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.

At the Beginning of a New Pastorate

Hesus, nananalig ako sa iyo!

Sa unang linggo ng aking paglilingkod sa parokyang ito, parang nananadya ang Panginoon sapagkat tungkol sa mga pastol o pinuno ang mga pagbasa sa araw na ito. Sa unang pagbasa, binantaan ng Panginoon ang mga suwail na pinuno na parurusahan niya ang mga ito sapagkat “pinabayaan ninyo ang aking kawan. Hindi ninyo sila binantayan.” Upang maremedyuhan ang pinsalang dinulot ng kapabayaan ng mga tiwaling pinuno, sinabi ng Panginoon: “Hihirang ako ng mga pastol na magmamalasakit at mangangalaga sa kanila. Hindi na sila muli pang daranas ng takot at agam-agam, at wala nang maliligaw kahit isa.”

Ang mapagmalasakit na Pastol na hinirang ng Diyos ay walang iba kundi ang kanyang Anak na si Hesus. Sa Mabuting Balita ay nakita natin na nahabag si Hesus sa napakaraming taong nag-aantay sa kanya sapagkat para silang mga tupang walang pastol. At upang tugunan ang kanilang pangangailangan, tinuruan sila ng Panginoon ng maraming bagay. Tingnan ninyo kung paano ipinakita ng Panginoon ang malasakit niya sa mga tao: tinuruan niya sila ng maraming bagay. (Dito tayo madalas magkulang sa ating pangangalaga sa mga ipinagkatiwala sa ating pangangalaga…hindi natin tinuturuan ang mga ito ng maraming bagay tulad ng ginawa ng Panginoon. Siguro magandang tanungin rin natin ang ating mga sarili: naglalaan ba ako ng sapat na panahon na turuan ang aking mga anak?) Higit pa rito, inialay ni Hesus ang kanyang buhay upang iligtas tayong lahat at tipunin sa pagkakaisa ang mga anak ng Diyos na pinagwatak watak ng kasalanan: “Winakasan niya ang alitan ng dalawang bayan, kapwa ipinanumbalik sa Diyos at pinagbuklod sa iisang katawan. Naparito si Kristo at ipinangaral sa lahat ang mabuting Balita ng kapayapaan…Dahil kay Kristo, tayo’y kapwa makalalapit sa Ama sa pamamagitan ng Espiritu.”

Sa diwang ito nagsisimula ang aking paglilingkod sa parokyang ito. Aaminin ko pong may kaunting pangamba akong nadarama dahil sumusunod ako sa mga yapak ng mga batikang mga pastol na naunang dumaan na sa kasaysayan ng parokyang ito. Minsan, tinatanong ko ang Panginoon kung ano ba ang inaasahan niya sa akin sa pagdating ko rito. At parang sa mga pagbasa ngayon, narining kong tumugon ang Panginoon sa tanong na ito: “Hihirang ako ng mga pastol na magmamalasakit at mangangalaga sa kanila.” Ito po ang hinihingi ko sa Panginoon: na sana bigyan niya ako ng biyaya upang alagaan kayo nang may malasakit. Ipinagdarasal ko na matularan ko si Hesus at kayo’y turuan ko rin ng maraming bagay. Hindi ko alam kung talagang matutumbasan ko ang kakayanan ng mga nauna sa akin. Hindi ko alam kung matutumbasan ko ang inaasahan ninyo sa akin. Kaya nga sa pagsisimula ng paglilingkod ko sa inyo,  humihingi ako sa Panginoon hindi lamang ng karunungan at lakas kundi ng malasakit. Bigyan sana ako ng Panginoon ng kaloobang tulad sa kanya: pusong maamo at mahabagin…pusong may tunay na pagmamalasakit.

Ave Maria purissima, sin pecado concebida!

Priests Smelling like the Good Shepherd

PRAISED BE JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH!

The TV series ‘Parikoy” is creating a renewed interest in the Catholic priesthood. It casts a handsome actor to play the role of a young priest who definitely immerses himself into the lives of the flock he serves. Perhaps, the TV series would like to portray what Pope Francis said: that shepherds must acquire the smell of the sheep. Indeed, the Pope’s words are creating a great paradigm shift in the way we now see the priesthood. There is now a trend of expecting priests to descend from their exalted social pedestals in order to be more immersed in the lives of the ordinary people and this seems laudable. After all, this is the example that the Lord Jesus himself left us. He descended from his heavenly throne and became poor like us. He embraced the misery of the human condition. But we must not forget the reason for this self-emptying. He came down in order to lay down his life for his sheep. He came in order to battle the wolf that threatens his sheep. He engages in this battle by laying his life and in this way, he emerged as the victor: “I have power to lay (my life) down, and power to take it up again.” He descended into the depth of our human misery, which is death, so that rising from it, he may take us up with him. And it is this truth that many of us miss. Expecting the shepherd to smell like the sheep, we think that the priest should be like everybody else and thereby lose sight of the very purpose of his ministry, which is to be like Christ as told to us by the 1^st letter of St. John.

Jesus said: “I am the Good Shepherd, I know my sheep and mine know me.” That Christ knows each of us is something that we are sure of. But do we, who consider ourselves as the sheep of Christ, know Christ? I think it is important to know Christ because unless we do so, we will never be like him. And this is the role of the priest. His role is to elevate the flock so that they may know and be like Christ. I remember my seminary rector who told us that when everybody is drowning in the mud, someone has to be on a higher place in order to pull up those who are drowning. If everybody is in the mud, who will be capable of pulling people out of their predicament? In a hospital, it is important that the doctor be well because if he were sick like everybody else, how can he treat and cure his patients? Christ who went down into the depth of human misery had the power to rise from it and to bring us with him. If the sheep want to pass through the valley of death, they have to listen carefully to the voice of the Good Shepherd  and follow him because “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”

If we expect shepherds to acquire the smell of the sheep, we must not forget that the sheep must acquire the smell of Christ the Good Shepherd. The sheep must acquire the odor of holiness, the sweet odor of Christ, lest the shepherd fails to bring them to the green pastures and the restful waters of heaven. We simply cannot afford to remain in the world as if we were of the world. Remember that St. John tells us in the 2^nd reading: “The world did not know him.” Being the alter Christus, the priest cannot smell like the world. He must be the first to exude the sweet odor of Christ. Kailangang mag amoy Diyos ang pari. Hindi mag astang Diyos kundi mag amoy Diyos. This is what we need: holy priests, not entertaining priests, not singing priests, not acting priests, not running priests, but holy priests, priests who pray, priests who really know the ways of God. If the sheep are to be led to holiness, they must be guided by holy priests. Look at how St. Margaret Mary was guided by a holy spiritual director in the person of St. Claude de la Columbiere. Look at how St. Faustina was guided by Blessed Michael Sopocko. Look at how St. Dominic Savio was guided by St. John Bosco. The list goes on and on and on…holy priests leading their flock to holiness. We need to pray for holy priests to serve God’s holy people…priests who do not smell like the world but who exude the sweet odor of Christ!

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

Joy at being found

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

When the tax collectors and sinners were drawing near to listen to Jesus, the Pharisees and scribes began to complain: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” The response of Jesus to this complaints are three parables that end with the same refrain: “Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep;” “Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost;“ and “We must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come back to life again; he was lost and has been found.” Through these parables, the Lord reveals to us that the reaction of the truly righteous to the return of sinners to the Lord should not be complaint but rejoicing. The Pharisees and scribes who enjoyed the reputation of righteousness amongst the Jewish circles complained upon seeing that sinners were drawing near to Jesus to listen to him. But the angels in heaven rejoice over the repentance of one sinner.

In fact, the repentance of a sinner should be cause for joy because it is the evidence of God’s search for us who were lost. Oftentimes we think that repentance is the result of a person’s search for God. The parables of the Lord tell us otherwise. Repentance is the result of God’s search for us. The sheep, once it discovers that it has gone astray, lays down helplessly and waits for its doom. The coin that rolls beneath furniture stays put and gathers dust. The wayward son sits in the pig sty and waits to be offered the pods on which the pigs are fed. Sinners return to God not because they found the Lord but because they were found by Him. Repentance is a sheer act of grace. And so, the repentance of sinners should be for us a cause for rejoicing because none of us would be here if the Lord had not searched for us.

St. Paul had nothing but gratitude towards the Lord Jesus because in spite of what his wayward life, the Lord called him into divine service: “I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant, but I have been mercifully treated because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.” Isn’t this our common experience? Are we not all here because each of us has been mercifully treated by the Lord? If we have been found righteous, it is not because we have never gone astray for “all men have sinned and have been deprived of the glory of God.” If we are found trustworthy, it is because God searched for us and found us. And this is why we are all here. We are grateful that the Lord did not annihilate us on account of our sins. We are grateful that we have been mercifully treated by the Lord. “Therefore, as we celebrate the memorial of his Death and Resurrection, we offer you, Lord, the Bread of life and the Chalice of salvation, giving thanks that you have held us worthy to be in your presence and minister to you.” (Kami’y nagpapasalamat dahil kami’y iyong minarapat na tumayo sa harap mo para maglingkod sa iyo.) We do not gather here to flaunt our holiness. We gather here to show our gratitude: “I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me trustworthy in appointing me to the ministry.” This Eucharist is our thanksgiving for once we were lost but now are found. We were blind but now we see.

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

Help Priests be Priests

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

It was a busy day for the Lord and his apostles: “People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat.” Even when they went off in a boat by themselves to a deserted place, people hastened on foot to that place. The sight of the vast crowd waiting for them on the shore must have exasperated the apostles, but it moved the Lord’s heart to pity “for they were like sheep without a shepherd.” What should have been taken as an opportunity for rest was spent by our Lord ministering to people: “he began to teach them many things.”

That pity which moved the heart of our Lord is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah in the first reading: “You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them…I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them and bring them back to their meadows; there they will increase and multiply.”

The Lord associates men to this task of ministering to his flock: “I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble; and none shall be missing.” The task of caring for the Lord’s flock is truly a huge task which demands immense personal sacrifices. In speaking to priests, the Holy Father said: “You must think above all, not so much of your own personal good, but of the service to the holy people of God, who need pastors who dedicate themselves to the beautiful service of the sanctification of the faithful…” (Benedict XVI to the Pontifical Spanish College of St. Joseph, May 10, 2012.)    

Knowing the human limitation of those whom he appointed as shepherds of his flock, the Lord tells his apostles: “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” The rest which the Lord offers his disciples is none other than prayer which should be part of a priest’s daily schedule. “Remember that the priest renews his life and draws strength for his ministry from contemplation of the Divine Word and intense dialogue with the Lord. He is aware that he will be unable to take Christ to his brethren or to meet him in the poor and the sick, if he does not first discover him in fervent and constant prayer. It is necessary to nourish a personal relationship with the One whom he then proclaims, celebrates, and communicates. Herein lies the foundation of priestly spirituality, until one becomes a transparent sign and living witness of the Good Shepherd.”

If we want our priests to minister to us in the manner desired by our Lord, we must help them maintain the high standard of priestly spirituality. This we do providing them ample time to pray. The demands of pastoral life are already immense. The least we can do is not to tempt priests to spend the little time of their rest for “unpriestly” things. The little times of rest for a priest should be spent in prayer and study. It is not right to require of priests to live a secular lifestyle so that they can be like the rest of us. If we expect them to teach us well, give them time to study. If we expect them help us along the way of holiness, give them time to pray. In other words, help priests be priests. Help priests serve you well.

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

Love of God: the Motive of Vocations

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

When Jesus described the hireling who ran away at the sight of the wolf, he said: “he has no concern for the sheep.” These words reveal to us the motive of our Lord when he, the Good Shepherd, deliberately laid down his life for his sheep. If the hireling has no concern for the sheep, our Lord loves his sheep: “I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and I will  lay down my life for my sheep.” It is love that makes him know each of us who belong to his flock. It is love that makes him lay down his life for his sheep. And there can be no greater love than this: that a man should lay down his life for his friends. He offered his life in absolute freedom: “I lay down my life in order to take it us again. No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down on my own.”

It is this love of Christ that beckons us to himself. In his message for today’s World Day of Prayer for Vocations, the Holy Father says: “we need to open our lives to this love. It is to the perfection of the Father’s love (cf. Mt 5:48) that Jesus Christ calls us every day! The high standard of the Christian life consists in loving ‘as’ God loves; with a love that is shown in the total, faithful and fruitful gift of self…It is in this soil of self-offering and openness to the love of God, and as the fruit of that love, that all vocations are born and grow. ” The man or the woman who discovers how much he is loved by Christ, desires to responds to this love by loving in return. Love for love! The one who discovers the depth of love that brought Christ to lay down his life for us will also desire to offer his life for Christ.  “Love of God, which priests and consecrated persons are called to mirror, however imperfectly, is the motivation for answering the Lord’s call to special consecration through priestly ordination or the profession of the evangelical counsels.”

Let us never tire of proclaiming this love of God most especially to the youth. Our parish should create the conditions that will permit the young people to make their generous response to the love of God. We should foster in our youth a love for prayer, Scriptures, and the Eucharist which enable us “to grasp the beauty of a life spent fully in the service of the Kingdom.” In the Eucharist, “the love of God touches us in Christ’s sacrifice, the perfect expression of love, and it is here that we learn ever anew how to live according to the ‘high standard’ of God’s love.” When we instill in our youth a love for the Eucharist, we help foster vocations. My own vocation story was very much associated to the Eucharist. I was an altar boy who served at Mass every day. In the Eucharist I discovered God’s call to the priesthood.

Our families should live out their vocation to be communities of life and love where our children learn the lesson of self-giving love. The Christian family is ““the primary and most excellent seed-bed of vocations to a life of consecration to the Kingdom of God” (Familiaris Consortio, 53). When children experience authentic love in their families, they learn how to love and eventually respond to God’s call.

“See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we might be called children of God.” Christ, the Good Shepherd, laid down his life so that we might be called children of God. See the love of the Father. See the love of the Son. Jesus calls us to the perfection of the Father’s love. Let us open our lives to this love.

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