December 26, 2020

Holy Family - B (December 27, 2020)

 

They Returned to Their Town of Nazareth

Luke 2:22-40

 

The Holy Family lived in Nazareth.  Jesus would be known as Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph (Luke 4:22) and the carpenter’s son (Matthew 13:55).

 

On this day, let us read and reflect on what Pope Francis recently wrote on St. Joseph and the dignity and situation of work in our world. 

 

Saint Joseph was a carpenter who earned an honest living to provide for his family. From him, Jesus learned the value, the dignity and the joy of what it means to eat bread that is the fruit of one’s own labor…

Working persons, whatever their job may be, are cooperating with God himself, and in some way become creators of the world around us.  The crisis of our time […] can serve as a summons for all of us to rediscover the value, the importance and necessity of work for bringing about a new “normal” from which no one is excluded. Saint Joseph’s work reminds us that God himself, in becoming man, did not disdain work. The loss of employment that affects so many of our brothers and sisters, and has increased as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, should serve as a summons to review our priorities. Let us implore Saint Joseph the Worker to help us find ways to express our firm conviction that no young person, no person at all, no family should be without work!

 

Furthermore, Pope Francis has asked that this year be dedicated to St. Joseph.  The full Apostolic Letter on St. Joseph written by Pope Francis for the occasion can be found here With a Father's Heart.



Image source:  St. Joseph, on Facebook, posted by Fr. Jay Mello, reposted by Fr. Louis Molinelli, SDB

 

December 24, 2020

Christmas

They Did Not Have It Easy

Luke 2: 1-14

 

Joseph and Mary did not have it easy.  When they began their trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem, Mary was close to giving birth.  They had to traverse a distance of about 90 miles with whatever road condition and means of transportation that existed 2,000 years ago.  They were away from home.  The only lodging they found was a manger. 

 

The shepherds did not have it easy.  They did not have an illustrious profession by the social standards of the time.  They were “living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock.” 

 

The Son of God, who is Love, entered the lives of Joseph, Mary and the shepherds.  None of them had it easy.

 

It is not just some good news that was told.  It is a reality.  The Savior is God-with-us, Emmanuel.

 

We might not have it easy.  We might be separated from homes and loved ones.  We might not have what is familiar and comfortable.  We might have suffered loss.  We might be sick.  We might be anxious and lost.  We might find life burdensome…

 

To us, “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14).

 

Moreover, “God came into the world as a child to make us children of God” (Pope Francis on Twitter).  

 


 

 


December 19, 2020

4th Sunday of Advent - B (December 20, 2020)

 

The Lord Is with You

Luke 1: 26-38

 

The Angel Gabriel said to Mary:

1.    Hail, full of grace!  The Lord is with you.

2.    Do not be afraid.

3.    The child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.

 

With the Emmanuel, God-with-us, the words of the Angel are now applied to us. 

1.    Like Mary, we are full of grace!  The Lord is with us.

2.    We are encouraged, “Do not be afraid.”

3.    Jesus, the only Son of God, is with us to make us holy as children of God. 

 

In these challenging days, may these words of the Angel Gabriel remind us of the mystery of God’s love for us in the gift of God’s only Son coming to be with us.

 

Image source:  www.agnusday.org

December 12, 2020

3rd Sunday of Advent - B (December 13, 2020)

 

Pray.  Rejoice.  Give Thanks.  Heal…

Readings

 

The first audience of the First Reading were the people of Judah who were returning, or just returned from 50 years of exile.  They returned to a Jerusalem that was ransacked, looted and abandoned.  Even the Temple of God was burned and destroyed.

 

To them, Isaiah declared that the spirit of God anointed and sent him “to bring glad tidings.”  His mission was “to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and release to prisoners, and to announce a year of favor from the Lord.” 

 

In the Second Reading, St. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “Rejoice always.  Pray without ceasing.  In all circumstances give thanks.”

 

In the Gospel, John the Baptist “was sent from God … to testify to the light.”  God’s Light, Jesus Christ, is with us.

 

What does this message of Scriptures tell me now, amidst the uncertainties, anxieties, challenges, and sufferings of my life and of our world?

 


 Image source: www.agnusday.org

December 5, 2020

2nd Sunday of Advent - B (December 6, 2020)

 

Here Is Your God!

Readings

 

The Prophet Isaiah urges us to be “heralds of glad tidings” of the Reign of God.  There, God cares for God’s children “like a shepherd” cares for the flock (First Reading).  Isaiah proclaim, “Here is your God!”  That Reign of God is already here. 

 

St. Peter also speaks of “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (Second Reading).

 

Yet, our world seems still so far from such time of God’s Reign.

 

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had already come and inaugurated the Reign of God.  Still, we are waiting for its fullness.  Thus, John the Baptist invites us to “prepare the way of the Lord” (Gospel). 

 

Whatever that is not right of our life and our world reminds us of the validity of that mission.  We are called to prepare the way of the Lord, to be messengers and builders of God’s Reign as we continue to wait for Christ’s return to bring God’s Reign to its completion. 

 

And that mission begins with my own conversion.  First, I must repent and change where my heart and life have not aligned with the Reign of God.   

 

 

Image source: www.agnusday.org

November 28, 2020

1st Sunday of Advent - B (November 29, 2020)

 

God, Have You Hidden from Us?

Mark 13:33-37

 

2020.  What a year! 

 

We might have questioned many of the things we take for granted or depend on.

 

It has been a year of uncertainties, anxieties, worries, and fears. 

 

We realize that we are not in control. 

 

Like the Prophet Isaiah in the first reading, we might ask if God is angry with us, or if God has hidden from us.

 

May our life experiences bring us to pray with trust, as Isaiah did, “O LORD, Return for the sake of your servants.”

 

At the same time, the 2nd Reading and the Gospel encourage us not to paralyzed by fear, or to be passive bystanders.  Jesus’ disciples must make profit with the gifts that God has blessed us with, especially the gift of Jesus, God’s only Son.  In so doing, we transform our world to become more God’s world as we wait for the day of its completion.  

 

Image source:  www.agnusday.org

 

November 21, 2020

Christ the King - A (November 22, 2020)

 

“You Did for Me”

Matthew 25: 31-46

 

John Petty points out that in Matthew, Jesus began his preaching ministry declaring that those who are poor, who hunger, who mourn … are “blessed” (the Beatitudes in Chapter 5).  Now, Jesus goes even further.  He calls them “brothers of mine.”   He identifies himself with them. [1]

 

Consequently, in serving “the least,” we serve the King of the universe.

 

At the same time, this passage challenges us to reflect on the King who we present to others.  Jesus is clearly not a king who lords it over others with power and control.  Do we present and represent a Jesus Christ who identifies himself with the least brothers and sisters?

 


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[1] www.progressiveinvolvement.com

Image available on social media, source unknown

November 14, 2020

33rd Sunday - A (November 15, 2020)

 

God’s Possessions

Matthew 25: 14-30
 

The master “entrusted his possessions” to his servants.

 

Scholars observe that it is almost impossible to know precisely how much a talent would be in modern monetary value.  But Jesus’ emphasis does not seem to be about monetary value anyway.

It is the trust that matters.  It is the trust the master puts in his servants.  Even the third servant is entrusted with the master’s possessions.

 

And the greatest possession is not material things or money. 

 

Think of the gift of life that God has entrusted to us. 

 

Think of the gift of God’s only Son, Jesus Christ, that God has entrusted to us.  With Jesus, we are entrusted with God’s love, mercy, peace, harmony, and so much more.

 

Am I making interest in multiplying and sharing the possessions that God has entrusted to me?  Am I making God, who has been so generous to me, known and loved?

 

Image source: www.agnusday.org

November 7, 2020

32nd Sunday - A (November 8, 2020)

You Lord Give Light to my Lamp

Matthew 25: 1-13

 

Beginning today, and for the next two Sundays (the last 3 Sundays of the Church year), the Gospels are three parables from Chapter 25 of the Gospel According to Matthew.  Matthew concludes the ministry of Jesus with these parables.  (Chapter 26 begins with “the conspiracy against Jesus” by those who opposed him).

 

These three parables together teach us how to live our earthly life in reference to the Kingdom of God.  And God’s Kingdom is not something of the next life.  It is already here because Jesus has already established it with his incarnation, his ministry, his crucifixion and resurrection. 

 

One lesson that can be drawn from today’s Gospel is that in order to live in God’s Kingdom, we must stay connected with Jesus.  A lamp without oil cannot give light.  And in Scriptures, there are references to God and God’s word as the source of light.  For example, “You Lord give light to my lamp; my God brightens my darkness” (Psalm 18: 29) [1], and “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105) [2].  Thus, we, like lamps, must be filled with the Oil – God and God’s Word.

 

 

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[1] Footnote in New American Bible for Psalm 119:105.

[2] progressiveinvolvement.com.

Image source:  www.agnusday.org

 

October 31, 2020

All Saints (November 1, 2020)

 

“We Shall Be Like God”

Matthew 5:1-12a

 

The writer of the First Letter of St. John attests to God’s transformative love.  “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called children of God.”  The writer repeats, “We are God’s children now.”  This love of God is transformative because “we shall be like” God (Second Reading). 

 

With the Beatitudes, Jesus teaches us how we can allow God’s love to transform us to be like God. 

 

Today, as we celebrate All Saints, we celebrate all those who have responded to God’s transformative love that makes them like God. 

 

They have done it.  How about me?

 

 Image source:  www.agnusday.org

October 24, 2020

30th Sunday - A (October 25, 2020)

 

Loving God in Loving Our Neighbor

Matthew 22: 34-40

 

Today’s Gospel comes from Matthew Chapter 22.  In this same chapter, last Sunday Jesus told us to “repay to God what belongs to God” (v. 21)

 

Perhaps that instruction gives me a reason to strive to love my neighbor.  My neighbor and I are both gifts from God.  It is God who has created us in God’s image and likeness.  We are redeemed by God’s only Son, Jesus Christ.  We are temples of the Holy Spirit.    

 

We do not always act or live as gifts from God, or as people redeemed by Christ.  We do not always reflect God’s image and likeness.  We do not always behave as temples of the Holy Spirit. 

 

Regardless, nothing could nullify the source of our existence, God.  Nothing can undo Christ’s redemption.  Nothing can destroy the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.        

 

When we love one another, we witness to the life, power and presence of God.  Likewise, we express our love and gratitude for God, our Creator and the Gift-giver.

 

 
Image source: www.agnusday.org

October 16, 2020

29th Sunday - A (October 18, 2020)

 

“Repay To God What Belongs to God”

Matthew 22: 15-21

 

The question then is, “What does not belong to God?”

 

All things and all people are from God and belong to God.

 

In the current social and political climate, this fact challenges us to examine our attitude regarding all that God has created. 

 

Some possible questions are:

Do I allow myself, other people, or created things to take God’s place in my life and in my heart?  One practical application of this question is in our political viewpoint and affiliation.  Is the #1 rule in my life God’s law, or my political agenda, or that of my political party or leader?

 

Another question:  How do I treat others, particularly those who hold different opinions than mine?  In the Second Reading, St. Paul reminds us that we all are “brothers and sisters,” “chosen” and “loved by God.”  

 

Today is also World Mission Sunday.  View Pope Francis' message for this day  here.


Image source: www.agnusday.org

October 10, 2020

28th Sunday - A (October 11, 2020)

 

“All Peoples”

Matthew 22: 1-14

 

Isaiah uses the image of a banquet to speak of God’s Reign.  About seven hundred years before the time of the Messiah, Isaiah prophesized, “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples” (First Reading, emphasis mine).   

 

In the Gospel, Jesus tells a parable signifying the time has come when he fulfills that prophesy.

 

In Jesus Christ, God invites to his banquet all kinds of people, “bad and good alike.”  They are now all “guests.” 

 

Our world today still needs to know this inclusivity of God’s Reign.  And each follower of Christ must be a witness and instrument of God’s invitation and welcome for all people. 

 

I might think “I’m in” and become full of pride, forgetting that I cannot earn a place at the banquet.  Besides, I might be tempted to judge people by my standards, to allow some in and keep others out.  

 

It is helpful to keep in mind that the banquet is God’s, not mine.  And it is God who offers the invitation and who is also the host, not me.

 

Image source:  www.agnusday.org


October 3, 2020

27th Sunday - A (October 4, 2020)

God’s Patience

Matthew 21: 33-43

 

“The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel.”  These words from the Prophet Isaiah (first reading and the response) provides the background for Jesus’ use of the vineyard image in the Gospel parable.

 

The Lord also treats the Church, the new Israel, as His vineyard.

 

So does God treat each of God’s children. 

 

Think of God’s patience and repeated efforts to care for the vineyard, each one of us, and to enable us to bear fruits.

 
Image source:  www.agnusday.org

September 26, 2020

26th Sunday - A (September 27, 2020)

 

The Son Who Does the Father’s Will

Matthew 21: 28-32

 

Today’s Gospel passage comes from Chapter 21 of the Gospel According to Matthew.

The chapter began with Jesus entering Jerusalem.  Prior to this passage, Jesus had purified the Temple by chasing out the vendors and money changers.

 

The plot is thickening leading to his arrest, unjust trial, and crucifixion. 

 

Jesus is the son who “does the Father’s will” to the point of death.  This is also the emphasis of the 2nd reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians. 

 

Thanks to Jesus who does the Father’s will, sinners who believe in him may now enter the kingdom of God.

 

Image source:  www.agnusday.org

September 19, 2020

25th Sunday - A (September 20, 2020)

 

I Deserve This.

Matthew 20: 1-16a

 

The first group of laborers complained to the landowner, “You have made them equals to us.”  (emphasis is mine).  They also credited themselves, “We bore the day’s burden and the heat.”

To be fair to them, they were there at dawn, ready to work. 

 

We hear these kind of expressions that often.  We all probably have said or thought similarly about ourselves too.  We worked hard.  We took our job seriously.  We deserved it.  Then we compare ourselves with others, “We work harder.  They don’t deserve it.”

 

There is room for a system of merits and rewards in human society.  Sometimes, it’s even a matter of justice.

 

But we are wrong to apply this way of thinking to God and God’s gift. 

 

If the landowner had not given the laborers work, all of them, including the first group, could be “standing idle all day.” 

 

God’s forgiveness, mercy, and love are all given to us unconditionally. 

 

If God had not created us, we would not even exist.  Moreover, God gave us God’s only Son to die for us sinners to save us and to make us children of God.  The Holy Spirit is present to guide us to eternal life with the Trinity. 

 

Therefore, gratitude is the only thing we have to offer.  

 

Image source:  www.agnusday.org

September 12, 2020

24th Sunday - A (September 13, 2020)

God’s Gift of Conscience

Matthew 18: 21-35

 

We have “in [our] hearts a law inscribed by God” [1] that is called conscience.  Thus, conscience is God’s gift to us. 

 

One of the gifts of a well-formed conscience is it helps us know our sins.  Knowing our sins could help us be more aware of our need for God’s forgiveness.

 

The awareness our need for God’s forgiveness should then lead us to greater gratitude to God and appreciation of God’s mercy.  (On the contrary, without the awareness of God’s boundless mercy, the awareness of sins alone can easily lead us to despair).

 

Appreciation of God’s mercy in turn could help us grow in our compassion with ourselves and with others. 

 

The first servant in today’s Gospel does not know the immensity of what he owes the king.  He even brags, “I will pay you back in full” although he has “no way of paying it back.”  He is clueless of either the size of the debt or his situation.  That is similar to the unawareness of one’s sins. 

 

Consequently, the servant has no appreciation for the king who was so “moved with compassion” for him that the king just “let him go and forgave him the loan.”

 

We know the rest of the story. 

 


[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church #1776, quoted Gaudium et Spes 16, quoted Romans 2:15.

Image source:  www.agnusday.org