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“Let us not grow tired of uprooting evil from our lives. May the corporal fasting to which Lent calls us fortify our spirit for the battle against sin. Let us not grow tired of asking for forgiveness in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, knowing that God never tires of forging. Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up. So then, while we have the opportunity, let us do good to all.” (Pope Francis)

As we begin this new season of pilgrimage to the Pascal Mysteries of Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Holy Father gives us one of our focus. Sin. What is the sin in our life that hinders our deeper relationship with Jesus? As Jesus died for this sin, he is inviting us to die to it as well. Otherwise, how can there be a sharing in his resurrected life? So what will it take, with God’s grace, for this sin to be uprooted? It will not happen overnight, since it is deeply rooted in our heart. But if we begin to chisel at it and begin the process of uprooting it, then we may see some progress. That sin is a vice. What virtue do I need to work on as I am uprooting the source of that sin in my life?

“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the whole world on fire." (St. Catherine of Sienna)

We are made in the image and likeness of God. Be fully who you are meant to be. We are the beloved adopted sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. Make the Father proud of you. We share in God’s divine life. Protect your inheritance. We are witnesses of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. Let our witness speak the truth in love. As we embrace these realities, our lives will be different and through God’s grace so will the lives of others around us. 

“We need no wings to go in search of Him, but have only to look upon Him present within us." (St. Theresa of Avila)

Jesus told us that he, the Father and the Spirit will be with us and in us. This initial indwelling began in Baptism. How conscious are we of God’s divine presence within us? When we receive him in the Eucharist, God comes to renew and strengthen his life within us, so that we may continue to be one with him. We are a living tabernacle of God. We are never alone. God is Emmanuel, God with us. Where God is, the angels and saints are worshiping him. With St. Paul, we can proclaim: "In him we live and move and have our being."

Homily: Eight Sunday Year C

Reading 1: One’s speech and words tell us much about a person, his character, his values, his motives and his true self. One uses a sieve or a strainer to separate the useful and the good from what will be discarded. As the reading says, “so too does none’s speech discloses the bent of one’s mind.” How conscious are we of our speech? How observant, controlled and filtered is our speech? Do we filter our thoughts before we verbalize them or do we speak whatever we think, regardless of the consequences? This Letter of St. James speaks of the important role our tongue has. Like the rudder of a boat or the steering wheel of a car, the person can direct the boat or car. James says: “the tongue is a small part but it moves great things. By our tongues we bless God and by our tongues we speak evil of others, who have been made in the likeness of God.  

Gospel: Jesus picks up the theme of the first reading. How easy is it for us to notice the faults of others but be blind to our own faults!  Not only do we notice the faults of others, we verbalize them in a judgmental and condemning way. Jesus calls this hypocrisy. He tells us to work on our own faults, clean our own closet from its skeletons. Then if you are led by God to encourage another to deal with a fault, do it out of love and in love.

As we enter into Lent, what better area to work on than our thought and our speech? What will happen to us, if we would spend Lent conscious of filtering our negative, judgmental, critical, angry, destructive thoughts? What if we would bring these thoughts to the Lord at the foot of the cross, before we speak them without filter? Would we then be putting into practice the admonition of St. Paul when we wrote: “Whatever you do in word or deed, do it in the name of Jesus, giving praise to Go God the Father through him.” Two things would be accomplished. We would be working on the junk within us and we would build up in love the other person. Yes, there is a law of sin without each of us, but there is also the grace of God to help us overcome this law of sin, if we so choose.

Reading 2: Death is inevitable for each person. As the scripture says, there is a time to be born and a time to die. The question is will death defeat us or will we by the grace of God defeat death? Paul tells us that through Jesus we have been given the victory over the second death, which is eternal alienation for God.

In faith we know that we will live eternally. Physical death is a brief moment in our life span. But if we die separated from God, our eternally will be a confirmation of the same. If we die in union with God because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, then we, by God’s grace and mercy, will live with God eternally. Therefore, how shall we live? Paul gives us the answer. “Be firm, steadfast and always devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” 

"He who knows how to forgive prepares for himself many graces from God.  As often as I look upon the cross, so often will I forgive with all my heart.”  (St Faustina)

As we are about to enter into the grace-season of Lent, we are reminded that through his death on the cross, Jesus forgave our sins because of his great love. Love of his Father and love of us was the motive of Jesus' act. As he calls us to forgive ourselves and others, he is not asking us to suffer as he suffered, but to love as he loves. His prayer to the Father for those who rejected him and condemned him to crucifixion was loving forgiveness. As we grow in love of God and see things more through the eyes of God, the more we will be able to forgive ourselves and others. Lord, deepen my love for you!

 Eighth Sunday Gospel C

Jesus told his disciples a parable, “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?

          This teaching of Jesus is in the larger context of what it means to be a disciple of his. A disciple is to see things in the light of Jesus, who is the light of the world. To see things outside of him is to be blinded to the truth he has revealed. How then can such a person guide another, if the truth revealed by Jesus is not followed.

No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.

          As teacher, Jesus sets the standards for the disciple to follow. Thus, as disciple, what is taught and lived is what Jesus has revealed to us. Until we are fully trained under the discipline of Jesus in the way of love and service, we will not be ready to teach or lead others to Jesus.

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’
when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?
You hypocrite!  Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.

Jesus here focuses on one teaching. “Do not judge and you will not be judged.” It is easy for us in our human condition to identify the faults of others and neglect to see and deal with our own failings.

There is a difference in judging another and in giving fraternal correction out of love. Jesus corrected the disciples when they were ambitious and vying for places of honor. He did it in love, not judging them but calling them into a higher way of living.

Jesus is calling his disciples to a deeper conversion of their hearts, so that in recognizing the mercy of God to them through forgiveness, that same mercy can be extended to others who are likewise struggling.

“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.”

If the fruit of our life as a disciple of Jesus is love, then how we deal with others will reflect that to others. But if the fruit of our life is that of the world, then it will impact others negatively, not drawing them to Jesus.

Deeds and actions flow easily from the goodness within or from the evil within. What Jesus is asking of his disciples, is to begin watching how much of Jesus is in them and how their gestures reveal him to others.

“God beholds you individually, whoever you are. God calls you by name! God sees you and understands you. God made you and God knows what is in you, all your personal feelings and thoughts, your likings and dispositions, your strengths and your weaknesses. God views you in your times of rejoicing and your days of sorrow. God sympathizes with your hopes and with you in your temptations. God is interested in your anxieties and remembrances and in all the risings and fallings of your spirit. God has numbered the hairs of your head and the inches of your height. God bears you in divine arms and takes you up and sets you down. God notes your expressions, whether you are smiling or in tears, healthy or sick. God looks tenderly upon your hands and your feet and listens to your voice and to the beating of your heart and even to your breathing. You don’t and can’t love yourself better than God loves you.” (St. John Cardinal Newman)

We need to reflect on God’s love for us. It is that which truly sustains us in being, sustains us in his divine life we share with him. He loves us in spite of our sins and failings. He loves us even when we do not love him in return. Why? God is love. His very life is love. He loves us so that in love we may find fulfillment. Our identity comes from him out of love. We are his beloved sons and daughters. He has given his all, himself in the person of Jesus, out of love. He embraced death on the cross, bearing the full weight of our sins, because he loves us. The only response that we can give is love in return. The more we grow in love towards God, the more we experience a fuller outpouring of his love for us. It is not that God loves us more at that moment, but that we open ourselves more to receive his bountiful love.

“And so, without board or lodging, St. Paul traveled from place to place, destitute, naked, exhausted by hunger and thirst. When men saw him in captivity, flogged, shipwrecked, led about in chains, they could scarcely help thinking him a pitiable sight. Nevertheless, even while he suffered all this at the hands of men, he always looked toward the One who is his head and he asked: ‘What can separate us from the love of Christ, which is in Jesus? Can affliction or distress? Can persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger or death?’ In other words, 'What can force me to take my eyes from him who is my head and to turn them toward things that are contemptible?’ He bids us follow his example: Seek the things that are above, he says, which is only another way of saying: ‘Keep your eyes on Christ.’” (St. Gregory of Nyssa) 

I am reminded of a story. A man had a dream and in the dream he saw Jesus, followed by a great crowd, walking on a highway. He saw Jesus exit the road, but the crowd kept going. They were too busy focusing on themselves that they failed to see Jesus exit. It is not easy for us to keep our eyes always on Jesus. We get distracted with our difficulties and problems that we fail to remember why are we are on this journey. We are to follow not our own way but the way that Jesus is showing us by going ahead of us. When we take our eyes off Jesus we become lost. Our journey is faith in Jesus, whether we see him or not. By turning to Jesus in prayer, by expressing our faith in Jesus, by putting our trust in Jesus, by loving Jesus, then our eyes are fixed on him. In doing this, then with Paul we can say with confidence: "What can separate us from the love of God," who loves me beyond measure.

"The entire life of a good Christian is in fact an exercise of holy desire. You do not yet see what you long for, but the very act of desiring prepares you, so that when he comes you may see and be utterly satisfied. Suppose you are going to fill some holder or container, and you know you will be given a large amount. Then you set about stretching your sack or wineskin or whatever it is. Why? Because you know the quantity you will have to put in it and your eyes tell you there is not enough room. By stretching it, therefore, you increase the capacity of the sack, and this is how God deals with us. Simply by making us wait he increases our desire, which in turn enlarges the capacity of our soul, making it able to receive what is to be given to us." (St. Augustine)

What is this holy desire? We are created, redeemed, and sanctified so that one day we may be with the Lord eternally. We long to see God face to face and to be fully alive in him. In another place St. Augustine stated it well. "Our hearts are restless, O Lord, until they rest in  you." This holy desire should be central in our lives. It is a desire that should motivate our every action. Because we want to be with God and be fully complete in him, we choose to act in a way that is pleasing to God. Our whole life journey is to prepare for that last moment of our earthly life. To be with and long for God at that moment will finalize our eternity. What a joy it will be to see the desire of our hearts finally fulfilled. Lord, I long to see your face!

"If anyone does not fall short in speech, he is a perfect man, able to bridle his whole body also. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we also guide their whole bodies. It is the same with ships: even though they are so large and driven by fierce winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot’s inclination wishes. In the same way the tongue is a small member and yet has great pretensions. Consider how small a fire can set a huge forest ablaze. The tongue is also a fire. It exists among our members as a world of malice, defiling the whole body and setting the entire course of our lives on fire, itself set on fire by Gehenna. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. This need not be so, my brothers. Does a spring gush forth from the same opening both pure and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, produce olives, or a grapevine figs? Neither can salt water yield fresh." (Letter of St. James 3:2-12)

As I reflect on this passage, I realize how true it is for many of us. God created us for his glory and praise and for us to be with him forever in glory. Every part of our body has a special role to play in fulfilling our purpose. At the same time different parts of our body can be used to draw us away from God. Each needs to be controlled or it will take a life of its own. The tongue is no exception. It could be sweet, giving praise to God, speaking in love to others or it can be sour by judging or degrading others. What can make a difference? The grace of God and our cooperation and attentiveness. The sour result of our tongue reflects the sinfulness of our hearts. The sweet result of our tongue reflects from our relation with God. Be attentive and learn each day to use the tongue even in small ways for the glory of God and the good of others.

Homily: Seventh Sunday Year C

Reading 1: Background. God had David anointed. Saul was jealous of David’s popularity with the people. He feared that David would try to overthrow him as King. David is in flight and Saul is in pursuit of him. God tested David to see if he would trust in the Lord or take things in his own hands.

As we heard David had such an opportunity. David and Abishai, a trusted friend and follower came upon Saul and his troops asleep within an encampment. David could easily had killed Saul. In fact, Abishai sought to do this. But David trusted in the Lord’s timing. Even though Saul had disobeyed God, but he was still anointed by God. Even though Saul had become David’s enemy, David would not take his life.

Instead, David showed him mercy and spared his life. He loved and respected Saul, though Saul hated and despised David. David loved God more than he wanted to revenge himself. Abishai was guided and motivated by his natural inclinations, namely, kill your enemy when you have the opportunity. David was motivated by a higher more sacred principle, namely, do no harm to the Lord’s anointed. David showed his inner commitment to God by respecting what God respects.

Are we guided by the principle of the Spirit or the principle of the flesh? Does faith or feeling determine our actions?

Gospel: Jesus contrasts the life of one who is an adopted son or daughter of God to one who is a descendant of Adam and Eve with the law of sin within them. To follow Christ or to give in to the law of sin, that’s the question Jesus proposes.  The way of the Lord is clear. Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. That is what David did towards Saul He chose to follow the way of the Lord, to be obedient to the commandments, rather than to yield to the law of sin within.

Two principles Jesus gives his disciples to follow. 1. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. 2 The measure with which you measure will in return be measured in return be measured out to you.

In today’s world, we see that many are following the law of sin as descendants of Adam. An eye for an eye, hatred, killings, rage, etc. Jesus is calling us to act in the anointing we have received in baptism and confirmation. To love instead of hate. To forgive and show mercy instead of revenge. To serve rather than demand others to serve us.

Reading 2: Paul contrasts Jesus with Adam. Adam was the first man, who became a living being. Jesus was the second Adam, who was life-giving. Adam’s life came from God. even though Jesus as True God and True Man came after Adam. Even though we are descendants of Adam, made in the image and likeness of God, we came into the world alienated from God because of Adam’s sin. We were born alienated from God. But we have been reborn in the waters of baptism and have become the adopted sons and daughters of God. We bear his image.

Even as adopted sons and daughters, Paul reminds us that we still have the law of sin within us. We do the things we should not do and don’t do the things we should do. Instead of despairing over this reality, Paul gives us the way to deal with this. Only in Jesus and with his help can we live in relationship to God and with the strength and grace of the Spirit choose the way of the Lord and not the way of sin.

It is not too early to begin thinking of our upcoming Lenten journey. What is God calling us to embrace during the time of Lent that will bring spiritual transformation in us? What area of our life is not in union with God’s call to us? What needs to die in us, so that new life may come forth? Jesus died to sin on Good Friday and rose to new life on Easter Sunday. 

" If we lose the thread of the spiritual life, if a thousand problems and thoughts assail us, let us heed Paul’s advice. Let us place ourselves in front of Christ Crucified, let us begin again from Him. Let us take the Crucifix in our hands, holding it close to our heart. Or we can even take some time in adoration before the Eucharist, where Jesus is Bread broken for us, Crucified, Risen, the power of God who pours out his love into our hearts." (Pope Francis)

It is so easy for us to become so busy and involved in our day to day involvement in the world, that we can lose our focus. What is that focus? Should it not be our relationship with Jesus as our Lord and Savior? Jesus knew that we needed an advocate to help us on our journey to the Father. So he sent his Spirit. Paul tells us to follow the lead of the Spirit so that the fruits of the Spirit become evidenced in our lives. Coming under the Lordship of Jesus and following the lead of the Spirit will enable us to keep our journey to the Father on track.

Seventh Sunday Gospel  C

Jesus said to his disciples: “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. 

· How does the word of Jesus correspond or conflict with the learned behavior taught by the world today?

· The way of a disciple of Jesus must be different than the way of the world. One leads to eternal life and the other the destruction of life and relationships. Which do you want to choose?

· How does God treat us? This is the way we are to treat others. God moves from justice to mercy and love. Do we expect God to treat us in any other way than we treat others?

· Jesus gives specific examples how we are to move from justice to mercy in our relationship to others. How do we measure against them?

For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount. But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

· The love Jesus is requiring of us is not an emotional feeling, but a decision to act for the good of the other because God has shown us this kind of love when we were undeserving of it. Is our love for others reflective of this command of Jesus? If not, what will we decide to do?

· If we think Jesus is asking too much of us, view him on the cross and see that he put into action what he asked of us.

· The basis of what we do as disciples is not the way of the world but the way of the Lord. Which way do we choose to follow?

 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give, and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”

· What a sobering thought! The way we treat others is the way we are telling God to treat us. If we love others, forgive others, show kindness to others, then this is how God will judge us. But the opposite is also true. God has set the standard of mercy and love. But if we want the standard to be strict justice and non-forgiveness, so it will be.

· What needs to change in our life as a result of reflection on this passage?

· With Lent coming up what could be a good Lenten resolution as a result of this teaching of Jesus? 

I came across a quote from Pope Francis that I would like to share with you. It is about Jesus praying for us at the Last Supper and on the cross. Pope Francis said: "Jesus' prayer is intense, the prayer of Jesus is unique and also becomes the model for our prayer. Jesus prayed for everyone, He also prayed for me, for each one of you. Each one of us can say: 'Jesus prayed for me on the Cross.' He prayed. Jesus can say to each one of us: 'I prayed for you, at the Last Supper, and on the wood of the Cross...We must keep this in our heart, we must never forget that Jesus prayed for each of us personally. We were willed by Jesu Christ, and even in the our of His Passion, Death, and Resurrection, everything was offered for us. So with prayer and with life, all that is left for us is to have courage, hope, and with this courage and hope to experience strongly the prayer of Jesus and go forward: so that our life might give glory to God in the awareness that He prays for me to the Father, that Jesus prays for me." 

How often do I reflect on Jesus as our intercessor before the Father? Not only did Jesus prayed on earth for us, he continues to lift us up to the Father. That means that we must be special in his eyes. Not only did he died for our sins, not only does he redeem us, and adopted us as sons and daughters, Jesus desires that we be with him forever in glory. So he intercedes for us. Our prayer is to be in union with God's prayer for us. 

If we would treat others the way God treats us, our life would be different. Unfortunately too often, that is not the case. We cry out to God for mercy and forgiveness, but fail to do the same towards others. We want God to love us even more, but we forget to love others as much as God has loved us. We look for gratitude from others for what we have done for them. But we fail to thank God for his many blessings. We want God to be there for us when we need, but forget to be there for others in their need. Jesus has given us this rule of thumb. "The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you." (Matthew 7:2)  God's mercy and love are unconditional. Would that ours would seek to be the same towards others. God sets the standard for us to follow. 

 What is prayer? It is commonly held to be a conversation. In a conversation there are always an "I" and a "Thou" or "you." In this case the "Thou" is with a capital T. If at first the "I" seems to be the most important element in prayer, prayer teaches that the situation is actually different. the "Thou" is more important, because our prayer begins with God....In prayer the true protagonist is God....Prayer is always a work of glory....Man achieves the fullness of prayer not when he expresses himself, but when he lets God be most fully present in prayer. (John Paul II, 

It is easy for us to talk, but hard for us to just be and listen when we spend time with the Lord. Just to be, just to be silent in our time with God is not easy for us. It takes discipline to wait upon the Lord. Even if we seem not to hear anything, being with the Lord is prayer. It is the experience of Elijah, the prophet. It wasn't in the thunder or the earthquake, or the roaring wind that he was able to hear the Lord. It was in the stillness of the silence within him, that he heard the Lord.  Scripture says: "Be still and know that I am the Lord". 

Homily Sixth Sunday Year C

Reading 1: Jeremiah has been sent to call the people of Israel back to the Lord. Externally, they were going through the motions, but internally and relationally they were not in right order. Instead of trusting in the Lord, who had shown them his providential care in many ways, they sought to align themselves with other nations and kingdoms for their protection.

So Jeremiah spoke the word of God to them. “Cursed are those who trust in other human beings and not in God. You will be like a fruitless tree in the desert.” On the other hand, those who put their trust primarily in God’s providential care will be like a fruitful tree.

In a sense, we are like the Israelites. Though on our currency we say “In God we trust”, but in fact do we truly trust in God? There are some in our nation who want to remove God from all public awareness and relegate God to a private, personal experience. In our personal lives do we truly trust in God primarily or do we put our trust in ourselves and others? Is our trust in God merely verbal or is actually what sustains us in our daily life? Because the people of Jeremiah’s day refused to heed God’s word, they experienced the curse of defeat and exile.

Gospel: The first reading stressed the difference between those who trust in the Lord and those who did not. The first are blessed and the later are cursed. Jesus uses the same idea in the Gospel. Blessed vs woe. Underlying the four groups of people whom Jesus calls blessed are those who trust in the Lord, even though they are poor materially, go about hungry, weep over the sins of the times, and are persecuted on account of their relationship with Jesus. In spite of their situation, they put their trust in God to provide for them.

In contrast are those who are called woe, not because they are rich, or satisfied, or laughing or spoken well of. They do not put their trust in God, but in themselves and others.  It would be wrong to think that Jesus despised the rich or those have sufficient food to eat, or know how to enjoy life. The contrast Jesus makes here is the same he makes in the parable of the unnamed rich man and the beggar Lazarus. The rich man was indifferent about the plight of the beggar. His focus was his own satisfaction, forgetting that he was a beggar before the Lord and a steward of the Lord’s provisions for him. On the other hand, Lazarus put his hope and trust in God to provide for him.

Do we trust in the Lord? Paul himself said that whether he had or did not have, he put his trust in the Lord to provide for his needs.

Reading 2: Paul was dealing with those in the Corinthian community who questioned life after death and therefore the resurrection of the body. Paul’s response is “do you trust in the word of God or do you trust in your own thinking?” Paul then turns to the word of God, reminding them of the central mystery of our faith, namely the death and resurrection of Jesus from the dead. If we believe in the mystery of Jesus’ resurrection; if we believe that he has come to give us eternal life; if we believe that he said that when he will be with him, then we need to accept in faith that one day, though our bodies may turn to dust in the grave, nothing is impossible to God.

If God can create the first human being out of the clay of the earth, then he can raise our bodies up either to glory or to condemnation.  Each Sunday in the Creed, we profess this truth of revelation, namely, that, one day, God will raise our bodies to eternal life with him or eternal life alienated from him. 

"One of the essential conditions of interior freedom is the ability to live in the present moment. For one thing, it is only then that we can exercise freedom. We have no hold on the past—we can’t change the smallest bit of it. People sometimes try to relive past events considered failures (“I should have done this . . . I should have said that . . .”) but those imaginary scenarios are merely dreams: it is not possible to backtrack. The only free act we can make in regard to the past is to accept it just as it was and leave it trustingly in God’s hands." (Fr. Jacques Philippe)

For us human beings, living in the present moment is usually a difficult task to accomplish. Like the proverbial pendulum we go from the past to the future, finding it very hard to stay in the present moment. Any yet there is no life or value in living in the failures of the past or in the uncertainties of the future. The grace of God is found in the present moment. For in the present moment we can seek to live differently from the past. In the present moment we can prepare to enter into the future. It is like walking. If we keep looking to what is behind us or look too far ahead of us, we will stumble and fall, failing to see the step in the present moment. Jesus addressed this need to remain in the present moment. “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34)

Sixth Sunday Gospel C

Jesus came down with the twelve and stood on a stretch of level ground with a great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. 

· Luke tells us that Gentiles from Tyre and Sidon as well as Jews from Judea and Jerusalem were going out to hear Jesus and experience his miraculous powers.

· What comes before this passage in Luke is the relating that Jesus spent the night on the mountain side in prayer and followed this by naming the twelve apostles. Thus he came down with the twelve.

· What we have is Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew’s Gospel.

· Luke’s version is shorter because, though he is dependent on Matthew for one of his sources, his audience is different from Matthew. Matthew is predominately speaking to Jewish converts; Luke to Gentile converts.

And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. 

· Luke addresses the economically and socially poor and calls them blessed.  Matthew focuses on the religious and spiritual poor who depend on the Lord for all.

Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. 

· Again the same distinction is made by Luke and Matthew: Luke is concerned about the people in his community who are without proper amount of food and calls them blessed. While they may suffer now, they will be blessed. Matthew looks at those who are hungry and thirsty for justice and righteousness.

Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. 

· Luke is addressing the physically sad; Matthew blesses those who mourn because of sin.

Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way

· Do we experience some of this in our life because we try to follow Jesus? If so, we should be happy to know that we will be blessed, not now but in heaven.

But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

· Luke provides four “beatitudes”; Matthew gives eight.

· Luke balances the picture by adding some negative contrasts: four woes. These are absent from Matthew.

· Luke addresses those who are financially rich but who do not share their blessings with those who are poor.

Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. 

· In contrast to those above who are hungry now and who will be satisfied later, Luke  tells those who are physically filled now that they will be hungry because they did not share with others.

Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. 

· Luke reminds those who enjoy their lives without concern for others or at the expense of others that the day will come when their situation will become reversed.

· Recall the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the poor man. (Lk 16:19-31)

Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

· Notice all four woes are in contrast to the four blessings. Luke seeks to warn those in his community what true discipleship is all about.

· What application can you make in your own life from this passage? 

“Every day the boat of our life leaves the shores of our home to go out into the sea of daily activities; every day we try to ‘fish in deep water,’ to cultivate dreams, to carry out projects, to live love in our relationships. But often, like Peter, we experience the ‘night of empty nets’ — the disappointment of working so hard and not seeing the desired results. The Lord loves to surprise us.  He loves to get into the boat of our lives when we have nothing to offer him; to enter our emptiness and fill it with his presence; to make use of our poverty to proclaim his wealth, of our miseries to proclaim his mercy. Like with St. Peter, Jesus wants to be close to us, no matter what situation we are in. Let us remember this: God does not want a cruise ship; a poor, ‘ramshackle’ boat is enough for him, as long as we welcome him. But do we — I ask myself — let him get in the boat of our life? Do we make available to him the little we have?” (Pope Francis)

This was a divine appointment in Peter's life, which he did not recognize when Jesus asked him to  use his boat. He was tired from a unprofitable night of fishing. Even when Jesus asked him to go fishing again, Peter had no expectations. But those two decisions opened the door for the beginning of a transforming relationship with the only one who could make a difference in Peter's life.  How often do we invite Jesus into our lives, especially when we feel empty and alone, when things are not going well. These could be moments of divine appointment in which Jesus seeks to draw us closer to himself, out of our self-focused thinking. Anything like a miraculous catch of fish may not occur, but the grace we will need will be ours. "Lord, I need you. Come in this present moment with your presence."

Jesus recognized the human experience of loneliness. He experienced  it on the cross, when he felt the weight of the sins of the world and the sense of abandonment. In that moment, he turned to the Father, whom he knew was with him and had not left him alone.  For he recalled those many days and nights he would be alone with the Father in prayer. He was assured of the Father's word to him: "You are my beloved Son on whom my favor rests." There is a difference between loneliness and being alone. As long as I nurture my relationship with God by being alone with him in prayer, though I experience the human emotion of loneliness, I too will be sustained. We are never alone. We have the promise of Jesus to his disciples. "I will be with  you until the end of the world."  Though I do not see or feel his presence, in faith I believe in his word. 

I hope that we realize how blessed we are and learn to express our gratitude to God each day. Unfortunately, some of us tend to take our blessings for granted. How often in the Old Testament did God remind the Chosen People of the need to be grateful. They were to express their gratitude visibly and publicly by bringing their offerings to the Lord. We, the people of the New Covenant, have the perfect gift to express our gratitude. It is the Eucharist. The word itself means "thanksgiving". What greater gift can we give to the Father than the gift of his Son's sacrifice on the cross for our salvation! Do we approach the Eucharist each Sunday with this awareness or do we approach it as an obligation? Each day we receive many blessings from God. Hopefully, we express our gratitude in prayer. But each Sunday we have the opportunity to express our gratitude individually and as a faith community in the celebration of the Eucharist. God, in turn, receives our gift of thanksgiving and gives us the gift of his Body and Blood in love, renewing the gift of his divine life in us. How great is our God! How grateful should we be in response! A grateful heart opens itself to further blessings from God.

Homily Fifth Sunday Year C

Reading 1: Last Sunday we heard the call of Jeremiah to be a prophet. In today’s readings we heard the call of Isaiah, Paul and Peter. Like Jeremiah, Isaiah experiences through a vision God’s call to be a prophet. Isaiah sees the glory of God and hears the song of the angels crying out “Holy, Holy, Holy!” His first response was the acknowledgment of his sinful state.

God’s response was to symbolically purify him. Then God shares with him the reason for the vision. Will he accept the role of prophet and go to the Israelites with God’ message? Unlike Jeremiah, Isaiah didn’t hesitate to say “Yes, send me.”

Let’s look at the process. Whenever there is an encounter with the Divine, there is always a feeling of unworthiness on the side of the human. Isaiah experienced this unworthiness and considered himself doomed and lost for encountering the Divine. But God’s purpose is to prepare him for a greater mission and purpose.

If we have had an encounter with God, maybe not as dramatic as Isaiah, we have also experienced our unworthiness. But what God is seeking from us is the readiness response to him like Isaiah: to do the will of God no matter the cost. Like other prophets, Isaiah suffered mainly because he spoke the Word of God yet the people did not receive it nor respond to it. In spite of that, he continued to speak the Word of God.

Reading 2: St Paul discusses the mission he received from Christ to be an Apostle to the nations. Paul’s encounter with the Divine took place on his way to Damascus to persecute the followers of Christ. Years later, as he looked back on that event, Paul experienced the same unworthiness and considered himself unfit to be called an Apostle. But by God’s grace he was. It was the same grace/favor of God that called Isaiah, Peter, Andrew, James and John. Paul was a zealot in preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which has the power to save.

It is the grace of God that has saved us through Jesus’ death and resurrection and calls us to follow him in spite of our sinfulness. What are we called to be and do? We are called to be disciple/witnesses who preach by our words and life the good news of God’s love and mercy.

Gospel: We have here the call of the first disciples by Jesus. Jesus encounters Peter, Andrew, James and John. He has already met Andrew and John at the Jordan after being baptized. He has already met Peter, who was brought to Jesus by Andrew. However, those encounters did not galvanized them as disciples.

It is this event of the miraculous catch of fish that became the tipping point for them. They had been fishing all night and had caught nothing. So you can imagine the initial hesitation but eventual agreement of Peter to be obedient to Jesus when he said to put out into the deep. Was he just humoring Jesus who is not a fisherman? Expert fishermen knew you don’t expect to catch much around noon.

But when they lowered their nets at the spot Jesus indicated and caught the enormous amount of fish, they were overwhelmed. Peter’s disbelief turned into astonishment and then to unworthiness. But Jesus’ response is the same as God’s to Isaiah. As God called Isaiah to be his prophet in spite of his sinfulness, Jesus invites Peter and the others to be his disciples. “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Like Isaiah, they left everything to follow him.

Today’s Gospel marks the official beginning point in the relationship between Jesus and Peter. This is also the beginning of the leadership role that Peter will have within the community of disciples. Peter was chosen for this role.

God encounters us not just once but at different times but the process is always the same. We experience something beyond us; we recognize our sinfulness; we are called to repent and be open to the more God wants to reveal. These encounters have a twofold purpose: greater intimacy and growth in holiness in order to have a more effective ministry.

St. John tells us that God pitched his tent among us, when he took on our flesh to live with us. Jesus became one like us in all things but sin, so that he could become our sacrificial redemption. By his death and resurrection we have been ransomed in Baptism and adopted as God's sons and daughters.  In this way God restores us to his original plan for us, namely, to share in his divine life now and eternally. Jesus told the Apostles  (and us) that he was going to prepare a place for us, that where he will be we will as well. Jesus came to dwell with us, so that we can dwell with him. Our destiny is not death but life, not to be alone but to be with all the angels and saints in God's eternal kingdom. So, we must not get distracted from reaching our true and lasting home. Like Paul, we are to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus the Lord, who calls us to himself.

Fifth Sunday Ordinary Gospel C

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 

· There is a pattern to Jesus’ ministry. He teaches and then confirms his message with a miraculous sign. Or he performs a sign and, having gotten their attention, then teaches. Both sign and word are messages.

· In this case, the message was for Simon and his friends as well. What he taught we do not know but it could have been a preparation for the invitation to Simon and companions to become his disciples and follow him.

· It was not by accident that he chose Simon’s boat. This was not the first time that Jesus and Simon have met. In John’s Gospel we are told of an initial or preparatory encounter prior to this event.

After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” 

· Sometimes we are more comfortable on the shores of life—in our comfort zone. But God calls us to put out into the deep.  What is the area in your life that God is calling you to put out into the deep and move away from your comfort zone?

· Simon had no clue what was about to happen would be life changing for him. Has God done something in your life that was also life-changing, which you were not prepared for?

· What was the first step for Simon and for us? Do what he tells us, even though we do not understand.

When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them.  They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon.

· What is the second step for Simon and for us? Recognizing our sinfulness and unworthiness and repent.

· Peter’s own unworthiness and sinfulness was a block to going deeper in his own life. What is the block in our lives? Can we like Peter acknowledge the block, the area of sin and like Peter not let it be a block any longer?

 Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him. 

· What is the third step?  What is an apparent block to us is not an obstacle for Jesus to overcome. This was not the end of the story for Peter or for us.

· The miracle was a preview of what Jesus wanted to do it their lives. But they had to be willing to let go their comfort zone and trust in Jesus and follow him no matter the cost. This is what it means to put out into the deep.

· Peter and his companions were not perfect when they responded to Jesus’ invitation. They grew in relationship as they spent time with Jesus.

· What is the fourth step? We must be willing to surrender and follow the path the Jesus begins to show us in our life.

· What is God saying to you as you reflect on this passage? 

"Humility, in itself, in its most perfect state, does not consist in being little or feeling little but in making oneself little." (Raniero Cantalamessa)

Humility is not how others see us or how others treat us. It is how we see ourselves in comparison to God. He is all in all. I am a struggling sinner. He is the beginning and end of all. I am nothing without him. At the same time, I am who he has made me. I am a beloved son or daughter of the Father. I am a disciple of the Son. I am the anointed of the Spirit. All this, not because of me, but because of God. I am who I am in the eyes of God, nothing more, nothing less. Living in this reality is humility.