Gospel for August 29, 2015 (Saturday) Beheading of John the Baptist

Jn 14:1-6

Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.  John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."  Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.  Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody.  When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him.  She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee.  Herodias' own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests.  The king said to the girl, "I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom."  She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?"  She replied,  "The head of John the Baptist."  The girl hurried back to the king's presence and made her request, "I want you to give me a once on a platter the head of John the Baptist."  The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her.  So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head.  He went off and beheaded him in the prison.  He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl.  The girl in turn gave it to her mother.  When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

The Word in other words

During my college days, I worked in a non-governmental organization which fought for the rights of poor farmers.  I wrote the press releases and joined others on street rallies.  We put up barricade-tents in front of contested farm lands.  We were harassed by private armies and well-known political families.  Guns were aimed at our faces.  I was then very idealistic and willing to put my life in danger.  When my father heard this, he was more concerned with his son's life.  He told me, "Fighting for justice is good.  But there are more victims than victors in our country, where life is disposable.  Who is going to fight for you when those criminals shoot you?  It will be your parents."

As the church celebrates today the beheading of John the Baptist as a feast, it is not about the morbid delight of getting oneself killed.  It is about the martyrdom of John who gave witness to the truth.  He was not silent before the evil surrounding him.  He went against the mainstream who's rather play safe.  The prophet John said the right thing, even if it was at the wrong time and place.

Being prophetic is dangerous to one's health.  That is why there is a saying: "Play it safe."  Nobody wants to rock the boat.  It is better to shut up, so that nobody will bother you.  This survival instinct can, however, be dangerous in a situation of injustice.  Ninoy Aquino bravely went home to the Philippines despite repeated warnings that his life was in danger.  He said, "The Filipino is worth dying for."  Many less-known political prisoners in our country have the same conviction.  Nelson Mandela, also an ex-political prisoner, said: "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it."  He triumphed like John the Baptist, who may have lost his head, but won his soul for standing for the truth.

Gospel for August 28, 2015 (Friday) Feast of St. Augustine

Mt 25:1-13

Jesus said to his disciples, "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Five of them were foolish and five were wise.

The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.  Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

At midnight, there was a cry, 'Behold, the bridegroom!  Come out to meet him!'  Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.  The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'  But the wise ones replied, 'No, for there may not be enough for us and you.  Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.'

While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready wen into the wedding feast with him.  Then the door was locked.  Afterwards the other virgins came and said, 'Lord, Lord, open the door for us!'  But he said in reply. 'Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.'  Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour."

The Word in other words

Being prepared is not only standing in attention to wait for the command, but also to make provision for any eventuality that one needs to respond to.  Christianity considers earthly life as a journey and a pilgrimage.  While belonging to this world, a Christian focuses also on the life to come, where the eternal banquet is being prepared.  The journey towards that promised reality means daily practice and constant stimulation, using current contexts and human conditions, so that when the time comes for the door to open, we could come in, ready and prepared to celebrate and to live.

It took many years of searching and questioning before St. Augustine found the answer to his heart's desires.  The realization and declaration,  "Late have I loved you...," referring to his "discovery" of God, came after many detours in the crooked path which the young, restless Augustine had taken in his journey towards God.  Unlike the foolish virgins in today's gospel, he did not sleep while waiting for the master to come.  He was wrestling with life's issues and concerns.  What brought him through those painful and chaotic life experiences was his great desire to find peace and rest in his heart.  He discovered faith and learned to surrender.  And so when the bridegroom finally arrived, St. Augustine was ready to welcome him into his life.

          - Fr. Anthony Salas, SVD ( USC, Cebu City)

St. Augustine's Prayer to the Holy Spirit

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy. Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy. Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy. Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy. Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy. Amen.

Gospel for August 27, 2015 (Thursday) Feast of St. Monica

Mt 24:42-51

Jesus said to his disciples, "Therefore, stay awake!  For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.  Be sure of this:  if the master of the house had knowledge the hour of the night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.  So to, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

"Who, then,  is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time?  Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so.  Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.  But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is long delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, the servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."

The Word in other words

So Deus sabe! (Only God knows!)  This is a popular Portuguese expression referring to the uncertain result of a future event or in reference to some mystery only an omniscient being would know.  Indeed, it is only the Lord who knows as to when He is coming.  That is why the gospel of today urges us strongly to stay awake, to be vigilant, to be prepared and to be ready always for we do not know when final coming of Jesus will happen.

But what do we do to remain awake and vigilant?  The call of the gospel for us to keep in constant watch should not be lax, complacent or boring; we need to have a faith that is truly alive and active.  We should not fall prey to routine which is our greatest enemy in spiritual warfare;  it dulls our sense and makes us complacent.  To have a faith that is active and alive means living it out through a life of righteousness, putting into practice the teachings of Christ, recognizing Him in our brothers and sisters, especially the underpreviliged, and serving Him through our needy brethren.

We are certain that the Lord will return.  But so Deus sabe when that will be.  But when He finally arrives, may He pronounce us "blesses" and fit to be partakers in His kingdom because He finds truly awake and prepared for His coming.

               - Fr. Jovito Osalvo, SVD (Lisbon, Portugal)


Today we also remember St. Monica...

PRAYER TO ST. MONICA

Dear St. Monica, 
troubled wife and mother, 
many sorrows pierced your heart during your lifetime. 
Yet, you never despaired or lost faith. 
With confidence, persistence, and profound faith, 
you prayed daily for the conversion 
of your beloved husband, Patricius,
and your beloved son, Augustine; 
your prayers were answered. 
Grant me that same fortitude, patience, 
and trust in the Lord. 
Intercede for me, dear St. Monica, 
that God may favorably hear my plea for 

(Mention your intention here.)

and grant me the grace to accept His Will in all things, 
through Jesus Christ, our Lord, 
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.

Gospel for August 26, 2015 (Wednesday)

Mt 23:27-32

Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.  You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are of full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth.  Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but outside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.  You build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous, and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets' blood'.  Thus you bear witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who murmured the prophets; not fill up what your ancestors measured out!"

The Word in other words

Out of laziness I usually do not do regular full-blown room cleaning.  I am very proud of this but I usually just kind of hide the dust and all those unsavory tiny trashes under my bed, only to suffer later on when all that dirt burst out in full force.  Then, I will tel myself that it is good immediately to vacuum away all those tiny devils... this is House Work 101.

In the Gospel today Jesus lambasts the scribes and Pharisees for what He says is their hypocrisy.  They build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous maybe to hide the sins of their fathers and to cover up for their own inequities.  An evil that is tucked away would soon rear it ugly head when they would conspire to have Jesus killed.

We are supposedly very good Catholics.  We donate images of saints to the Church, volunteer to have the dress of the Madonna made, or pull the carts of holy images during fiestas.  The scribes and Pharisees whiten tombstones and burial monuments, yet Jesus castigates them, for they are dirty and rotten within.

The scribes and Pharisees could not hide behind stones.  Nor can we hide behind the skirt of the blessed mother.  If there is dirt within us, then we better vacuum it away, for "when sin reaches maturity if gives birth to death." (Jas 1.12-18).

The sacrament of reconciliation, the church's ready vacuum cleaner, is just around the corner.

             - Fr.  Dante Barril, SVD (Rome, Italy)

Gospel for August 25, 2015 (Tuesday) Feast of St. Joseph Calasanz

Mt 23:23-26

Jesus said: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.  You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity.  (But) these you should have done, without neglecting the others.  Blind guides. who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.  You cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean."

The Word in other words

I have been in the priestly ministry long enough, 27 years in all and I have accumulated many different kinds of experiences, bad and good, wholesome and undesirable.  I have seen how the church and all its members carry on the task of bringing the gospel message to the poor, the task we all vowed to do when we accepted baptism as Christians.  But it seems that in many instances this sense of commitment is hard to come by, beginning with me and all the way up to the church hierarchy.  Undeniably, save in the case of the few who are truthful to their calling to serve, the church and its members are, in fact, more at the receiving than at the giving end of service.  Many are living protected and comfortable lives, blessed with good food, driving their personal vehicles, wearing signature clothes and traveling more than even before. In urban settings, one cant;s fail to notice the right in the vicinity of majestic cathedrals are street families that eke out a living a selling devotional candles, acting as informal park attendants and begging.  The contrast between the rich and the poor is stark.

Hypocrisy is defined as claiming to have possessed virtues that one lacks.  And since it involves deception, it can be categorized as a form of lie.  Christ in the gospel for today is harsh and strong against the scribes, Pharisees and hypocrites for they were only liars by preaching virtues they did not have; they were also making the life of the people unbearable in the name of their religion and laws.

Many of us are guilty of the same Pharasaical attitude.  We can only beat our breasts and say, "Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa."  We have much cleansing to do with ourselves.  But isnt't that the God we have is the God of mercy and compassion, slow to judge and quick to forgive and understand? I believe it boils down to our sincerity to learn, to internalize the gospel message, to be open to self-formation, to have the humility to accept our own weaknesses and to trust n the healing power of the divine intervention.

       -  Fr. Eugene Docoy, SVD (USC, Cebu City)

Gospel for August 22, 2015 (Saturday) Queenship of Mary

Mt 23:1-12

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.  Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example.  For they preach but they do not practice.  They tie up heavy burdens (hard to carry) and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them.  All their works are performed to be seen.  They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.  They love places of honor at banquets, seat of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi'.  As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi'.  You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.  Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven.  Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Messiah.  The greatest among you must be your servant.  Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

The Word in other words

There was somebody who read in earnest the thoughts of a philosopher on the frustrated possibilities of the human person.  He soon believed that he could be, and indeed is, a superman.  To prove himself right, he jumped from the second floor.  That jump proved that his thinking was faulty, for he ended up with a world that was upside down... and a broken leg.

The thinking during Jesus' time, as it is now, is also faulty and things are turning upside down.  The sad part is that people start to accept what is erroneous as the norm.  They are therefore jumping, as it were, from the second floors to prove their selves correct.

Jesus tries to rescue us from a world that is upside down before we get ourselves in situation far worse than a broken leg.  Among his prescriptions:
"The greatest must be the servant."
"Whoever humbles oneself shall be exalted."


                     -Fr. Vic Rayco, SVD (St. Jude Catholic School, Manila)

Gospel for August 21, 2015 (Friday) Feast of St. Pius X

Mt 22:34-40

When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them (a scholar of the law) tested him by asking,  "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"  He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and will all your mind.  This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it :  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

The Word in other words

When I was in India, I heard this story about Mahatma Gandhi.  He once boarded a train and, as the train started to move, one of his sandals fell on the track.  People looked at him as he took off the other sandal and threw it as closely as possible to the first one.  Someone asked him why he did it, and he answered, "Anyone who will find the first sandal can find the pair and so he can wear them."

In a way, it has some relation to our call to love.  We cannot love God without loving our neighbor, as St. John the Evangelist said, and vice versa, we cannot love our neighbor without loving God.  As in Gandhi's case, one cannot wear a sandal only on one foot and still look normal, so one needs the other sandal, too.

In our gospel today, 'love' is indeed the most important word, but notice how many times the word "ALL" has been used.  God will not agree to a half-hearted situation.  God wants us to love him with ALL we have and ALL we are, above all things and in all things.  ALL or nothing.  No one and nothing is excluded from his love.  If ever we love anybody or anything else, we should love ALL only in God and only next to God.

God's commandment is not a compulsion but a GRACE for us who believe in him.  We can love God only because he has made us for love and as an overflow of his love and life.  It is therefore God himself who actually draws us to his love.  When we know God, we will be surprised that we cannot but love him and find no greater joy than in doing so.  And when we truly love God, as in Gandhi's sandals, we also learn to love ALL that God loves, not only all our brothers and sisters, but also the environment that surround us.

              - Fr. Carlos Lariosa, SVD (Radio Veritas Asia, QC)