach the point of perfect obedience.

The Philippines has more than 64 different varieties of bamboos. The most familiar ones are those used to build nipa and bamboo huts. These varieties can be used to build posts, walls, flooring and even roofing. A whole hut can be made entirely of bamboo and nothing else. Bamboos can also be made into makeshift bridges. They swing and bend with every step but they don’t snap. Pliant and supple, they adapt and give way seemingly to the weight but never break. Other sturdier trees may succumb to strong typhoons, but not the bamboo trees. Even miniature bamboos, found only atop Mt. Pulag in Northern Philippines, are among the few plants that survive the harsh and windy conditions of the country’s second highest peak. The secret? They bow and bend and seemingly submit to the external forces bearing down on them.

We can learn a lesson or two from the lowly bamboo. Their submission, their obedience, if you will, to external forces, enable them to come out of the ordeal steady and strong. Sturdier trees that put up a stiff resistance end up getting broken. Their strength eventually becomes their downfall. As I grow older, obedience becomes even harder. Pride and years of experience tend to get the better of me. Jeremiah’s example is something I sorely need. I need to learn to be like clay in the hands of the potter. Like Saint Dominic Savio did, who told Don Bosco, his mentor: “I will be the cloth; you be the tailor!” Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: Do you find it difficult to submit yourself to authority? Learn from the bamboo tree.

 

Jesus, mold me into a loving and obedient child of Yours so that I may be able to fulfill Your mission for me.

 

 

01 August Wednesday

WHY WE DON’T HAVE TO BE SCARED

 

For I am with you, to deliver and rescue you, says the Lord. – Jeremiah 15:20

 

When Francis was only four years old, we watched Jurassic Park I. I was worried about the scary parts of the movie. Especially when a ferocious Tyrannosaurus Rex bites the bald lawyer sitting on the potty. How morbid. So right before the T. Rex chomped half of the lawyer’s body, I covered my son’s eyes. He protested, “I want to see that, Daddy. It’s the fun part.”

After the movie, I asked him, “Weren’t you scared?” He said, “I watched the movie before. I know the ending.”

He knows the ending that’s why he wasn’t scared.

Friend, are you worried about your problems? Are you anxious over what will happen tomorrow?

Listen. God knows the last chapter of your life. And from what I hear, it’s very good. Glorious even. You have a happy ending.

You may be going through tough times now but fear not. Believe that you’ll be stronger. Your faith will be purer. Your heart will be bigger. And you’ll be more blessed than ever.

Because the best is yet to come. Bo Sanchez(bosanchez@kerygmafamily.com)

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REFLECTION:

Do problems obscure your vision from the  blessings wrapped inside them?

 

Lord, may I always approach life’s difficulties with faith and trust in You, and with an expectant heart for the blessings that are wrapped in them.

 

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, bishop and doctor of the Church, pray for us.

 

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1^ST READING  

 

Jeremiah has discovered that being a prophet means to be a man of contention and dispute. It means life as a political outcast as the messages he brings are not welcome. This is the life of a prophet and it is still the same today. The Church herself sets an example in this regard when she refuses to bow to the demands of society and change her moral stance on various issues.

 

Jeremiah 15:10, 16-21

10 Woe to me, mother, that you gave me birth! a man of strife and contention to all the land! I neither borrow nor lend, yet all curse me. 16 When I found your words, I devoured them; they became my joy and the happiness of my heart, because I bore your name, O Lord, God of hosts. 17 I did not sit celebrating in the circle of merrymakers; under the weight of your hand I sat alone because you filled me with indignation. 18 Why is my pain continuous, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? You have indeed become for me a treacherous brook, whose waters do not abide! 19 Thus the Lord answered me: If you repent, so that I restore you, in my presence you shall stand; if you bring forth the precious without the vile, you shall be my mouthpiece. Then it shall be they who turn to you, and you shall not turn to them; 20 and I will make you toward this people a solid wall of brass. Though they fight against you, they shall not prevail, for I am with you, to deliver and rescue you, says the Lord. 21 I will free you from the hand of the wicked, and rescue you from the grasp of the violent.

 

P S A L M

 

Psalm 59:2-3, 4, 10-11, 17, 18

R: God is my refuge on the day of distress.

1 [2] Rescue me from my enemies, O my God; from my adversaries defend me. 2 [3] Rescue me from evildoers; from bloodthirsty men save me. (R) 3 [4] For behold, they lie in wait for my life; mighty men come together against me. Not for any offense or sin of mine, O Lord. (R) 9 [10] O my strength! for you I watch; for you, O God, are my stronghold, 10 [11] As for my God, may his mercy go before me; may he show me the fall of my foes. (R) 16 [17] But I will sing of your strength and revel at dawn in your mercy; you have been my stronghold, my refuge in the day of distress. (R) 17 [18] O my strength! your praise will I sing; for you, O God,

are my stronghold, my merciful God! (R)

 

GOSPEL

 

We need to ascertain the value of an article before we put a price on it. Eternal life is a gift and yet we are asked to pay the price of our mortal life to receive it. There is a mystery here that we wil l never understand. Suffice it to say, none of the good things in life are free. Let us remember that eternal life is a priceless gift; no price is too high for us to pay in following Jesus as His disciple.

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

I call you my friends, says the Lord, for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.

 

Matthew 13:44-46

44 Jesus said to his disciples: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. 46 When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”

 

think: Eternal life is a gift and yet we are asked to pay the price of our mortal life to receive it.

 

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ON ACCOUNT OF God’S WORD

 

I can’t blame Jeremiah for complaining. Everything was thrown at him for speaking out in God’s name. He got condemned for doing what he did not want to do in the first place. Young, inexperienced and unschooled about the ways of the world, he was sent right smack into the fray, to deliver his brand of “prophetic criticizing” and “prophetic energizing.”

I can identify with Jeremiah — been there, done that. I was also young when I tried to organize people against a growing drug menace. I was in the thick of my own version of prophetic criticizing. And just like Jeremiah, I began to feel the heat especially when my prophetic criticizing was translating into prophetic energizing as far as the people were concerned.

I began to realize that words were cheap and human life was even cheaper. I didn’t want to be a mere statistic, felled by a single blow, a possible but eerily probable mute witness to boundless greed and to man’s inhumanity to fellow man. Last year’s brave revelations of a woman who was in the thick of the fight against corruption in high places involving men in uniform reminded me of Jeremiah, of myself, and of the many whose courage did not only go unrewarded but even silenced forever.

My thoughts today go to Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko of Poland. Authorities in his native Poland could not bear his popularity and his effectiveness as a preacher. He was beaten and murdered in 1984, his body dumped in a water reservoir. He was beatified two years ago, in June 2010, with his centenarian mother in attendance.

But what the martyrs and saints had that I didn’t was exactly what Jeremiah also had. Jeremiah devoured God’s Word. Blessed Father Jerzy lived — and died — on the basis of that Word. They all suffered trying to uphold the Word of God. But God is a God of justice. Jeremiah and Jerzy discovered joy and happiness in God’s Word. Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: How do you uphold the Word of God in your life? Or do you even read God’s Word at all?

 

Father God, give me the thirst and the hunger for Your Word and may I live it according to Your will.

 

31 July 2012 Tuesday

I smile

 

“Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.” – Matthew 13:43

 

I was very playful and outgoing as a kid. Being so, I devised a way to pick which kids to befriend when I was in elementary school. I would observe those who talked and laughed a lot and readily conclude that they were the best friends for me because they “shone.”

But as I grew up, I learned that not “all that glitters is gold.” Those who smile at and laugh with me aren’t necessarily the ones who turn out to be my best friends. Presently, I reckon most of my best friends are those whom I met when things were going downhill in my life. They were there to cry with me. The brilliance of their character shone ever brighter during those trying times in life.

At 36, I have gained the wisdom that God sees me shine even during my darkest hours. I’m not worried about people judging me just because I don’t always “shine” when I’m in a crowd. I believe that God sees through my heart, and with that thought, I smile. Eugene Cailao (eugenecailao@gmail.com)

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REFLECTION:

“A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are.” (Unknown)

 

Lord, You are the Friend who sticks closer than a brother. Let me be that kind of friend to others, too.

 

St. Ignatius of Loyola, priest, pray for us.

 

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1^ST READING  

 

Metaphorically, God weeps tears of sadness over our sins and incorrigibility when it comes to our refusal to fight sin in our lives. It is up to us to decide whether or not we are serious about following His call. If we want God and the Holy Spirit to make a difference in our lives then it will be up to us to decide whether we are committed to those goals. God is not really interested in working closely with those who are not committed to Him.

 

Jeremiah 14:17-22

17 Let my eyes stream with tears day and night, without rest, over the great destruction which overwhelms the virgin daughter of my people, over her incurable wound. 18 If I walk out into the field, look! those slain by the sword; if I enter the city, look! those consumed by hunger. Even the prophet and the priest forage in a land they know not. 19 Have you cast Judah off completely? Is Zion loathsome to you? Why have you struck us a blow that cannot be healed? We wait for peace, to no avail; for a time of healing, but terror comes instead. 20 We recognize, O Lord, our wickedness, the guilt of our fathers; that we have sinned against you. 21 For your name’s sake spurn us not, disgrace not the throne of your glory; remember your covenant with us, and break it not. 22 Among the nations’ idols is there any that gives rain? Or can the mere heavens send showers? Is it not you alone, O Lord, our God, to whom we look? You alone have done all these things.

 

P S A L M

 

Psalm 79:8, 9, 11, 13

R: For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.

8 Remember not against us the iniquities of the past; may your compassion quickly come to us, for we are brought very low. (R) 9 Help us, O God our savior, because of the glory of your name; deliver us and pardon our sins for your name’s sake. (R) 11 Let the prisoners’ sighing come before you; with your great power free those doomed to death. 13 Then we, your people and the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; through all generations we will declare your praise. (R)

 

GOSPEL

 

It is difficult to weed among certain plants especially if the root systems of the weeds and the plant get entangled under the ground. The only solution is to allow the weed to grow alongside the wheat and separate the two at harvest. This may not be the ideal solution but sometimes it is the only practical one. The same can be true with the way evil and sin gets into the fabric of our lives as disciples of Jesus.

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live for ever.

 

Matthew 13:36-43

36 Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37 He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, 38 the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the Evil One, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his Kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

 

think: God is not really interested in working closely with those who are not committed to Him.

 

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OF STORIES AND PARABLES

 

Storytelling sessions are “in” these days in children’s museums and libraries. They invite celebrities to read the stories. Modesty aside, I must have been a good storyteller in grade school. I was asked to represent my school in a storytelling contest. I remember myself so engrossed with mastering the Legend of Tuko. But that’s another story.

Jesus, apart from being the most eloquent preacher who ever lived in this world, is the greatest storyteller of all time. How can He captivate such huge crowds numbering thousands?

Jesus never lacked in dynamism. He was a man ahead of His age. He used parables and stories that are relevant to His listeners. They understood very well the culture of farming and sowing, of baking and shepherding sheep, or storing goods and burning the rejects.

And the Apostles would receive more. He would explain to them the meaning of the parables. He talked about their life and destiny. Jesus also talked about His life. In explaining to the Apostles the parable of the weeds, He referred to the sower as Himself, the Son of Man. The devil is the enemy who placed the weeds. The harvest is the end-time when the weeds will be thrown into the fiery furnace and the good harvest, the wheat, will be gathered by the angels.

The Apostles may have listened to Jesus’ explanation with the enthusiasm of little children. Jesus explained to them everything. He inspired them to seek God’s salvation by remaining the good seeds that they were, to soar high literally to the heavens and be one with God forever.

They listened to Him intently because they must also tell and retell the story of Jesus and everything that He preached. They would actually do it when the Lord has returned to the Father and they start building the Kingdom of God here on earth. Guided by the Holy Spirit, they did it with so much passion and dedication. They had Jesus, the greatest storyteller and explainer, as their inspiration. Fr. Erick Y. Santos, SFO

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: How do you tell and retell the story of Jesus to others?

 

Lord, cleanse my heart that my mouth may speak about You and You alone.

 

 

 

30 July 2012 Monday

ENJOY THE PROCESS

“It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows up, it is the biggest of all plants.” – Matthew 13:32

My wife and I got involved in the distribution of agriculture inputs to farmers and farm owners. Because of this, we witnessed first-hand the process of planting and harvesting of rice and corn, studied how to increase yields of mango trees and how to extend the productive life of high vegetable plantations. It was a learning experience!

Given the exposure we’ve had on these various crops, I came to one simple yet important life lesson. Harvest doesn’t come in the same season as sowing. Nature has a process of growth. For rice alone, it takes more than 100 days from seed preparation, soil preparation, seed bed planting, seed transplanting, fertilization, harvest and rice milling. This doesn’t even include the difficulties the farmer has to face when drought or typhoons set in.

Today, the Lord points out that all big things that are of value started small. They all had to go through a maturing process. This takes time, work, patience and, most of all, God’s grace.

So the next time you feel “small” in your faith, know that God’s process is working on you. Instead of fighting it, enjoy the process! Ariel Driz (adriz77@yahoo.com)

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REFLECTION:

All worthwhile things take time. Am I enjoying God’s process in my life?

Lord Jesus, thank You for reminding me that You are not done with me yet… that everything is a process of growth. Grant me the grace to be patient so that I may be of great use for Your kingdom. Amen.

St. Peter Chrysologus, bishop and doctor of the Church, pray for us.

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1^ST READING  

Jeremiah uses prophetic action a number of times in his ministry. I have seen it done a few times in prayer meetings I have attended and it is a very effective way to get a point across to an audience. We live in a very visually oriented world so perhaps it would be a good thing to pray for an increase in this gift for the sake of the Church’s mission.

Jeremiah 13:1-11

1 The Lord said to me: Go buy yourself a linen loincloth; wear it on your loins, but do not put it in water. 2 I bought the loincloth, as the Lord commanded, and put it on. 3 A second time the word of the Lord came to me thus: 4 Take the loincloth which you bought and are wearing, and go now to the Parath; there hide it in a cleft of the rock. 5 Obedient to the Lord’s command, I went to the Parath and buried the loincloth. 6 After a long interval, the Lord said to me: Go now to the Parath and fetch the loincloth which I told you to hide there. 7 Again I went to the Parath, sought out and took the loincloth from the place where I had hid it. But it was rotted, good for nothing! 8 Then the message came to me from the Lord: 9 Thus says the Lord: So also I will allow the pride of Judah to rot, the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This wicked people who refuse to obey my words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts, and follow strange Gods to serve and adore them, shall be like this loincloth which is good for nothing. 11 For, as close as the loincloth clings to a man’s loins, so had I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the Lord; to be my people, my renown, my praise, my beauty. But they did not listen.

P S A L M

Deuteronomy 32:18-19, 20, 21

R: You have forgotten God who gave you birth.

18 You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you, you forgot the God who gave you birth. 19 When the Lord saw this, he was filled with loathing and anger toward his sons and daughters. (R) 20 “I will hide my face from them,” he said, “and see what will then become of them. What a fickle race they are, sons with no loyalty in them! (R) 21 “Since they have provoked me with their ‘no-God’ and angered me with their vain idols, I will provoke them with a ‘no-people’; with a foolish nation I will anger them.” (R)

GOSPEL

It is amazing to see how the yeast causes the dough to expand. This is the image spoken of here when Matthew writes about how the Gospel truths should be leavening society. That is, society should become more “Christified” due to the living witness of Christians at work in the world.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

The Father willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

Matthew 13:31-35

31 Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds. “The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. 32 It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches. ” 33 He spoke to them another parable. “The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.” 34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, 35 to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.”

LIST

think: Society should become more “Christified” due to the living witness of Christians at work in the world.

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SMALL SEED, GREAT WONDER

It has always been a crisis for me to think of what souvenirs to bring home to my friends and parishioners whenever I go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. My baggage is usually overweight many times over. I have psoriasis, so I need to buy Dead Sea products aplenty. They yield great results for my sensitive skin. Imagine the heavy soap packages, the mud, cream — plus the rosaries, crosses and other Holy Land souvenirs that I would have to bring home. It’s the same story each time I do a pilgrimage.

Four years ago, I thought of buying the lightest yet equally meaningful souvenirs for my friends. I saw small crosses being sold by the hundred per bundle, which was pretty light. I toyed with the idea of repackaging the crosses in small plastic bags at home with maybe a dried olive leaf or some soil from Tierra Sancta.

Then I saw the mustard seeds being sold at the souvenir shop. Voila! A cross and a few mustard seeds in each plastic bag for my friends. And how they loved it! It seemed like a foretaste of heaven for them. To think thay they were mere seeds.

Small wonder that Jesus thought of the small and what seemed to be the most unnoticeable of things. But that’s how the kingdom of Heaven works. What seems to be the littlest can grow into an enormous and sturdy shrub. We are men and women of little faith. But even the littlest of faith, when nourished well and consistently sprinkled with God’s Word and sacraments, would turn out to be an indestructible tower of strength. We may have small faith, but when we allow Jesus to consume the small seeds of faith in our hearts, it would sprout mightily and become the largest and most fortified of shrubs.

It is important that we surrender even the smallest of faith and belief in Him. In the end, we will witness marvelous growth and immeasurable grace abounding. In spite of our smallness, we will continue to grow in the Spirit. Fr. Erick Y. Santos, SFO

REFLECTION QUESTION: How do you value small things and people?

Lord, in my smallness and nothingness, nourish me and help me grow.

29 July 2012 Sunday

keep the peace

 

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called. – Ephesians 4: 2-4

 

Sixty leaders of various committees from different provinces gathered the day before the celebration of the feast of the Blessed Mother. Final instructions were being given as well as food and gasoline allowances. That’s when the trouble began. What started as a peaceful meeting suddenly became an unruly crowd. People began to murmur and complain why others were getting more than them.

The overall coordinator stood up on stage, waiting for the noise to die down. When the room was still, he spoke softly, quoting the verse above.

It took a few seconds before the miracle happened. Then people stood up, clapped their hands vigorously and started hugging one another as they cried and laughed at the same time.

Words from an ordinary man would not have pacified their spirits but the words of God brought them back together, instilled peace and united them in their call to serve. Chelle Crisanto (ellehcmaria@yahoo.com)

29

REFLECTION:

“Church isn’t a building. Church is what you do. Church is who you are. Church is the human outworking of the person of Jesus Christ. Let’s not go to Church, let’s be the Church.” (Bridget Willard)

 

Lord, let me be Your instrument of unity.

 

St. Martha, pray for us.

 

 

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1^ST READING  

 

Miracles such as this can not be explained scientifically. What is important here is not the miracle itself but what it indicates about both the one who performs it and the God who empowers it. God chooses to intervene in human history every now and then to remind us that He is present in our lives and to call us to deeper conversion to Him.

 

2 Kings 4:42-44

42 A man came from Baal-shalishah bringing to Elisha, the man of God twenty barely loaves made from the firstfruits, and fresh grain in the ear. Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.” 43 But his servant objected, “How can I set this before a hundred people?” Elisha insisted, “Give it to the people to eat.” For thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and there shall be some left over.’” 44 And when they had eaten, there was some left over, as the Lord had said.

 

P S A L M

 

Psalm 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18

R: The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.

10 Let all your works give you thanks, O Lord, and let your faithful ones bless you. 11 Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might. (R) 15 The eyes of all look hopefully to you, and you give them their food in due season; 16 you open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. (R) 17 The Lord is just in all his ways and holy in all his works. 18 The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. (R)

 

2^ND READING

 

 

Paul uses the language of ”complete selflessness.“ This is indeed a great challenge to us who are more self-focused than otherwise. The Gospels are quite clear that to enter into heaven, we have to learn to die to our own desires and be fully surrendered to God’s will. In obedience to God’s will, we will discover the fullness of life. It may take time for us to realize this truth.

 

Ephesians 4:1-6

1 Brothers and sisters: I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, 3 striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: 4 one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

 

GOSPEL

 

The feeding miracle precedes the Eucharistic discourse in John’s Gospel. Perhaps John is trying to tell us that just as food nourishes us physically, it is the Eucharist and the things of the Spirit that nourish our souls. I wonder if we really believe this? If we do not, we will find it next to impossible to understand the central role of the Eucharist in our lives.

 

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

A great prophet has risen in our midst. God has visited his people.

 

John 6:1-15

1 Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee. 2 A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish feast of Passover was near. 5 When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” 6 He said this to test him, because he himself  knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.” 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, 9 “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?” 10 Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. 12 When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” 13 So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. 14 When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” 15 Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

 

think: It is the Eucharist and the things of the Spirit that nourish our souls.

 

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THE MIRACLE OF THE BAON

 

People wanted to follow Jesus even if they had to cross deserts and mountains, even if they would go hungry. But Jesus proves to be more realistic than them. They would go hungry — definitely. Thus, the miracle. But behind the miracle is a boy who had five barley loaves and two fish. He brought provisions for himself. It seems odd that a mere child knew what to do while many other people, older than him, forgot about their needs for such long journeys and stints with Jesus.

We see another simple miracle here: a boy who was ready to let go of his own bread and fish so that others may not go hungry. Surely, he must have been listening to Jesus and lived His teaching. The miracle needed to start somewhere, somehow, from somebody who had bread and fish. I don’t know how the Apostles convinced the child to give all that he had at the moment. But I’m sure he happily did it with the disposition of a child. Jesus has always been fascinated by children. They’re pure and simple, kindhearted, selfless, obedient, faithful, trusting.

He believed that he could part from his baon (packed meal) knowing that Jesus will provide for him. It took a young, simple and selfless individual like him for a great miracle to happen. His selflessness and willingness to share is a miracle in itself. Not all people would do the same.

And it happened. About five thousand got their fill of bread and fish. It must have been one great picnic. And when they gathered the leftover, 12 wicker baskets of fragments were collected. Jesus gave them more than they needed. His love is simply overflowing — just like what happened in the days of Elisha when a hundred people were fed and some leftovers were collected. God’s generosity remains the same yesterday, today and forever.

Today, we remember the great miracle performed by Jesus and overflowing generosity and sensitivity to our needs. We also remember the boy who shared his own bread and fish. We don’t know his name, but we hope to find him in our midst — today. Fr. Erick Y. Santos, SFO

 

REFLECTION QUESTION: Are you willing to share whatever you have for the sake of the greater good?

 

Lord, help me to discover the joy of sharing and giving.