Gospel for July 16, 2015 (Thursday) Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

Mt 11:28-30

Jesus offers an invitation: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

The Word in other words

The effects of modern technology may two-sided.  Home appliances may shorten time spent in cooking, washing, cleaning and other household chores, but this "saved" time is often wasted in front of the television and the computer at home.  At the office, plenty of productivity time is lost answering e-mails and reading facebook posts and messages.  Mobile phones give digital access to social networks and real-time news.  But this ubiquitous accessibility of technology causes constant stress, which disrupts relaxation and recovery.  It encourages gadget addiction, which eventually hampers real social communication and personal encounter.

As if people in today's hectic world are not strained enough from the pressures of family and career work, many are yet faced with mounting and seemingly never-ending workloads.  We are expected to balance the demands between our jobs and ourselves.  We are torn apart between wants and needs.  Oftentimes personal creative projects are overtaken by practical concerns.  When unchecked, many stressed people suffer from burnout, feeling depleted and devoid of interest.  They often don't see any hope for positive change, nor do they find any exit from their stressful situations.

Jesus invites the burdened to come to him, because "his yoke is easy and his burden is light."  How does this apply to the modern predicament of work overload?  Jesus offers a change of mentality.  His gospel allows us to reassess our priorities.  Do we live in order to work or do we live for bread alone?  Can't we switch of our gadgets without feeling left out and take time to meditate and pray?  A healthy holistic spirituality entails taking care of our soul and body.  Jesus seems to tell those who are trapped in the web of modern entanglements to adopt healthy ways of eating, exercising, and sleeping.  Take a daily break from technology.  Even Jesus himself took him to pray and be alone after his public ministries.  Hermann Hesse, a German poet and novelist, once wrote, "Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself."  In this inner sanctuary, one may find God.

              -  Fr. Simon Boiser, SVD (Hamburg, Germany)

Gospel for July 15, 2015 (Wednesday) Feast of St. Bonaventure

Mt 11:25-27

At that time Jesus said in reply, "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.  Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.  All things have been handed over to me by my Father.  No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son wishes to reveal him."

The Word in other words

A visiting friend told me of her experience when she visited one of our communities in the north.  When requested by one of the Sisters to bring the community to a place for a funeral, my friend readily agreed.  The Sister promised to direct the driver since she had previously been assigned to that place.  When it seemed that they were lost, another Sister suggested that they inquire from the people they passed by, but the confident Sister insisted she knew the place.  In the end, they were not able to find their way and had to go back home instead.

It is against this way of thinking that Jesus warns us in today's Gospel.  Jesus does not condemn intelligence.  In fact, it is one of God's gifts to us.  What Jesus condemns is our arrogance in thinking that, because of this gift of intelligence, we know better and therefore no need for further instruction, or that we don't have anything to learn from others anymore.

Through the attitude that Jesus enjoins us to acquire today, we can be open to another message of the Gospel; that, however advance is our intelligence, it is only Jesus who reveals God to us.  It is our Christian conviction that it is in Jesus Christ alone that we see what God is like, and that Jesus can give knowledge to anyone who is humble and trustful enough to receive it.

                 - Sr. Arlene F. Lobitana, SSpS (Manila)

Gospel for July 14, 2015 (Tuesday) Feast day of St. Camillus de Lellis

Mt 11:20-24

Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. "Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.  But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum; 'Will you be exalted to heaven?  You will go down to the netherworld.  For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.  But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you."

The Word in other words

A HEART OF STONE!  Is that what you have?  Do you have a cold and unfeeling heart?  In the gospel today, Jesus expressed His disappointment with the towns of Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum for the hardness of their hearts.  In these towns, Jesus performed "mighty deeds" but the people rejected His works,  Jesus then compared these towns to the cities of Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom.  These cities were symbols of immorality, perversion, pride, and sin.  Had the people of these cities heard the works of Christ, their repentance would have been swift and profound.  But the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, in spite of seeing the works of Jesus, did not repent. In the gospel, Jesus us about conversion and warns us of the danger of being repentant.

Sometimes, we are like the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida.  We receive abundant blessings from God and yet we remain indifferent to His goodness.  Sometimes, we are like the people of Capernaum,  God makes us feel so loved like His favorite children yet we remain cold and proud.  Today the gospel invites us to look into our own hearts.  Do you have a heart of stone of do you need a "new heart"?

Read again the gospel for today.  Recall the times when you felt like the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum.  Ask God for the grace of conversion.  As you pray, remember the words of Ezekiel 36:26: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."

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

Gospel for July 13, 2015 (Monday) Feast of St. Henry

Mt 10:34-11:1

Jesus said to his Apostles, "Do not thing that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.  I have come to bring not peace but the sword.  For I have to set a man 'against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's enemies will be those of his household.'

"Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.  Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for sale will find it.

"Whoever receives your receives me, whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.  Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man's reward.  And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one these little ones to drink because he is a disciple- amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward."

When Jesus finished giving these commands to his twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.

The Word in other words

In the year 1204 a man named Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, an Italian heir to a wealthy businessman, renounced his worldly life after experiencing spiritual conversion, and chose to be with the poor begging at St. Peter's Basilica.  He gave all his belongings to the poor and chose to wear a beggar's cloak.  His peers mocked him and made his father furious who later drove him out of their household.  In a dream he encountered Christ who said, "Go and repair my house which, as you can see, is falling apart."  Francis , as he is now popularly known, would later become one of the most venerated religious figures in history. (Wikipedia)

In today's gospel, Jesus is telling us that to follow Him is not an easy task.  If we choose to follow Him and be His disciples, here is no other way but to carry our own crosses.  Though crosses may differ in size and weight, a disciple is expected to carry a heavier cross, being sent like a sheep among wolves.  A disciple should be prepared to be mocked, ridiculed, rejected, persecuted and should even be ready to die for the sake of Christ.

According to the CIA's World Factbook (July 2012 est), there are 2.2 billion Christians in the world.  How many of us, like St. Francis of Assisi, are ready to give up everything for the sake of Christ?  How many of us have the guts to choose good over evil, to be honest and not corrupt, to be faithful to our vows and not break them, to work hard to make a living and not steal, to be humble and not proud, to be simple and not extravagant?  How many of us would rather choose to forgive than seek vengeance, and to turn the other cheek rather than retaliate?  How many of us care enough to give their time, talent and treasure to care for the oppressed and the victims of injustice?

Would you choose to be a disciple?  That might be easier said than done.

                   -  Br. Jong Jacela, SVD (Cainta, Rizal)

Gospel and Readings for July 12, 2015 (Sunday) 15th Week of Ordinary Time

First Reading
Am 7:12-15

To Amos, Amaziah said: "Off with your, seer, flee to the land of Judah and there earn your bread by prophesying! But never again prophesy in Bethel; for it is the king's sanctuary and a royal temple."  Amos answered Amaziah, "I am not a prophet, nor do I belong to a company of prophets.  I am a herdsman and a dresser of sycamores, but the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lords said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'"

Second Reading
Eph 1:3-14

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ, with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.  In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he garnered us in the beloved.  Fulfillment thought Christ.

In him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us.  In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us the misery of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.  Inheritance through the Spirit.

In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.  In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption of God's possession, to the praise of his glory.

Gospel Reading
Mk:6:7-13

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits.  He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick- no food, no sack, no money in their belts.  They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.  He said to them,  "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until  you leave from there.  Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them."  So they went off and preached repentance.  They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

The Word in other words

As I was preparing this reflection, I read the sharing of Fr. Sisoy Cellan in Sambuhay.  Fr Sisoy is an SVD missionary who is presently assigned in Kenya.  I would like to relate to you some of his thoughts on mission which is just about the theme of today's gospel.  By the way, Fr. Sisoy used to be my student in philosophy when I was the regent of Christ the King Mission Seminary, our college-seminary at E. Rodriguez, Q.C.

Fr. Sisoy shared a story where an old woman approached an SVD missionary stationed at a remote mission area in Kenya.  Among other things, this woman was asking for food.  Our SVD confrere handed her some unga (ground maize), and told her it was all he could give her.  Then woman thn replied: "If you missionaries cannot give us what we need, then why are you here?" For Fr. Sisoy it was a biting and even unfair remark.  However, it was worth reflecting on.  Once again the remark of the woman led him to examine his reason for doing mission in Kenya.  He thus posed the question: "If we missionaries cannot give what people ask of us, then what are we to them?"

In today's gospel, Jesus sent his apostles to minister to people and to their needs.  He also instructed them how mission must be conducted in simplicity and with single-mindedness.  In particular, he sent them in pairs.  There is wisdom in this mission strategy- to do mission as a team.  Today, in the Church, pastoral ministry has to be a team ministry if it has to be efficient.  Gone are the days of the rugged individualistic type of missionaries.  Team ministry is not just a pastoral strategy; it is also an effective aspect of witnessing.

Fr. Sisoy speaks of team ministry in doing mission on another front.  This team ministry is in the form of partnership between the Filipino missionaries sent abroad and the Philippine Church He writes:

We represent the Philippine Church in our mission here in Africa.  We carry with us our identities as Filipino Christians into the mission field.  We become the living expression of the Philippine Church's commitment to mission.  Hence, we wish to see our brothers and sisters in our motherland taking concrete stand for us missionaries, supporting and giving assistance to Filipino missionaries who are away from home.  If such concrete assistance is pursued vigorously, then the question of the old woman will have been answered already.

We thank GOd that the Philippines has become the mission-sending Church and we thank in a special way our courageous Filipino missionaries who have braved the difficult and challenging mission in all parts of the glob.  St. Joseph Freinademetz, the first SVD missionary to China, was sustained in his difficult mission among the Chinese by the conviction that, despite differences in culture, languages and ways of life, there is one language that everybody speaks and understands: it is the language of love, the language of God's love.

                 - Fr. Raul Caga, SVD (DWS, Tagaytay City)

Gospel for July 11, 2015 (Saturday) Feast of St. Benedict

Mt 10:24-33

Jesus said to his Apostles,  "No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master.  It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master. If they have called master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household!

Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.  What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. "And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.  Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?  Yet no one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge.  Even all the hairs of your head are counted.  So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.  Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.  But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father."

The Word in other words

When we were younger, my cousins and I were fond of using the term "Don't panic" whenever we find ourselves in a panic mood like studying for the exams or doing a house chore.  I remember also teasingly saying these words whenever my father would ask me to do something.  It would make him a bit furious, and the next thing I knew is him approaching me with a belt on hand!

The very words at the beginning of this day's Gospel,  "Jesus said to his disciples" introduces His instructions to his disciples.  Today He is telling us at least three things:

1.  No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple to become like his teacher, for the slave to become like his master.  As baptized, our life stories, more so our joys and victories, should always be seen as something we have learned from the teachings and examples of Jesus.  If you feel that other people, and not you, are advancing in riches and wisdom, if you feel that you are not becoming more patient and generous and maturing in faith, don't panic! Life is a mission, mission is a lifetime.

2.  What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.  If you have truly understood what it means to faithfully do God's will, you'll agree that following Jesus is not a joy ride.  HE continues to invite you and me, "Take up your cross and follow Me."  It is in these "moments of the cross" when we encounter tribulations and darkness that He in turn faithfully whispers to us, "Don't panic."

3.  So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.  When you find yourself down and hurt; when you're tempted to hate rather than to understand and forgive; when in doubt and afraid, remember, don't panic! "I have loved you with an everlasting love ad that will never change, even if you do."  Then again, "I will always be there for you, you are my precious one."

                         -  Fr. Flavie Villanueva, SVD (CT Manila)

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)