1. 4th Sunday of Advent (Year C)

    Reading 1 Mi 5:1-4a; Ps 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19; Heb 10:5-10; Lk 1:39-45


    Let us allow our faces to shine on others as we ask God to let His face shine on us

    Beloved in Christ, we have two days more to celebrate the mystery of the Incarnation. Our responsorial psalm today reminds us that Christmas is about reconciliation. Christmas is about God’s love; Christmas is about God’s mercy! We prayed in the responsorial psalm that God would let His face shine on us. The phrase “let your face shine on us” is an expression that the Israelites used to implore God’s mercy. Literally, it means “God please smile at us, do not be angry with us, please forgive us.” This cry for mercy is what each one of us has repeated to God this morning.


    Yes, God is faithful, and He will answer us just as He did 2000 years ago. Our first reading is God’s response to the people’s cry for mercy. It is important to pay attention to how God told the prophet Micah that He would answer the people: He would call them to the place of bread (that is what Bethlehem means) and feed them. That Bread, however, will not just be ordinary bread, he will be a human person born of a virgin but also the bread broken for others so that the world will know peace. That is the prophecy that comes true in the Gospel reading. John the Baptist rejoices because of the “bread of Life” he saw in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that bread is Jesus born in Bethlehem, and He is the same bread broken for us each day of in the Eucharist.

    So beloved, right now, right here, today, God will once again let His face shine on us.
    But that is not the end of the story. In the second reading, God tells us that what He desires is that we do His will. What is God’s will as expressed through the Christmas story? It is that we become agents of His love and mercy; that we in turn let our face shine on others, especially those who are close to us and so offend us most, husband, wife, children, parents, family, friends, colleagues at work etc. God wants you to look at your husband, wife, children, parents, siblings, any of your loved ones who has offended you and say, “you know what? I know there have been ups and downs but I still love you!”

    As we receive the bread of life today, at Christmas, and every other day, the Lord wants us to remember that we are called to be the bread that is broken for others, the blood that is shed so that others will encounter God’s love and His mercy. As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, Let us allow our faces to shine on others as we ask God to let His face shine on us. It is in doing this that we shall become instruments of joy and peace to the world!



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    3rd Sunday of Advent (Year C)
    Reading 1 Zep 3:14-18a
    Psalm Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6
     Reading 2 Phil 4:4-7 
     Gospel Lk 3:10-18

    Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. I shall say it again: REJOICE!
     
    Usually, people do not go to Hyvee to buy books. Right? They go to do grocery shopping. That is what I also go to Hyvee for. Two weeks ago, I was in Hyvee to buy a gift for one of my friends who was celebrating his birthday but I ended up buying a book. The title is “God has a plan B” and it is edited by Todd Hafer. What a title! After reading this book, I concluded that the title should rather be “God always has a plan A”. Apart from the title, however, this book helped me a lot in appreciating the readings for today.

    In our first reading, God through the prophet Zephaniah tells us to rejoice. In the second reading, God repeats this call through St. Paul: “Rejoice”!; and God actually adds something more: Rejoice Always. Today we, as a university community, join our parishioners who are graduating this semester to rejoice and give thanks to God for the great things he has done. 

    My brothers and sisters in Christ, you and I know that it is easy to rejoice when things are good, when things go according to our plans and dreams get fulfilled. However, it is not easy at all to rejoice when things get tough! Life is not always easy. There are broken dreams, broken marriages, broken relationships, lost of jobs, lost of dear ones, and at times, evil seems to triumph over good, such as the killing of innocent people, especially those six and seven year old children killed in Connecticut this week. In the face of all these challenges, difficulties, and evils, how does one rejoice at all times?

    However, Beloved, our readings tell us that even in the mist of all these troubles, disappointments and evils, WE CAN REJOICE IN THE LORD! God does not want our troubles to take away the joy of Christmas; and that is why he reminds us that regardless of what is going on in our lives we can have peace and joy. How ? There are two things we need to do in order to rejoice at all times:

    1. We need to understand what God means by joy and happiness. God’s understanding of joy and happiness is different from the way the world defines joy. To the world, joy is the absence of pain and suffering, absence of all troubles and problems. For the world, joy is something that provides an “escape” from all pain and troubles.
    This is not how Scripture explains joy. For God, joy is the inner peace and satisfaction that we have regardless of what is going on in our lives. The kind of peace that only Jesus Christ can give. So, Christian joy is not an escape.  For Christians, joy can exist together with pain, failures, and with the contradictions of life.

    1. For us to rejoice at all times, we need to look up to God as the one who has all the answers to the questions and the problems we have in life. That God has a plan “A” (Jeremiah 29:11).  This is the message of the Gospel today. All the people who came to John were looking for joy in life and had questions and anticipations: What should I do? However, they found joy not because the questions vanished but because they knew who had the answers to their questions, God.
    Beloved, the story of the Blessed Virgin Mary confirms this truth that we can rejoice even when we have questions on our minds and even when God changes our plans. Mary was invited to be the mother of God when she had already been engaged to Joseph and was waiting for the day when her husband would come for her and she would live the life any newly married young girl in Israel at the time would anticipate. So, God changed Mary’s plans; and that was tough.  When Mary heard that God had changed the plans, her first reaction was not jumping and dancing. No, she had a question: How could this be. However, she did not let the questions stop her or take her peace away; She rather looked up to God for the answers and God told her, "Mary, I will overshadow you; this whole thing is not about what you can do, it’s about what I can and will do. It’s not about your capabilities, it’s about my power and ability. I will overshadow you and we shall get this done". That is what brought Mary inner peace and satisfaction as she explains to Elizabeth, “My spirit rejoices not because I have no problems but because I have found the answers to my questions in God. He is my savior!” (Emphasis mine).

    Beloved, "God will make a way even where there seems to be no way. He works in works we cannot see. He will make a way for us. He will be my guide and hold me closely to His side. With Love and Strength for each new day, He will make a way!" So, I do not know what you are going through; but I want to repeat the word of God to you: Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. I shall say it again: REJOICE!
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    34th Sunday (Year B)
    Solemnity of Christ the King
    Daniel 7:13-14; Ps. 93; Revelation 1:5-8; John 18: 33-37

    Is Jesus the King of my Life?
    Is He the King over part of my life or every aspect of my life?

    Beloved, today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. By this celebration, we bring our Liturgical Year to an end. Next week, we shall begin the Season of Advent. The Solemnity of Christ the King was established, as a universal feast, by Pope Pius XI in 1925. This was a time when the whole world was suffering because of the impact of the First World War, Communism, and the rise of the Nazis in Germany. It was at this time that the Church established this feast to remind the whole world that true PEACE, SECURITY, JUSTICE, and THE JOY OF LIFE come only when we accept Jesus as our King and allow him to reign in our hearts.
    Our first reading from Daniel is a prophecy that was meant to bring hope to the People of Israel when they were suffering Babylon and were crying for a savior.  In this prophecy, God told them that the solution to all their problems lies in accepting the “Son of Man”, as their King. What is shocking about this prophecy is that the kingship of the "Son of Man" will radically different from what the Israelites were expecting because the “Son of Man” will be a king not only for Israel but also for all peoples and nations. This means he will unite Israel and her enemies, and indeed all the nations of the world, as one people with one King. That is not what the people of Israel wanted at that time. They wanted a king who would make Israel superior to other nations but not a king who would make other nations equal to Israel. So, you see, their understanding of the solution to their problems was different from what God saw as the solution.
    This is the same "Son of Man" we celebrate, today, as our King. Our second reading from the Book of Revelation tells us that Jesus is the King who loved us so much that he washed away our sin with His blood and made all of us, people from all nations, one kingdom for God. Today, we celebrate that same King who is the solution to all our problems; but the King whose approach to solving our problems is radically different from what we might see as the best approach, or what the world teaches us as the best approach.  In our Gospel, Jesus makes this point very clear to Pilate:  My Kingdom does not come from this world; I am not a King the way you expect me to be. I am the King of Truth, I do things according to the Will of My Father; and I am a King for those who love the Truth.  
    Beloved, because Jesus’ Kingship is so different and his approach to solving the problems of our lives is so different form our own approach, we, at times, find it very difficult to agree with him and surrender our lives totally to him. Therefore, as we celebrate this feast the question I ask myself is: “Is Jesus really the King of my life?
    As I reflect on this question, I see that there are areas in my life where Jesus is the King; but there are other areas where I am the King. These are the areas where I struggle to do His will; and they are also the areas where I struggle with sin. I do not know about you; maybe you are not like me; you’ve got it all figured out. But I struggle when my approach to solving a problem is different from what Jesus tells me to do.
    However, beloved, if you are like me, do not lose hope. We can start all over again. All is not lost because we serve a King who is merciful, a King who knows our weaknesses, a King who is always ready to give us a new start. Advent is a new beginning. Indeed, we can rise again! Let us renew our allegiance to Christ and resolve to surrender all aspects of our lives to Him. If we do, we will have life; and have it to the full.


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    32nd Sunday (Year B)


    1 Kings 17:10-16; Ps 146; Heb. 9:24-26; Mark 12:38-44

    We are a Royal Priesthood:
    People consecrated to offer a sacrifice, which is pleasing to God.


    My dear People of God, how many priests do we have here this morning? Our second reading today reminds us that there is only ONE High Priest, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is always pleading for us before the Father. He offered his blood for two reasons:  a/ to take away the sin of the world; and b/ to help us gain salvation. So, There is One High Priest, Jesus, but all of us who are baptized in his name are also priests.

    What is the principal duty of a priest? It is to offer sacrifice: his/her own life joined to the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary. We are a royal priesthood and a chosen race; a people consecrated to offer a sacrifice pleasing to God (1 Peter 2: 9).  That is what we come here every day to do; and that explains why in the Mass, during the consecration, the ministerial priest invites all the other priests (all the baptized) to join their offerings to His in the words:

    Pray Brothers and Sisters that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God the Almighty Father…. And you responds: May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hand, for the praise and glory of His name, for our good and the good of all His holy Church

    Beloved, our readings today teach us how to offer our lives as a sacrifice in a way that is pleasing to God. The first reading tells us that God will call on us to offer sacrifices at some time in our lives that might not make sense to us, according to human reasoning. The widow of Zarephath was not a Jew; she had many problems of her own. She had lost her husband and did not have enough food to take care of herself and her only son. In fact, she told Elijah that she and her family would die after eating the little food she had. Yet, it is at this point in her life that God calls on her to feed the prophet and she is actually asked to feed the prophet first before she thinks about herself and her son. If you look at this request from the human perspective, you will say this does not make sense. But when she obeyed, three things happened:
    1. God was glorified
    2. Somebody (Elijah) was saved
    3. She and her family were also saved and they received miracles

    Yes, that is what God can do. That is what happens when we dare to obey God even when it is difficult to do so. He always knows what He is about. We might not understand Him, but He knows how to make a way in the desert, divide the Red Sea, and bring water out of a rock. These are things that are above the human mind but they are things that happen when people obey God in difficult times. So if we dare to obey God even when our minds tell us it does not make sense, we shall experience the miracle of God.

    In the gospel, Jesus warns us against developing the attitude of the Pharisees and the Scribes who loved to offer sacrifices in the Temple but were not ready to offer their hearts to God. They cared more about people’s opinions than what God thought of them. Rather, Jesus invites us to learn from the poor widow who was concerned more about what God thought of her offering and so offered her very self to God.

    My dear People of God, we are priests called to offer a sacrifice pleasing to God. This may not always be easy but if we obey, we shall glorify God, we shall bring salvation to somebody, and we shall experience the miracle that comes from obeying God even when human reason tells us it does not make sense to obey Him. May God give us the grace to obey Him, in good and in bad times.
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  5. 28th Sunday (Year B)
    Wisdom 7:7-11; Psalm 90; Heb. 4:12-13; Mark 10:17-30

    “What must I do to have eternal life?”


    What is eternal Life? Our first reading tells us that the most important thing in life is to gain the Wisdom of God, to be able to see things as God sees them and to act as God acts. Our second reading tells us that it is only God’s Word, i.e His wisdom that brings life. The most important thing in life, therefore, is to live as God lives; a life that reflects the wisdom of God. This is what Jesus defines as eternal life: To know the Father and the Son whom He has sent (John 17:3). This knowledge is not just cognitive but experiential. Thus, eternal life, in the Bible, means living the quality of life that God lives.  So another way of posing the question that the rich young man asked is this “What must I do to actually live like God?”

    In our Gospel today, we read about a young man who is rich and has followed God’s commandments but still feels empty and knows deep in his heart that, despite his acts of righteousness, he still does not possess eternal life (He is still not living like God). He comes to Jesus to learn how to gain eternal life.

    If you pay attention to the reading, you will notice that St. Mark does not tell us where this young man came from or where he went to after his encounter with Jesus. This is the evangelist’s way of telling us that the young man is lost. Regardless of all the good things he had done and the blessings he had received from God (his riches), the young man is lost, he does not have eternal life. So, it is possible to do many good things according to the Law and still be lost? YES

    This young man had a good desire; he asked the right question but still could not accept eternal life (God’s way of living) because he lacked commitment. He could accept some of God’s Wisdom, such as the commandments he told Jesus he had lived, but not God’s Wisdom of detachment and the offering of oneself to be broken for others.

    Beloved in Christ, the story of the rich young man teaches us that it is not enough to desire eternal life; it is not enough to come to Jesus and ask the right question; We can only embrace eternal life, only and only when we are ready to commit our lives to God and accept ALL His Wisdom. Yes, we need three things: The right desire, the right question and, above all, commitment.


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  6. 27th Sunday (Year B)
    Gen. 2:18-24; Ps. 128; Heb. 2:9-11; Mark 10:2-16

    Those who did accept Christ, He gave power to become the children of God.

    Beloved in Christ, I have a question for you?  How does a foreigner become a citizen of a country?  By going through a process called Naturalization.

     In the US, Naturalization is the process by which citizenship is granted to a foreigner after he or she fulfills the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). So can somebody say I want to become a citizen but I don’t want to fulfill the requirement set by Congress? NO!

    Okay, let us apply the same principle to Christianity. If you read the Gospel of John, chapter 1 verse 11, the Bible says, Jesus came to his own people, and they did not accept him. “But to all who did accept Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” So, can somebody say I am a Christian but I cannot accept all the teachings of Christ? No! Who then is a Christian? One who accepts ALL the teachings of Christ? Yes, we may struggle to live them. But to reject the teachings is to reject Christ. You cannot claim to be a Christian and reject any of the teachings of Christ.

    One of the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ that some believers are struggling to accept is about marriage. In our world today, many people are confused as to what marriage is. There is a debate as to whether marriage is between a man and a woman or a man and another man, or a woman and another woman. Our first reading and the gospel today give us an answer about God’s teaching on marriage.  There are two important facts about the doctrine of marriage revealed in our readings today:

    1. Marriage is A SACRAMENTAL COVENANT BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN! It is not a mere human or social institution; it is a divine institution, by God, that cannot be changed. As the Pastoral Letter of the US Bishop’s Conference states: “Marriage is a natural institution established by God the Creator. It is a permanent, faithful, fruitful partnership between one man and one woman, established by their free mutual consent. It has two purposes: the good of the spouses, called the unitive purpose, and the procreation and education of children”
    Beloved, do you believe this truth? Will you lay down your life to defend this teaching of Christ? Can God depend on you to teach this truth to our society today?
    1. Marriage cannot be broken. There cannot be any divorce. Do you find this teaching too difficult to accept? Let me ask those of you who are married: Would you have married your spouse if she/he told you on the day of your wedding that I will marry you just for one week? I suppose not. Everybody who goes into marriage wants that marriage to last forever. So when Jesus teaches that there cannot be any divorce he is not giving us any law to enslave us. He is speaking the very desire that each couple have in their heart. Of course there are problems in marriage but if we turn to God, nothing is impossible.
    Beloved, if you have gone through any civil divorce, the Church shares your pain and will help you start all over again as you but marriage validly celebrated in the Church CANNOT be broken. The Church, of course, can allow separation when the is any danger in a couple living together but this separation is always permission given to the couple to stay apart for sometime as they reflect and pray about their marriage and with the help of God’s Church, family, friends, and expert marriage counselors restore their marriage. Also, the Church grants annulment, which should not be confused with divorce. Annulment is a finding by a church tribunal, or court, that no valid marriage bond was formed because the requirements for valid consent were not met at the time of the wedding.
    So in sum, marriage is a divine institution and there is no divorce in sacramental marriage, as Jesus says in our Gospel today. Can you accept these teachings of Christ? My Dear People of God, True Christians are those who accept ALL the teachings of Christ. Not some of the teachings but ALL the teachings of Christ. True Christians are those who allow God to be God!
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  7. 26th Sunday (Year)
    Dt. 4:1-2, 6-8; Ps. 15; James 1:17-18; 21b-22, 27; Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 20-23

    Living our Calling as true Prophets of God

    My dear People of God! Our second reading today invites us to seek what is most important in life, the Kingdom of God; and our Gospel tells us to stop at nothing in entering the Kingdom and helping others to do the same. This is the work that was entrusted to Moses whom we read about in our first reading.
    Our first reading is about a prayer that Moses made centuries ago.  Looking at the huge responsibility he had to lead all the people to God, Moses prayed that God would give His Spirit to all the people so that each person would become a prophet.  God answered that prayer by choosing 70 people and giving them His Spirit. From that time on, God continued to choose prophets for the Israelites. In the New Testament, Jesus, the God who become man, promised to send down the Holy Spirit upon all who believe in Him. Therefore, all those who are baptized into Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit are called to be Prophets of God.

    Who then is a prophet? This word comes from the Greek “propheme” which literally means, “to speak”.  A prophet then is someone who speaks in the name of God, a messenger of God.  In the Gospel reading today, Jesus gives a deeper meaning to what it means to be a messenger of God; one who speaks and acts in the name of God.

    Beloved in Christ, our Scripture readings today invite us to reflect and imitate Moses in our own roles at Prophets of God. There are so many things that Moses did but I would like to mentioned three of them for our reflection today.
    1. He brought hope to God’s people in difficult times.
    2. He forgave the people when they offended him
    3. He interceded with God on behalf of the people.
    There were many times that the people offended Moses and God (eg. Num 21) but Moses forgave them and interceded for them. If you pay attention to that story you will notice that Moses had to learn to forgive the people first before he could pray for them.

    Today, all of us, parishioners of STA, must dare to be the prophets that we were baptized to be. Like Moses, we must first forgive those who have offended us and then ask God to forgive then. When Fr. Seda, our Pastor, heard that one of our parishioners set our Church building on fire, the first thing he did was to ask the staff to visit our parishioner, express our forgiveness to her on behalf of all the people of our parish, and to bring her God’s forgiveness. As a staff, we have done that on your behalf but each one of you must make a personal decision to forgive her for any inconvenience that she might have caused you. It is only when you take the first step to forgive her that you can pray for her. This is what it means to be a prophet at STA today, this is what it means to speak and act in the name of Christ. Are you willing to speak and act in the name of God? Are you willing to be the prophet you were called to be?
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  8. 25th Sunday (Year B)
    Wisdom 2:12, 17-20; Ps. 63, James 3:16-4:3; Mark 9:30-37
    Note: (This homily was given at the end of a 3-day retreat)

    Theme: Servants of God are called to be participants not spectators

    My dear People of God, wouldn’t it be wonderful if at the end of our three-day retreat we heard a voice saying: “ I have taken all your problems away, as you go home you will never face any problems in life again; you will never suffer again” ?

    That would be great right? However, that is not the message God has for us today. Instead of “ You will suffer no more” our first reading talks about the Suffering Servant of God; and in the Gospel reading, Jesus talks about His suffering, death, and resurrection. Why?

    Perhaps, the goal of this retreat, like any other retreat, is what the psalmist says in our responsorial psalm today: “God will uphold you; God will sustain you”. The goal of the retreat was not to abolish suffering in our lives; but to help us receive the grace to carry our crosses and follow Jesus, which is the call to be a Christian. Jesus did not come to abolish suffering but to give it new meaning. Therefore, the goal of our retreat is to give us a new perspective on the Christian sufferings we go through.

    But why is Christian suffering necessary? Why does God allow His servants to go through suffering? Beloved, we, the servants of God are called to reveal a God who is LOVE, HUMBLE, FORGIVING, AND PEACE. The world expects us to really prove that God is what we claim He is. They will not just take our words for that. They want us to prove that there is a God who loves even those who hurt him; that He forgives all those who turn back to Him; that He serves us, and that He lays down his life that the word will know Peace. It is because the word needs such proof that it puts us, Christians to the test. So God allows these tests not to cause us to fail but to give us opportunities to witness, to reveal who he really is.

    Beloved, in Christ, it is because Jesus came to reveal God, His Father, that he had to suffer; and we are called not to be spectators but participants in the life of Jesus. Jesus did not call us to be fans but to be His co-workers, participants, team-members who will play the “game” with Him. That is why he called us not to be bystanders but to carry the Cross with Him. That is the message that Jesus is communicating to the disciples in the Gospel. He takes a little child, embraces the child, and tells the disciples “ Whoever, accepts one of these little ones, accepts me and the Father. Indeed, if you want play with a child, you need to enter into the world of the child, either by bending, laying down, or lifting the child up. In all these gestures, you are trying to be at the same level with the child in order to have an effective interaction with the child. Therefore, in effect, Jesus is telling us “You cannot be my disciples, if you do not want to participate in my suffering”.

    Therefore, beloved, let us see temptations and Christian sufferings as opportunities to participate in the divine mysteries of God. Let’s see them as stepping stones but not stumbling blocks. We are called not to be spectators but participants.
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  9. 24th Sunday (Year B)
    Isaiah 50:5-9a;  Ps 34; James 2:14-18; Mark 8:27-35

    Theme: Discerning the Will of God; learning to think as God thinks

    My dear People of God, our first reading from the Prophet Isaiah talks about The Servant of God, Jesus, who was never put to shame because always checked in with the Father, listened to the voice of his Father before he acted.The second reading from James tells us that we, who profess faith in Jesus, must to be servants who transform our faith into actions that are pleasing to God. This calls for discernment because if we do not know what God’s will is, we will not be able to please Him.
    Something happened right after my ordination that I will never forget. I lived 40 blocks from the college where I used to teach so I drove to work everyday. One day, I saw an old man who was walking and limping so I stopped and asked if he wanted a ride. He said yes, so I picked him up and dropped him at his house. The next day, I saw him again, and did the same . It continued for a week but I never asked the man where he was coming from everyday at that same hour. After two weeks, I was in my office and two people came to me very angry and asked if I was the one giving their father a ride everyday. After they had described him, I said, “Yeah, but what is wrong with that? I was only helping”. Then they told me the the man had been asked to do physical therapy that he did not want to do so the children would put him in a car and drop him off at a place that he would have to walk home. So my ride was rather not helpful to this old man at all. Then I apologised. Since then before I give a ride I make sure the person is not avoiding some physical therapy.
    I think St. Peter in our gospel reading today made a similar mistake. In the story, Peter has just professed faith in Christ and, based on that profession, Jesus tells him,  “You are the rock upon which I will build my Church...... and I will give you the keys of the Kingdom, what you bind on earth will be considered bound in Heaven and what you loose on earth will be consider loosed in heaven.  Beloved in Christ, let’s face it, if you had such power to bind and loose won’t you use that to save those you love most from suffering and from all the troubles on the world?  That is what  Peter was trying do; to use his power to bind and loose to save Jesus from suffering and death. It is important to note that Peter was not using his power to do anything evil; actually, he wanted to use it to do good. But Jesus rebuked him. Why? Jesus rebuked him not because of the good Peter wanted to do but because the good Peter wanted to do was not what God wanted him to do at that particular moment in his life.
    Beloved in Christ, sometimes our greatest struggle is not so much how to choose good and avoid evil, but how to discern the will of God. How to think as God thinks. The question becomes among all the good things you can do, which one is the will of God for that moment in your life. That was the struggle of St. Peter in our gospel.  Because Peter did not consult with God to discern God’s will for the moment he was trying to save the the Savior. And then Jesus tells him NUP! Peter, you are wrong, that is not how to be a servant of God. If you base your decisions and actions on what looks good to you or what makes sense to you, or what you feel to be right, you will destroy rather than build God’s Kingdom.  You will be standing in God’s way instead of promoting his plans.
    Beloved, even though Peter failed in this gospel, if we end our reflection on how Peter failed, we will miss the point of the gospel reading. This story is meant to teach us that the success of the Christian life is not about how many times we fail but how many times we can turn to the lord and correct our thinking in order to think like God and be able to please God. It is about the strength of Peter, that no matter how often he failed he always turned back to God. He never gave up learning to think like God thinks. Turning to Christ is what Peter did best.  The more he failed, the more he spent time with Jesus. That is why he succeeded in forming many Churches for God and was transformed from somebody who wanted to save his life to a man who  laid down his life as a martyr to glorify God.
    In 2003, the Holy Father Blessed John Paul II published a letter on the Eucharist, Ecclesia de Eucharistia. In that letter, he revealed how he was able to identify the voice of God, discover the will of God for the Church, for his personal life, and how he found strength and consolation in his struggles to do the will of God. The Holy Father explains his secret as spending time in Eucharistic Adoration. Spending time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament: “How often, dear brothers and sisters, have I experienced this, and drawn from it strength, consolation and support” (para. 25). My prayer is that we shall learn from St. Peter to spend time with Jesus and never give up learning to think like God. I pray that we shall learn from John Paul II and spend time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacraments so that we can discern the will of Christ, think like Christ, and act like Christ.
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  10. 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

    Dt 4:1-2, 6-8; Ps 15; Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27;  Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

    Theme:  Freedom Without Christ Brings Destruction

    One of the things that almost everybody who visits the USA wants to see is the Statue of Liberty in New York. If you pay close attention to this statue, you will notice that it has a crown with seven arrows that symbolize the seven continents of the world, God’s gift of freedom to human beings; and the dignity of every human being in the world.

    The statue also holds a torch in its right hand, which is a symbol of the light that human beings need so that they do NOT destroy the freedom and dignity that God has given us. Beloved, that light, which the world is looking for is Jesus, true light that shines in darkness and brings light to every human being (John 1:4-9).

    In addition, the statue has a tablet in its left hand. That tablet symbolizes the importance of law. That without laws, human beings will destroy themselves. Indeed, without God's law, the whole world will be destroyed. As, a Christian, when I think about the tablet in the hands of the statue, my mind goes right back to Moses holding the tablet of God’s law in his hand. That law which Moses in our first reading says makes a nation great, wise, and intelligent.
     
    So, for us Christians, the three symbols on the statue of liberty should remind us of the relationship that must exist between our freedom, Jesus the light of the world, and His teachings of loving God with all our hearts, our minds, and our souls; and loving one another the way He has loved us.

    Unfortunately, we live in a world today where people talk about freedom but they do not want to talk about Jesus, the Light, and they do not want to talk about the tablet, His teachings, God's law. No wonder 2012 years after Jesus laying down his life so that the world will not remain the same, our world today is still less than perfect.  There are still wars around the world, in Syria, Afghanistan, and some countries in Africa. There are economic problems, political problems and many social evils in our world today. The result is that people get fed up with life and kill themselves or kill others. We are destroying the freedom God gave us because we are neglecting the light and the tablet.

    However, all is not lost. We can wake up from our slumber, arise from our sleep, and rebuild the city of God. God is always ready to give us a new day. There is hope. Our readings today teach us how we can reshape the world into the way God created it. Moses tells us in the first reading that if only we can return to the tablet, we shall once again become a nation that is truly great, wise and intelligent. In the gospel, our Lord Jesus Christ tells us if we stop replacing God’s law with human teachings, and rather begin to think as God thinks and live as God teaches us, things will change; and we can build a better world. St James, in the second reading, re-echoes the voice of Christ and call on us to accept humbly the Word of God that has been implanted in our souls so that we can become doers of the Word not just hearers.

     Let us continue to pray for all nations in the world that as we seek freedom, we may also seek Christ, the light  of the world, and return to God’s law.  Let us pray that our nation, America, will return to Christ and help other nations do the same.


    Let us pray with the Choir in the following video that God will continue to lead us!
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