Gospel for August 11, 2015 (Tuesday) Feast of Sta. Chiara di Assisi

Mt 18:1-5.10.12-14

At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.  Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

"See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.  What is your opinion?  If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray?  And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not astray.  In just the same way,  it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost."

The Word in other words

Who is the greatest in this world?  In the world of politics, undoubtedly President Barack Obama is one of them.  Ecclesiastically, Pope Francis is in the list.  In the world of boxing, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather are certainly included.  On the other hand, today's Gospel, the disciples of Jesus asked him, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"  The Lord presented the child to them as the image of greatest person in the kingdom of heaven.  He wants us to be childlike but not to be childish.  To be childish means to think of ourselves, and ourselves alone.  To be childlike means to be a real CHILD, that is:

...Called.  Children know that they are called by their name; and their parents have all the reasons why they are given and called by that name.  Thus, to be greatest in the kingdom of heaven is to always heed the call of God to be His faithful disciple.  God said," I have called you by your name, you are mine." (Is 43:1)

...Humble.  They know that they are limited and cannot do everything they wish/want.  Thus, to be great in the kingdom of heaven is to always have virtue of humility.  For the Lord Jesus said, "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted." (Mt 23:12)

...Inquisitive.  They know that they are weak in intelligence.  Thus, to be great in the kingdom of heaven is to be eternal student of the greatest teacher who is Jesus.  For He said, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest." (Mt 11:29)

...Loving.  They know that they are a gift of love from God to their parents.  Thus, to be great in the kingdom of heaven is to always follow the commandment of the Lord, which is to love God and our neighbor as ourselves.  For "God is love." (1 Jn 4:8)

...Dependent.  They know that they are physically weak, and that they need the help of other people.  Thus, to be great in the kingdom of heaven is to always accept the reality that we need the Lord who is always here with us.  For He is indeed the Emmanuel, which means, "God is with us." (Mt 1:23)

                        -  Fr. Ferdinand Alfante, SVD (CT Manila)

Gospel and Readings of July 19, 2015 (Sunday)

First Reading
Jer 23:1-6

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the flock  of my pasture- oracle of the Lord.  Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.  I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have banished them and bring them back to their folds; there they shall be fruitful and multiply.  I will raise up shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear or be terrified; none shall be missing- oracle of the Lord.
   
See, days are coming- oracle of the Lord-
when I will raise up  a righteous branch for David;
As king he shall reign and govern wisely,
In his days Judah shall be saved,
Israel shall dwell in security.
This is the name to be given him:
"The Lord our justice."

Second Reading
Eph 2:13-18

But now in Christ Jesus you who were far off have become near by the blood of Christ.  For he is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace and might reconcile both with God, in one body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it.  He came and preached peace to you  who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Gospel
Mk 6:30-34

The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught.  He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while."  People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat.  So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place.  People saw them leaving and many came to know about it.  They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them.  When the disciples embarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things."

The Word in other words

Jesus wants us to also to serve and love others selflessly and unconditionally.  I feel we only need to consider how much of the basic elements of time, treasure and talents we are willing to put into our actions in order to serve others and assess the intensity of our love for them.

                        -  Fr. Patricio R. delos Reyes, Jr,, SVD (Tacloban City)

Gospel for July 10, 2015 (Friday)

Mt 10:16-23

Jesus said to his Apostles, "Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.  Beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans.  When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say.  You will be given at that moment what you are to say.  For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.  Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.  You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved.  When they persecute you in one town, flee to another.  Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes."

The Word in other words

The discourse of Jesus in today's gospel is prophetic.  He tells us what the Christians in some places are experiencing: incomprehension, contradictions, and persecution.

When this happens we know that "it was in the program."  But Jesus also asks something from us: "the wisdom of simple courage which leads to fidelity up to its final consequences, and the prudence that does not look gratuitously for conflict and resolution" (Segundo Galilea)

A few years back I had the chance of joining the  "footsteps of St. Paul's pilgrimage" (Greece, Turkey, and Italy).  In that pilgrimage not only did I see the actual missionary route of St. Paul, but I was able to imagine and feel profoundly the difficulties, persecutions and sufferings he endured, as well as the loneliness, frustrations, and disappointments he overcame.  Amidst those ruined structures which were then magnificent and imposing amidst those beautiful places that we've seen, were also landmarks where St. Paul was challenged, insulted, derided, maligned and put into prison because of Christ.  We know very well from the letters of St. Paul and from Church history how the Christian communities that he had established in those regions suffered the same fate.

But what stood out from all these was the strong faith of the early Christians, their wisdom that led to fidelity till the end.  St. Paul said: "Trials of every sort come to us, but we are not discouraged.  We are left without answer, but we do not despair; persecuted but not abandoned, knocked down but not crushed (2 Cor 4:8-9)

In the same way, as Christians, let us be aware of the fearful scenario that awaits us as followers of Christ.  Yet. let us develop a strong faith in Jesus, so that no matter what happens we hang on to Him.  Like the woman after the super typhoon Yolanda who was seen praying inside the Palo cathedral, we can say: "My faith is stronger than Yolanda."

                  -Fr. Eliseo Yyance, SVD(DWC, San Jose, Occ. Mindoro)

Gospel for June 20, 2015 (Saturday)

Mt 6:24-34

Jesus said to his disciples, "No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon.  "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds in the sky; they do no sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are not you more important than they?  Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?  Why are you anxious about clothes?  Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.  They do not work or spin.  But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them.  If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the open tomorrow, will he not much provide for you, O you of little faith?  So don't worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or ' What are we to drink?' or What are we to wear?'  All these things pagans seek.  Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.  Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.  Sufficient for a day is its own evil".

The Word in other words

There is a story about a man suffering from insomnia.  He decided to try the old remedy: counting sheep.  He went to bed and closed his eyes, but when the first sheep came along, it stumbled and fell.  Would someone come along to help the sheep?  How many more sheep would come along and stumble over the fallen sheep?  How many sheep would be injured?  How much more would the shepherd lose as a result of the accident?  The man was so personally involved with the situation that the more he could not sleep!

In today's gospel, Jesus teaches us not to worry and put more trust in God.  When He tells us that we should learn from the lilies of the field and the birds of the sky, He is saying that God, in His Providence, takes care of us "who are much more of value than they".

But the write J.C. Holland had this insight on God's Providence: "God gives every birds its food, but He does not throw it into the nest.  If you observe the birds, they work so hard scraping food here and there in order to feed their nestlings."  When Jesus says, "Don't worry", He doesn't mean, "Don't work".

Following Jesus' teaching on worrying, some might say, "Do you mean to say I should not worry if my creditors are running after me over my two-million peso debt?"  Or, "should I not worry if I'am on the verge of losing my job due to retrenchment?" Or "if this lump on my neck is diagnosed as terminal cancer?"  These should be causes for worry, indeed.  But with firm faith in the Lord, we should do our utmost best to remedy them.  But if the situation is beyond human control, say, the unexpected death of a loved one or an incurable sickness, then we just have to accept them in faith.  As someone rightly said, "Don't worry about things that you can't do anything about."  Do your best, then, God will do the rest.