Gospel for July 4, 2015 (Saturday) Feast of St. Elizabeth of Portugal

Mt 9:14-17

Then the disciples of John approached him and said,  "Why do we and the Pharisees fast (much), but your disciples do not fast?"  Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?  The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.  No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse.  People do not put new wine into old wineskins.  Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined.  Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved."

The Word in other words

"Are you a KJ (kill joy)?"  Jesus must have asked John's disciples.  Fasting is done for varied reasons including health, discipline, atonement for sins, and even to "coerce" others.  However, when one is in and with Jesus, the only meaningful act of fasting would that of fasting from work.  When one is with Jesus, work is a feast where one has so much to do- for others and His Kingdom.  Didn't He say "I have food no one knows about" (Jn 4:32)?  Hence, eating is necessary to replenish the energy spent for others.  Fasting (from work, that is, or simply RESTING) becomes inevitable for the sake of the next round of service in and out for the Lord!  Didn't Jesus advise His disciples "to come away from work to a distant place to rest" (Mk 6:31)?  Even machines have to be stopped to keep from overheating.  This fasting from work thus has consequences to one's health.  Without rest one suffers from burnout.  Work will always be there, but rest and prayer are essential for us to be able to sustain our zeal for the work.  But we know that the disciples of John did not fast like that.

Secondly, fasting comes easy when "the bridegroom" dies.  That's what we call grieving, when one's energies go so slow that either one just wants to cry and the appetite seems to have left us too.  Besides, when the reason for the fast is gone, as in death, the reason for all the celebration dissipates into thin air; one really needs to sit down and feel "the blow" of the loss.  We may even feel like we have worked for nothing!  Hence, our fasting on Good Friday.

And of course, we know why the Church maintains fasting on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, one of the only two days in our church calendar in which we are required to fast.  This one seems to be the only acceptable reason: atonement and conversion from our sins.  Even Scriptures attest to this "powerful" coercive act of man which God looks so mercifully upon, remember the experience of the Ninevites in the book of Jonah?  We can never force God, by fasting, to do things our way.  Hence, when we fast so that we understand God's will for us, God is not coerced.  In fact, we go by the ways of God!

                       - Fr. Bernardo R. Collera, SVD (DWC, Legazpi, Albay)

Gospel for July 3, 2015 (Friday) Feast of St. Thomas the Apostle

Jn 20:24-29

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.  So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord,"  But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks again put my hand into his side, I will not believe."  Now a week later his disciples were again and inside and Thomas was with them.  Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said,  "Peace be with you."

Then he said to Thomas,  "Put your fingers here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe."  Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me?  Blessed are those who have not seen and have blessed."

The Word in other words

Dear Thomas,

Allow me to send you this letter across the centuries because I have some points to clarify and sentiments to express.

You were absent when the Lord appeared to your fellow disciples gathered together behind locked doors on the very day he rose from the dead.  When you came back to the Group and they told you exultantly, "We have seen the Lord!" were you not feeling sorry for having been away from your community just at that glorious moment?  Did you not perhaps come to realize that there is indeed a blessing in being with one's community even (or, especially?) when there is cause for grief?

"Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."  That was your (proud?) retort, Thomas.  So for you to see is to believe, right?  But if one sees already, one does not have to believe anymore, right also?  Take  your fellow disciples, for instance.  Their word to you was not,  "We believe in the Risen Lord,"but, "We have seen the Lord!" Is it not so that there in heaven where you are now, there is no need for faith anymore, nor for hope?  Because what you believed in and hoped for you now possess.  Yes, you now enjoy the Beatific Vision!  Truly then what remains is Love, the greatest of the Three.

But really, Thomas, from my vantage point, I find it truly amazing why you were so incredulous of your Rabbi's resurrection, and why this Easter event should have caught all of you in the group by surprise.  My reason?  Simply this: On the least three different occasions Jesus made a rather solemn statement that he would be killed but that on the third day he would rise again.  Were you not listening to him- you his disciples?  His enemies remembered that statement and so they ran to Pilate to get him to station guards at his tomb lest his followers steal his body and make people believe that he, indeed, rose from the dead.  Yes, Jesus' important declaration registered in the minds of his enemies but not in the minds of his friends!  Isn't that truly amazing?

Like the good friend that he was to you, Jesus obliged:  he appeared to your group again a week later, this time with you, Thomas, present.  He utters the same greeting: "Peace be with you!"  And now he confronts you, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving." I wonder, did you still bother to put your finger into the nail marks and your hand into his side?  I suppose not anymore, there was no need for that anymore.  Here is the objective evidence at its purest!  Yes, objective evidence- isn't that the criterion of truth?  The bastion of unbelief that you were should now have really crumbled.  And so , out of the depths of your heart, you cried ou: "My Lord and my God!" I am touched to the core of my being with your heartfelt cry.  I see it as the total surrender of unbelief, of pride, of arrogance on your part.  It was both an act of faith and an act of humility.

Than you, Thomas, for your profession of faith, "My Lord and my God!"  Should I not say also, thank you for bot being so quick to believe?  For you, by that very fact, provided a firmer foundation to our faith in the resurrection, based as it is now not only on the testimony of several who readily believed, but also on the testimony of one who did not readily believe.  Yes, I believe in the resurrection on the word of trustworthy witnesses.  Isn't that what faith is?  As the Risen One told you yourself, "Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

You know what?  I have made your "My Lord and my God!" my own profession of faith.  Each time I visit the Blessed Sacrament, looking at the tabernacle, I would say, "My Lord and my God!"  At eah elevation of the Sacred Species at Mass I would say, "My Lord and my God!"  On receiving Holy Communion, and believing that the Real Presence is now in my heart, I would say , "My Lord and my God!"

Thank you, my Friend!  I honor you not as the "Doubting Thomas", as you are often referred to, but as the Firm Believer in the Resurrection of the God-man.  Please pray for me!

Gratefully yours,
Dong Alpuerto, SVD

                    -  Fr. Dong Alpuerto, SVD (USC, Talamban, Cebu City)

Gospel for July 2, 2015 (Tuesday)

Mt 9:1-8

Jesus entered a boat, made the crossing, and came into his own town.  And there people brought to him a paralytic on a stretcher.  When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Courage, child, your sins are forgiven."

At that, some of the scribes said to themselves,"This man is blaspheming."  Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said, "Why do you harbor evil thoughts?  Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and Walk?'  But that you may know that the son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins' - he then said to the paralytic.  "Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home."  He rose and went home.

When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe and glorified God who had given such authority to human beings.

The Word in other words

"Is it a sin not to go the holy mass on Sunday, Father?  Is it a sin to engage in sex before marriage?"  For those who have undergone catechism and religious education in school the answer is clear: Yes, it is!  Whether they're guilty of doing it themselves or not is immaterial.  They have been taught, that's it.

However, the idea of sin has become very ambivalent nowadays especially among the younger generation.  The number of teen pregnancies is high in many Catholic countries including the Philippines and the consciousness about observing Sunday as the Lord's Day is rapidly decreasing especially in the affluent world, affecting both young and old alike.  The word "sin" has become alienated and now seems to be strictly confined to monastic and religious communities.  But for the "normal" people, "sin" has gone out of mode.

Jesus told a paralytic, a sick person: "Courage, child, your sins are forgiven."  For the bystanding scribes this was a scandal, a mortal offense, since only God could forgive sins.  To prove his authority, however, Jesus healed a paralytic before their eyes.

For Jesus, sin is a reality.  More often than not, sickness is a mere manifestation of the reality of sin.  If we are humble enough to acknowledge our sinfulness, we can also hope for the healing of our illness.  And when we believe that Jesus is God, we then leave a space where he can wipe out our sins  and completely heal us.

                        - Fr. Robert C. Alda, Jr. SVD (Wendel, Germany)

Gospel for July 1, 2015 (Wednesday)

Mt 8:23-27

When Jesus came to the territory of Gadarenes on the other side of the lake, he was met by two men who came out from the burial caves there.  These men had demon in them and were so fierce that no one dared travel on that road.  At once they screamed,  "What do you want with us, you Son of God?  Have you come to punish us before the right time?"  Not far away there was a large herd of pigs feeding.  So the demons begged Jesus, "If you are going to drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs."  "Go," Jesus told them; so they left and went off into the pigs.  The whole herd rushed down the side of the cliff into the lake and was drowned.  The men who had been taking care of the pigs ran away and went into the town, where they told the whole story and what had happened to the men with the demons.  So everyone from the town went out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their territory.

The Word in other words

Here is a picture of our Lord, trying to rescue us, going through a storm to cross a sea many would dare not go, so as to see two people who needed His help.  One would reject Him and the other would beg to go with Him, while the community who rejected them both also rejected Christ and demanded His departure, as they valued pigs over people, money over eternity.  This passage stresses the point that Jesus is no more man; He is divine.  Even the demons testify to this!

This is a strange story from a godly perspective, as people who should have marveled at Jesus saw a divine miracle performed before them and saved them from the torment of the demons, only to demand that He leave.  Yet, like them, so many of us do the same thing every day.  We may know if the Lord, even experience His gave and serve Him for a time, yet we too ask Him to go away.  We sometimes do not allow Him at all into our lives.  So, are we asking Jesus to leave, or are we allowing Him to embrace us?

How sad it is that as the demons cried out, "This is none of your business," we too make such heinous proclamations to the very Lord who crossed a storm to redeem us!  He who bridges the gap of the sin we could not cross is paving the way for our salvation and sanctification.  He allows us to remain in the boat with Him, even calling us to go with Him. Let us not fall into complacency and arrogance, seeing no need for our Lord, ignoring His call to us.  Let us not allow ourselves to be filled with so much "busy-ness" that we find no more time or Him!  Let us not be like the village people who saw the pigs to be of more value than the people.  What about our career- even our ministry?  Is it more important than our growth in Christ, so that our mission to build quality relationship is then pushed aside?  As with the village people, Jesus will not force Himself on us.  The call has been given; our sin has been covered.  It is up to us now to respond!

                       -Fr. Felix Ferrer, SVD (DWST, Tagaytay City)

Gospel for June 30, 2015 (Tuesday)

Mt 8:23-27

Jesus got into a boat and his disciples followed him.  Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep.  They came and woke him, "Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"

He said to them, "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?"  Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm.

The men were amazed and said, "What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?"

The Word in other words

How You could sleep in that boat, dear Jesus, in the midst of a raging storm at sea testifies not only to Your real humanness, to how tired You must really have been, but also to the eternal calm within You, which went with the confidence that the Father was with You all the time, and that You, after all the Lord of sea and sky.

I know from my own experience, that when my body is tired, after hours or days when I think I am superman who can go a long time sleepless, I just sleep through bells and alarms and knocks on doors- my body claiming its rest.  That was how it must have been with You.  Your companions, some of whom were fishermen supposedly used the moods of the sea, were terrified.  But You, the Carpenter that You were, were sleeping unperturbed, much like how we envision You on Christmas Day, as we sing a lullaby to Baby You, "Sleep in heavenly peace."  Only that this time though fully grown You still do sleep- in heavenly peace even as the sea was raging.

Roused from your sleep, You calm the wind and storm and sea while reminding Your companions that with You on board, they could have had a little more faith that nothing would go wrong.

It is tempting to that if I were on board that boat with You, I would have been a little more calm.  But in truth, I doubt if I really would have been.  Whether in literal or symbolic storms at sea or in life, I know I do get frightened when I think I am alone, forgetting that You love me, that You are in the boat with me, and that for as long as You are there, I am safe,

Today, dear Lord, please confirm me in my faith that I am loved.  As I face a new day, make me confident that You are with me whatever I do, wherever I go- be this on stormy sea or smoothly-paved street.  Let me only live so that just as You are with me, I shall always strive ever to be with You.

At the end of my day, may I enter the night equally confidently that You are still with me and will continue to be with me, ensuring that I, too, may "sleep in heavenly peace."

                    - Fr. Roderick C. Salazar, SVD (CKMS, Q.C)

Gospel for June 29, 2015 (Monday) Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul

Mt 16:13-19

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"  They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Simon Peter said in reply,  "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.  For flesh and blood had not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.  And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.  Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

The Word in other words

Have you ever made a great discover for yourself?

Today we celebrate the solemnity of Peter and Paul, Apostles.  Both can certainly be characterized as men who made a great "personal discover" of Jesus Christ.  Peter did so with his great confession: "You re the Christ, the Son of the Living God."  Paul, on the other hand, had it in Damascus event (Acts 9:3-22) when Jesus told him, "I am Jesus Christ whom you are persecuting."

Such discovery had given Peter and Paul a great privilege, but also a great responsibility.  The former, Peter, according to the post-Easter narratives, was a servant-leader and a courageous witness to the faith who fulfilled his promise to lay down his life for the Lord.  Moreover, he was given the keys to the Kingdom, making him a privileged steward of the household of God, opening the door for all to enter. The latter, Paul, went through a conversion.  He came to an awareness that God's immense love is not only for them, the Jews, but it embraces the non-Jews (Gentiles) as well, in fact the whole of humanity.  God's love is inclusive, not exclusive.  He considered the Gentiles not as a threat to Israel's holiness, but as brothers and sister within God's covenant with Israel.  He journeyed from being a Jewish Pharisee to being a Jewish-Christian missionary- a man on fire for the mission.

The discoveries of Peter and Paul are discoveries which we must make for ourselves.  As William Barclay says, "Our discovery of Jesus Christ must be a personal discovery."  Thus, our knowledge of Jesus must never be second-hand.  We might have all the information about Him; we might know every Christology that the human mind had ever thought of; we might be able to give a competent summary of the entire teaching about Him - and still remain unchristian.  Christianity is not only "knowing about Jesus", but also "knowing Jesus."

                      - Fr. Jose Honorio P. Mateo, SVD (Paraguay, S. America)

Gospel for June 28, 2015 (Sunday)

First Reading
Wis 1:13-15;2:23-24

Because God did not make death,
nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living.
For he fashioned all things that they might have being,
and the creatures of the world are wholesome;
There is not a destructive drug among them
nor any domain of Hades on earth.
For righteousness is undying.
For God formed us to be imperishable;
he image of his own nature he made us.
But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world,
and they who are allied with him experience it.


Second Reading 
2 Cor 8:7.9.13-15

Now as you excel in every respect, in faith, discourse, knowledge, all earnestness, and in the love we have for you, may you excel in this glorious act also.

For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake he became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich.

Not that others should have relief while you are burdened, but that as a matter of equality your surplus at the present time should supply their needs, so that their surplus may also supply your needs, that there may be equality.

As it is written:
"Whoever had much did not have more, and whoever had little did not have less."

Gospel Reading
Mk 5:21-43 (Mk 5:21-24. 35-43)

When Jesus had crossed again (in the boat) to the other side, a large crown gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.  One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward.  Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, "My daughter is at the point of death.  Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live."  He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.

While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?"  Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, "Do not be afraid; just have faith."  He did not allow anyone to accompany him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.  When they arrived at the house of the synagogues official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.  So he went in and said to them.  So he went in and said to them, "Why this commotion and weeping?  The child is not dead but asleep."  And they ridiculed him.  Then he put them all out.  He took along the child's father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was.  He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"  The girl, a child of twelve arose immediately and walked around.  (At that) they were utterly astounded.  He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.

The Word in other words

Suffering and death are painful realities which we are all afraid of.  Have you ever prayed so hard for the healing of someone who is sick and has been suffering for so long?  Have you ever pleaded God for the life of your dying father?  In such a desperate situation, did your faith in God waver or did it remain solid?

The gospel today presents two miracle stories of Jesus.  Here Jesus first raises a dead girl and then heals a sick woman.  The gospel also shows us two ways of expressing the faith: in secret and in public.  Jairus went to see Jesus and, in full view of the large crowd., fell at his feet and asked for the healing of his daughter.  On their way home, they received the news that the girl had died.  In spite of that, Jairus never wavered in faith in Jesus.  Upon reaching home, Jesus raised the dead girl to life.  Then, the woman who was suffering from hemorrhage for twelve years approached and touched Jesus in secret, trusting in His power to heal.  Jesus cured her and then sought to speak with her.  With that contact, the woman gained confidence to dialogue with Jesus without hiding herself anymore from Him.

Read again the gospel for today.  Feel the pain and despair of Jairus and the woman.  Remember your own pains and fears.  Look at the faith of Jairus and the woman and examine your faith in Jesus.  Is your faith unwavering like that of Jairus, timid like that of the woman, or at times so little like that of the disciples?  We cannot escape from suffering and death, but we can hope for the healing and the fullness of life because of our faith!