Reflection

We live in a world where competition, not cooperation, seems to be the rule of thumb. From an early age, we have been subconsciously indoctrinated with the idea that we have to outdo, defeat and demolish the competition. Whether that be in school academics, sports or ordinary play, our stance is to compete and win. No wonder we see each other first as competitors rather than partners. Sadly, even in not a few Catholic universities & schools such an outlook of being competitors rather than cooperators has been unwittingly promoted. Case in point: the UAAP basketball. They say it’s the school spirit. I say it’s foolish and pathetic, to say the least.

We see the same in our readings today. People who should know better were not exempt from seeing those who were not part of their group as competitors, therefore, a threat. In the 1st reading, a young man ran to Moses and reports how two men, Eldad and Medad, unofficial prophets, were prophesying in God’s name. The response of Moses to the “sumbungero” shows he is not insecure or feels threatened but sees those preaching God’s word as partners. Moses says, “If only the whole people of the Lord were prophets, and the Lord gave his Spirit to them all!” The situation in the gospel reading is an exact parallel, and Jesus’ response is just like that of Moses. “Anyone who is not against us is for us.”

It becomes clear for all of us who at times become rigid in the ways God reveals Himself that we cannot restrict him according to our expectations alone. Listening to other Christian sects and religious groups, there is a tendency to compete and put down other denominations in the most vile and despicable language possible. The claim that they are the truest church and non-membership with them means eternal damnation runs contrary to the gospel message of Jesus. Indeed, there was a time in our church history as Catholics that we acted in the same manner, maybe even worse. But we have learned since then. We need not compete, put down and demolish each other for we bring the same message from the same Lord and savior who said that “anyone who is not against us is for us.” Every time we say we preach the good news of Jesus yet continue to denigrate and despise each other we lessen the power of the message of Jesus. Every time we keep putting down those whose set of beliefs are different from ours, we become a stumbling block towards fast-forwarding the establishment of God’s kingdom in our midst. We lessen the power of God’s word because of our over-competitiveness and malicious intent. Proving the truth we claim we possess by destroying the good name of another betrays one’s ignorance of the mind and heart of Jesus. Only a truth that is very unsure of itself feels compelled to make an enemy of the other.

Response

The official teaching of the Catholic faith with regards other religions is clearly stated in the document of the Second Vatican Council: “The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these [non-Christian] religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all people” (Nostra Aetate). This is not watering down or discarding the fullness of our Catholic faith founded on the apostles. But it is faithfulness to the spirit of Jesus who embraced everyone, sinners and saints alike, even the pagan centurion who, in the end, acknowledge that he is not worthy to received Jesus “but only say the word and I shall be healed.”

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflection

Scarcity creates insecurity. Our own human experiences prove that point. Go back to the times you felt very little was left in your pocket or in your food cabinet. Did we not feel insecure and worried that nothing will be left for us? Did we not feel insecure about giving because we felt we need it more than anyone else? Scarcity not only creates insecurity. It can also serve as the seedbed for selfishness.

A different altitude is displayed in our gospel reading for this Sunday. We find many people are hungry. There is very scarce supply of food to feed the hundreds of people who have been following and listening to Jesus and his preaching. Jesus feels compassion for them. He tells his disciples to feed them. But his disciples were so overwhelmed by the multitude of people to be fed. The enormity of their needs was so tremendous. They only saw how little they have. What was available were only two pieces of fish and five loaves of bread. So little for so many. Clearly, the scarcity mentality was at work. But Jesus tells them to give to him the little food that was from the boy and commands his disciples to tell the people to sit on the grass. We are told that Jesus took the two fish and five loaves. He blessed it and broke the little amount of food available and gave it to the hungry multitudes.  It echoes the Eucharist.  Not only were they satisfied but there were some leftovers even.

On many levels we can bring this gospel lesson in our world, country and personal situation. We see much hunger in the world. Some see it and say there is very little food available so we should reduce the population. Or could it be there is more than enough food but the distribution and sharing are absent? We look at our country and see many have no means of livelihood and opportunities. Many don’t have decent houses to live in, the roads are bad, medicines are so expensive and services are appalling. Or is it because a few are hoarding great amounts of money, wealth and profit for themselves and are stuck in mediocrity and self-serving concerns? And what about the feeling that we have very little to give, a few talents to offer and a lack of time to share? Clear signs of a scarcity mentality.

Clearly, when Jesus said “Give them to me,” referring to the scarce supplies of food that was available, he still needed the two pieces of fish and loaves of bread of the boy to perform a miracle. He needs the little that we think we have so he can make something marvelous and abundant. When we give to Jesus the little time we have, the under-appreciated talent we possess, he turns them into blessings that would benefit many.

Response

Every time we come to celebrate the Eucharist, we are being called to commit our human resources for the benefit of others. He challenges us to make his word the food that will satisfy the deeper needs of our and each others’ hearts. Give to the hands of Jesus the little you think you have. Only then can scarcity mentality be replaced with the attitude of abundance.

There are three great celebrations in the calendar of the church: Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. Christmas is the celebration of the Son, Jesus, the Word made flesh. Easter is the celebration of the Father calling the Son back to life. Pentecost is the celebration of the Holy Spirit poured upon the church.

And today that is the feast we celebrate, the feasts of the Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It is important that we ask ourselves as we celebrate Pentecost Sunday the question, “Are you a spiritual person?” Different answers can be given to that question; “Yes, I am. I go to mass everyday and I do works of charity for the needy.” Others might say “No. I’m not. I don’t regularly attend Sunday mass. Only when I feel the need for it.” Still, there are those who might say, “I’m not sure or I don’t know.”

The answer we give to that question has a great deal to do with the solemnity we are celebrating today: Pentecost. Fifty days after the resurrection of the Lord, the promise of Jesus, the word he gave to his disciples, and kept, was he would never abandon them. On the first Pentecost, the Holy Spirit comes and remains with them in order to be the abiding presence of Jesus.

To answer whether we are a spiritual person, we go back to St. Paul in the Acts of the Apostles where he asks the question, “Have you received the Holy Spirit?” Right away we can answer this question with a simple ‘yes’. For does not the Church teaches that in baptism we are renewed and regenerated by the Holy Spirit.? And does she not also teach that in the sacrament of confirmation we are strengthened in our faith by the same Spirit? Indeed, to the question “have we received the Holy Spirit?” we can and should in fact answer yes.

When St. Paul asked the disciples in Ephesus whether they have received the Holy Spirit and found out they had not, he baptized them and laid his hands on them. Thereafter, the Holy Spirit came down upon them and immediately they began to speak in tongues and prophesy in God’s name. With sensitivity they listened to God’s word and with courage and boldness, they proclaimed the works of the Lord. They were empowered to do all these because they have received the Holy Spirit. Not only did they receive the Holy Spirit into their lives but they responded to the Spirit’s many gifts.

Have we received the Holy Spirit? Yes, we have. But that does not make us automatically a spiritual person. There is a more important question we need to ask: “Have we responded to the Holy Spirit?” It is a response where we not only believe in the truth about the third person of the Trinity, but a response wherein our way of seeing events, our manner of relating with people and our method of living our lives is constantly challenged, radically rooted and deeply inspired by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. We have to remind ourselves that we can only be in touch with Christ if we have been in touch with the Holy Spirit. And we can only respond to the Holy Spirit in faith if we allow her to be who she is: the Parakletos, which literally means ‘he who is called to one’s side.’ A paraclete is an advocate, a mediator, a comforter, an intercessor.

Responding to the Holy Spirit means allowing her to be the Paraclete. It means a life where one’s relationships are animated by the urgings of the Spirit; where one’s actions are led by her inspiration and where one’s way of thinking is enlightened by her wisdom. Simply said, it is docility of our entire life to the directions of the Holy Spirit. To live under the direction, urging and enlightenment of the Spirit must not be interpreted as mere exterior agreement of our actions to a set of rules given by God for us to follow. Rather, it is a gradual growth of our inner eye to see with growing clarity and listen with greater sensitivity to the will of God. It is not an anxious attitude of trying to do everything with righteous perfection. But it is a strong, sound and serene certainty that what our mind and heart desires to do is the desire and delight of God’s heart.

Life led by the Spirit, characterized by docility to God’s will, becomes a reality if we stop relating to God only in terms fear or too much dependency on doing this or not doing that. They are helpful. And at times they are the only practical and sensible way especially during moments of dryness and aridity in our spiritual life. But to remain there would be infantile spirituality. At one point in our spiritual life, we have to respond to God’s call through the Spirit in our own free and personal way as the wind blows freely where it wills. This is the person directed, urged and led by the Spirit. He is a person uninhibited and unbounded in exploring God’s presence in his life and constantly attuning his ways to God’s ways, his eyes to God’s face and his heart to God’s voice. He not only has received the Spirit but has maturely responded to the Spirit.

Thus, the spiritual person not only prays, “Come, Holy Spirit” but cans also proclaim, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has sent me to bring the good news to others!”

If you watch the late night news on TV, you probably have seen the one on Channel 7 called “Saksi.” It has an American counterpart called “Eyewitness News.” Maybe that’s where the local station copied the idea. But whether it is “Saksi” or “Eyewitness News” the message and the meaning remains the same: they claim that they have seen the events they report on the news with their own eyes, or to be more precise, through the lens of their very own cameras.

At the end of the Gospel this 3rd Sunday of the Easter season, we hear Jesus say to his apostles who see his risen person, “You are my witnesses to these things.” That means they have seen the risen Christ with their own eyes. They are eyewitnesses of Jesus. Sila’y mga saksi ni Hesus na muling nabuhay dahil nakita ng sarili nilang mga mata ang lahat ng mga pangyayari. But is that really what being a witness to the risen Jesus is all about, seeing Him with their own eyes as he suffered, died and rose?

It’s very easy to limit the meaning of that statement of Jesus about being his witnesses to the events that happened to the Lord in his suffering, death and rising. Indeed, it includes all those events that happened during the last moments of the earthly life of Jesus. But if we be very precise about it, there were really no witnesses to the very moment when Jesus resurrected. Yes, they saw Jesus treated with much violence. They saw him nailed to the cross. They saw the blood flowing out from his body and witnessed the excruciating pain of his crucifixion and death on the cross. But the very moment of His resurrection, none saw it. They only saw the proof of it as Jesus showed himself to them alive again! In fact, only one of his apostles was an eyewitness to his death on the cross because they all ran away!

A second look at the entire statement of Jesus reveals why he suffered, died and is raised so that “repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name.” Only then did he say “you are witnesses to these things.” It becomes clear that witnessing to Jesus is not just seeing him with one’s own eyes. If that were so many of us his modern day disciples will never qualify as his followers. Many of us will never have faith in him because we are not eyewitnesses to what happened to him. Thankfully, being a witness to him is not about that at all. In his own words, Jesus says we are witnesses because we believe in the forgiveness of our sins through repentance. And that we are to make it known to all we meet. Thus, faith does not come from seeing him but from believing in him even if we have not seen him. We believe, therefore, we see who Jesus truly is. The more we believe, the more we see Him clearly!

Response

Why is it when it comes to modern technology we believe it right away? Take for example, cellphone text messaging. When we receive a text message through the cellphone, we right away believe that the person who sent the text message is the person he or she claims to be. We don’t completely know how that technology works and is able to send that message nor do our eyes see that it really is that person who texted us, yet we believe it is so. Yet, if we replace the word “technology” with God, we do not right away believe nor accept: we don’t believe right away God loves us so much, He forgives the sins of a repentant sinner. We don’t accept right away he is a mighty and powerful God. But that is what it means that we are witnesses of the risen Jesus. We believe, therefore, we see and understand better. Because we have faith, we are witnesses even if we have not seen him with our eyes. That’s what our Easter faith is all about.

Today, February 25, 2009, is Ash Wednesday. Today, also, the EDSA People Power of 1986 is 23 years old. Of the 23 anniversaries of EDSA several have fallen within the Lenten season. I find it meaningful that these two important events would take place and converge at this particular season of the liturgical year. Every Lenten season, we remember the great event of the passion and death of Christ on the cross to free us from our slavery to sin. Every 25th of February, we remember the great event of a people freeing themselves from slavery to their own fears, apathy and indifference. Let me share with you some reflections on the Lenten season and the EDSA People Power Revolution.

Lenten Season

Traditionally, the Lenten season is likened to a temple that stands on three pillars. Christ Himself recommended these three pillars of Lent in his Sermon on the Mount. The three pillars are no other prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Fasting is a tradition that we share with many other world religions. Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and the Jewish religion give importance to fasting. Christian fasting takes a deeper meaning than those held by other religions because has a meaning Christ himself assigned to it.

Christian fasting is something we inherited from the Jewish tradition. Fasting was seen as an attitude of dependence and total abandonment on God. Before a great undertaking, during times of danger and calamities, to show repentance for sins, they did one thing: they fasted. But Jesus saw something lacking in their fasting. For fasting to be pleasing to God, it must be united with love of neighbor and should show itself in acts of justice. Almsgiving is an act of justice. It is giving to others what truly belongs to them. We share because when we look at the eyes of another person we do not see an enemy or a stranger but a brother and a sister.

But all these have to be done for one reason: because one loves God. Loving God begins with talking to him in prayer. That is why for Jesus, the fasting of the Pharisees was empty. Jesus denounced their fasting because it was a fasting directed for their self-glorification and self-righteousness. When we fast, we tell God that we are totally for Him, not only our spirit but our body as well. We are willing to delay the gratification of our senses in order to dedicate our whole self, body and spirit, to Him.

Here we see the pillars of Lent standing together: Prayer, (the love for God) fasting, (delaying the gratification of our bodily wants and humbly acknowledging dependence on God) and almsgiving (prayer and fasting bearing fruit in acts of charity). These three pillars are not only for Lent but for the whole of our Christian life. But during Lent, we are asked to intensify our prayer, our fasting and our almsgiving. They have to be together, prayer, fasting and almsgiving. According to St. John Chrysostom fasting without almsgiving is not fasting at all. And as St. Augustine said: If you want your prayer to fly to God, give it two wings: fasting and almsgiving.

EDSA People Power Revolution

We ask: Is not the EDSA revolution an expression of this triad of the spiritual life? Is not EDSA the embodiment of the three pillars of Lent intensified?

In EDSA of 1986 there was prayer. The lips of people moved together storming heaven with prayer. Like the people of the O.T. when in the midst of danger and calamity, or when faced with a great undertaking, they offered fasting as their prayer, in EDSA we offered our prayers to Him. At the streets surrounding EDSA, the Eucharist was celebrated, the rosary recited. Indeed, People Power was possible because of prayer power.

In EDSA of 1986 there was fasting. Not in the sense that people did not eat. On the contrary, everyone ate, and reminiscent of the feeding of the multitudes, there were more than 12 basket-full of left-over. How was this possible? Because people fasted. Yes, we fasted from our selfishness and shared the little that we had. We fasted from our indifference and apathy and joined together in solidarity. We fasted from our divisive attitudes and allowed our faith to bring us together as one people of God. In EDSA 1986 there was also almsgiving. The almsgiving was not in terms of money being doled-out but in varied yet meaningful forms: the willingness to give one’s life as alms; people standing in front of tanks having nothing in their hands except flowers and rosaries but with hearts full of love to give. Big or small, in EDSA 1986, almsgiving was overflowing.

If there is one, single symbol that can bring Lent and EDSA together, it would be the symbol of the cross. During Lent, it is not so much the washing of the feet that people identify with, nor is it the palms that are waved during Palm Sunday. But it is the passion and death of Christ symbolized by his cross that touches them deeply. In EDSA of 1986, Col. Sotelo was ordered to bomb the old Santolan Road to scare the people. But when he and his co-pilot looked out the window of the helicopter, it was not the sea of people they saw but the figure of the cross in EDSA and Santolan. They could not bomb a cross. They defected. During Lent, most people see the cross as the source of suffering. In EDSA, the cross became a source of blessing. And indeed what a blessing it was!

This year, Lent begins on the very same day of the EDSA People Power anniversary. At the corner of EDSA and Ortigas Avenue now stands the Our Lady of Peace EDSA Shrine to remembering what the Filipino people did 23 years ago. Ash Wednesday will be celebrated there, the very streets where we fasted, prayed and offered alms for each other because of our common faith in Christ. But wherever we might be, let the ash and its mark on our forehead remind us we are called to begin a change of heart, followed by intense prayer, deeper fasting, and greater care for the less fortunate.

More than 2,000 years ago, a man by the name of Saul was going to Damascus. He was thinking of one thing only: persecute the followers of a man named Jesus, find them, arrest them, jail them and put them to death. He was very good at his mission for he was a determined a focused man. But something happened on that road to Damascus. A bright and intense light suddenly struck Saul. It was such that Saul became temporarily blind. And he fell to ground.  He heard a voice speak to him that said, “Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me?” And Saul replied “who are you?” And the voice replied “I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting.”

That man Saul we all know today as St. Paul, one of the great apostle of our faith. His story is one of the most memorable and timeless story of change and transformation. From a persecutor of the faith to a preacher of the faith in Jesus, from being Saul the Pharisee to becoming St. Paul the missionary Apostle, from being a sinner to a saint. What happened to him is what should happen to each one of us. We all have to undergo our own road to Damascus, we all need to have our conversion moments.

What is conversion? Conversion is a deep experience of transformation of the mind, will and heart toward God. In St. Paul we find that experience. First, his conversion began with God and ended with God. It was God who made the first move and invited him to undergo conversion. God, in Jesus, reached out to him revealing himself to St. Paul as the one he is persecuting. Every conversion begins with the Lord extending his forgiving hand to us. We can refuse it and say “no” or we can accept it and say “yes.” Every conversion is always by and through God’s amazing Grace.

Second, conversion needs a deep change. Not a temporary and momentary change. For St. Paul, it he needed to become blind and fall to the ground. Only by becoming blind can a new set of eyes, a new way of seeing and understanding can replace his old ways and old life. His change was not only in name, Saul to Paul, but in his mind, will and heart. He needed to be humbled so God can enter his life and transform him in the deepest part of his person.

Third, conversion is a never-ending story. It must be followed by constant and faithful changes, smaller transformations at important moments in our life. As overcoming sin and human weakness is a continuing struggle, so too must our conversion be. Repentance is a unique and constant way that we express our conversion. It requires that we accept our human condition of weakness, frailty and failures. A story might help. A teacher of Grade 5 students in Religion asked her students:

If all good people are like the matamis na mangga (unripe, green mangoes) and all the bad people are like the maasim na mangga (ripe, sweet mango), what kind of mangga are you? One student said he was like a sweet, ripe mango for he was obedient to his parents. Another answered saying he is like the unripe, sour mango for he was the headache of his parents. But one girl said: I’m not really a sweet mango all the time, nor, Am I like the sour green Mango always.  “Ako’y manibalang na mangga!”

Genuine conversion takes place when we come to accept the wise observation of Ralph Waldo Emerson who said, “There is a crack in everything God has made.” Conversion cannot take place if we deny our imperfection. It doesn’t mean that everything God created is bad. It just means we are not perfect. If we were, we would have no need for God in our lives. We must acknowledge our weaknesses and accept our tendency towards transgressions. All the saints became saints because they accepted their own weaknesses. Such acceptance is the foundation of conversion and healing.

The problem of experiencing real conversion is basically a problem of not letting God be who He is. Conversion does not happen in our lives because we have done what Adam and Eve did.  We want to be god ourselves. We depend only on our own will power to change ourselves. We believe that by our self-discipline alone we can get rid of our sinful habits. We have relied alone on our own inner strength to control our sinful inclinations. But how many times have we seen that no matter how much repression of oneself we do to get rid of our sinful habits, no matter how much will power we exert, no matter how much inner strength and personal discipline we apply, we fall into the same sin again and again. We continue doing the same sinful habits. The same sinful inclinations we have vowed to eradicate continue to control us. When the Israelites were in the desert they realized that they were powerless unless they depended on God for everything. When they allowed God to be God, everything went well. But whenever they tried to complain against God, take upon themselves the identity of God and depend on their own power, disaster would always follow them. 

We have to do what St. Paul did if we want to be converted to Christ. We have to dismantle our pretenses of self-sufficiency and self-righteousness. Genuine conversion from a sinful life can take place if we allow God to be God. Do you have a weakness that for so long a time you have tried to overcome yet have not been successful? Do you have a sinful habit which you have been trying to get rid of? Why don’t you fall down on your knees and ask God to take it away from you.

Conversion is not a “do-it-yourself” project. We allow ourselves to be wounded by our weaknesses, be humbled by our limitations and brought down on bended knees by our sinfulness. Our conversion must be “made in heaven” and not “made by our human hands.” The moment of conversion begins when we can say to ourselves these words:” I would like to be perfect. But I know that I am not perfect. Sometimes I am weak and thoughtless. But look: sometimes I can be strong and generous … I am not a bad person. I am a person who often does bad things. And if that is good enough for God, it should be good enough for me.” Only then, can we understand that conversion is nothing more than seeing ourselves, other people in our family, our work, especially the difficult ones, in a new way, in a new light. The way Jesus sees all of us.  

Reflection

On the 2nd Sunday of Advent, the personality that stands out in the readings is John the Baptist. He becomes our guide in understanding the mood and style of the Advent season: Waiting on Jesus. We cannot fully understand the mystery of the birth of Jesus without listening to the words of John the Baptist.

How is the John the Baptist described? He appeared in the desert! His place is the desert. He and desert go together. The desert is a place mentioned in the Bible many times. Moses spends time in the desert especially during the Exodus of the Israelites. Jesus spends time in the desert at before beginning his ministry and public life. St. Paul, too, spends time in the desert.

Why the desert? It is a place of truth and honesty. Remember the book “The Little Prince”? it says that what makes the desert beautiful is that it hides a well. As a place of honesty and truth, It affords us no distractions, no luxuries, no comforts of life. It just gives us the basic things of existence and simple truths of life. No lies about ourselves, no delusions about what we are and no deceptions our own past.

The philosopher Blaise Pascal tells us most of us spend our time looking for distractions and diversions: distractions about questions of death and life, about human sinfulness and forgiveness, about our human relationships. They are painful and dreadful things and we would rather avoid them. So we look for diversions from them. We work all the time, we have fun all the time, we are busy all the time.

But who and what do we find at Advent time? John the Baptist and the desert. We come face to face with the essential things of life, things that matter. During this time of Advent we follow John the Baptist to the desert. And what does he say?: I proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins! He invites us to undergo a change, not only things outside us, but a change of heart. He tells not think about change but to let it penetrate every part of who we are. To see things differently, to have different attitudes, different ways of doing things is the desert experience he invites us to undergo.

Response

When people went to John the Baptist in the desert, they confessed their sins and repented. They confronted themselves, who they really are, where they are at that point in their life and what is wrong in their life. This Advent season, we can examine of our consciences, seek and grant forgiveness, and enter into the desert of our human heart.

Reflection

Another season of Advent is with us. We ask: what is the spirit of this season in our liturgical celebrations? Is it celebrated just in the same way as any other Sundays of the other church seasons of the year? Hopefully not. The spirit of the Advent season is a time of devout and holy expectation. But who and what are we expecting? And how should we do so?

Advent is from the Latin adventus, a coming or arrival. There are three ways that the advent of Christ takes place: in history, in mystery and in glory. The first advent of Christ is in our human history. Emmanu’el, God-with-us, is the name he will be called. The event of the Incarnation, God putting on human skin, is the first coming of Christ in the world. There was an exact time and place in our history, unknown to many and filled with humility and simplicity that God dwelt among us. But there is another advent of Christ that no one can predict or foresee. It is the advent of Christ in glory. The only thing we can do is to be prepared for such advent of the Lord. In a moment we least expect, the end times will arrive and his glory will appear and he will judge the entirety of humanity and its history. Meanwhile, in a mysterious way, Christ’s advent happens in our present moment. In the mystery of the sacraments we celebrate and the word of scripture proclaimed, he comes into our lives. It is like the air we breathe and don’t see yet we know it is there. He comes to us also in the mystery of every person, for he said that whatever we do or did not do to these brothers and sisters of mine you did or did not do to me.

The Advent season also has two parts. The 1st part begins on the first Sunday of Advent until December 16. It contains two elements: the glory of Christ that will come and of new beginnings. The readings tell us to wait and be watchful for his coming. The element of new beginnings is seen in a new gospel, Mark, on the first Sunday of Advent. We also see the Advent wreath and every week, we light a new candle for the four weeks of Advent. The second part of Advent begins from December 17 to the 24th. The readings become more special and distinct about the coming of the promised savior. We hear that John the Baptist will prepare his arrival (3rd Sunday of Advent, Dec. 14), and of the Annunciation of the angel to Mary (4th Sunday of Advent, Dec. 21). Then, the Christmas season comes, the very reason why we have the Advent time.

We also see visual changes in our celebrations in the church. The color of the priest’s vestments changes from green to dark violet during Advent. We also have the Advent wreath placed in the altar area. The songs also have the spirit of waiting and expectation: O Come, O Come Emmanuel, O Come Divine Messiah, Come Thou Long Expected Savior are just some examples of the hymns we will sing, heightening our sense of the Advent spirit.

Response

Advent season is a short season. Use it well so that a real Christmas can happen within you.

Reflection

Today is the Solemnity of Christ the King. We also end the Ordinary Time in our church liturgical calendar. Next Sunday, we begin the Advent season.

The readings the last two Sundays have invited us to be prepared for the end times. Death is a truth we need to prepare for and the best way is to make sure that the talents and gifts God has given us will be used not only for ourselves but for others as well. Today, we are reminded that Christ is the King. And as king, he will judge us justly. And we will be judged not on our worthiness or personal merit. The basis of God’s judgment will be on how we have proclaimed the kingdom of God and expanded his rule on earth. It will be based, as Jesus says, on how we have treated the least and the last of this world.

The idea that Christ the King will judge us at the end of life can suffuse us with both trepidation and anticipation. It will all depend on what kind of image we have of Jesus and the relationship we have established with him. If we see Christ as the despot king whose only desire is to punish with hellfire, fear and distress will be our idea of Jesus. But if we see Christ the King as the Son of God born in the manger, then, our vision of him is a shepherd king the prophet Ezekiel describes in the first reading. He is one who has lived among us, not in an ivory tower; he touched the eyes of the blind and nourished the hunger and thirsty multitudes. He knew what it meant not to have a place to rest his tired body. He experienced unjust treatment. Up close and personal, he witnessed human suffering. Just as Jesus was moved by the needs of people around him, his love urges us to respond the way he did. On judgement day, we will not be judge on whether we have rub elbows with royalty, met with the powerful, or shared the stage with the stars but on what Jesus said: whatever you did or did not do for one of the least brothers or sisters of mine, you did or did not do for me. Did we recognize Jesus in the common man, in the face of the powerless and the unknown stranger? What the Shepherd King did, we also must do.

Response

In one church bulletin, the following reminder was given: “I was hungry, and you formed a social group to discuss my hunger. I was condemned to death and you went quietly to pray for me. I was naked and in your mind debated the morality of my appearance. I was sick and you were thankful it wasn’t you. I told you how alone and lonely I was and you left me to go and pray for me. You seem so close to God. But I’m still hungry and lonely and alone.” It is hard to do these things. But if Christ really is our King, let us expand his kingdom here on earth so we can enter his kingdom in heaven.

Reflection

M. Scott Peck, author of The Road less Traveled, defines love as, “the will to extend oneself for the purpose of nurturing one’s own and another’s spiritual growth.” That’s a great definition about love. There are three elements in that definition that sheds light on what Jesus meant when he said in today’s gospel that the greatest commandment is to love God and love one’s neighbor.

First, love is an act of the “will.” Authentic and abiding love is not only a feeling, but also a decision, a choice one makes. It is not based on the calculations of the mind or the fleeting quality of feelings only, but it is an act of the will. Oftentimes, our lives are sabotaged by strong emotions. On the other hand, other people live their lives as if they’re in the South Pole because the only thing that guides them is cold reason. For Christian love to be powerful, both emotion and reason must color the way we love. Only our emotions can move and inspire us to do great things for love. And only human reason can help us penetrate the meaning of the great mystery of God’s love for us and understand the need to love others. Loving, as an act of the will, is something we need to learn. It requires a constant practice of looking after the interests of others as we look after our own.

A second element in that definition of love is the need “to extend one’s self.” To extend oneself is to give one’s self to another. St. Paul said that of the three great virtues of faith, hope and love, the greatest is love, which, we also call charity. And charity is no other than orienting ourselves in a direction towards others. The act of self-extension as an act of love is best typified by Jesus when he extended his arms on the cross and was crucified on it. In Palestine, there are two seas. The river Jordan connects them. One is called the Sea of Galilee. It is fresh water and is teeming with fish and other sea life. The other sea is the Dead Sea. As its name suggests, its waters are oily and dark and not much life can be found there. What’s the difference between them? Bible scholars have pointed out that the Sea of Galilee extends itself by emptying its water into the river Jordan. Every water that the Sea of Galilee receives, it gives out to the river. The Dead Sea does not do that. That is an important image of love as extending oneself through generous self-giving.

Third, the act of self-extension is for the “purpose of nurturing one’s own and another’s spiritual growth.” Here we find the first part of the greatest commandment Jesus spoke about: love of God. The first reading from Exodus is a reflection on how God saves his people. Part of loving is to move beyond the monotony of everyday life and let it be engulfed by a spiritual quality through our worship of God. Concretely, it means to gather around the table of Jesus often, especially on Sundays, to listen to his word and receive him in the Eucharist. This also means a greater desire to spend more time for personal prayer, which nourishes our capacity to love in a self-extending and expansive manner. Our spiritual and religious observance inspires us again to a more meaningful relationship of love.

Response

Jesus invites us to let our lives be guided by love: love for God and others.