GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY: Jesus, the Truly Anointed One

4^TH SUNDAY OF EASTER C

YEAR OF THE YOUTH

GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY

MAY 12, 2019

Jesus, I trust in you!

Tomorrow’s elections will be an important democratic exercise in which the majority of the people will vote the nation’s leaders and bestow them power. A democratic government is a government by the people, for the people, and of the people. However, it would be a mistake to think that a government official receives a mandate from God. People usually assume the democratic vote as a Divine mandate or a manifestation of Divine choice because of the principle “Vox Populi, vox Dei.” Because it is in Latin, people think that the principle is a Biblical one and they are badly mistaken. Nowhere in the Bible will you find “Vox populi, vox Dei.” In fact, the Bible will even give us a number of examples of how “Vox populi” is opposite “Vox Dei.” The voice of the majority is prone to error because experience has already proven to us that the majority is easily swayed by surveys, good looks, and entertainment. Sensible candidates are not popular because seldom do we care to evaluate platforms of government. We simply ride the band wagon.

Good Shepherd Sunday shows us the real “Vox Dei.” Jesus is the real leader who enjoys the mandate of God. At the River Jordan, the Father made his choice very clear. He publicly announced: “This is my beloved Son in whom my favor rests.” Jesus was anointed by the Father and not voted by the people. In fact, the people demanded that he be crucified. But God anointed Jesus as Savior and King. On the mountain of the transfiguration, he declared his anointing and then commanded us: “Listen to him.”

Because Jesus received God’s mandate, he is the only one who is able to lead us to real green pastures. He is the only one who gives us repose. He is the only one who spreads a table for us so that we can eat in the sight of the enemies. He is the only one who anoints our head with oil and makes our cup overflow. As the Book of Revelation said, the Lord Jesus has called us from every nation, race, people, and tongue. His leadership transcends national boundaries. He leads us to our true homeland: heaven. There, he will give us what every politician promises but are NEVER able to deliver: “The one who sits on the throne will shelter them. They will not hunger or thirst anymore, nor will the sun or any heat strike them. For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”

The leaders we elect will lead us only from one term to another. Some of them are good while others are really bad. Jesus is the Good Shepherd because he is the real Son of God. He keeps his promises and we can always rely on him. He is worthy of our trust. We should listen to him. Si Hesus ang TUNAY na Anak ng Diyos. Jesus is the Good One.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

The First Fruits of the Resurrection

17^TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME B

YEAR OF THE CLERGY AND CONSECRATED PERSONS

JULY 29, 2018

Jesus, I trust in you!

A man offered to Elisha 20 barley (sebada) loaves made from the first fruits which the prophet ordered to be given to feed 100 people. Elisha was the successor of Elijah, the greatest of the prophets, who multiplied the flour and made it enough to sustain a woman and her child until the end of the famine. Jesus was offered 5 barley loaves and 2 fish which he multiplied to feed 5,000 men. Both the offerings given to Elisha and Jesus were held when the feast of the Passover was near. The Feast of the Unleavened Bread was the time when Barley was offered as first fruits of spring.

Clearly, the story of the multiplication of the loaves is a Eucharistic story. Here we see Jesus who is greater than the prophets Elijah and Elisha because he fed more people with less number of loaves than the 2 prophets previously did. Thus, the people who were fed by the Lord would acclaim him: “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” Greater than the prophets, Jesus is The Prophet, the one who comes to fulfill all the prophets of all said.

In this miracle, Jesus is also shown as the Good Shepherd who brings and feeds his flock in verdant pastures. He lets the people recline on the grass in order to feed them. They ate as much as they wanted with leftovers to be gathered into 12 baskets. “You have prepared a table for me in the sight of my foes. My head you have anointed with oil and my cup is overflowing.”

A man brought to Elisha 20 barley loaves. A boy offered to Jesus 5 barley loaves. The barley is the first grain to be harvested in spring. It is the first fruit offered to God in the Feast of the Unleavened Bread. The Feast of the Unleavened Bread is a 7 day feast immediately after the Passover. As the barley is the first fruit offered to God on the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, so is Christ the first fruits of the Resurrection (1 Cor 15:23). Christ offered himself on the Cross at the very hour when the lambs were offered in the temple in preparation for the Passover. Christ resurrected from the dead on the Feast of the Unleavened Bread. He is the first fruits of the Resurrection. On the Feast of the unleavened bread, all yeast (which is the symbol of sin) is cast away. Therefore, Jesus who is the first fruits of the Resurrection offers us himself, the Unleavened Bread so that we might partake of his new life. However, we are also to cast away the leaven of sin so as to share most fully in the eternal life which he offers us at our own resurrection from the dead. “Just as in Adam, all die, so in Christ all will come to life. But each in his own turn: Christ the first fruits, and at his coming, all those who belong to him. And then will come the end when Christ will hand over his kingdom to God the Father.” “Therefore, let us cast out the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch as you really are. For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us keep the festival not with the old leaven of malice and wickedness but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Cor 5:7-8) It is only by renouncing the leaven of sin that we can repose in the verdant pastures of the Good Shepherd where he will prepare a table for us, anoint us with oil, and make our cup overflow.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.    

The Case of the Missing Body

EASTER SUNDAY B

YEAR OF THE CLERGY AND CONSECRATED PERSONS

APRIL 1, 2018

Jesus, I trust in you!

When the Magdalene told them about the missing body of Jesus, Peter and John ran to the tomb. They both saw nothing but the burial cloths and the cloth that had covered the head of the corpse rolled up in a separate place. The burial garments were neatly folded but the body was not there.

The grave clothes of Jesus were neatly folded. This tells us that the missing body of Jesus could not have been the work of grave robbers. Remember that robbers of tombs have been known to take away the clothes and leave the body. None ever took away the body and left the clothes, especially when it was fine linen and new. Anyone would rather choose to carry a dead body in its clothes than carry a naked corpse while leaving the grave clothes behind. Besides, what tomb robber would find leisure to fold up the linen?

The folded up burial cloths tell us that the Lord Jesus rose from the dead and he will never die again. Unlike ghosts who supposedly appear wearing their grave clothes or Lazarus who came out of the tomb with his grave clothes on, the Lord Jesus rose from the dead and laid the grave clothes aside. He rose to immortal life. He will never die again. He came out free of the encumbrances of the burial cloths. He set them aside because he was clothed with the robes of glory. As the prophet Elijah dropped his mantle as he ascended to heaven on a flaming chariot, so also the Lord Jesus left behind his earthly burial clothes because he will no longer need them in heaven where death is no more.

St. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians said that we should clear out the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, so that we may celebrate the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. When we arise from the death of sin to the life of righteousness, we must leave our grave-clothes behind us…we must put off our corruptions. We have gone through the difficult discipline of Lent. Having confessed our sins, we have made reparation for them through our acts of mortification. Holy Week has witnessed the intensity of our penance. Now that it ends with the feast of the Resurrection, it is not right to go back to our former ways. The end of Holy Week does not mean back to regular programming. Rather, we should strive to rise from where we have fallen and follow Christ more resolutely. “If you have been raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above and not of what is on earth.”

Our Lenten journey culminates with our personal and collective renunciation of Satan, his works and his empty promises. This means that we have to really leave our grave clothes behind. The renunciation will be followed by the renewal of our faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This entails a serious commitment from us to strive to be better disciples, more resolute followers of Jesus. Let us rise from the tomb together with Jesus today. Let us leave behind our grave clothes and put on our wedding garments for we shall attend a feast. Christ, our Paschal Lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us celebrate the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Christmas Midnight Mass: Christ the Priest, the Victim, the Bread of Life

CHRISTMAS MASS AT MIDNIGHT 2017

YEAR OF THE CLERGY AND CONSECRATED PERSONS

DECEMBER 25, 2017

Jesus, I trust in you!

Our Parish Belen for 2017

Tonight we return to Bethlehem as Joseph and Mary did as they sought to comply with the worldwide census declared by Augustus Caesar. They had to return to the city of David because Joseph was of the House of David. It was necessary for the Messiah to be born in the city of David because he is Son of David, the legitimate heir to the throne of his royal ancestor. But there is another reason for the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. The name “Bethlehem” means “house of bread.” Bethlehem is the fitting birth place for Jesus who is the Bread of Life. In fact the sign which the angels gave the shepherds was that of a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying on a manger. The manger is the receptacle of animal food. On it is placed the hay for the feeding of the ox and the donkey and even of the sheep. The new-born baby of Mary was laid on a manger not because the hay was soft but because Mary’s child is our food: “I am the Bread of Life. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood will have eternal life. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. The food that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

It is rather remarkable that we celebrate today the birth of the Son of God in the flesh. And later on, he shall give his flesh as food for the life of the world. We cannot deny the Eucharistic character of this Holy Day that we are celebrating tonight. It is called “Christmas” and its name is derived from two words: Christ and Mass. The Church, even from ancient times, has understood the mystery of Christ’s Incarnation in the mystery of the Eucharist. In fact, St. John Paul II himself said that the Eucharist is the continuation of the mystery of the Incarnation to our times.

And it is in this light that we have a renewed appreciation of the mystery of the Priesthood. We are celebrating this Christmas in the Year of the Clergy and the Consecrated People. As Mary brought forth the birth in the flesh of God the Son, so also the priest, by the power of the Holy Spirit and the authority of the words of Christ, brings about the transubstantiation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus. The Mass, presided by the priest, is not only our encounter with the Paschal Mystery. It is also our encounter with the mystery of the Incarnation: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. The Incarnation took place in Mary’s womb. The Transubstantiation takes place in the hands of the priest. The priest may not be as pure and sinless as the Virgin Mary. But nevertheless, the Son of God humbles himself to take flesh in the bread and wine offered on the altar during Mass.

In fact, we cannot miss the fact that the angels appeared to shepherds who were keeping watch over their flock at night. The sheep they were tending were the Awassi sheep, the only breed of sheep that is indigenous in Israel. The Awassi sheep breed in the summer and drop lambs in the winter. Thus, in Israel, the principal lambing season runs from December to January. These shepherds to whom the angels appeared were Levitical shepherds who were tasked to keep watch over the temple flock. The reason why the shepherds kept watch at night was that they were attending to the dropping of the lambs. Once a lamb is dropped, they bring it into the cave where it is wrapped in swaddling clothes to keep it from being injured at birth. The lambs they watch over were destined to be the Passover lambs that are supposed to be unblemished. Thus, the shepherds understood what the angel’s message meant: the one born on this night is the unblemished Lamb of God who would be sacrificed on Passover. Christ born today is not only the Bread of Life. He is also the Paschal Lamb, the Victim who would render God the most perfect and the highest act of worship. This Lamb of God is also the High Priest of the new covenant. Being the first-born of creation, he is the head of the household who offers the sacrifice of the family of humankind. He will offer not the blood of animals or of other human beings. He will offer his own flesh and his own blood for the redemption of the world.

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, let us not look at him simply as a cute new-born infant. The one who rests on the manger is the Bread of Life. The one who is wrapped in swaddling clothes is the unblemished Lamb of God. The first-born of Mary is the first-born of creation, the High Priest of the new covenant. This great mystery is renewed every day during Mass. In the Mass, the priest acts in the person of Christ the High Priest. In his hands the incarnation takes place so that the Lamb of God may be offered to the Father and he be returned to us as the Bread of Life that we must eat to enter into communion with God and so receive access to the Divine Life. Truly, this is Christ’s Mass where Jesus comes both as Priest and Victim. Come, let us adore him.   

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!

Undefiled by death (Late posting of meditation on the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

The sight will never fail to strike a sensitive chord in the human heart: a mother burying her son. It is easier to look at a son burying his mother (for is this not supposed to be: that the mother dies before her son?) The huge crowd in the funeral procession was a show of sympathy for the mother. The sight definitely touched the heart of the Lord: When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her. Out of pity, the Lord touched the coffin. What he did was a no-no for anyone who touches a corpse is defiled by the corpse. In the Mosaic law, contact with a dead body renders an Israelite unclean for a week (Numbers 19:11-19).  Jesus’ touch and word reverses that; instead of being defiled by contact with death, he gave life. The Lord could not be defiled by a corpse. He is God –he is not defiled by death. He conquers death and subjects it to himself. Notice that in the 1^st reading, Elijah called out to the Lord: “O Lord, my God, let the life breath return to the body of this child.” Jesus, however, commands the corpse: “Young man, I tell you, arise!” He resurrects the dead by his own authority: “The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of man, and they shall rise out of their tombs.” He is Lord of life.

Death defiles man. “The Church’s Magisterium…teaches that death entered the world on account of man’s sin. Even though man’s nature is mortal, God has destined him not to die. Death was therefore contrary to the plans of God the Creator, and entered the world as a consequence of sin.” (CCC1008) Christ allowed himself to be touched by death itself. “Jesus, the Son of God, also himself suffered the death that is part of the human condition. Yet, despite his anguish as he faced death, he accepted it in an act of complete and free submission to his Father’s will. The obedience of Jesus has transformed the curse of death into a blessing.” (CCC 1009) Though he was touched by death, Jesus was not defiled by death. His obedience, his loving and absolute submission to the Father took away the sting of death. “Through Baptism, the Christian has already died with Christ sacramentally in order to live a new life; and if we die in Christ’s grace, physical death completes this ‘dying with Christ’ and so completes our incorporation into him in this redeeming act.” (CCC1010)

Because Christ obediently accepted death on a Cross, he transformed death. Following the example of Christ, we can transform our own death into an act of obedience and love towards the Father (cf. CCC 1011) In this transformation, death does not become a sad end to existence. Rather, it becomes an entrance into life. Death no longer becomes a violent separation from those we love. Rather, it becomes a joyful reunion with the Father who loves us and calls us to himself. At her death bed, St. Therese of the Child Jesus said, “I am not dying; I am entering life!”

Jesus, I trust in you! O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!