The Joy of the Gospel

Jesus, I trust in you!

There is a sense of urgency in the sending of the disciples to preach about the coming of the Kingdom of God: Go on your way, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. By commanding the disciples to bring neither money bag, nor sack, nor sandals, the Lord wanted them to travel light. “Greet no one along the way” so that nothing can delay them from fulfilling their task. Perhaps you have seen those trucks that bore the signs “Government project: do not delay.” The mission to evangelize is something like that. Each of us is sent to evangelize: God’s project: do not delay.”

I suppose that this sense of urgency springs from the importance of the message we are supposed to bring to others: “The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.” The coming of the Kingdom of God is indeed important because it is the means by which God gives all men access to his divine life. The Father wants all of us to share in his divine life. That is why he gathers men around his Son and this gathering is the Church which on earth is the beginning of the Kingdom of God. The Lord wants to gather us all in the Church so that we might have life: “Oh, that you may suck fully of the milk of her comfort, that you may nurse with delight at her abundant breasts! For thus says the Lord: Lo, I will spread prosperity over Jerusalem like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing torrent. As nurslings, you shall be carried in her arms, and fondled in her lap; as a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.” The Lord uses the tender image of a mother nursing her child in order to reveal to us the tenderness of his love which desires nothing but goodness for all of us. The Lord comforts us through the Church which is the new Jerusalem. We should always consider the Church as our mother.  (Because of the popularity of receiving communion by the hand, the reception of communion on the tongue is unappreciated by many. I find this unfortunate because receiving Communion on the tongue reminds us of the time when as little children, we were fed by the hand of our mothers. This manner of receiving Communion expresses the motherly gesture of the Church.)

The tenderness of a mother’s love always brings delight. It brings joy because it is life giving. A person who experienced a mother’s love grows and finds fulfillment. In the same way, we who experienced the love of God through the Church grow to maturity and eventually we seek means to fulfillment. The challenge to go and evangelize gives us the opportunity to find real fulfillment. “The Gospel offers us the chance to live life on a higher plane: ‘Life grows by being given away, and it weakens in isolation and comfort. Indeed, those who enjoy life the most are those who leave security on the shore and become excited by the mission of communicating life to others.’ When the Church summons Christians to take up the task of evangelization, she is simply pointing to the source of authentic fulfillment. For ‘here we discover a profound law of reality: that life is attained and matures in the measure that it is offered up in order to give life to others. This is certainly what mission means.’” (Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, 10.) A loving mother gives life to loving children. Eventually her children become parents themselves. They who have been given life by their mother eventually desire to give life to others. This is precisely what evangelization is all about: it is about the passing on of a life-giving tradition. I have been given life. Now, I want to give life to others. I have been given joy. Now, I want to pass on this joy to others. “Consequently, an evangelizer must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral! Let us recover and deepen our enthusiasm, that ‘delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing, even when it is in tears that we must sow…And may the world of our time, which is searching, sometimes in anguish, sometimes with hope, be enabled to receive the good news not from evangelizers who are dejected, impatient or anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervor, who have first received the joy of Christ.’” (Ibid.)

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

Prayer of St. Francis Xavier

St. Francis Xavier, Patron of the Missions

At the end of the Ramadan, I would like to invite you to pray this prayer by St. Francis Xavier, Patron of the Missions:

O God, the everlasting Creator of all things, remember that the souls of unbelievers we made by Thee and formed in Thine own image and likeness.

Remember that Jesus, Thy Son, endured a most bitter death for their salvation.

Permit not, I beseech Thee, O Lord, that Thy Son should be any longer despised by unbelievers, but do Thou graciously accept the prayers of holy men and of the Church, the Spouse of Thy most holy Son, and be mindful of Thy mercy.

Forget their idolatry and unbelief, and grant that they too may some day know Him whom Thou hast sent, even the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Salvation, our Life and Resurrection, by whom we have been saved and delivered, to whom be glory for endless ages. Amen.

Christmas Mass at Day 2013: Encounter with the Word Incarnate

PRAISED BE JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH!

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. With the shepherds, our eyes behold a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. This baby is the Word of God who was made flesh. We look at the baby and we realize that through him, God is engaging in a conversation with us. “In times past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets…now, he speaks to us through his Son.” He speaks to us through his Son. “Christ is the ‘eternal Gospel’ (Rev 14:6); he ‘is the same yesterday and today and forever’ (Heb 13:8), yet his riches and beauty are inexhaustible. He is forever young and a constant source of newness. The Church never fails to be amazed at ‘the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God’ (Rom 11:33).” (Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, 11.) We look at the baby Jesus and in him is found that depth of Divine riches, wisdom and knowledge. Year after year, we celebrate Christmas. Year after year, we look at the baby in the manger and yet, we are always amazed at what we see. There is always something new to discover about him. His riches and beauty are inexhaustible. He is forever young. Forever he is a source of newness.

At Christmas, as always, we encounter Jesus made flesh in the Eucharist. But we also encounter him made flesh in his word. Jesus is the Word of the Father. He engages us in a unique and personal conversation…a transformative conversation. In Jesus his Son, he tells us that he loves us. In the Baby Jesus, he begs to be loved by us. This conversation of love is an invitation to communion with him – for isn’t every conversation meant to promote understanding, acceptance, and communion? And we must be willing to be surprised at what the Word is able to do in our lives. The Word that comes from the Father’s mouth is so powerful. This is the Word through whom all things were made. In this Word, all things continue to exist. “God’s word is unpredictable in its power. The Gospel speaks of a seed which, once sown, grows by itself, even as the farmer sleeps (Mk 4:26-29). The Church has to accept this unruly freedom of the word, which accomplishes what it wills in ways that surpass our calculations and ways of thinking.” (EG, 22.) But wherever the Word takes us…it will definitely take us out of our loneliness, fears, and sin. He will definitely bring us joy. “In Christ, joy is born anew.”

The Word does not only bring us to communion. Our communion with him transforms us into missionaries. “The Church’s closeness to Jesus is part of a common journey; ‘communion and mission are profoundly interconnected’. In fidelity to the example of the Master, it is vitally important for the Church today to go forth and preach the Gospel to all: to all places, on all occasions, without hesitation, reluctance or fear. The joy of the Gospel is for all people: no one can be excluded. That is what the angel proclaimed to the shepherds in Bethlehem: ‘Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people’ (Lk 2:10). The Book of Revelation speaks of ‘an eternal Gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tongue and tribe and people (Rev 14:6).’ [EG, 23.] Therefore, like the shepherds who proclaimed to all what they have heard and seen, let us go forth and proclaim Christ, the Eternal Gospel. Go tell it on the mountain, over the hill and everywhere. Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born. “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet  of him who brings glad tidings, announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation, saying to Zion: “Your God is King.”

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

Misa de Aguinaldo December 23, 2013: Your Sons and Daughters Will Prophesy

Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

St. John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Lord, is born and at his circumcision, the tongue of his father Zechariah was loosened when he insisted that the name John was to be given to the child. Remember that Zechariah was made dumb at the apparition of the angel and his ability to speak will only return when all that was told him would come to pass. And true to the angel’s word, his speech was restored. Zechariah’s silence before the birth of John portrayed the silence of God because for many years, no prophet was sent to Israel. John’s birth broke the silence not only of Zechariah but of God as well. God once again sends a prophet and after the prophet, his Son. First, the voice and then followed the Word.

But it is not only John who will prophesy. Zechariah will prophesy as well. Here we see the signs of the day of the Lord: “In the last days, God says,  I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions,  your old men will dream dreams.” Acts 2:17. To prophesy is not to predict the future. To prophesy is to speak in the name of the Lord. And the Spirit poured out on all people on the day of the Lord will make of us visionaries, dreamers, and prophets.

Pope Francis wrote: “In all the baptized, from first to last, the sanctifying power of the Spirit is at work, impelling us to evangelization.” [Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, 119.] “In virtue of their baptism, all the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples (cf. Mt 28:19). All the baptized, whatever their position in the Church or their level of instruction in the faith, are agents of evangelization, and it would be insufficient to envisage a plan of evangelization to be carried out by professionals while the rest of the faithful would simply be passive recipients. The new evangelization calls for personal involvement on the part of each of the baptized. Every Christian is challenged, here and now, to be actively engaged in evangelization; indeed, anyone who has truly experienced God’s saving love does not need much time or lengthy training to go out and proclaim that love. Every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus: we no longer say that we are ‘disciples’ and ‘missionaries’, but rather that we are always ‘missionary disciples’.” [EG, 120.]

“…each of us should find ways to communicate Jesus wherever we are. All of us are called to offer others an explicit witness to the saving love of the Lord, who despite our imperfections offers us his closeness, his word and his strength, and gives meaning to our lives. In your heart you know that it is not the same to live without him; what you have come to realize, what has helped you to live and given you hope, is what you also need to communicate to others. Our falling short of perfection should be no excuse; on the contrary, mission is a constant stimulus not to remain mired in mediocrity but to continue growing. The witness of faith that each Christian is called to offer leads us to say with Saint Paul: “Not that I have already obtained this, or am already perfect; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own” (Phil 3:12-13).” [EG, 121.]

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

Missionary Zeal

Eternal Love, I want all the souls You have created to come to know You. I would like to be a priest, for then I would speak without cease about Your mercy to sinful souls drowned in despair. I would like to be a missionary and carry the light of faith to savage nations in order to make You known to souls, and to be completely consumed for them and to die a martyr's death, just as You died for them and for me. O Jesus, I know only too well that I can be a priest, a missionary, a preacher, and that I can die a martyr's death by completely emptying myself and denying myself for love of You, O Jesus, and of immortal souls.

St. Faustina, Diary, 302.

How we wish that such ardent missionary desire would still be present in Catholic souls! If only we would have that desire to make the Merciful Jesus known to many souls drowned in despair! Here is the solution to the problem of suicide the world over: Make the Divine Mercy known and loved to all the world!

At the sight of the wolves, they do not run

St. Francis Xavier, Patron of the Missions,

pray for the missionaries in Libya!

Everyone is evacuating from violence-torn Libya, but the missionaries stay. "Bishop Sylvester Magro, Apostolic Vicar of Benghazi, said that the principal concern of the Catholic Church 'is to be close to the sick and suffering, so our contribution to the events is invaluable because of our closeness to the people.'” These words remind me of Jesus who, as the Good Shepherd, does not flee at the sight of the wolves. God bless the missionaries!



For the full article, follow the link: Amid violent protests, Catholic missionaries continue their work in Libya :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)