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Category: Feasts

  • Life and Living Life is to Give Life

    November 21, 2020 – Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/112120.cfm)

    Homily

    This celebration of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary has no historical basis. This cannot be found even in the Gospel or in any letters of the New Testament. However, the Church has celebrated for more than a thousand years. There must be something so important and significant in this feast of Mary that moves us to celebrate it year after year.

    This tradition can actually be found in the unofficial scripture called as the Protoevangelium of James. Though this feast is not a historical event, but this is spiritually and theologically important for us. According to that scripture of James, the parents of Mary, Joachim and Anne offered their daughter to God in the Temple at the age of 3 years old. The action of Joachim and Anne was an expression of their gratitude to the Lord. This old couple who was given a daughter in their old age, offered back to God the very gift that they have received from God. The shame of having no child, as it was believed at that time, turned into joy at the birth of Mary.

    Certainly, this joy moved them to give. This was out of deep gratitude to the generosity and faithfulness of God in their life as husband and wife. This sacrifice and offering became the way in the consecration of the life of Mary to God. At a very young age, Mary became aware of God’s presence in her life which she first realized in the life of her parents. This tells us now how God transforms a sacrifice into something wonderful and beautiful. The life of Mary, became the beauty and the wonder that the world longed to see. Indeed, through Mary, a child was born for us, the Emmanuel. Through the life of Mary given to God, life was also given to us, through Jesus.

    This, feast then, actually prepares us to celebrate wonderfully the Solemnity of Her Immaculate Conception and the Birth of her Son, Jesus. That is why, this feast is so significant to us. What we honor after all, is God who consecrated the life of Mary and from whom we too are being blessed.

    Through this feast, we are reminded today that life is not about accumulating things or securing something for oneself. Life and living life is to be able to give life which Joachim and Anne did and which Mary did and ultimately which Jesus did to us.

    This is contrary to what the Pharisees and teachers of the law wanted to happen. They were so concerned on what they could get from others in this life. That is why, they asked a malicious question to Jesus, to trick him and embarrass him. Yet, Jesus knew their hearts. They were filled with malice and selfish desires. This attitude reflected in the very situation they presented to Jesus, of a woman marrying the seven brothers when one after another died without having any child.

    Today on this feast of Mary, as we live life day by day, be more life-giving.

    Thus, as husband and wife, give back to God your marriage life and make God the very center of your marriage so that you will be able to give life to your children and to the community around you. As a family, give to God your joys even your sacrifices and pains so that God can transform you into blessing to others.  As a professional, give to God your work, your passion and even your and failures so that God will bless you to be an inspiration to your co-workers.  As a young person and as a student, give to God your struggles, your dreams, hopes and even your fears and anxieties of the future so that you become an influencer of confidence and trust in God. As a senior citizen, offer to God your good old days, including your good and bad memories, offer your routine and even your illness and uncertainties in life so that you become a witness of God’s faithfulness and generosity. Hinaut pa.

  • Be Young. Be Renewed. Be Life-Giving

    Be Young. Be Renewed. Be Life-Giving

    November 9, 2020 – Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome and Foundation Day of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110920.cfm)

    Homily on RYM Day of Prayer

    Today is a joyful and wonderful day that aside from celebrating the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, which is the Cathedral of Pope Francis, and which is also called as the “Mother and head of all churches of Rome and the world,” we Redemptorist Missionaries are also celebrating our 288th birthday!

    On this day, St Alphonsus together with the first members of the Redemptorists, founded the Congregation in the Island of Scala, Italy in 1732. For 288 years, God’s faithfulness and generosity manifested in the life of the Congregation in many ways. This experience with God has been shared in many missions and apostolate of the Redemptorists throughout the world.

    One of the most important missions of the congregation where God’s faithfulness, generosity and abounding love being shared, is the Youth Ministry. That is why, this livestreaming mass today is dedicated to our Redemptorist Youth Ministry, who in many parts of the Philippines have gathered today to celebrate November 9 as a Day of Prayer.

    Yes, today is a Day of Prayer of the young gathered physically and virtually. This gathering is so significant because this Day of Prayer, on this wonderful day, it invites all of us to remind ourselves that we are God’s Temple and God’s holy people. Our readings today expressed this identity in us that we are indeed God’s Temple and God’s holy people.

    For us to remember this and make this Day of Prayer more wonderful and powerful for us today, I have three invitations, something that you can bring and something you can celebrate.

    First, BE YOUNG. Pope Francis reminds us that “God is Young and is always New.” This means that God really brings surprises and freshness in us because God is ever young. God will never have an expiration because God is always new. That is why, all of us who are God’s building and God’s Holy Temple as what St. Paul reminds us in his first letter to the Corinthians,  are called to be always young. Remember, we may grow old in age, however, to be “young at heart” is not limited to a particular age group. We may be young in terms of age, but when our heart is filled with anger and hatred, with bitterness and indifference, then, we have surely grown old. Moreover, to be advanced in age does not also mean that we will never be young at heart. Even when we have grown in age, a senior citizen may still be young at heart when he or she remains welcoming, warn-hearted, joyful and alert of God’s daily invitations. Let us remember the words of Pope Francis, “True youth means having a heart capable of loving, whereas everything that separates us from others makes the soul grow old.” Thus, be young and celebrate being young at heart.

    Second, BE RENEWED. As God is always new, God also brings fresh graces and fresh experiences. Our true relationship with God is always fresh, it will never be spoiled. Prophet Ezekiel tells us in the first reading that the water from the temple overflows and it reaches the barren and dry desert, and the water brings life. Salt waters also turn into fresh waters where every living creature shall live. This means that when we allow God’s love to transform us, to challenge and to call us, then God brings renewal into our dry and empty hearts. Hence, allow God today to reach our hearts to transform, challenge and call us  so that we will be renewed.

    Third, BE LIFE-GIVING. Jesus came to give us life. Jesus manifested his life-giving mission in his ministry. That’s why when there were people who suck the life of others, Jesus also expressed dismay and disappointment. This is what happened in today’s Gospel. Jesus drove out the merchants and money-changers who were sucking up the life of the poor through their scandalous and oppressive business inside the Temple area. When we turn out to be driven by our selfish desires and selfish intentions, we will also become vicious in our relationship with people around us. When we are more concerned in bloating our ego then we turn out also to become abusive and corrupt because our heart has become indifferent to God.

    However, such way of life is lonely because we will constantly be haunted by insecurity and fear. Certainly, there is no life here but sadness. Pope Francis in his latest Encyclical, Fratelli Tutti said, “go outside the self in order to find ‘a fuller existence in another.’ ” Meaning, that when we begin to think less of ourselves, to step outside our comfort zones, and outside our insecurities and fears, then, we also discover the fullness of life with the people around us. Thus, to experience truly what life is, is to be able to give life. When I commit myself fully to love another then I find joy and meaning in life. When I generously give something to someone in need, I do not only help a person but also experience the joy of helping another. Therefore, to live life joyfully and truly, is to be life-giving.

    Now, may I repeat the three invitations on this Day of Prayer and birthday of our Congregation, BE YOUNG, BE RENEWED AND BE LIFE-GIVING. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • Growing in Friendship with God everyday

    Growing in Friendship with God everyday

    November 1, 2020 – Solemnity of All Saints

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110120.cfm)

    Homily

    There is something I want to ask you now. I want you to close your eyes for few moments and in silence, remember the face of your best-friend, that great friend or friends of yours whom you are most comfortable with, that great friend who is always ready to listen and comfort you, that great friend who knew your deepest secrets and pain in life, who has been with you through thick and think, in joy and sorrow.

    Our friends are indeed, gifts to us. Through them and with them, life becomes more colorful, entertaining as well as comforting. As we discover the person of our friends, we too, through them discover more ourselves. That intimacy and affection shared with our friends become the source of our strength especially when life seemed to be not favorable to us. Though, we may not see every day those close friends of ours, yet, our friendship with them stays.

    With this experience of friendship, this reminds me of the saints, whom we remember today. Saints who are also called as friends of God have this special bond with the Lord. Surely, each saint had their own friends too and through their human experience of friendship, they developed their friendship with God.

    “This friendship with God made each saint to be more familiar with God’s voice, more aware of the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and responsive to the invitations of the Lord.”

    Thus, the presence of the Saints in the Church brings us into an awareness on how God works every day in our life. The life of a saint and all those who have lived a holy and joyful life is a manifestation on how God transforms human life creatively and wonderfully through friendship.

    This means that living a holy life is a constant calling of friendship with God. We may struggle to identify God’s voice in the midst of so many voices. What makes a person holy then, is his/her daily commitment in choosing God and allowing God to transform him/her every day. This tells us that saints also experienced mistakes, failures and sins. They too are haunted by their own insecurities and guilt, unfaithfulness and inconsistencies, selfish desires and demons. Yet, every time they fell down, they rose up and chose God again. Indeed, this makes the saints to become closer to God because they grew in friendship with God by knowing themselves and recognizing God every day.

    This tells us of that desire of the human heart to long for God. Indeed, our very life finds its purpose and meaning with God. This is what our Psalm proclaims to us, “Lord, these are the people who longs to see your face.” Our longing for God also explains our deepest hunger and thirst for intimacy and love. God satisfies our deepest longing which sometimes human connection cannot satisfy. Yet, our human experiences of friendship point and bring us to God.

    This is the invitation for us today, that each of us, like all the saints whom we remember today, will grow in friendship with God by knowing ourselves through our weaknesses and strengths and recognizing God who touches every moment of our life.

    Moreover, the Gospel of Matthew which reminds us of the Beatitudes, are the very attitudes of those who are growing in the friendship of God. We become blessed and discover more graces when we begin to realize that we are not the center of everything, but God. The attitudes of dependence and confidence in God, of gentleness and mercy and the desire to be a person for others are fruits of that friendship with God.

    “Thus, difficult situations are turned into graces. Failures are turned into opportunities and windows for mercy. Friendship is turned into door of conversion and blessing.”

    Again, in the first letter of John, we are reminded that we are God’s children, and this is who we are. We are God’s beloved sons and daughters. It is God who claims that we are His. Hence, we too can confidently say now, “I am God’s beloved and God is my dearest friend!”

    Allow this powerful words and our powerful God to transform us today and the rest of our life just as saints were transformed!

    Whatever difficulty we are experiencing at this moment, never lose hope with yourself or with God because God never loses his hope in us. Believe in your friendship with God.

    Hopefully, by being more aware of our identify as God’s children, we too shall grow every day in our friendship with God and with one another. Remember this too, “a true friend of God recognizes the face of God with others,” with our brothers and sisters and with the rest of God’s creation. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • Of Pride and Humility

    Of Pride and Humility

    November 1, 2020 – Solemnity of All Saints

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110120.cfm)

    Homily

    What makes angels & saints blessed? What makes devils & sinners cursed?

    St. Augustine once said: “It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.” It is a matter of pride & humility then that makes people saints or sinner, angels or saints.

    You see, pride is concerned with WHO is right; humility is concerned with WHAT is right. Though both are concerned about right, pride is more on the authority & power, against humility, which is more on the moral principles of right & good. Pride encourages us to scream, “That’s just the way I am” in the hope that we will not hear the soft whisper of humility, asking us, “Yes, but is that the way you should be?”. “Well, this is Me… but should Me be it?” Ganito kasi ako… pero dapat ba akong ganito? Ani naman gud ko… pero angayan ba nga ani lang ko? Pride is being influenced by Shallow Loud Noisy voice of the evil that makes us artificial/fake/plastic, while humility is being inspired by Gentle yet Deep Soft Sound of the Spirit that makes us real & true, warts & all, broken yet blessed before God and others.

    In the Sermon of the Mount, Jesus in our gospel proclaims us through the Beatitudes how Blessed we are (for the Kingdom of God, comfort, inheritance, satisfaction, mercy, being God’s children & Kingdom of Heaven). We are blessed not because of our actions – of what we have done & doing in our lives but moreso because of God’s graces – of what God gives us & God is doing in our lives. We are more so blessed then because of God grace & action, regardless of our doings. However, God’s gift of blessings for us is fully enjoyed & fulfilled in life if and when we are humble enough to acknowledge, value and share these with others. Our humility makes us more well-disposed and appreciative of the fruits of God’s blessings in our lives, and willing to partake it with others, though our pride could render us insensitive and hinders us to fully benefit from God’s grace, and thus making ours and other people’s lives miserable and cursed.

    Today is All Saint’s Day. We honor ALL saints – both the recognized & unrecognized officially by Church. You see, saints or saintly people are in essence like us Christians who humbly witnesses in their faith and lives God’s blessings to all. They are Christians like us – “the people that longs to see your face, O Lord”, who not only by their words & deeds but also by their faith and life, have struggled and still struggling (along with suffering, mistakes, & success) to be humbly real and true to their chosen vocation in life & to fulfill their special mission in God’s grace and kingdom, and in effect have greatly influenced other people’s faith & life.

    Simply put, saints are fellow-Christians who have greatly infected and influenced now our very person and faith as Christian. Somehow and in someway, because of them & through them, we become Christians now. So, think of all saintly people whom you have crossed paths in life and have made you know, love & follow Christ in your life. Perhaps parents, grandparents, relatives, teachers, neighbors, catechists, friends, priests, sisters – both living and dead. Yes, both living and dead, as long as they have influenced and are still greatly influencing your life then-now and always as Christian, because they are & have been SAINTS to you and others. Remember and include them in your prayers these days. Eternal rest to those who have already gone before us. More blessings & witnessing for those who are still with us now, like you and I are still humbly leading our Christian lives saintly – struggling to be true to our calling, fulfilling our mission to be witnesses of God’s blessings and hoping also to influence other’s faith and life – blessed yet broken we maybe.

    Again, being blessed or being cursed, being saint or sinner is a matter of humility and pride.  Our life nowadays amidst quarantine during pandemic times can be a Curse if and when in pride we are ungrateful, ungracious, and greedy of God’s blessings before us… but can be a Blessing if and when we humbly recognize, value, and share God’s blessing with one another, especially those who are in need at this time. We all do need God’s blessings at this time in history. So Let us be a Blessing than a Curse to one another. Rather than remain to be a proud sinner (a pain in the… neck 😉), try to be a humble saint (a helping hand, a gentle presence, a lending ear) to others. With the examples & witness of the saints, may we joyfully admit How Blessed we are by humbly saying: “This is not mine only but Ours to Share” & not by proudly insisting: “This is Mine alone and not yours”. So may it be. Hinaut pa unta. Amen.

    By  Fr. Aphelie Mario Masangcay, CSsR 

  • Trying to Touch God

    October 28, 2020 – Wednesday, Feast of St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102820.cfm)

    Homily

    When we get sick, we normally ask others to help us so that we feel better. Though others would self-medicate, but still reach out for some remedies when one feels sick. We usually seek the company of others too when we are bombarded with problems. Others who feel shy to ask help or feel awkward in reaching out to friends, deal with their own problems. When problems and issues become overwhelming, this result to unhealthy coping like alcoholism, drug abuse, self-isolation and depression.

    This tells us of our humanity and of that longing to be connected, be supported and be helped. And because others find it difficult to seek proper help or address in a healthy way their problems and issues, then, they tend to disconnect from others and retreat into isolation. This unhealthy reaction could have been influenced by a person’s upbringing or because of an unsupportive and indifferent environment within the family or workplace. Yet, despite such environment, people would manage to cope though sometimes in unhealthy ways.

    Today, as we celebrate the feast of St. Simon called the Zealot and St. Jude the son of James, we too are reminded of our desire to be helped, to be healed and to be free. The two are one of the twelve chosen by Jesus after his intense praying. Jesus, indeed, prayed to the Father, before he called the twelve men to become part of his ministry to heal and give life, to known God’s presence and to live in God’s presence.

    Moreover, these two, Simon and Jude proved that their encounter with Jesus changed their entire life. Their ordinary life became extra-ordinarily wonderful though challenging. In fact, Simon who was called “Zealot,” believed strongly in the importance of following the Jewish law. In his search and effort to become righteous, he encountered Jesus and realized that the Lord is the very fulfillment of what he was trying to follow. Jude, also known as Thaddeus, is a patron of desperate people, of those who feel there is no one else to turn to. Jude earned this because of his witness to Jesus that despite his fears and inconsistencies, he allowed the Lord to transform him.

    These two apostles must have been part of the many people who followed Jesus and wanting to touch the Lord. The people were trying to touch Jesus because they wanted to touch God and be healed by the Lord. This desire of the people revealed that human longing to be connected, be supported and be healed by God.

    Power abundantly came out from Jesus because he has so much love for us, so much compassion for all of us. Thus, all those who were seeking to be healed and be freed and have life, were given the grace. This ministry was shared by Jesus to his apostles. Each apostle became a living presence of Jesus to others that others too experienced God’s wonder through them.

    This is also the call and invitation for us today that as we face our own issues and problem in life, concerns and struggles, let us also try to touch the Lord. Certainly, God invites us to touch him and God even waits that we touch him because this will mean that we allow the Lord to heal us, to make us free and to transform our life.

    We will surely be able to touch God when we also begin to open up ourselves and recognize that we need help and we need others to help us. We will be able to touch God when we sincerely and consciously approach the Sacraments in faith. We too are able to touch the Lord when we become more aware of ourselves and aware of what others are also struggling in life. As we touch God and allow the Lord to touch us, we may also truly experience a healing encounter with God, in both of our mind and body, so that we too will in return be part of the ministry of the apostles in brings to Lord to others. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR