Praising On Sundays: Forgiven

Gospel, Luke 7:36-50

³⁶ One of the Pharisees invited him to a meal. When he arrived at the Pharisee's house and took his place at table,

³⁷ suddenly a woman came in, who had a bad name in the town. She had heard he was dining with the Pharisee and had brought with her an alabaster jar of ointment.

³⁸ She waited behind him at his feet, weeping, and her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them away with her hair; then she covered his feet with kisses and anointed them with the ointment.

³⁹ When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, 'If this man were a prophet, he would know who this woman is and what sort of person it is who is touching him and what a bad name she has.'

⁴⁰ Then Jesus took him up and said, 'Simon, I have something to say to you.' He replied, 'Say on, Master.'

⁴¹ 'There was once a creditor who had two men in his debt; one owed him five hundred denarii, the other fifty.

⁴² They were unable to pay, so he let them both off. Which of them will love him more?'

⁴³ Simon answered, 'The one who was let off more, I suppose.' Jesus said, 'You are right.'

⁴⁴ Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, 'You see this woman? I came into your house, and you poured no water over my feet, but she has poured out her tears over my feet and wiped them away with her hair.

⁴⁵ You gave me no kiss, but she has been covering my feet with kisses ever since I came in.

⁴⁶ You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.

⁴⁷ For this reason I tell you that her sins, many as they are, have been forgiven her, because she has shown such great love. It is someone who is forgiven little who shows little love.'

⁴⁸ Then he said to her, 'Your sins are forgiven.'

⁴⁹ Those who were with him at table began to say to themselves, 'Who is this man, that even forgives sins?'

⁵⁰ But he said to the woman, 'Your faith has saved you; go in peace.'

Praising On Sundays: "I tell you, arise!"

Gospel: Lk 7:11-17

    A little later Jesus went to a town called Naim. He was accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people. As he reached the gate of the town, a dead man was being carried out. He was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; there followed a large crowd of townspeople.

   

 On seeing her, the Lord had pity on her and said, “Don’t cry.” Then he came up and touched the stretcher, and the men who carried it stopped. Jesus then said, “Young men, I say to you, wake up!” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. A holy fear came over them all, and they praised God, saying, “A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.” This news spread throughout Judea and the surrounding places.

Reflection:

Our ordinary life can bring us in touch with great goodness and spirituality in people. Or to a depth of prayer and care for the poor. Through many such people, God is very near and real in the world, and so our praise can be directed to God as we thank these men and women for what they do for us and for many.

The compassion which flowed from Jesus to bring life to a dead man can flow from us to enliven the lives of others. We can ‘grow’ this compassion in prayer. Our prayer with God if it is sincere will lead us into the mystery of being loved by God and called into love of others.

Praising On Sundays: The Question About Fasting

Gospel, Matthew 9:14-15

14 Then the followers of John the Baptist came to Jesus, asking,
Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples don’t fast at all?

15 Jesus answered, Do you expect the guests at a wedding party to be sad as long as the bridegroom is with them? Of course not! But the day will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

REFLECTION:
In the olden days, many preachers gave more sermons about hell than about heaven. It was probably because it was easy to manipulate people through fear; and the mythology of hell left nothing to the imagination. Misery has some way of appearing more real than joy, and there are many, even today, who prefer to emphasize it; it makes their message sound more real, more urgent, more “hands-on.” There can even be a kind of ghoulish interest in it. But Christians have to proclaim not only the death but the resurrection of Jesus.

Praising on Sundays: Fishers of Men

Gospel: Lk 5:1–11

One day, as Jesus stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, with a crowd gathered around him listening to the word of God, he caught sight of two boats left at the water’s edge by the fishermen now washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to pull out a little from the shore. There he sat and continued to teach the crowd.

When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon replied, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing. But if you say so, I will lower the nets.” This they did and caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. They signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats almost to the point of sinking.

Upon seeing this, Simon Peter fell at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and his companions were amazed at the catch they had made and so were Simon’s partners, James and John, Zebedee’s sons.

Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. You will catch people from now on.” So they brought their boats to land and followed him, leaving everything.

Reflection:

The miraculous catch of fish in Sunday’s gospel moves Peter to a confusing response, “Leave me Lord.  I am a sinful man.”  Why should someone tell a teacher to leave when he or she has only begun learning what a teacher has to teach?  Jesus seems to understand the fear of the community of faith, represented in Peter, a fear of learning too much and being asked too much.

Jesus commission Peter in this humbled state, “From now on, you will be catching people.”  Peter knows future catches will come as the miraculous catch of fish has come, namely, in response to the word of God.

Praising On Sundays: The Rejection At Nazareth

Gospel, Luke 4:21-30

²¹ Then he began to speak to them, 'This text is being fulfilled today even while you are listening.'

²² And he won the approval of all, and they were astonished by the gracious words that came from his lips. They said, 'This is Joseph's son, surely?'

²³ But he replied, 'No doubt you will quote me the saying, "Physician, heal yourself," and tell me, "We have heard all that happened in Capernaum, do the same here in your own country." '

²⁴ And he went on, 'In truth I tell you, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.

²⁵ 'There were many widows in Israel, I can assure you, in Elijah's day, when heaven remained shut for three years and six months and a great famine raged throughout the land,

²⁶ but Elijah was not sent to any one of these: he was sent to a widow at Zarephath, a town in Sidonia.

²⁷ And in the prophet Elisha's time there were many suffering from virulent skin-diseases in Israel, but none of these was cured -- only Naaman the Syrian.'

²⁸ When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was enraged.

²⁹ They sprang to their feet and hustled him out of the town; and they took him up to the brow of the hill their town was built on, intending to throw him off the cliff,

³⁰ but he passed straight through the crowd and walked away. 

Reflection:

Do an act of kindness for someone in genuine need without regard to how that person is perceived by others.

God, grant us the strength to do what is right and called for in spite of the clamor of  resentment that rises up from selfish people around us.

Praising On Sundays: The Scriptures Were Fulfilled On This Day

Luke 1:1-4, 4:14-21

¹ Seeing that many others have undertaken to draw up accounts of the events that have reached their fulfillment among us,

² as these were handed down to us by those who from the outset were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word,

³ I in my turn, after carefully going over the whole story from the beginning, have decided to write an ordered account for you, Theophilus,

⁴ so that your Excellency may learn how well founded the teaching is that you have received.

¹⁴ Jesus, with the power of the Spirit in him, returned to Galilee; and his reputation spread throughout the countryside.

¹⁵ He taught in their synagogues and everyone glorified him.

¹⁶ He came to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on theSabbath day as he usually did. He stood up to read,

¹⁷ and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written:

¹⁸ The spirit of the Lord is on me, for he has anointed me to bring the good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,

¹⁹ to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord.

²⁰ He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him.

²¹ Then he began to speak to them, 'This text is being fulfilled today even while you are listening.'

Reflection:

Jesus, the Word, proclaims his mission, revealing that the Word has become flesh. Listening to the Word, we become one body in Christ, for his words are Spirit and life. 

Praising On Sundays: The Wedding in Cana

Gospel: John 2:1-12

¹ On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. The mother of Jesus was there,

² and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited.

³ And they ran out of wine, since the wine provided for the feast had all been used, and the mother ofJesus said to him, 'They have no wine.'

⁴ Jesus said, 'Woman, what do you want from me? My hour has not come yet.'

⁵ His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you.'

⁶ There were six stone water jars standing there, meant for the ablutions that are customary among the Jews: each could hold twenty or thirty gallons.

⁷ Jesus said to the servants, 'Fill the jars with water,' and they filled them to the brim.

⁸ Then he said to them, 'Draw some out now and take it to the president of the feast.'

⁹ They did this; the president tasted the water, and it had turned into wine. Having no idea where it came from -- though the servants who had drawn the water knew -- the president of the feast called the bridegroom

¹⁰ and said, 'Everyone serves good wine first and the worse wine when the guests are well wined; but you have kept the best wine till now.'

¹¹ This was the first of Jesus' signs: it was at Cana in Galilee. He revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

¹² After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, but they stayed there only a few days.

Reflection:

This was the first of the signs given by Jesus: it was given at Cana in Galilee. He let his glory be seen, and his disciples believed in him.

Praising On Sundays: Feast Of The Baptism Of The Lord

Gospel from Luke 3:15-16, 21-22

source

A feeling of expectancy had grown among the people, who were beginning to wonder whether Johnmight be the Christ,

 so John declared before them all, 'I baptise you with water, but someone is coming, who is more powerful than me, and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandals; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

 Now it happened that when all the people had been baptised and while Jesus after his own baptismwas at prayer, heaven opened

and the Holy Spirit descended on him in a physical form, like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son; today have I fathered you.'

Reflections:

Most of us take our baptism for granted.  How much do you value your baptism?  We are joined together not only with the Holy Trinity but to each other as bothers and sisters in Christ.

Praising On Sundays: Visit of The Magi

From the Gospel of Matthew 2:1-12

2 Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, during the time when Herod was king. Soon afterward, some men who studied the stars came from the East to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the baby born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star when it came up in the east, and we have come to worship him.”

³ When King Herod heard about this, he was very upset, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem. ⁴ He called together all the chief priests and the teachers of the Law and asked them, “Where will the Messiah be born?”

⁵ “In the town of Bethlehem in Judea,” they answered. “For this is what the prophet wrote:

⁶ ‘Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
you are by no means the least of the leading cities of Judah;
for from you will come a leader
who will guide my people Israel.’”

⁷ So Herod called the visitors from the East to a secret meeting and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ Then he sent them to Bethlehem with these instructions: “Go and make a careful search for the child; and when you find him, let me know, so that I too may go and worship him.”

^9-10 And so they left, and on their way they saw the same star they had seen in the East. When they saw it, how happy they were, what joy was theirs! It went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹¹ They went into the house, and when they saw the child with his mother Mary, they knelt down and worshiped him. They brought out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and presented them to him.

¹² Then they returned to their country by another road, since God had warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod.

Reflection:

The visit of the magi or wise men (not kings)  remind us to be wise. Being wise doesn’t mean knowing a lot of things. It is knowing what things are important to know and to look for. The wise men knew what to search for, not earthly treasures but God, and they found Him indeed. Pray that we be as wise.

Praising On Sundays: Mother Of The LOrd

Gospel, Luke 1:39-45

³⁹ Mary set out at that time and went as quickly as she could into the hill country to a town in Judah.

⁴⁰ She went into Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth.

⁴¹ Now it happened that as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

⁴² She gave a loud cry and said, 'Of all women you are the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

⁴³ Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?

⁴⁴ Look, the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy.

⁴⁵ Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.'

My Reflection:

There's nothing profound to be expressed in this Gospel for even the baby in Elizabeth's womb feels the magnificent role that Mary plays as the mother of Jesus.   

Praising on Sundays: Poor Widow's Offering

Gospel, Mark 12:38-44

³⁸ In his teaching he said, 'Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greeted respectfully in the market squares,

³⁹ to take the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets;

⁴⁰ these are the men who devour the property of widows and for show offer long prayers. The more severe will be the sentence they receive.'

⁴¹ He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the treasury, and many of the rich put in a great deal.

⁴² A poor widow came and put in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny.

⁴³ Then he called his disciples and said to them, 'In truth I tell you, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury;

⁴⁴ for they have all put in money they could spare, but she in her poverty has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live 

Praising on Sundays: Blind Bartimaeus

Gospel, Mark 10:46-52

⁴⁶ They reached Jericho; and as he left Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus -- that is, the son of Timaeus -- a blind beggar, was sitting at the side of the road.

⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and cry out, 'Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.'

⁴⁸ And many of them scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he only shouted all the louder, 'Son of David, have pity on me.'

⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, 'Call him here.' So they called the blind man over. 'Courage,' they said, 'get up; he is calling you.'

⁵⁰ So throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and went to Jesus.

⁵¹ Then Jesus spoke, 'What do you want me to do for you?' The blind man said to him, 'Rabbuni, let me see again.'

⁵² Jesus said to him, 'Go; your faith has saved you.' And at once his sight returned and he followed him along the road.

Praising on Sundays: Let the Children Come To Me

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is brought to perfection in us.

Mark 10:2-16

2 The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked, “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” They were testing him. 3 He said to them in reply, “What did Moses command you?” 4 They replied, “Moses permitted him to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her.” 5 But Jesus told them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.7 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” 10 In the house the disciples again questioned him about this. 11 He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” 13 And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” 16 Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them.

Reflection:

Today's gospel talks about two things, marriage and children.  The priest from church gave more emphasis on the second one.  He shared the life stories of three boys from Don Bosco Boys Home.  Stories of physical abuse, neglect and abandonment.  There are a lot of their kind that's out on the street, waiting for a somebody to share a love to them. 

Praising on Sundays: Whoever is Not Against Us is For Us

Gospel, Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

³⁸ John said to him, 'Master, we saw someone who is not one of us driving out devils in your name, and because he was not one of us we tried to stop him.'
³⁹ But Jesus said, 'You must not stop him; no one who works a miracle in my name could soon afterwards speak evil of me.
⁴⁰ Anyone who is not against us is for us.
⁴¹ 'If anyone gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, then in truth I tell you, he will most certainly not lose his reward.
⁴² 'But anyone who is the downfall of one of these little ones who have faith, would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone hung round his neck.
⁴³ And if your hand should be your downfall, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life crippled, than to have two hands and go to hell, into the fire that can never be put out.
⁴⁵ And if your foot should be your downfall, cut it off; it is better for you enter into life lame, than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.
⁴⁷ And if your eye should be your downfall, tear it out; it is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell
⁴⁸ where their worm will never die nor their fire be put out.


Reflection:
Right now, I'm amused of my own thought because the first thing that came to mind when I read yesterday's gospel is the TV Series "The Walking Dead".  I've been watching the 2 seasons on DVD and I'm impatiently waiting for the 3rd and Final Season (why Final I have yet to discover).  In the gospel,  Jesus is telling his disciples not to stop those who are exorcising demons even if he is not one of them.  In the tv series, there was an episode where a family did not kill "their" dead because they were family members that got zombified.  The plot of the tv series seems like it's the end of the world where the dead were raised, just like what the bible said but not something I would imagine what the apocalypse would be.  God alone knows who is deserving of his judgement because He is a just and forgiving God.  But I still couldn't imagine what I'll do if a family member gets bitten by a zombie and turns into one (shudders!) :-)

Praising on Sundays: Mark 9:30-37

Gospel from Mark 9:30-37       

³⁰ After leaving that place they made their way through Galilee; and he did not want anyone to know,
³¹ because he was instructing his disciples; he was telling them, 'The Son of man will be delivered into the power of men; they will put him to death; and three days after he has been put to death he will rise again.'
³² But they did not understand what he said and were afraid to ask him.
³³ They came to Capernaum, and when he got into the house he asked them, 'What were you arguing about on the road?'
³⁴ They said nothing, because on the road they had been arguing which of them was the greatest.
³⁵ So he sat down, called the Twelve to him and said, 'If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.'
³⁶ He then took a little child whom he set among them and embraced, and he said to them,
³⁷ 'Anyone who welcomes a little child such as this in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me, welcomes not me but the one who sent me.'

Reflection:
Jesus is the must humble of all   And who could better be a good example to him than his own mother, Mary.  She who was given the task from God to bring forth into this world the savior.  Had Mary question HIM?  Never had it came across her mind.  She was a servant of the Lord and with an open heart she accepted what was asked of her.  But sometimes I'd thought, Mary had only one child while I have four?!  It's a bigger responsibility for me.  Ah, that's where the challenge is.  God gave me exceedingly talented and spirited children and I am blessed for it.  Whenever possible, I give him thanks and praises for making me a ward to my angels.  In them, they have become inspirations to other children.  They will continue to do so as long as I play my role in teaching them goldy values such as humility like Jesus has.  And in the end,  God will reward them for their goodness.

Praising on Sundays: The Words of Eternal Life

Gospel Jn 6:60-69

Many of Jesus' disciples who were listening said,
"This saying is hard; who can accept it?"
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,
he said to them, "Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending
to where he was before?
It is the spirit that gives life,
while the flesh is of no avail.
The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.
But there are some of you who do not believe."
Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe
and the one who would betray him.
And he said,
"For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me
unless it is granted him by my Father."

As a result of this,
many of his disciples returned to their former way of life
and no longer accompanied him.
Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?"
Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe

and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.

Praising on Sundays: Bread of Life

source: Google

Gospel: John 6:24–35

When they saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Master, when did you come here?” Jesus answered, “Truly, I say to you, you look for me, not because you have seen through the signs, but because you ate bread and were satisfied. Work then, not for perishable food, but for the lasting food which gives eternal life. The Son of Man will give it to you, for he is the one the Father has marked.” Then the Jews asked him, “What shall we do? What are the works that God wants us to do?” And Jesus answered them, “The work God wants is this: that you believe in the One whom God has sent.” They then said, “Show us miraculous signs, that we may see and believe you. What sign do you perform? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert; as Scripture says: They were given bread from heaven to eat.”  Jesus then said to them, “Truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven. My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. The bread God gives is the One who comes from heaven and gives life to the world.” And they said to him, “Give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall never be hungry, and whoever believes in me shall never be thirsty.

My Reflection:
On some Sundays, I find myself guilty for not being attentive to the priest's homily or to every part of the Eucharistic Celebration for that matter.  You simply can't focus specially if you have kids with you like I do.  Our church doesn't have a separate room or a playground where children can play while parents are attending mass.  That's not a typical set-up in a Catholic church anyway.  Other than family, there are other reasons that keeps me from listening to the priest and his sermon.  It may be that my mind's elsewhere or that I can't hear the priest clearly as a result of sitting too far in the back.  Today in church, it was almost the same routine for me.  Almost because we sat in the left corner of the church.  Not on the pews but on mono block chairs that's to be used for those who came in late.  But at least we were nearer to the priest.  I guess it was God's intervention because I could clearly hear what the priest was saying (or at least half of it because my mind's still wandering somewhere..again).  In the roar of his voice in the microphone I heard him say " 'Is there no time for your children? Is your time all for work? How about for God?' "  He was saying a lot but it was this line that stirred my spirit.   I remember, one of the things I learned from my father whenever he conducts Charismatic seminars, is that God is a jealous God.  But he is also a generous God.  He even gave us HIS son to die and save us from our sins.  The same son who is the bread of life.  From the old testament to the new testament his words live on through the bible.  And only when we live in his words that we get to be saved.   This made me realize to be zealous with my time for HIM.  Sometimes I falter in my faith because I think I am alone with my burden.  God allows this to happen because it's more of a reason for me to call him and pray even harder.