Monday, February 22, 2010: 1Peter 5: 1-4; Matthew 16: 13-19 – The Chair of St. Peter
Who do you say that I am? Who is Jesus Christ to you? This is a very important question every Christian must sincerely answer. Peter’s response to Jesus is not an intellectual response derived from scholarly studies. Peter’s response is that of faith revealed to him by God. That is the reason Jesus says to him, “It is not flesh and blood that has revealed this to you.” Given our knowledge of the Christian faith, it would be easy to give such responses as “the messiah, the savior, the redeemer, the Son of God, etc.” We have learnt all these titles of Jesus in CCD. This is important knowledge. However, do you truly believe that Jesus is your savior? That He is your redeemer? When faced with challenges and difficulties, do you call upon him as your savior? When sick, do you truthfully invite him as the greatest healer? Until you truly understand who Jesus is for you, you can never know his plans for your life. It was after Peter’s confession that he started revealing to them his plans for the journey to Jerusalem and the subsequent persecutions.
I want to invite you to spend some time today and sincerely ask yourself who Jesus is to you. Acknowledge his presence and let him reveal his plans for you.
Prayer:
God our Father, you have revealed yourself to us in the scriptures as the Son of God, the Messiah and the redeemer. It is difficult for us some times to claim you in our lives. Through the Eucharist we share, come into our lives and reveal yourself once more to us and help us to know your plan for us. We absolutely believe that your plan for us is of good. Help us to live according to your plan for our lives. All these we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Saturday, February 20, 2010: Isaiah 58:9b-14; Luke 5:27-32
Our nation is undergoing an enormous economic crisis. Experts say that this crisis is second only to the great depression. It is a crisis that has come about as a result of human greed. It is the greed of those who wanted to make money at all cost and those who wanted to live above their means. As we continue to prepare ourselves for Easter during this season of Lent, it is important to ask ourselves how greedy we are and to rid ourselves of this dangerous spirit in our lives. The first reading of today tells us that amidst the darkness that we are in, the light of God shall shine and overcome our darkness. For this to happen, we must genuinely care for those in need, be sincere in what we say about other people and be forthright in our lives. For too long, we became a selfish society in which we did not care for the least of our brothers and sisters. We took advantage of the vulnerable. This is good time for us to repent not only as individuals but also a nation.
Friday, February 19, 2010: Isaiah 58:1-9a ; Matthew 9:14-15
What is the kind of fasting that the Lord wants? It is easy to give up food, rub our bodies with ashes and yet not change in our ways. One may fast during this season, pray daily, and give to the food cupboard and yet estranged with his family or a family member. God expects more from you during this season. The emphasis should not so much be on what you have given up but what you are doing to further God’s kingdom here on earth. The fast that is pleasing to the Lord is one in which you go out of your way to do things positively: work in the food cupboard, speak to people you have cut off from your life because they are a source of annoyance to you, visit people in prison, help elderly with chores or just visit them, reconcile with those who have hurt you, pray God’s blessings on your enemies.
Thursday, February 18, 2010: Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Luke 9:22-25
Our freedom comes with a choice between life and death, prosperity and doom, blessings and curses. On face value, this looks like a very easy decision to make. It is what follows thereafter that is the problem. If you choose life, prosperity and blessings, then you must follow the commands of the Lord and walk in his ways. As a Christian people, we enjoy these blessings today but they sometimes might not be very obvious to us. I have heard people complain that it is unfair for God to allow someone who throughout his life lived an evil life to repent in his death bed. That is the wrong way of looking at things. Think about all the blessings that person missed throughout his life here on earth. New studies show that regular church attendance accounts for an additional three years of life. Believers in God also tend to recover faster from diseases. When death is eminent as a result of illness, those who believe in God are more peaceful and die a more peaceful death than non-believers. These are some of the blessings for our faith in God.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009: 1 Samuel 1:24-28; Luke 1:46-56
In today’s readings, we hear the stories of two women: Hannah and Mary. In the first reading, Hannah dedicates her son, Samuel to the Lord. In the gospel, Mary rejoices in the fact that she would be the mother of the savior. There are two virtues both women exemplify: humility and gratitude. These two virtues are very much interconnected. A person who is not humble would find it difficult to be grateful. They will see what they own or have achieved solely as their own personal effort. A humble person always knows that what they have or are comes from the Lord and they should be grateful. Both women in today’s gospel were willing to give back to the Lord what they have received from him. Our question for reflection today is, what am I grateful for and what can I give back to the Lord this Christmas?
Monday, December 21, 2009: Zephaniah 3:14-18a; Luke 1:39-45
In today’s gospel, we hear stories of two extra-ordinary women, Mary and Elizabeth. These are women who received a call from the Lord and yet, had to experience great sorrows because of this mission. Mary was a teenager, about twelve years old who believed that she conceived of the Holy Spirit. How skeptical the people in the community were hearing this news. Different things were said about her and the gossiping going on in the community. Yet, she accepted her mission and lived it courageously. Elizabeth was called barren. The reason she did not have a baby until old age is because God gave her a special mission, to be the mother of John the Baptist. The presence of Jesus Christ radically changed the lives of these women. Mary is full of great joy and she rushes to her cousin, Elizabeth. The presence of Jesus Christ brought joy to Elizabeth. The presence of Jesus Christ at Christmas brings us great joy. Let us prepare ourselves to receive the joy of Jesus’ presence.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009: Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13; Matthew 21:28-32
In today’s gospel, none of the two sons are an ideal son. The first says “no” to the father and then turns around to carry out the father’s instructions and the second says yes and then does not carry out the father’s instruction. These two represent different sets of people. In the story, the first son represents the tax collectors and sinners who turned away from God’s invitation, yet they ended up accepting John’s baptism of repentance; the second son represents the Jews who claim that they follow the will of God and yet do not live according to God’s principles. Jesus Christ invites us not only to be obedient to the word of God but also to act on it. We cannot say “yes” to God with our lips and then turn around to do something else. Our Christian life is a call from God to be witnesses. We must respond to this call through our actions in the world.
Monday, December 14, 2009: Numbers 24:2-7, 15-17a; Matthew 21:23-27
In today’s gospel, Jesus’ authority is being questioned by the chief priests and the elders of the people. The question is, “By what authority are you doing these things?” Jesus’ response to them puts them in a dilemma. Whatever response they give will get them into trouble. Jesus asks them the source of John’s baptism. Is it of human origin or of divine origin? If they say it is of divine origin, then they must accept the authority of Jesus Christ since John had witnessed the coming of Jesus. If they say it is of human origin, then the crowd would come against them. The people that accepted the baptism of John saw him as an authentic messenger of God. The easy way out for them was to respond, “We do not know.” This was a calculated answer. The lesson from today’s gospel is to always speak the truth as we know it and not try to give ambiguous and politically correct responses.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009: Isaiah 40:25-31; Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus Christ invites us in today’s gospel to bring all our labors and burdens to him and he will give us rest. There is nothing too small and there is nothing too big to bring to him. Bring anything that gives you discomfort to him and in return, he will give you rest. The problem is that we sometimes try to carry everything by ourselves alone and we become like our own “little gods.” That only leads to frustration, anger and may be depression. We will soon realize that we cannot do it all by ourselves and we need Jesus Christ to help us. Handing our labors and burdens to him is also a commitment to hand over our whole lives to him without holding back anything. When we give all of ourselves to him, he will care for us and he will give us rest.
Thursday, December 3, 2009: Isaiah 26:1-6; Matthew 7:21, 24-27 (St. Francis Xavier)
The name of God has been used in all sorts of way by different people. Some have used it to justify their acts which are not necessarily godly; others have used it to make legitimate their claims to religious authority. Those who justified slavery cited the bible, “Slaves be obedient to your masters.” In God’s name, many people have been killed or treated in inhuman ways. In our own personal lives, we sometimes find ourselves invoking the name of God when we do not actually believe in his word. Religion and religious practices can easily become a show. We can act out our faith and everyone may think we are truly religious people but in our real lives, we are monsters. Jesus Christ tells us in today’s gospel that, it is not enough to call upon the name of God with our lips, it must come from the heart and must be matched with our actions.
St. Francis Xavier truly lived his call. He went to India in 1541 to preach the gospel and he spent the rest of his life in the East witnessing the power of the name of God in Goa, Malacca, and Japan. He was not just another European exploiter masked as a missionary, but he truly preached and lived the gospel values. He stood against any form of exploitation of the native people by the Europeans. He died in 1552 after a secret mission to China to preach the gospel. He died of fever and exhaustion.