Sharing the Word to the World

First Sunday of Advent, Year B
 
We begin our new year with the Season of Advent. Advent comes from the latin word “adventus” which literally means “coming”. There are three “comings” that we need to reflect in this season. First, it is a season to look back in which we prepare for the celebration of the anniversary of the coming of Christ into our world. It is a season to remember with thanksgiving that first Christmas which is an important event for our salvation.
Second, it is also a season which looks forwards. It looks forward to the second coming of Christ at the end of time. We already heard last Sunday about the final judgement and in this season of Advent we learn how to prepare ourselves for that day as we express in our liturgy our longing to belong to God’s beloved children who are invited to share in the heavenly kingdom.
Third, we reflect also in this season the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in our lives everyday. It is a season in which those words in the Our Father, Thy kingdom come, are especially significant. As we pray the Our Father everyday, it is our calling to live and bring God’s kingdom of peace, love and joy to all people whom we meet. And for me, this is the most important coming that we need to celebrate and to pray everyday.
In all these three longings for the coming of our Lord, the gospel today gave us a very important advice: STAY AWAKE! Let me tell you an experience why is it important to stay awake. Every three months, we go to Francistown for our meeting together with all the Divine Word Missionaries in Botswana to pray and to reflect together about our work as missionaries here. There is one thing that I don’t like during these meetings; and that is driving from Gaborone to Francistown. Since I am the youngest in our community here, I am always asked to drive. One time, while I was driving I felt sleepy and I did not realize that I was already taking the wrong lane. The approaching car had to press the hooter  hard to wake me up. I learned my lesson. I need to stay awake all the time when driving.  If I feel sleepy, I always ask somebody to drive than putting our lives in danger.
To stay awake when driving is important, but to stay awake for the coming of the Lord is more important because it involves not just our lives but life which is everlasting. Let us examine the different readings today so that we may know how to keep ourselves awake. In the First Reading Isaiah says that without God our natural inclination would be to drift away from him and become proud and independent. Prophet Isaiah said, “youth may grow tired and faint, young men will stumble and fall, but those who hope in Yahweh will renew their strength”. My dear brothers and sisters, we need to put our hope and trust in God to keep us awake and joyful even in times of troubles.
In the second reading, St Paul pointed out that we need to attach ourselves also to our Christian community which keeps reminding one another to stay awake. We in the Church are all striving for holiness. We are all aiming in the same direction and there is strength in numbers; it is far easier for us to grow in holiness together rather than alone and isolated. Like St Paul, we should be thankful that we have so many teachers and that so many people around us are actively witnessing to their faith in Christ. His prayer for the Corinthians, and we presume also for us, is that God will keep us steady and faithful until the last day. We need the prayers and support of our community wherever we are.
In short, we can keep ourselves awake all the time if we ask God’s help and if we ask the support of our community to make our preparation for the coming of God’s kingdom be a reality in our lives. There are many symbolisms in our liturgy today to make us aware of these preparations that we need to do. First are the four candles in our advent wreath. The four candles symbolise the four Sundays of advent. And as we light the first candle today, it symbolizes our hope that our Lord is coming soon to take us to where he is now. Second is the color purple. Purple is the color of repentance and it is indeed the spirit of advent. The message of today is that sorting ourselves out is not something that we can leave till tomorrow. Our moral failings must be dealt with today. Tendencies towards selfishness, dishonesty, failures in our relationships, etc, etc, must all be dealt with today.
Repentance and making amends cannot be delayed. We know that sin is a contaminant; it pollutes our lives. We know that, like a bad stain on our clothes, the longer we leave it untreated the harder it is to remove. So it is not only a question of being on our guard against new sins, we must also repent and make amends for all those old ones. Let us resolve in this new year to make this new year a year of grace, a year in which we move decisively towards God and away from our sins.
My dear brothers and sisters, advent is the time when we are reminded that we have to wait for God. We cannot grasp God. We cannot see God. We can only wait for God to let himself be known. And when that time comes, we just pray that we are worthy to see and share in his glory. AMEN.

 

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Solemnity of Christ the King
 
Let me tell you a personal experience when I was in Zimbabwe for my first mission assignment. It was my first few months in the country, so I had to learn their local dialect and the Ndebele culture in Zimbabwe. Part of the program to practice the language was a village immersion. I was assigned to stay with a poor but very religious family. And there in the village I experienced a lot of first time. It was my first time there to see flocks of sheep and shepherds since I grew up in the city in the Philippines. And it was also there that I experienced how to shepherd for the first time.
 
My family there owned 20 sheep and goats and every morning the animals were released to feed in the pastures, but in the afternoon we had to look for them to bring them back to the kraal (enclosure). I volunteered every afternoon to join my two brothers (a 10 year old and an 8 year old). The first thing that a shepherd must know is to know your sheep. And this is where I failed big time. Since all the village people have the same pasture lands, more than a thousand animals are mixed together. To identify our 20 animals among the thousand others is a big job. I have to ask many times the two boys, “Is that our goat?”. And they will just smiled at me and nod their heads. Maybe it will take me years to master that job.
 
I remember that experience because today, as we celebrate the feast of Christ the King, our readings this Sunday talks about God as our good shepherd. I think this is the most beautiful image of God that I can really relate in my life. I will always remember my experience in Zimbabwe how those shepherds knew their sheep well and how they took good care of them when they were hungry or lost. And I will always remember in my life that God did the same to me. “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want”. God is our Good Shepherd today, tomorrow and always.
 
But there is another job of a good shepherd that amazes me. In the afternoon, the shepherds separate the goats from the sheep. I was curious so I asked one of them and they told me that it is necessary to separate them because goats cannot survive in a very cold night while the sheep can. That is the practical aspect of that job, but our Lord gave us another meaning which we need to learn.
 
Our Lord said in the gospel, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels
with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’. Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels’.
 
My dear brothers and sisters, our Lord is telling us today that in the end of times, He will not only be our king who is our shepherd, but he will also be our king who is our judge. But the good news is that He is a just judge who gave us already the secrets how to be part of his sheepfold. We just need to follow the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, in our words and in our deeds. My experience in Zimbabwe gave me the chance to meet some of them. I hope that many of us will follow soon. Happy Feast of Christ the King!

31st Sunday of the Year- All Souls Day

By a happy coincidence, this year the Commemoration of all the Dead falls on the 31^st Sunday in Ordinary Time. Guided by the Holy Spirit, the whole Catholic Church provides the theme and the content of our Sunday liturgy to reflect on a very important truth of our faith- the belief in the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting for all those who deserve it.

What we are trying to celebrate really is one truth of our Faith that we profess every Sunday. Today is a day of solidarity between all Christians. It is a celebration of what we call the “Communion of Saints”, where ’saints’ signifies all who are baptised in Christ. We are divided into three distinct groups. First, there are those whom we celebrated yesterday, those who have gone ahead of us and are now enjoying the glory and happiness of being face to face with God-the saints in heaven.  Secondly, there are ourselves, still making our pilgrimage of love and service, doing our best to live up to the vision of the Gospel which Jesus left us. Thirdly, there are those we specially commemorate today. They are those who have died but are not yet ready to come face to face with God and need to go through some purification process in purgatory.

But how do we commune with one another? By their prayers before the throne of God, the first group can intercede on behalf of those still on earth and on behalf of those among the dead who await their summons into God’s loving presence. We, too, can offer our prayers on behalf of the dead who are not yet with God in glory. And that is why we are gathered here today to pray for all the souls in purgatory. Among these people are surely many family members, other relatives and friends and other people whom we can help by our prayers. In due course, they will be interceding for us with God and we will benefit from the help they can give us. We believe that by performing the “works of love” like prayer, the offering of personal sacrifices and especially the holy sacrifice of the Eucharist in behalf of our beloved dead is our only way to help them to make their purification process happens easily.

I remember a story of a doctor in one community in the Philippines. This doctor was known to be very kind to all especially to the poor. If he had poor patients, he gave his services for free, and most of the times gave them free medicines also. People were always flocking to his clinic which was located on the second floor of a building. When they read the sign- “the doctor is IN. Clinic upstairs”, the poor patients were given that hope to get help from this generous doctor. It so happened that after many years of serving as a doctor and giving help to the poor patients, the doctor died. Many people came during the funeral to show their love and prayers for the doctor especially those poor patients whom he was helping. But there was one thing that the community did that amazed many people in the place. During the funeral, instead of putting a beautiful tombstone, they put the sign from his clinic on his grave, “the doctor is IN. Clinic upstairs”. The people believed that with his generosity to the poor, he deserved life everlasting promised by our Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed, I believe also that the good doctor is IN, in God’s kingdom and his clinic UPSTAIRS in heaven.

My dear brothers and sisters, that beautiful story of the generous doctor reminds us that our life does not end here on earth. Our life does not end here in Botswana. Our life ends “UPSTAIRS”, in heaven to be with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

28^th Sunday of the Year A

Learning To Respond To God’s Invitation

As a priest, many people are inviting me to join a birthday or a wedding celebration. They either ask me to lead the prayer or to celebrate the eucharist before all the guests enjoy the banquet of delicious foods, wines and drinks. In the Philippines, we always say, “after the ‘missa’, we go to the ‘mesa’.” That means, after the celebration in the table of the Lord, we are now invited to go to another table with plenty of foods and drinks. Many people say that Filipinos like celebration. When the Spaniards came to the Philippines, one of their influences to us is the celebration of fiestas or feasts. This fiesta is celebrated once a year to thank God for all the blessings that the community received through the intercession of our patron saint. There is one island in the Philippines wherein every day during the month of May, there is a fiesta celebration. And they say during that month, that island submerged a little bit from the sea level because many people are going home to celebrate their day of thanksgiving.

I am sharing you this in order to tell you that as Christians, as Catholics, our life should be a life of thanksgiving, a life of celebrations. If you notice, the holy mass is also called a Eucharistic celebration wherein all of us are invited to the table of the Lord to eat his body and drink his blood. The Holy Mass is the feast of the Lord, and happy are we who are invited to this celebration. Our gospel today is telling us that the kingdom of God is likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. And we can say now that the Holy Mass is a banquet of God the Father to honor his only son, our Lord Jesus Christ. And every time we join the Holy Mass, we already have a foretaste of the heavenly kingdom. Do you realize that? We are so privileged and so happy to be given the chance to be here in this celebration of the Eucharist every Sunday. Many of our brothers and sisters realized that we are so blest to join the banquet of the Lord. That is why they also come for our weekday masses in the morning and in the afternoon.

But it is very sad to know that “many are invited, but only few are chosen”, as what our Lord said in the last part of the gospel. In our reflection today, let us examine the two parables in the gospel on how to respond to God’s invitation so that we may become part of the chosen few to be with Him in his kingdom.

First, God’s invitation is waiting and we need to respond to it now. We can see it in the first parable; the parable of the wedding feast. The king sent his servants to summon the invited guests for the banquet is now ready,  not only once but twice. Our Lord Jesus Christ is trying to tell us here that God is very generous and very patient. He invites all of us to go to the banquet and enjoy it in his presence. Unfortunately, many of those who were invited do not want to be with him. They make excuses and stay away. In those cases, God is very patient. He waits and waits. But at one point, He grows tired of waiting, and so He acts. We see this at what happened to Jerusalem in the year 70. God allows the Romans to burn Jerusalem as it happened also in the gospel. My dear friends, let us not wait for that day to happen with us. Let us respond to God’s invitation to be with him and to be with his Son. And let us do it now.

Second, God’s invitation requires us to be prepared always. This is the message of the second parable; the parable of the wedding garment. When the king destroyed those murderers and burned their city, he told his servants, “the feast is ready but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find”. This is referring to Israel, the chosen people of God on how they rejected the Son of God. So, the invitation of God is now being given to all, to the Church. That is why, as members of the Catholic Church, we are also called the new people of Israel. And we are so blest to be part of God’s family.

But this is not the end of the story. To be invited by God to be part of his family, we need to prepare our proper garment. In the gospel, when the king saw a man not dressed in wedding garment. The king said to him, “my friend, how is it that you came here without a wedding garment…Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside”. What is our Lord trying to tell us here? The wedding garment which is the condition for entering the feast, is readiness; that is conversion. At the final judgment, only those who are clothed in goodness will be invited to the banquet of eternal life.

My dear brothers and sisters, our celebration today reminded us the precious image of God who calls the good and the bad to the eternal banquet, but also to remind us of his expectation to prepare ourselves now by being dressed appropriately for the occasion. Perhaps, the best description of the proper wardrobe for a Christian is given to us by the apostle Paul in Col 3:12-15. If we wear the clothes he describes we will never be thrown out of any banquet. St Paul said, “you are God’s chosen race, his saints; he loves you and you should be clothed in sincere compassion, in kindness and humility, gentleness and patience… Over all these clothes, to keep them together and complete them, put on love. And may the peace of Christ reign in your hearts”. Amen. (Fr Ariel,SVD)

27^th Sunday of the Year

A Reminder and a Warning

There was a story told about a flood that affected a certain city. The rivers around it had overflowed and the rains continued to fall day and night. Seeing they were helpless, the government asked the people to evacuate. Everyone was evacuated, except for one old man who refused to leave his house. “I have faith that God will protect me”, the old man shouted to everyone who implored him to leave. Some people offered to pull him to safety with a rope, but he refused. Later, when the water reached the level of the first floor of his house, he simply went higher, up in the second floor. Some neighbors, passing by in a boat, invited him to join them, but again he refused. Finally, a police helicopter hovered overhead. The policeman in the helicopter told him to hang on to the rope so that he can pull him up to safety. But the old man just waved them away. His mind was set that God will protect him. That night, the old man sat all alone on the roof of his house, one arm embracing the chimney. At that point, he had a change of mind. Finally, he decided it was time to call for some help. He shouted, “Hey, God! When are you going to rescue me?” Just then he heard a voice. “My son, don’t you remember? I sent you a rope, but you wouldn’t take it. Then I sent you a boat, but you refused that, too. Finally, I sent you a helicopter, and you even refused that. What more could I have done for you?

My dear brothers and sisters, our celebration today is a reminder that God’s love and grace is enough for all of us. The first reading reminded us that we are the Lord’s vineyard. Prophet Isaiah describes God as the owner of the vineyard who did everything for his vineyard, (Is5,v3) “he spaded it, cleared it of stones and planted the choicest vines; within it he built a watchtower, and hewed out a wine press”. But just like our story of the flood and the old man, we failed to recognize these graces. And our Lord is telling us the same words, “what more could I have done for you?” God’s love for us is so great. He gave us the gift of life. He gave us many talents to work and to enjoy everything that he has given us. We only need to count our blessings everyday.

Our celebration today is also a warning to all of us that if we continue to be ungrateful to God for all his blessings to us, God will become impatient with us. Our Lord Jesus Christ said in the gospel, “(Mt21,v40)what will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes? They answered him, ‘he will put those wretched men to a wretched death and lease his vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the proper times.” My dear brothers and sisters, all of us are stewards of the Lord’s vineyard. He has entrusted a lot to us with so many gifts, but he also expects from us abundant fruits. It is good to ask ourselves now, “Where are we now? How have we responded to God’s generous love, his trust, his forgiveness?

Let me end my sharing with the words of one bishop on the question, ‘how to find fulfillment in working at the Lord’s vineyard? He answered that knowledge that is kept to oneself turns to pride, just as property and wealth hoarded turns to greed. My dear brothers and sisters, our knowledge and wealth are God’s gifts to us. They are not meant to be kept, but to be shared. May these reminder of God’s great love for all of us, and the warning of punishment for those ungrateful tenants, enrich our dedication to love God and to love our neighbors as we continue to work in the Lord’s vineyard faithfully. Amen. (Fr Ariel,SVD)

26^th Sunday of the Year A

Theme: We Serve the Lord by the Way We Live

One day, a priest and a bus driver died and they arrived at the gate of heaven at the same day. The bus driver went first to St Peter for him to check whether he is going to heaven or to hell. So, St Peter checked his name in the book of life. And St Peter told the bus driver happily that he is going to heaven. The driver was very happy, then the angels welcomed him in heaven. Then, the priest’s turn came to check with St Peter. St Peter looked for the priest’s name immediately in the book of life and upon reading what is written there, he was very sad to tell the priest that he is going to hell. The priest was shocked and demanded an explanation. He told St Peter that he knew that bus driver who came before him. He said to St Peter,  “that bus driver was a reckless driver. He did not respect his passengers and had put their lives in danger. How come he is heaven and I am going to hell?” Then, St Peter told the priest, “ you know my son, that driver was in heaven because he has helped many people to be close to God while you, did not”. The priest was confused how did it happen, so St Peter continued, “this is what happened. When that bus driver drives, all the passengers pray to God, but when you preach in the church, all your parishioners sleep!”

That is just a funny story but it has something to tell us about the ways and thoughts of God. In our story, we are shocked to know how come a reckless driver went to heaven while the priest went to hell. This is also what happened in our gospel today. The chief priest and elders of the people were shocked to know when our Lord said to them, “Amen, I say to you: tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.” Our Lord is telling us today that the kingdom of God is not a matter of ‘Who we are’, but ‘How we live’ as followers of Christ. In our reflection today, let us examine the readings on how to live our lives as true Christians.    

First, as true Christians, we live by the grace of God. Prophet Ezekiel is reminding us that the grace of God is always there for us if we just return and go back to him. It is possible for any of us at any time to find ourselves falling away from our commitment to Jesus and to his Gospel. And God always accepts us where we are. If we are in union with him, things are well; if we have by our own choice become separated from him, he accepts that too. His love and his grace are always available but they can be rejected. And we can “die in our sin”. On the other hand, no matter how far we have strayed from God and Jesus in the Gospel, no matter how depraved we have become, it is never too late to turn back and we can be absolutely sure that a warm welcome is waiting for us.

Second, as true Christians, we live for others. St Paul reminded us today in the second reading, “do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not only for his own interests, but also for others”. One author said that the problem with many Christians today is that they remain selfish and proud, even though Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has humbled himself already. “Though he (Jesus Christ) was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God…rather He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave…becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” We cannot claim to be Christians and still remain to be selfish. A true follower of Christ is a man or woman for others.

Third, as true Christians, we live as responsible people. Responsible people are those who mean what they are saying. In the gospel, the chief priests and the elders are like the second son in the story. They say ‘Yes’ to obeying God but they do not listen to Jesus, the Son of God, or follow his instructions. Many times we are just the same. We say with our beautiful words; ‘yes Lord, amen Lord, praise the Lord,’ but when the time comes when our service is needed to build God’s kingdom, we are nowhere to be found.

My dear brothers and sisters, we can serve God by the way we live. And that is (1) by living by the grace of God knowing that without God  we can do nothing; (2)by living for others not just for ourselves as our Lord Jesus Christ did; and (3)by living to be responsible people who knows how to respond to God’s love.

Let me end my reflection with another story. There was a man who told a priest that God talks to him. The priest was skeptical about it, so he gave the man an assignment to check if he is not crazy. The priest told the man that the next time he talks to God, he should ask God what are the priest’s sins. The following day, the man went to the priest again. The priest asked, “So what did God say what are my sins? Then the man said, “God said, he forgets”.

My dear brothers and sisters, that is very true. When God forgives our sins, he forgets them. We may forget God, but our God will never forget us. We may have said “NO” to God, but our God will always say “YES” to his love for us. For our God is the God of love and he is inviting all of us to work in his vineyard today. May we respond to his call. Amen.

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross

One bishop gave us a retreat in our community. On the first day of our retreat, he told us that he had a bad dream the other night. We wanted to know what was his dream, so we asked him. He said, “it was the worst dream in my life. In my dream, I was in Calvary where our Lord was crucified. I was among those people who are watching the Lord on the cross. Many of us were crying because we saw how our Lord suffered. Then, something happened. While Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross, he shouted aloud, ‘this is enough. I am the son of God and I don’t want to suffer like this’. Then the angels came to take him up to heaven. After that, I wake up from my dream”. We were curious how come it was a bad dream so we ask the bishop. Then he said, “it is the worst dream of my life because if is true that our Lord said ‘enough’ and he doesn’t want to suffer anymore, then God’s love for us has limits. It is the worst dream of my life because if it is true, then I am not saved.

My brothers and sisters, as we celebrate our feast of the exaltation of the cross, let us renew our faith that it is not a dream. The triumph of the cross is a true event, and that our Lord Jesus Christ suffered on the cross and gave up his life for you and me. Our gospel puts it beautifully (JN 3:16), “for God so loved the world that he gave his only son, so that he who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life”.

In our reflection today, let us recall the meaning of the cross of Christ for all of us. The cross should have a special place in our hearts because this is the name of our parish and we are under the love and care of the Holy Cross as a community.

First, the cross is a symbol of our salvation. Many non-believers ask, “how can a cruel death on the cross save people?” Our Catholic faith, rooted in the teaching of the bible, teaches us that Jesus came to earth to save humankind from the disastrous consequences of sin and to teach it how to live the way God wants. And that way is love. For some people, the cross is a symbol of weakness and failure. But for us Christians, it a symbol where love triumphs. It is a symbol of the love of Jesus where he endured those sufferings to earn our forgiveness from our Father in heaven and life eternal.

Second, the cross is a symbol of  heroic love. How do we measure the depth and sincerity of the love of a person? It is by the sacrifice which he or she is prepared to make for the person he or she loves. Our Lord Jesus Christ proved the depth and sincerity of his love for his heavenly father and all human beings by continuing to love them even in the hardest of all circumstances. There is no greater love than this- to lay down one’s life not only for one’s friends, but also for one’s enemies. That is the love of Christ on the cross.

My brothers and sisters, these are the two meanings of the cross that we are celebrating today. We are celebrating today the cross of our salvation and the cross of heroic love of our Lord Jesus Christ. But our celebration today does not stop here. The Holy Cross of Christ gives us the challenge. If we are going to examine carefully, there are two directions of the cross; the upward direction and the sideward direction. And what does that mean for all of us, the followers of Christ? The cross is a good reminder of the life and teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ to gain eternal life; that is to fulfill our duty to God and to our neighbor. And that duty is to love.

Let me end my sharing with another story of a man. The man also had a dream. In his dream he was talking with the Lord. The man asked the Lord, “Lord how much do you love me? Our Lord looked at him with love and said, ‘this much’. Then he stretched his arms on the cross, and died. Brothers and sisters, if today we heard God’s voice, lets us not harden our hearts. Amen.

THEME: A Love That Forgives and Corrects
 
A wanderer once found a key in the valley close to a huge mountain. It was a magic key that could open the doors of every treasure house in the world. With the help of this key he collected as much gold and jewels as he wished at various places. On his way back he heard a voice from the foot of the mountain: “Before you go out, forget not the most important thing!” Suddenly the door of the opening was closed; but it was closed forever, because he had forgotten to take along with him the most important thing: the key.
 
We all long for the key to fulfillment and happiness, but we often forget that the key is love. St Paul is reminding us today; “Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law”. In our reflection today, let us examine today’s readings how to express this love to our brothers and sisters.
 
In the first reading, God appointed prophet Ezekiel to become a watchman for Israel. God told Ezekiel, “You shall warn them for me. If I tell the wicked, ‘O wicked one, you shall surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death”.
 
Our Lord is telling us today that as Christians, it is our duty to warn and correct our brothers and sisters if they are doing what is wrong and evil. I agree with you that correcting our brothers and sisters is not an easy job. They may hate us for doing it. But we have no choice, or else God will hold us responsible. We must correct our brothers and sisters as a sign of our love for them, so that they may also share the eternal kingdom. To correct our brothers and sisters is also a sign of our love for them.
 
In the gospel, our Lord is teaching his disciples how to settle a conflict in the community so that they may forgive one another and restore peace once again. Our Lord said, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church”.
 
What our Lord is telling us today that peace is very important in our community. And we must do everything to keep this peace. But again, it is not an easy task. If someone will come to us and will tell us that we have offended them, our tendency is to fight back to make our defense. That is why, many of us will just keep the hurt feelings in ourselves and brood over the wounds. But that is not a Christian way to solve a problem in the community. We must speak out against these evil things done to us, but we must also be ready to forgive those who offended us. There is no true peace in our community if we do not know how to forgive one another.
 
My brothers and sisters, this is the kind of love that we must have in our community. First, we must have that love which corrects our brothers and sisters if they have done wrong, and second; we must have that love that forgives those who have done wrong to us.
 
Let me end my sharing with the words of one author. He said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”. As Christians, we are called to speak out against evil, to restore peace and love in the world. But there is only one key for us to triumph: That is the key of love! (Fr Ariel,SVD)

15th sunday of the year a    

Do you know the difference between a bible and cellphone? One friend of mine sent me a message in my e-mail about the difference between a bible and a cellphone.

It says that cellphone is always shown to others to show-off, while a Bible is always kept in a secret place, ashamed to show it off. Cellphone is expensive but people buy it, while the Bible is very cheap but people don’t buy it. Cellphone is taken cared well, while the Bible is just left out dusted in one corner. Cellphone is always remembered where it was left behind, while the Bible is always forgotten. Cellphone is difficult to lend to others, it might be broken, while the Bible is very easy to lend even if it gets lost. Cellphone is always open to read the new message, while the Bible remains close which is why the message is not known. Cellphone has the message which we like to share, while the Bible has the beautiful message but we never share. Cellphone shows the lifestyle of people, while the Bible changes the lifestyle of people. Cellphone has to be loaded to send the message, while the Bible has a fully-loaded message. Cellphone has an important use for people to communicate, while the Bible is more important if used by people. There you have it! So which one do you have? I hope you have also your own bible as you have your own cellphone.

My dear brothers and sisters, our Lord is teaching us today the importance of the Word of God and the bible in our lives. In the gospel, our Lord Jesus Christ compared the Word of God to some seeds sown by a sower. Some of the seeds fell on the road, some of them fell on rocky ground, and some fell among thorns. Those seeds did not produce anything because the soil is not good and fertile. Our Lord is telling us today that we are that unfertile soil if we do not open ourselves to the Word of God and to his grace. And just like those seeds, we will just die and never produce any fruit. The challenge for us today is to become the rich soil which produces fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.

In our reflection today, let us examine how the Word of God in the bible can help us, better than our cellphones. First, the Word of God has creative and healing power. “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made (Ps 33:6). And when the Word became a frail human being, the words he uttered possessed a power which no human word could have. They stilled storms (Mt 8:23); restored sick people to health (Lk 17:11-14); called dead persons back to life (Jn 11:43ff); subjugated the devil (Mk 1:25-27). By the power of his Word, a piece of bread and a cup of wine were and are transformed into his body and blood. Second, the Word of God has the power to transform people: a simple fisherman was transformed into the leader of the Church (Peter); a persecutor, into a tireless apostle (Paul); a hardened sinner, into an announcer of the Resurrection (Mary Magdalene).

Brothers and sisters, the Word of God sown like a seed in the hearts of people can work incredible wonders. But, for all its divine power, his Word will bear fruit only if and to the extent that we allow it to do so. Its fruitfulness depends on our response. Our openness, sincerity, generosity and perseverance will make us that fertile soil our Lord wanted us to be. Let us make the Word of God in the bible be part in our lives, not just our cellphones. Amen.