Dec 23 - Bakit paulit-ulit ang pangalan ng Pinoy?

On the eight day, they were going to name the baby Zechariah after his father. But his mother said: No, he is to be called John. So they went to Zechariah to find out what name  he wanted to give him. And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote: “His name is John.”

Clement Clark Moore (1823)  wrote a poem: A Visit from St Nicholas or “Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.” In it he named 8 reindeers of St Nicholas. They were virtually unknown until Gene Autry in 1949 sang: 

“You know Dasher, and Dancer, and Prancer, and Vixen,

Comet, and Cupid, and Donder and Blitzen

But do you recall the most famous reindeer of all…

Rudolph the red nosed reindeer is “Santa's 9th Reindeer" depicted as the lead reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. The luminosity of his nose is so great that it lights up the team's path. Rudolph the red nosed reindeer remained the best-selling record of all time until the 1980s next only to White Christmas and Silent night (It was overtaken by Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Xmas is you.”)  So why give names to these reindeers? Are they that important?

Whenever you get to meet and know a stranger, you ask: What is your name? Now is that name important to you? Do you know what your name means? 

In the Old Testament, the names of individuals are meaningful. For example, Adam is named after the “earth” (Adamah) from which he was created. Elijah in our first reading: “I will send you the prophet Elijah who will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents.” Elijah literally means: “My God is the Lord. Yahweh is my God. Now, a change of name indicates a change of status. For example, the patriarch Abram and his wife Sarai are renamed “Abraham” and “Sarah” when they are told they will be the father and mother of many nations. Simon was renamed Peter (Rock) when he was given the Keys of Heaven. 

Throughout the Bible, characters are given names at birth that reflect something of significance or describe the course of their lives. For example: Solomon means peace, and the king with that name was the first whose reign was without warfare. Likewise, Joseph named his firstborn son Manasseh which means: “causing to forget” as a gesture of forgiveness to his brothers for selling him into slavery. 

In today's gospel we hear about John the Baptist. The sole biblical account of his birth comes from the Gospel of Luke. John’s parents, Zechariah — a Jewish priest — and Elizabeth, were without children and both were beyond the age of child-bearing. During Zechariah’s rotation to serve in the Temple in Jerusalem, he was chosen by lot to offer incense at the Golden Altar in the Holy Place. The Archangel Gabriel appeared to him and announced that he and his wife would give birth to a child, and that they should name him John. 

However, because Zechariah did not believe the message of Gabriel, he was rendered speechless until the time of John’s birth; at that time, his relatives wanted to name the child after his father, and Zechariah wrote, “His name is John” (which means: God is gracious) after which Zechariah got his voice back. So now I challenge you, what about your name, does it mean anything for you?

I was just curious, if John were probably Filipino his name would be Jan-jan, Jon-jon, or Jun-jun depending on what part of the Philippines he would be. Which brings me to my point: Bakit nga ba paulit-ulit ang mga pangalan ng Pinoy? You have Toto, Lynlyn, Tintin, Weng-weng, Pepe, Jojo, your favorite restaurant’s name is Pinpin, the first national hero is Lapu-lapu and among Pinoy politicians you have Bong-bong Marcos, Nene and Coco Pimentel, the President Noynoy. And don’t forget the cutest of them all - (my name).

I personally think it is a sign of intimacy, of being near and dear to that person that is why we repeat the name. My Father when he is angry at me: He shouts: Hoy Gerardo… but when he needs something from me: Gigi. just like the 3 words you often like to hear: “I love you.” Sinabi na ng minsan gustong ulit ulitin pa… that’s why they came up with the expression: “I love you 3x a day.” 

Now do you notice when we double an adjective in Filipino is becomes the superlative. Instead of using the word higit or pinaka- we prefer saying it again: ganda-ganda, galing-galing, husay-husay, love-na-love, pabebe-bebe. With the Pinoy name maybe it’s because repeating it makes us feel it is precious- like, one’s name is sign of a super valuable gift that we all should take care of. 

Tomorrow night we will celebrate the name of all names. The Word will be incarnate in a manger this Christmas. And he shall be called: Emmanuel. -God is with us -– and his name will be: Yeshua which means the Lord rescues, the Lord delivers us, God saves us- his name shall be Jesus, the sweetest name of all. Let us not forget to call this name over and over and keep him dear to our hearts not only at Christmas but for the rest of our lives.

4th Sunday Advent C - Bakit mahilig sa kalyeserye ang Pinoy?

"God has visited his people and redeemed them. Mary set out and visited Elizabeth. The child leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit."

Our question for today is: Bakit mahilig sa kalyeserye ang Pinoy?

Kalyeserye is a soap opera done in the streets of Metro manila which tells about the adventures of Lola Nidora and Yaya Dub as they visit houses and give them prizes and where the latter evantually falls in love with a guy named Alden. In short, its drama and adventure in the streets as they visit houses. 

But do you know the original kalyeserye during my time? It's what we know as “Caroling.” For a growing up kid during my days, this was what we waited for the whole year round. It was those 24 days before Christmas where children ages 8-12 would gather in small groups and would start their evening adventure in the streets without any adult supervision. They would prepare that with percussion instruments from bottle caps stringed together into a tambourine… from tin cans converted into drums. 

But why do kids carol? Is it about the money? Is it about the friends? I don’t think so. It was the time of the year we can visit people in their houses.  To see where they live, see how they live, in a sense to be actually part of their life even just for a single minute.  To be grateful when the house gives some goodies or pennies and keep coming back to that same house knowing for a second helping; And to houses who are less generous, end carols with “Thank you, ang babarat ninyo, thank you”. Ah those days of live and actual visits are now being lost.  Before one of our favorite carol was:  

“Ang aming bati ay magandang pasko, at naghihintay sa aginaldo nyo. Kung sakali namang di nyo gusto, huwag lang sanang ipahabol sa inyong aso.” It was so polite and interactive literally.

But now they sing via youtube: 

Santa Claus, Santa Claus, may facebook ka ba

Kung meron, ano ang email mo

para ma-i-add kita (hoy)

Santa Claus, Santa Claus, may instagram ka ba

Anong twitter mo para ma-follow ka

at ma-hash tag ka.

In this age and time, we could run into the temptation of virtual visits.But the fact is, we were not made to be alone. Everyone wants to visit and to be visited.

Today we hear the story of Mary visiting her cousin Elizabeth. But since both were pregnant, we could say that Mary brought Jesus to visit his relatives. Mary has shown mercy and compassion by visiting. 

Do you know what mercy means? James Keenan has this beautiful definition. Mercy is the willingness to enter the chaos of another. In short mercy is actually visiting the other in his or her situation… no mater how chaotic or miserable.

And yet who am I to visit? I am but a small voice? Listen again to what the prophet Micah is saying to you and me in today’s first reading: Thus says the Lord: You, Bethlehem, too small to be among the great clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule Israel; whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of His name; and they shall live secure for his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace. The Son of God who will come to visit his people will come from the least.

A few days back, I did my own caroling yesterday. I visited two of our parishioner neighbors on 139th street. I visited Helen whose husband Albert recently passed away from Cancer. I visited Ralph who is patiently enduring his bout of cancer; he has outlived already the doctor’s prediction… so it might be just a matter of time. But I love these guys… they have been long in this parish and I feel that’s the least I could do. You see I’m inviting us to try to see who are those persons around us whom we could carol and visit just before Christmas, whom we could show compassion to especially those who might really be longing for one.

Last year Pope Francis in a homily said: “God has visited his people” is an expression which is “repeated in the Scripture” They are words which have “special meaning”, different from that of such expressions as “God has spoken to his people” or “God has given the Commandments to his people” or even “God has sent a prophet to his people”.

In the statement “God has visited his people there is something extra, something new”. This phrase can be found in the Scripture; it is written, for example, “In the Old Testament, God visited Naomi in her old age and made her a grandmother through Ruth”. And likewise today, Scripture “tells of Elizabeth, Mary’s cousin: God visited her and made her a mother”. So “when God visits his people, it means that he is present in a special way”. 

In the beginning of this Advent, I told people about Jesus’ two comings: - Jesus came in history; that’s Christmas, and Jesus will come in glory at the end of our life…. I realized I should mention a third coming - that is whenever Jesus comes in mystery…. Jesus actually visits us live not virtual so much so that you could touch Him.  That happens when that host becomes the body of Chirst and that wine becomes his blood. He becomes actually present here with us… Today he is born among us no longer in history, not yet in majestic glory, but in mystery.

St Therese, the little flower said: “We say that Jesus is the bread that visits us from heaven.  But our Lord does not come from heaven everyday just to stay in that golden ciborium or that chalice. He doesn’t even want to just stay inside that little golden house called tabernacle.  No the reason he comes down to earth is because… he wants to find another heaven here to visit.”

And do you know where is that heaven here that he wants to visit and stay in? It is in your soul. Will you open your door to Him, receive his visit today during this Mass at the Eucharist?

May God visit us his people and set us free. Let this be our Christmas wish for each other.

Dec 18 - Bakit baliktad magbasa ng libro ang Pinoy?

Last year our Pastor has always dealt about Philippine history and its religious culture. Allow me this time to deal with contemporary pop culture of Pinoys. Now you see, a cultural trait could be good or bad, positive or negative depending on circumstances. For example, they always say that Canadians are very apologizing and polite, eh…. meaning they always say “sorry” for almost anything. For many North Americans or Europeans they might find that trait very irritating. But then from my experience in Asia, saying “sorry” is very much appreciated- “Kho Thot” in Thai, “Som toh” in Khmer,  “Sumimasen” in Japanese,  “bian(e) [mian]” in Korean or in Filipino three ways - Sori ha, Sori na, Sori pa more.

One of the Filipino traits I always wondered is: why when a Filipino reads a book, he looks at the ending first. Bakit baliktad magbasa ng libro ang Pinoy? At least I find that true with me, I tend to look at the ending first and then go back to chapter one. In this era of downloaded video movies, I must confess, I got used to fast forwarding the movie and when I see the ending is exciting, I watch it again, if not I would say to myself at least I did not waste my time. I do that with horror movies, I am so curious to find out who survives or who gets slain by the zombies or the vampires. Some decades ago in the Philippine movie theatres, when there was still no such thing called Guaranteed Seating… the norm was you can enter the movie anytime…. even at the ending, and then just repeat the movie, how many times you like.

A common question Filipinos ask their children is “What do you want to be when you grow up?” But why not ask: What to do you want to eat tonight? What tv show will you watch later? or what school would you want to attend next year? - No, it is always the ending of the book of life parents would ask. I believe, we all want to see first the happy ending before we go through the problematic scenes of our life story. That for me is what it means.

Interestingly, Steven Covey used this concept in his book with the principle: “Begin with the end in mind” - this is the ability to envision in your mind what you cannot at present see with your eyes. It is an ability to trust in a higher power that you ultimately know would be able to help you and see you through your problems in life.  It is an ability to leave things in God’s hands knowing at the end, he will give you an ending which is a happily ever after. In short, one can now sleep peacefully even if you haven’t finished the book since you know that at the end everything will turn out well. It’s pretty much like how St Joseph read his life; he read the ending first.

Early this year Pope Francis addressed the families at the Mall of Asia Arena, Philippines: “The scriptures seldom speak of St Joseph, but when they do, we often find him resting, as an angel reveals God’s will to him in his dreams. I would like to say something very personal to you. I like St Joseph very much.  On my desk I have an image of St Joseph sleeping..  Because as he sleeps he he looks after the Church.” Just a note, this image of Joseph sleeping seems rather new here. Early this year when I arrived from home, I brought with me these statues and gave them to my confreres. Fr Jan, our Polish priest complained to me: "Gigi, how do you hang these things they have no "pangsabit". So I had to tell him that this guy has to sleep so use him as paperweight.

The Pope did not refer to Sleeping St Joseph as the patron of lazybones, rather it has to do with the dreams as the solution to the problem one faces. Families should dream for the future.  Parents dream of their children while still in the womb, and while they grow up. The Pope concluded with: “Please do not lose this ability to dream.”

The second lesson Pope Francis mentioned from the Sleeping St Joseph is rest.  Joseph’s rest enabled him to receive God’s revelation about Mary and God’s will for him. As we pause from our many daily obligations and activities, we rest in prayer and in the quiet of our hearts. We can only do that because whenever we pray we have to believe that at the end, God will solve things for us. How will he do that? we do not know yet, we have to read the whole book called life.
That is why when Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him. He started reading the book. But you see he had already seen the ending.

People asked Pope Francis how he prayed. He told them that there are those problems he prays for that there seems to be no solution. So he writes them down, puts them underneath the statue of Sleeping St Joseph and asks the saint to do it for him. Then the Pope peacefully sleeps knowing that at the end everything will be alright. How? He will just have to wait for tomorrow.

So now you ask me: Bakit baligtad magbasa ng libro ang Pinoy?
Ask the sleeping St Joseph… that’s the way he did it and it worked for him. It could also probably work for us.

2nd Sunday Advent- Year of Mercy: A Second Chance

Two prophet from different generations, Baruch and John the Baptist, preached to the people of their time about God giving them a second chance. Do you believe in second chances?

One night, there was this thief who broke into a house knowing the owners were not there. Inside the house, while shining his flashlight along the path where he was walking, he heard a voice saying: “Jesus is watching you, and he does not like what you are doing.”  The thief asks: Where are you and what’s that you say? And the voice: “I’m giving you a second chance, Jesus is watching you, and he does not like what you are doing.”

The thief searched with his flashlight for the source of the voice.  It was the parrot. The thief asks the parrot: Did you say that? And the parrot says: Yes, I did. I was just trying to warn you before anything bad happens to you. The thief replies: Warn me... why and who might you be? The parrot answers: My name is John the Baptist.  The thief remarks: “Whaaaat? What kind of people here would name their parrot John the Baptist? The parrot replies: “Oh the same kind of people who named our big ferocious German Shepherd dog.” Man asks: “So what’s the name of your big ferocious German Shepherd dog?” His name is Jesus.

Almost 600 years before the coming of Christ, the Israelites became unfaithful to God.  As a result, the city of Jerusalem was destroyed by their enemy Nebuchadnezzar, and people were carried off as exiles to Babylon. Baruch was one of the prophets who wrote to encourage the people not to give up hope and turn to God once again for He will give them a second chance. The day would come when God would bring His people home. This was the word of God that had come into the mind and heart of the prophet Baruch.

“Jerusalem, take of your garment of sorrow. Arise, stand upon the heights and look toward the east, and see your children gathered from west and east. God will bring them back to you carried in glory.”

600 years later, this very same word of God came again to John the Baptist when Rome governed the land of Israel and Herod was a puppet king. Many Jews sided with the materialism of Rome. Others who opposed the regime saw salvation only in violence and arms.

John, the last of the great prophets before Jesus, preached a repentance for the forgiveness of sins even to King Herod. For he believed there is hope for everyone- God always gives a second chance.  “Prepare the way of the Lord. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth.”

Jesus Christ will be born into a world today that doesn’t look so different from the one described by Luke some 2000 years ago. And John’s mission is now our mission – to prepare for his coming and to tell the world that there is a second chance for all of us.

Fill up the valleys.....fill up those hollow moments in our lives that have been deepened by what we haven’t done: kind words left unspoken, compassionate deeds left undone, bread not shared, prayers neglected, overtures of love denied. How many times is our sinfulness not in what we do but in what we don’t do?

Level the hills and the mountains...hills of pride and self-centeredness, of arrogance and ambition, hills made high by an unwillingness to yield to the quieter and more humble ways of Christ.

Make the winding ways straight and the rough ways smooth. Let us examine and eradicate anger, impatience, intolerance, prejudice, racism and our endless judgments of others. John today reminds us of those second chances God gives us everyday.

In a 2007 film “One More Chance” a girl named Basha breaks up with the boy named Popoy. Later on Basha regrets what she did and tries to get him back. She pleaded with Julia Robert's words from Nothinghill: "I'm also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."  But this time the boy Popoy is in a relationship with another, so he tells the Basha: “She loved me at my worst, you had me at my best. You took it all for granted. And you chose to break my heart.”  Do you think Popoy will give Basha a second chance? Maybe yes, maybe not.
But our God- He is a God of mercy. He surely will give us a second chance.

This Tuesday feast of the Immaculate Conception the doors of mercy will open to symbolize the start of the Jubilee Year of Mercy. As we stand at its doorstep may we remember what Baruch has told us today:

“For God will lead us with joy in the light of his glory with the mercy that comes from him.”

Long Live Christ the King! (Viva Cristo Rey)

In 1997, there was this Canadian-born director named James Francis Cameron who brought us the film Titanic. In this movie, there was this brave young lad named Jack Dawson who rescues this girl named Rose who was trying to jump off the ship. And here started a story of love. In one part of the movie Jack brings Rose to the bow of the ship. And there Jack goes to the front, stands facing the wind, stretches out his arms, and shouts: I am the king of the world! And at the end of the the story, Jack offers his life that Rose may live.

And today we remember a similar love story like that where a brave young man more than 2000 years ago rescued all of us from certain death... and there he stood facing all insults, nailed on a cross with arms out stretched and whispers to us in his dying breath: My child, take courage, I have conquered the world. And through that death on the cross he redeemed us all. He is indeed King of the world. Christ the King!

Do you know why  Pius XI instituted this feast in 1925. If you look at history, this was the start of so many terrible wars.. all because dictators like Hitler, Mussolini, and so many others came out and tried to be the greatest king of the  world.  At that time when people thought they would reign supreme Pope Pius XI wanted to remind everyone then that only Christ could be the true King and his ways were different from these earthly so-called leaders.

At this same time in Mexico, the President Calles declared war on the Catholic Church. He closed down seminaries and convents. Catholic schools and properties were confiscated. Hundreds of foreign priests, and religious men and women were expelled and forced to leave the country. The president with his new laws has removed Christ from the altars. And so those who chose to remain and fight the system brought Christ into their hearts and were called Christeros (the men that fought against their government to protect their faith). At this time, many priests were martyred while celebrating mass, either by being shot or beheaded. In a last affirmation of their faith, these Cristeros would shout, "Viva Cristo Rey!" (Long Live Christ the King!) just before dying.  Padre Miguel Agustin Pro was one of the best known of the martyred priests. Pro used elaborate disguises so that soldiers would not recognize him as a priest. He visited the faithful often dressed as a beggar. He administered the sacraments, provided jokes and laughter, and helped financially those in need. Padre Pro would disguise as a businessman to enable the rich families to receive the sacraments. Pro was arrested for being erroneously linked to a car bombing. Calles took advantage of the opportunity to execute a priest publicly to discourage other priests from joining the Christeros. At his execution Padre Pro carried a small crucifix and his rosary and held his arms out forming a cross as he was shot, he shouts: Viva Christo Rey! long live Christ the King.

At around this same time, there was this young boy named Jose Sanchez del Rio. Jose told his mother "In order to go to heaven we must  go to war" and begged her to allow him to go fight alongside the Christeros, his mother eventually submitted and allowed Jose to join the cause. Jose became a Christero and was well accepted by his comrades. In a major battle Jose was transporting ammunition to the soldiers when he noticed that his general's horse had been shot dead and the general was laying on the ground in a vulnerable position. Seeing that his general may be killed Jose rushed to the officer's  assistance and gave up his own horse, the general hesitated but Jose insisted that the general save himself. Jose was then captured by the soldiers.

The soldiers then decided to kill Jose, and decided to torture him first. They cut into Jose with machetes and with every slash into the his body Jose cried "Viva Christo Rey". The soldiers told him "If you just shout 'Death to Christ the King' we will spare your life" and as they continued to torture him be began to shout louder: "Viva Christo Rey!" Seeing that the boy would not submit the soldiers cut off of the soles of his feet and forced him to walk on salt. The soldiers escorted Jose through town, as he walked on the cobblestone roads he left puddles of blood behind him, he continued to endure the pain. When they reached the place where he was to be murdered, the commander gave the order for Jose to be bayoneted, the soldiers stabbed the boy over and over and every time the steel  entered his body the whole town could hear the boy's cries: Viva Christo Rey!. The commander became enraged by the boy's display of faith, pulled out his pistol and shot Jose, instantly killing him. Jose was 14 years old when the was martyred for the faith in Christ the King.

How many of us would die for Christ the King these days? Would we look death in the face, suffer torture and ridicule in defense of Christ's Church? Will we stand up when people defile the house of God?  If a boy could endure these pains for his faith why can't we defend our religious freedom?  When others persecute us, when millions of children are being murdered in the womb, when governments threaten to remove God from every public monument and document, will we just back out of our faith?

When Pilate taunted Jesus where are those of your kingdom who will protect you now: "My kingdom is not of this world... it can only be in the hearts of men and women who will accept my reign."  So, shall we?

References:
Check, C. ( 2007). Viva Cristo Rey! http://www.catholic.com/magazine/articles/¡viva-cristo-rey

33rd Sunday Ordinary B - The Final Star Wars: Will the Force awaken?

Next week will be the end of the long 34 weeks of Ordinary time. Ordinary time represents our life journey on this earth. And this month of November reminds us of the end of life and of the last things.  This 33rd week reminds us that our life journey is ending, that the war is nearing the final battle. And that there is little time left.

A Bible study group was discussing the end of the world - the unforeseen possibility of their sudden death. The leader of the discussion said, ” We will all die some day, and none of us really know when and how. What would you do if you knew you only had 2 weeks of life remaining before your death, and then the Great Judgment Day?”

A young guy said, ” I would go to confession and then go out into my community and minister the Gospel telling them the end is near.”  One lady spoke up, “I would dedicate all of my remaining time praying to God for my family, my friends, my parish and myself.” But one gentleman in the back finally spoke up loudly and said, “I would go to my mother-in-law’s house for the 2 weeks.” 

Everyone was puzzled by this answer, and they ask, “Why your mother-in-law’s home?”  “Because that will be the longest 2 weeks of my life!” 

When you are on the winning side and with people you like, time is short, but when you are on the losing side and have to deal with people you don’t get along with, time is long. But truth is, time will end.

The bible is full of these stories about the end of time - the Apocalypse. We call these stories like the one of today in book of Daniel - Apocalyptic writings.  All throughout history the Jews, who consider themselves as “the children of light” were always beseiged and defeated by their enemies… by the Babylonians, by the Assyrians, by the Persians, who in the process destroyed their temple and herded them into exile.  In the time of Jesus, the Romans were considered the evil empire oppressing the Jews. In fact in 70 CE the Roman legions under Emperor of the empire Titus, destroyed the Second Temple of Jerusalem. 

And so the Apocalyptic messages of the Bible were like secret coded messages which only the Jews and not their opponents could understand to encourage them to keep on fighting the war against the darkness. It was a war of Good versus Evil, of the Light side versus the Dark Side - It was a battle that began at the beginning of time when the forces of Lucifer the dark angel refused to serve God and turned against Him. From that time onward, God’s forces led by Archangel Michael was in constant battle with the Dark side led by Lucifer who was now named Satan. 

It’s pretty much like the star wars movie. In the movie it was a battle of the dark forces of the Empire called the Siths commandeered by Darth Vader against the forces of the light side - the Jedi knights. Here you see the Dark side always seemingly winning and gaining the upperhand when they got rid of almost all the Jedis. But then there was Luke Skywalker a young lad who decided to lead the battle against the mighty Dark side. So he trained with this Jedi in exile named Yoda. 

Yoda: A Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side of the Force are they. If once you start down the dark path, it will dominate your destiny, consume you it will.  Luke: Is the dark side stronger? 

Yoda: No.  Only quicker, easier, more seductive. 

Luke: But how am I to know the good side from the bad? 

Yoda: You will know... when you are calm and at peace. A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, NEVER for attack. 

Luke: But tell my WHY I can't... 

Yoda: There is no "why".  In short you just have to believe.

So how will we win? We don’t. Throughout these 34 weeks you see the message of Jesus as: Deny yourselves. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…. “Those who make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it.” Is that a way to win the battle by literally trying to lose it? The pervading symbol we see is our leader being maltreated unjustly and crucified on the cross. Do you see any victory in that?  The first reading from Daniel emphatically puts it: “There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence.”  Even the gospel of today predicts: “There will be a long time of suffering. The sun will be darkened. The moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from heaven. The powers of heaven will be shaken.” Frightening, isn’t it? 

That is probably why many switch sides from the light side to the dark side as Yoda would say - it’s quicker, it’s easier, it’s more seductive, and because there seems to be no victory in sight for us here. Now, do we leave Jesus Christ our leader just because he seems to be loosing the battle to the dark side?

There is this song written by R.City - two brothers Theron and Timothy: 

“If I got locked away / and we lost it all today

Tell me honestly / would you still love me the same

If I showed you my flaws / if I couldn’t be strong

Tell me honestly / would you still love me the same.” 

Their father was locked up for five years. And after their dad lost everything, their mother could easily have given up on their dad who seemed a loser. But during the time he was in prison, their mother would take them to see their father and not give up on him.  And so they’re still together to this day - for 36 years. Today, It’s the same with Jesus asking us: Tell me honestly, would you still love me the same? Will we remain loyal?

At the end, one thing will be sure. "the Force will awaken"- From the first reading book of Daniel: “Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people shall arise.  Your people shall be delivered. The wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky and those who fought for righteousness - the side of the light - will shine like the stars forever.”  And the gospel concludes: “The Son of Man will be seen coming in clouds with great power and glory.  He will send out his Angels,, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.”

Now will that come true? All we have to do is believe and side with the light. Do you want to know how the prediction and the prophecy will be fulfilled? Watch out next week for the Season finale, the last episode - “The Return of the King: Jesus Christ - king of the universe.”

Nov 01 - Nobody is born a Superhero or Saint?

“Lord, this is the company of those who seek your face.” - They are those who entered heaven. They are those Jesus called "blessed." Today we celebrate them - they are the Saints. So how did they get to heaven?

After a long illness a woman died and arrived at the Gates of Heaven. While she was waiting for St. Peter to greet her, she peeked through the Gates. She saw inside a beautiful banquet table. Sitting around it were her parents and all the other people whom she had loved and who died before her. When St. Peter came by, the woman said to him, “This is such a wonderful place! How do I get in?” “You will have to spell a word,” St. Peter told her. “Which word?” the woman asked. “LOVE,” St. Peter said. The woman correctly spelled the word “LOVE” and St. Peter welcomed her into heaven. And she noticed, St Peter did the same with all those who followed her in line.

About six month later St. Peter came to the woman and asked her to watch the Gates of Heaven for him that day. Now, while the woman was guarding the Gates of Heaven, her husband arrived there. “I'm surprised to see you here,” the woman said, “How have you been?” Her husband told her: “Oh! I have been doing pretty well since you died.  I married the beautiful nurse who took care of you while you were ill. And then I won a lottery. I sold the little house you and I lived in for many years, and bought a big mansion. And my wife and I traveled all around the world. We were on vacation and went water skiing today. I fell, the ski hit my head and here I am.” Then he asked her, “How do I get in?” “You will have to spell a word,” the woman told him. “Which word?” her husband asked. She replied, “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”

So how do we enter the gates of heaven?  We have to become saints. Just remember no one is born one, we have to become one.

Last night was Halloween and among the costumes I like are that of the Superheroes. Especially the one with S - Superman or Supergirl? For me S is for Saints. They’re the real superheroes. But there are two kinds of superheroes, those like Superman, the Flash, Supergirl who have inborn superpowers, and there are those like Batman, or the Green Arrow who do not have any but they use their courage, intelligence, and will to become one.

You see with superpowers or none, they all have to choose to become a superhero. There are those who have superpowers and yet they chose to become supervillains. Superheroes choose to defend the poor, the oppressed and those in distress. Nobody is born a superhero, you have to become one.

As with superheroes so it is with the saints. Nobody is born a saint. You have to become one. But father,  you might ask, some saints have healing powers like the Just League of Apostles.  Others can bilocate like Padre Pio, San Isidro, St Alphonsus, or control animals like St Francis of Assisi, St Martin de Porres... still others can levitate like Joseph of Cupertino, we can't be like them.  Consider St. Margaret of Cortona. As a teenager, she was the mistress of a young nobleman. She lived with him for nine years, even had a son with him, hoping at some point her lover would marry her. He never did. When the husband was murdered, the shock caused Margaret to re-evaluate her life. She went on to take vows as a Franciscan. Her son also joined the order.  She was canonized in 1728.

Nobody is born a saint.  You have to become. There was this Vladimir of Kiev in Russia had hundreds of concubines, multiple wives from around the world, so many children that everyone lost count, and an army of pagans.  He was a pretty mean guy. From the start of his reign in 980, he conquered lands, slaughtered people, and partied hard. In 983, after another of his military successes, Prince Vladimir and his army thought it necessary to sacrifice human lives to the gods. A lot was cast and it fell on a youth, Ioann by name, the son of a Christian, Fyodor. His father stood firmly against his son being sacrificed to the idols. He cried out: ‘Your gods are just plain wood: here today, gone tomorrow; whereas there is only one God — and He created heaven and earth. And your gods? They created nothing but terror and destruction!’”  This speech made Vladimir to reflect on all he had done. He converted and brought many missionaries to Russia. He is now St Vladimir the great, patron saint of Russia.

Nobody is born a saint. You have to become one.  In the 1920s, the least likely candidate for sainthood would probably have been an anarchist and communist from Brooklyn named Dorothy Day. She worked as a journalist and spent many nights drinking with famous writers like Hart Crane and Eugene O’Neill. She had an abortion, and a broken marriage, before finally being drawn to Christ, and the gospel, and converting to Catholicism. Her conversion led her to embark on a radical ministry to the poor, one that is still changing the world. She’s now a candidate for sainthood.  

Saints are closer to us than we may realize. They have struggled with sin and temptation, they’ve walked the journey toward holiness, sometimes stumbling, sometimes falling, but always getting back up and moving on, resolving to do better, to be better, to aim higher. Saints after all are sinners who kept on trying.

They worked to be what this gospel is calling us to be.  To be poor in spirit.  To be meek.  To be merciful.  To make peace.  This is how we begin to become what Jesus calls “blessed,” and this is what the Church calls saints.  It’s a tall order. And it is nothing less than a call to greatness.  But this feast day reminds us, whether we realize it or not: it can be ours. This kind of greatness is within our grasp.

All the saints. They give us hope. Because they assure us again and again: no one is born a saint.  But every one of us, by the grace of God, can become one.  As St John has told us today: “Beloved we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. But we who hope in God strive to purify ourselves just like He is pure. So that at the end, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.” 

Adapted from:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2013/10/homily-for-november-1-2013-all-saints-day/

http://albee2012.blogspot.ca/2012/10/homily-all-saints.html

http://listverse.com/2011/01/30/top-10-truly-badass-saints/

30th Sunday Ordinary B – The 3 C’s – Crowd, cloak, conclusion

These past weeks, the gospel has instructed us on how to follow Jesus - discipleship.  Last week I talked about the 3P’s which we need to balance in our life to follow Jesus more closely- Pleasure, Possession, Power. Today we continue with the theme of discipleship as we see the 3C’s of the story of the blind man: Crowd, Cloak and Conclusion.

There was a crowd and they were trying to make a blindman and a cross-eyed guy start a fistfight. So the crowd told the blind man that the cross-eyed guy was insulting him, and vice versa. Both got angry and with the help of the crowd who brought them together, they found themselves in a distance of each other. The crowd started to shout: fight, fight, fight to bring them nearer… And as they came nearer, the cross-eyed guy got his cloak, raised it up in front of him and tried to hide himself with it.  The blind guy sensing no one was coming nearer in front of him shouted: “Hey cross-eyed guy, don’t hide, show yourself so that I can see you and fight you.” And from a distance, the cross-eyed guy shouted: “I’m not going to fight you… it’s not fair… there are two of you.” Conclusion – no fight followed.

The Crowd - The Gospel of today opens with the following sentence: “Jesus left Jericho, with his disciples and a great crowd” (v.46).  This crowd that follows Jesus is very mixed.  Bartimaeus hears from them about Jesus. He then shouts: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.” Some of the crowd discourage him, but Jesus hears and invites him. “Call him here.” And the other part of the crowd tells the blind man, “Courage, he is calling you.”  And this crowd bring him to Jesus.

And we, what part of the crowd are we in? Are we those who spread the word about Jesus, and encourage them to come to him or are we part of the crowd who prevent others from seeing Jesus?

The Cloak - When at last the blind man has the chance to approach Jesus, we are told, “So throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and went to Jesus” (v.50).  The cloak was a large square piece of cloth that the blind man had spread in front of him to collect some coins from the passers by.   In any case, his act of throwing off his cloak shows a renunciation.  The blind man does not need his cloak any more – he goes out to Jesus in symbolic nakedness.  The blind man does not need his coins any more – because he is going to be healed now.  He does not need his material security any more – because he has Jesus himself now.

As for us, what is the cloak that becomes our security blanket?  What is that cloak that we find so difficult to let go?  What is that cloak that prevents me from being totally available to Jesus?

The Conclusion- What follows then is the cure. Jesus says, “Go; your faith has saved you.” And at once his sight returned and Bartimaeus followed him along the road.”  Two Sundays ago, in the gospel story (Mk 10:21-22) Jesus told the rich man, “Come follow me”, but he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.  But in the gospel story of today, Jesus says, ‘go’… but this man follows him along the road, for now he was totally empty of himself.  One who was sitting on the side at the beginning of the story, is now on the road, following Jesus. 

This is the conclusion of any encounter with Jesus: there must be  a denial of our self if there is to be true discipleship.  One must be able to give up one’s self for the one you wish to follow.

There was a blind girl who hated herself just because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She said that if she could only see the world, she would marry her boyfriend.

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her and then she could see everything, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend asked her, “Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?”

But the girl was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend was blind too, and refused to marry him. Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and later the girl found a note from him saying: “My beloved, all I ask now is for you to just take care of my eyes.”

Two blind persons today – Bartimaeus and the girl. The blind man was grateful to Jesus and followed him. The blind girl was not grateful to the boy and rejected him. And that brings us to our conclusion, we have a final C - a Challenge – Shall we follow Jesus to that ultimate letter C – the Cross or shall we reject him? 

Adapted from: Selvam, S. (2015) Towards Wholeness

http://www.sahayaselvam.org/2015/10/20/sermon-for-30th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-–-year-b-homily-bartimaeus/

29th Sunday Ordinary B- Balance the 3P's- Pleasure, Possession, Power

There are three P-s a human person needs to be happy: Pleasure, Possession, and Power.  Pleasure makes us relish our present wellbeing.  Possession gives us access to obtain our needs. And power enables us to control the environment including people around us.  The 3 P’s are needed for happiness. BUT an exaggerated focus on them could leave us unhappy- Being obsessed with pleasure leads to its addiction. Being obsessed with possession leads us to greed. Being obsessed with power leads us to corruption. This is our struggle: to balance our need, our craving for pleasure, possession and power.

If we have been following the gospel readings of these three consecutive Sundays, all from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 10, we notice that we have been invited to reflect on these three temptations that we face. 

The gospel passage of the 27^th Sunday (Mk 10:2-16) invited us reflect on marriage and family:  Christian marriage is not to be based on the sole principle of pleasure, but on faithfulness and love. 

The gospel passage of the 28^th Sunday (Mk.10:17-30) was on the inability of the rich man to be a disciple of Jesus because of his possessions.  Christian life is to be based on detachment and simplicity. 

Today, the 29^th Sunday, the gospel reading (Mk.10:35-45) invites us to reflect on power.  As Christians we influence our environment not through power and control, but in humble service and willingness to suffer for another.

A battleship had been at sea on its routine manoeuvres under heavy weathers for days. The captain, who was worried about the deteriorating weather conditions, stayed on the bridge to keep an eye on all activities.

One night, the lookout on the bridge suddenly shouted, “Captain! A light up ahead.” “Is it stationary or moving?” the captain asked.

The lookout replied that it seems to be stationary. This meant the battleship was on a dangerous collision course with this other vessel. The captain immediately ordered his signalman to signal to the ship: “We are on a collision course. I advise you to change course 20 degrees east.”

Back came a response from the other ship: “No, You change course 20 degrees west.”

Agitated by the arrogance of the response, the captain asked his signalman to shoot out another message: “I am a captain of the US Navy, you change course 20 degrees east.”

Back came the second response: “I am a Canadian seaman, you still better change course 20 degrees west.”

The captain was furious this time! He shouted to the signalman to send back a final message: “I am a battleship. You better, change course 20 degrees east right now or I’ll ram you.

Back came the flashing response: “Ok Go ahead, I am a lighthouse.”

The captain duly changed course.

Sometimes we are like that Captain. Obsessed with power, wanting to control everything. This reminds us of what Machiavelli once said: “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Now, the more we recognize there is somebody bigger than us, then the better we could be humble servants like what Jesus would like of us. In the gospel he reminds us: “Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all.” (Mk.10:43)

Being a servant means giving up my rights for others. In the 2^nd reading from the Hebrews: “We have a high priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. We have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb.4.15)

Being a servant means becoming less so others can become more.

Isaiah in the first reading: “The righteous One, my servant shall bear their iniquities and in doing so shall make them righteous.” (Is.53:11)

Being a servant means being obedient whatever the cost. “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mk.10.45)

There is a story of the three stonecutters: "A man asked three stonecutters them what they were doing. The first replied, “I am cutting stones to earn a living. By doing so I get more money. ” The second said, “I am doing the best job of in the world. Doing this give me the greatest pleasure in my life.”  

The third person whose name was Francis looked up with a visionary gleam in his eye and said, “I am building a cathedral.”  And the man asked:“Why?” And Francis narrates: One day in the church of San Damiano, a chapel right outside of Assisi, I heard the invitation of Jesus: “Francis, go build my Church, which you see is falling into ruins.” And I replied: “Yes Lord! If this is what you want, this is what I want, this is what I long for with all my heart.” 

That man was St Francis of Assisi, a truly humble servant. And because of this our Pope chose that name. Pope Francis, and he tells us: “Let us never forget that authentic power is service.” 

References:

Selvam, S. (2012). Towards Wholeness.

http://www.sahayaselvam.org/2012/10/16/sermon-for-29th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-–-year-b-homily/

Wittman, C. (2007). Sermon Series 2. What does Jesus want from us? Humble Service.

http://www.lifeway.com/Article/sermon-what-jesus-wants-humble-service-philippians-2

Lee, H.T. (2013). Coaching Journey.

http://coaching-journey.com/coaching-story-the-battleship-on-a-collision-course/

George, B. (2013). We are all called to be servant leaders.

http://www.billgeorge.org/page/we-are-all-called-to-be-servant-leaders-address

Prichard, S. (2014). Lead with Humility.

http://www.skipprichard.com/lead-with-humility-12-leadership-lessons-from-pope-francis/