Genuine Worship
Jn 2:13-25

A missionary in Africa was captured by a tribe of cannibals. He was tied to a tree with a huge cauldron of boiling water near it. But his face lighted up when he saw the cannibals kneel down and prayed. The priest heaved a sigh of relief: “Thank God, these people are Christians, after all!” But the head cannibal called out to him: “Keep quiet! We are saying our Grace Before Meals!”

When I was in the seminary, our apostolate was at the Manila City Jail. We would visit the inmates every Sunday and teach them catechism. Late one Sunday night, a classmate of mine was coming back to the seminary. On a dark part of the street, a man accosted him, and announced a holdup. When my classmate turned to look at the man, he recognized him as one of the former inmates. Instead of being afraid, he gave the man a generous scolding. Needless to say, the man was mortified, and sincerely asked for forgiveness saying he was just in dire need of money. Out of pity, my classmate offered him a few pesos: “Here, take this and buy some cigarettes.” But the man refused to receive the money, saying, “I’m sorry, Brother. I don’t smoke during Lenten Season!”

Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah (29:13): “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts” (Mk 7:8). God demands genuine worship. God is displeased when people, and especially the priests of the Temple, were more concerned with the external rituals rather than the genuine relationship of man with God and with his fellowmen.

On this third Sunday of Lent, we see Jesus in the Temple. But instead of seeing his countenance wrapped in divine glory as when he was in the desert and in the mountain, we see him very angry. The first reason for his righteous anger was because the Temple, instead of being a house of prayer, has become a den of thieves.
The Jews consider the Temple of Jerusalem as the center of their religious life. Every year, during Passover, they go to the Temple. It is the feast that recalls the liberation of the people from Egypt through the saving act of Yahweh. So, during this time, the Temple is packed with people who have come to fulfill their obligations to God. One of these is to offer animal sacrifices. There were inspectors who would see to it that the animals (oxen, sheep and doves) must be unblemished and of the best quality. But, for obvious reasons and ulterior motives, these inspectors would readily disapprove the animals that the pilgrims brought with them. So the people were obliged to buy the animals sold in the Temple, and at very exorbitant price. This system had the approval of the high priest. Most of these people usually end up going home without being able to offer sacrifices simply because they did not have enough money. The moneychangers had also their share in the injustice done to the people. The secular money from outside is considered unworthy and dirty and they cannot be brought into the Temple. They had to be exchanged with the Temple money, and of course, for a lower value.
Obviously, injustice and oppression are done, especially to the poor. And this made Jesus very angry. The rituals in the Temple have become the occasions for abuse and oppression against the poor. The Temple became the place where greed, corruption, deceit and cheating take place.

The second reason why Jesus was angry was the discrimination that was happening in the Temple. Remember that the Temple was divided into five sections: the court of the Gentiles, the court of women, the court of men, the court of priests and the Holy of Holies. The outermost part of the Temple is the court of the Gentiles. In other words, the Temple is not only for the Jews but also for all people, including the Gentiles. But it was in the court of the Gentiles that the merchants did their business and all their shady deals. In all aspects, it has become a marketplace, and not anymore part of the house of God. So those who come to this place to pray were effectively prevented from doing so. They were practically deprived of their chance to worship God. They are excluded from the Temple worship.

We all profess to be Catholics. The word “catholic” means universal. It refers to the will of God that all people will be saved. He is the God, not only of Jews and Christians. He is God of all peoples. He belongs to all, and not only to a particular group of people. Discrimination has no room in the life of a true Christian who seriously follows the one commandment of love: love of God and love of fellowmen, even of enemies.

Finally, the challenge of Jesus to the Jewish authorities is worth considering. He said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days, I will raise it up.” The evangelist, St. John, was quick to explain: “But he was speaking about the temple of his body.” In other words, he was referring to his physical body as the Temple. If God resides in the temple, so also the body of Jesus is God’s Temple par excellence, for he is himself the God Incarnate. We can, therefore, certainly assume that Jesus would be equally angry at seeing people abusing and neglecting their bodies. Hence, the Gospel this Sunday is strongly reminding us to take care of our body as the Temple of the Holy Spirit, according to St. Paul. Any action that harms the physical body – such as vices, abuses, and other illicit practices – is a grave sin. If we take good care of the Church building, so also we have to take care of our physical body, the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

As we come together in this Temple of God, let us cleanse our heart of all selfish motives and sins. May our heart be a worthy dwelling place for God. And may our acts of worship be authentic as we strive to deepen our relationship with God through our love and concern for one another.

Fr. Mike Lagrimas
Sta. Lucia Parish
J.P. Rizal Street, Bgy. Sta. Lucia
Novaliches, Quezon City 1117

Are You Crazy?
Mk 9:2-10

A small kingdom was ruled by a great king. All his subjects were happy and contented. In that kingdom there was only one source of drinking water: the open well in front of the palace. Everybody drinks from that well. One night, while everybody was asleep, an evil witch came and cast a spell on the well so that anyone who drinks water from it will become crazy. The next morning, as usual, everybody, except the king, drank water from the well. Everybody became crazy. When the king woke up, he looked out the window. He was surprised to see all his subjects acting funny. But what really surprised him most was that, when they saw him, everybody laughed at him, and they all shouted: “The king is crazy!”
This scenario has been repeated time and again in the Scriptures. Noah, for example, was ridiculed by the people for building an ark and warning them about the great flood. All the prophets, in fact, were killed because they acted differently from the rest. Jesus himself suffered the same fate. He came preaching about love, forgiveness and mercy. He did miraculous cures out of pity for the sick and the suffering. But his own people of Nazareth rejected him, and his relatives said: “He is out of his mind.” In the end, the people for whom he came to save shouted with one voice: “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
One of the greatest dangers of our time is the political principle “Majority rules.” However, we should be warned that the majority is not always right. Jesus was condemned to die by the decision of the majority. In many democratic elections, the majority voted into office unworthy public servants. The majority has been proven wrong on many occasions. But since it is the majority, it carries a lot of influence and pressure on the rest of the population, especially when it is backed up by the powerful mass media of communication.
And this is what is happening now. Gradually, people begin to change their beliefs and moral principles simply due to the prevailing mood and opinion of the majority. What used to be called killing an unborn baby is now called right of choice. What used to be perversion is now called creative self-expression. What used to be called homosexual union is now called meaningful relationship. What used to be called chastity is now called neurotic inhibitions. What used to be called modesty is now called psychological hang-up. What used to be called self-mastery or self- control is now called unhealthy repression. What used to be wrong and immoral is now being justified and even considered acceptable. And those who insist to stick to the truth and do not want to join the bandwagon of moral decay are branded as crazy, out of their minds, ignorant, outdated, and many other nasty adjectives they can think of.
But the truth does not depend on the decision of the majority. It is not a matter of personal taste or opinion, or a result of a survey. In Epistemology, a branch of Philosophy, truth is defined as the conformity of what is in the mind with the external object being perceived. There is truth, not because the majority of the people said so, but because the object is perceived by the mind as it truly is. Even if all people will say that the four-legged creature is an elephant, when in fact it is a dog, what they say cannot make a dog an elephant. The same is true with morality. Something intrinsically evil cannot become good just because people say it is good. Abortion is murder, and it is evil. It cannot become something good because many people are doing it, or because it is declared legal by an act of Congress.
My brothers and sisters, where do we find the source of truth? It cannot be found in the majority. It can only be found in God, for He is the Absolute Truth. He does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. As Jesus declared, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” The example of Abraham in the first reading should inspire us to obey God to the point of total sacrifice. The words of St. Paul in the second reading should give us hope and strength when we are faced with oppositions and persecutions: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Let us not fear being ostracized by the world and be called crazy, as long as we are on the side of God. Let the words, then, of Peter in the Acts of the Apostles be our constant guiding principle: “Better for us to obey God rather than men.”
On this second Sunday of Lent, the Gospel is about the Transfiguration of our Lord. In the presence of the disciples Peter, James and John, Jesus changed in appearance. His face became bright as the sun and his clothes turned dazzling white. Moses and Elijah appeared conversing with him. And the voice of the Father was heard from the cloud: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” This very brief but supremely profound experience convinced the disciples that Jesus is the true Messiah, the Son of God. Later, when they themselves were persecuted, they readily chose death rather than deny Christ. Indeed, they followed the instruction of the heavenly Father: “Listen to him!”
As we again gather together in this sacred celebration, we express our belief in the truth that Jesus is God, the true Messiah, our only Savior. There is no question about that in our minds. But the question we have to ask ourselves is, “If Jesus is the Truth, do we truly listen to him?” If it is Jesus we listen to, then why do some of us question his teachings? Why do we still believe in horoscopes, feng shui, fortune telling and superstitions? Why do we continue to entertain those highly immoral issues such as abortion, assisted suicide, divorce, same sex marriages, live-in relationships?
During this season of Lent, may the words of the heavenly Father continually ring in our minds and hearts: “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” And may the words of Jesus transform us and lead us to our conversion and personal transfiguration so that we begin to live as true children of God.

Fr. Mike Lagrimas
Sta. Lucia Church
J.P. Rizal Street, Bgy. Sta. Lucia
Novaliches, Quezon City 1117

At Peace and In One Piece

Mk 1:29-39

A rich man, known for his arrogance, was not feeling well. So he went to see the doctor. “How are you, sir?” the doctor greeted him cheerfully. “What seems to be your problem?” “You’re the doctor,” the patient said with a smirk on his face. “That is for you to find out.” “Oh, I see,” said the doctor, trying his best to hide his surprise and disgust. After a few moments, he told his patient, “Well, if you can wait for some minutes, I’ll call a veterinarian. He is the only doctor I know who can make a diagnosis without asking questions.”

When we watch television, we will notice that there are many advertisements of medicines. This tells us that, despite tremendous advancements in the field of the medical sciences, more people are getting sick nowadays. Interestingly enough, many medicines advertised are to relieve pain, stress, depression and sleep deprivation.

With the present economic crisis and much uncertainty in the foreseeable future, most of us can easily resonate with Job in the first reading this Sunday. He said: “So I have been assigned months of misery, and troubled nights have been allotted to me. If in bed I say, ‘When shall I arise?’ then the night drags on; I am filled with restlessness until the dawn.” One word that can aptly describe this present generation is “stressed”.

But before we blurt out again the oft-repeated “I’m stressed out” gripe, let us first look at the Gospel. It gives us an idea of the typical day of Jesus during his public ministry: “the whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases and he drove out many demons…He went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.” If we are talking about being very busy, nobody can compare with Jesus. He was too busy that he had no time to so much as eat. That is why even his own relatives said: “He is out of his mind.” Based on our experience and standards, Jesus must be stressed out. But he was not. He was always at peace. How come?

The secret of Jesus is revealed in the Gospel today: no matter how busy and exhausted he was, he would always find time to pray and to be with His Father: “Rising very early before dawn, he left and went to a deserted place, where he prayed” (Mk 1:35). His communion with the Father gave him strength, inspiration and peace – it made him whole and focused in His mission, in fulfillment of the will of the Father.

Peace is such an elusive and priceless reality ever since. What is peace? The Bible uses the word “shalom” for peace. It is the gift of Jesus for us. “Shalom” is not just the absence of war or conflict, but also connotes the presence of harmony, unity and wholeness. It means being at peace and being in one piece.

Many of us experience restlessness and stress because we are divided within ourselves, we lack focus and so we are not in one piece. There is conflict within us. This inner conflict in us, which St. Paul describes as “the law of sin that dwells in my members” (Rom 7:23), is what makes us restless and divided. “For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want Now, I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me” (Rom 7:19-20).

When we are in sin, we are troubled. We lose our peace for we become divided within. But when we turn away from sin, and conform ourselves according to God’s will, we have peace for there is harmony and wholeness within. That is why Jesus taught us in the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the single-hearted, for theirs is the kingdom of God!” Being single-hearted simply means being in one piece. And when this happens, we distinctly feel the presence of God in us. Indeed, peace is the presence of God.

The famous Archbishop Fulton Sheen said something about why people have this feeling of emptiness and restlessness. He said that God designed the human heart in the shape of a valentine heart. (We see a lot of those this February.) But God decided to divide it into two. He took half of this heart with Him to heaven, and the other half He placed in the chest of man. So, while man remains in this world, there is always that feeling of something lacking inside him, which he cannot fully comprehend. Total peace and fullness of life will only be attained when we become united with God. This is what Jesus came for: “I came that you may have life and have it to the full.” The Son of God became man like us, He descended into this world to make it possible for us to be united with God and have the fullness of life.

There is a famous song by Frank Sinatra entitled “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” At times, when we are stressed and feel so exhausted and empty, we may as well remember this song and say: “I Left my Heart in Heaven.” As God’s beloved children, we belong to heaven. In this world, we long for heaven because it is where our heart will have its wholeness. But while we are still here in this world, we will have anxieties, stress and the feeling of something lacking in us.  St. Augustine had a timely realization of this: “My soul (or my heart) is restless until it rests in you, O Lord!”

The best image we can have of ourselves is that of a boy walking in the field with his father. All along the way, the boy holds the hand of his father, and with his other hand he picks up stones, or picks grains and flowers, or tries to catch butterflies passing by. His eyes are all over the vast field, and his feet are at times going in different directions. But he never lets go of his one hand holding on to his father.

As we walk in this vast field we call the world, we encounter countless distractions, varied directions and attractive choices. But let us never, even for a moment, let go of the hand of our heavenly Father. That is what Jesus did. No matter how busy and exhausted He was, He always had time to be alone and pray. That was His way of being united with the Father – and of finding peace, inspiration, direction and inexhaustible strength to continue and fulfill His mission.

When we are stressed and feel that the burden of life is just too much, perhaps it is a symptom that we are drifting away from the Father. We have to stop and find time to be with God in silence and in prayer. Jesus always invites us: “Come to me all you who are weary and find life burdensome and I will refresh you…Peace I leave with you; my peace is my gift to you.” May the peace and the loving presence of God be with us now and for always.

Fr. Mike Lagrimas

Sta. Lucia Church

J.P. Rizal Street, Bgy. Sta. Lucia

Novaliches, Quezon City 1117

December 25, 2010

Baby Power!

Lk 2:1-14

The parish has a new priest. Every afternoon, he went around, trying to meet as many parishioners as he could. He knocked on the door of one home. No one answered, but he knew someone was inside because he heard the TV and some movements inside. He knocked harder and longer, but to no avail. Finally, he decided to leave a business card, wrote a Bible verse on it and placed it in front of the door.

Minutes after the priest left, the lady in the house opened the door. She saw the card with the priest’s name and the Bible verse: Revelation 3:20. She opened her Bible and it said: “Behold, I am standing at the door, knocking…if anyone opens the door, I will come in and we will have a meal together.”

That Sunday morning the priest saw his business card in the collection basket. He saw that the verse he wrote on it was crossed out and in its place was Genesis 3:10. The priest looked it up in his Bible. These were words uttered by Eve in Paradise: “I heard you in the garden but I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid myself.” (Adapted from “Rediscovering Catholicism”, by M. Kelly).

Christmas is all about God coming into our world, knocking at the door of our hearts. He wants in. So He became man just like us so that He can be Emmanuel – God with us. But He wants further in – that is, inside our hearts. This is precisely the reason why He chose to be born as an infant in the manger. A newborn baby cannot fail to elicit the strongest emotions in us. But a newborn baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger on a cold winter night will surely move anyone’s heart to its limits. That is what Christmas is all about – God, knocking at the door, seeking to enter our hearts to fill us with love, peace and joy.

Until now, there are many people who cannot accept the image of God as man, and more so as a baby, so vulnerable and powerless. How can that be God? Yet God’s wisdom, though beyond human understanding, cannot be denied. By experience, we know that the baby, no matter how small and weak, wields so much power. This is described beautifully in the words of Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI:  “The power of God revealed in Christmas is the power of a baby, nothing more, nothing less: innocence, gentleness, helplessness, a vulnerability that can soften hearts, invite in, have us hush our voices, teach us patience, and call forth what’s best in us…. The power of Christmas is like the power of a baby.”

When there is a baby in the house, the whole atmosphere changes. All eyes are fixed on him. When the baby cries, everybody rushes to attend to him. He has the power to pull his mother or father out of bed at night. When he sleeps, he hushes to silence the people around him. And when he smiles, he has the power to calm down anxious nerves, to soothe tired limbs and to heal and gladden aching hearts.

Such is the power of a baby – it is the power of innocent and pure love. This is what we celebrate every Christmas: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.” We rejoice and celebrate because, unworthy though we are, God gave us His greatest Gift ever – His only-begotten Son. He was born as a baby to draw us to Him, not in force or fear, but in love and humble affection. And He sets Himself as a model for us to follow: “Unless you become like little children, you cannot enter the Kingdom of God.”

Unfortunately, this is what the world is visibly losing – the awareness of love and the value of generous self-giving. The world is in disarray. Due to our selfish ambitions and unbridled greed, families are torn apart, babies are killed, marriages are destroyed, and social institutions are pushed to the abyss of moral bankruptcy. No wonder, many people avoid the greeting “Merry Christmas”, and instead say “Happy Holidays”, not only to be politically correct, but probably also because they are not willing to embrace the Gospel values of love, self-giving and sacrifice that Christmas seeks to remind us of. These values are the antidotes to the culture of death that has prevailed over the world today.

Pope Benedict XVI said: “In the night of the world, we must let ourselves be amazed and illumined by this act of God, which is totally unexpected: God becomes a Child. The Word-become-a-child helps us to understand God’s way of acting, so that we will be capable of allowing ourselves to be transformed increasingly by his goodness and his infinite mercy.”

Now, more than ever, we need to proclaim more boldly and clearly the message of Christmas. It is our mission as Christians. After all, the word Christmas comes from the words “Christ” and “Mass”, and the word “Mass” comes from the Latin “Missa”, derived from the past participle “missi” (I have sent). Hence, we have the word “mission.” Christmas, therefore, reminds us of Christ’s mission to spread love, peace and joy in a world darkened by egoism, violence and misery. That is also our mission as followers of Christ.

Hence, coming to Mass on Christmas is truly essential. In the Mass, we encounter Jesus, the Baby lying in the manger. This is what St. John Chrysostom said: “Let each of us leave his house empty so that we may see our Master wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger… The table of this altar takes the place of the manger. And surely the Master’s body will be lying on this altar… If we approach with faith, we too will see Jesus, for the Eucharistic table takes the place of the crib. Here the Body of the Lord is present, wrapped not only in swaddling clothes but in the rays of the Holy Spirit”.

As we greet each other “Merry Christmas”, let us not forget to greet our Lord Jesus “Happy Birthday”, for he is born, not only in Bethlehem, but also on this altar of the Eucharist and in the innermost core of our hearts.

Fr. Mike Lagrimas

St. Teresa Church

141 Henry Street

New York, NY 10002

Christmas Day

December 25, 2011

Lk 2:1-14

A very devout couple decided to spend Christmas Eve right in the very birthplace of Jesus – Bethlehem. Unfortunately, despite a thorough search of the whole place, they could not find a vacant room for them. Desperate, they tried the most expensive hotel, willing to pay the rate at any cost. The man approached the front desk and heard the now-familiar response: “Sorry, Sir. All rooms are occupied. It’s Christmas Eve, you know.” He offered to pay any amount for a room, but there was none, according to the clerk. Finally, the man told the clerk, “I bet if I told you my name was Joseph, that the woman waiting in the car was called Mary, and that she is pregnant, you’d find us a room.”

”Well,” stammered the clerk, “I– I suppose so.”

”Okay,” said the man. “I guarantee you, they’re not coming tonight, so we’ll take their room.” (Adaptation from M. Ezeogu).

Once again, Christmas is here. We commemorate that great event when the Son of God, conceived in the virginal womb of the Blessed Mother, was born into the world. And so we exclaim, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” Merry Christmas to all!

This is the most awaited feast that we Christians celebrate. There is abundance of color, merriment and joy all around. Yet despite all these exciting events and gatherings, we cannot fail to notice the superficiality and even the emptiness of the celebration for many people. The reason is simple. Like the people of Bethlehem, many of us respond with the same attitude and disposition: “There is no room in our inn.”

Yes, we have room for almost everything associated with Christmas – parties, caroling, dancing, shows, decorations, and many things besides. They fill up not only our calendars but also our minds and hearts during these days, that we have no more room for the newborn Savior. He knocks at the door of our hearts, wanting to enter and be part of our life. Unfortunately, we are already too occupied with the superficial and material concerns and activities.

It is really fortunate that, as Filipinos, we have our traditional nine-day Aguinaldo Masses or Simbang Gabi. It helps us focus our attention on the center of Christmas – the newborn Jesus. We come to dawn Mass for nine days, recognizing that Christmas is the “Mass of Christ.” As Archbishop Fulton Sheen said, “To each and everyone He comes as if He had never come before in His own sweet way, He the Child who is born…   Jesus the Savior, He Emmanuel, He, Christ as Christ’s Mass on Christmas!” Indeed, the Eucharist must occupy center place in the celebration of Christmas for, in every Mass, Jesus is born on the altar. In the message of the Blessed Mother given to Fr. Gobbi in the Blue Book, she called the Eucharist as “perennial Nativity.”

Yet, despite this beautiful religious tradition, one may still wonder how genuine is our preparation to welcome the Lord Jesus. Our churches are filled up and overflowing for these nine days of Simbang Gabi. But I could count with my fingers the parishioners who came for Confession. Meister Eckhart once said: “What good is it that Christ was born 2,000 years ago if he is not born now in your heart?” (Living Faith, v. 4, n. 3). And according to Helen Keller, “The only real blind person at Christmas-time is he who has not Christmas in his heart.”

If Christ is born in our heart, it is always possible to celebrate Christmas not only in December, but even everyday. This is what St. Paul of the Cross insisted: “Celebrate the feast of Christmas every day, even every moment in the interior temple of your spirit, remaining like a baby in the bosom of the heavenly Father, where you will be reborn each moment in the Divine Word, Jesus Christ.”

Needless to say, therefore, there is a clear need for sincere and regular examination of conscience and the grace of the sacrament of Confession so that our interior being will be made ready to receive the Lord. This will always lead us to genuine humility, recognizing how unworthy we are for such a great gift. A humble heart is what will help us capture the true spirit of Christmas, for in the Incarnation, God humbled Himself, “being born in the likeness of men” (Phil 2:8).

A non-Catholic author, Morton Kelsey, puts it beautifully: “I am very glad Jesus was born in a stable because my soul is very much like a stable filled with strange and unsatisfactory longings, with guilt and animal-like impulses…tormented by anxiety, inadequacy, and pain. If Christ could be born in such a place, He can be born in me also. I am not excluded.”

Indeed, “It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air” (W.T. Ellis). Let me end with this simple yet profound thought on Christmas:

“It’s sharing your gifts, not purchasing gifts;

It’s not wrapping presents, it’s being present
and wrapping your arms around the ones you love;

It’s not getting Christmas cards out on time, it’s sending any card, anytime, at the right time;

It’s not having the biggest and best Christmas light display, it’s displaying the Christ light that comes from your heart;

It’s not Santa coming down the chimney, it’s Jesus coming down from heaven
and giving us the gift of eternal life.” (Anon)

Let this prayer of Meister Eckhart be ours, too: “Lord, be born in my heart. Come alive in me this Christmas! Amen.”

Fr. Mike Lagrimas

Sta. Lucia Parish

JP Rizal Street, Novaliches

Quezon City 1117

Mk. 13:33-37
If the Weather Channel would inform us that there would be a hurricane that will hit our city next week, we will surely take all the necessary precautions immediately. One warning is enough for us to do something to prepare for the calamity. When we buy groceries, we always look for warning signs on the label: cholesterol, fats, MSG, and sodium and sugar contents. We take these warnings seriously.

More than 2000 years ago, Jesus told us that He will come back, and He gave us the warning to be on guard at all times. But His warning goes unheeded. In the Gospel today, Jesus repeats this warning: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come!” We may not be able to see the Last Day in our lifetime. But one thing is certain: we will all die and face God in judgment.

This Sunday we begin the Season of Advent. It is a season in which we prepare for the celebration of Christmas, the coming of Jesus in history. We look back at that event in Bethlehem, the beginning of our redemption. It is a season of looking back.

But Advent is also a season of looking forward. It looks forward to the second coming of Christ at the end of time. This is what we profess in our Creed: “He will come again to judge the living and the dead.” So Jesus warns us this Sunday to be always awake, ready and on guard for we cannot know when it will come.

How do we prepare? How do we become alert? In the Gospel, Jesus used the image of a master leaving the house and entrusting everything to the care of the servants. “He leaves home, and places his servants in charge, each with his work and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.” In other words, the best preparation is to do our tasks and fulfill our obligations faithfully, not in the future, but now, for we do not know the exact time. And Jesus gives this warning: “May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.”

In my previous parish, there was a security guard of a nearby bank who died. He was on night duty. According to the investigation, he had “bangungot” or nightmare. In other words, he died while sleeping. Clearly, then, he was sleeping while on duty. I am sure nobody wants to hire a sleeping guard.

Charles Lindberg crossed the Atlantic Ocean on a solo and nonstop flight in 1927 from New York to Paris in 33 hours and 30 minutes. To get himself ready for the ordeal, he often refused to go to bed. When asked why, he replied, “Just practicing to stay awake all night.” This is the attitude that the season of Advent would like us to have.

It is said that, “Yesterday is a memory. Tomorrow is but a dream. Now is the only time on which eternity depends.” Our future eternal destiny depends totally on the now, on how we make use of the opportunities of the present time. The faithful servants, who were doing their job when the master returns, will surely receive a reward. But the servants who were found asleep will be punished.

In what does our preparation consist of? The first is self-examination. What is our present condition? The prophet Isaiah in the first reading helps us find the right words: “We are sinful. All of us have become like unclean people. All our good deeds are like polluted rags; we have all withered like leaves; and our guilt carries us away like the wind.”

After acknowledging our sinfulness, the next step is to make a firm resolution to turn a new leaf. That is why the liturgical color of the Advent Season is violet, a symbol of penance and repentance. Once and for all we decide to reject sin totally and definitively, and follow Christ more closely. And that decision is now. As Thomas Merton said, now should be “the beginning of the end in us of all that is not Christ.” Definitely, the sacrament of Confession is in order during this season of Advent.

And finally, we turn to God and ask for divine assistance in our struggle to remain with Him all the time. St. Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, gives us the firm assurance: In Christ Jesus, “you were enriched in any way… so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Let us make this year’s Advent season truly fruitful. Let us prepare for Christmas. But let us have more sincere and serious preparation for that inevitable moment when we will come to face God at the end of time or at the end of our life in this world. May He find us awake, alert and ready to meet Him with joy now and for always.

Fr. Mike Lagrimas

Sta. Lucia Parish

Bgy. Sta. Lucia, Novaliches

Quezon City 1117

Imagine this scenario. When you wake up each morning, your account in the bank receives $86,400 for that day. But at the end of the day, when you sleep, the amount is gone. So, during the day, you have to spend the whole amount. Furthermore, the bank can close your account at any time without warning. Hence, it is all the more necessary for you to spend that money on that day. But $86,400 is a big amount to use up for one day. So you may need to spend it for your loved ones and other people as well, even those you do not know.

Actually, this is not an imaginary scenario. It is the reality! Each of us possesses such a magical bank, which we oftentimes take for granted. This magical bank is TIME!

Each morning when we wake up, we receive 86,400 seconds as a gift of life. And when we go to sleep at night, any remaining time is not credited to us. What we have not lived up that day is forever lost. Yesterday is forever gone. Each morning the account is refilled, but the bank can dissolve our account at any time, without warning! Death comes suddenly. So, what shall we do with our 86,400 seconds? Those seconds are worth so much more than the same amount in dollars. (Anon)The parable of the ten virgins is about the wise use of time. Five of the virgins were wise – they certainly took their time in bringing along with them flasks of oil for their lamps. The other five virgins were foolish because they did not bring provisions for their lamps. They must not be serious in the task entrusted to them. And worse, while idly waiting for the bridegroom, they did not use their time to fill up their lamps with oil. So, when he arrived, they had to scamper in the night, looking for oil. But they were too late. When they returned, the door was closed, and they were not anymore allowed to enter the wedding feast.

Christ is the Bridegroom who is coming. The virgins represent mankind. The time of waiting is a symbol of our life on earth. We are an advent people, eagerly and patiently waiting for the coming of the Lord. In this period of waiting, we are reminded to make use of our time to prepare well for the coming of Christ. Our preparation is not in terms of material provisions, but spiritual and Christian virtues necessary to make ourselves worthy to join Jesus in His wedding banquet in heaven. This is what the oil symbolizes. It is an internal character – a personal virtue, a personal condition of readiness and preparedness. That is the reason why the wise virgins could not share their oil with the other five.

In the meantime, while we still have the time in the world, we have to make the necessary preparations to meet the Lord. Unfortunately, many people are like the foolish virgins. They have all the time in their hands, but they are not using it for their spiritual preparation.

What are the ways of preparation that we need to spend our time on? First, study. Most of us have spent many years in school, studying science, mathematics, communication arts, history and many others. But all these fields of study are aimed at preparing ourselves only for our life in this world, and nothing beyond. On the other hand, how much time have we spent studying catechism, the sacraments, and the Bible? These are matters that are necessary for our entry into eternal life, but we unfortunately take for granted and neglect.

Second, prayer. Many people go about their daily affairs without even finding time to pray. Their usual excuse is because they are too busy. What they fail to realize is that, “If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do the builders labor; If the Lord does not watch over the city, in vain does the watchman keep vigil.” Prayer is our way of staying connected with God. The Lord Jesus himself said it: “I am the vine, you are the branches; apart from me you can do nothing.” As St. Alphonsus Liguori said, “Those who pray are surely saved. Those who do not pray are surely lost.” Needless to say, the Mass is the most perfect form of prayer. Regularly receiving the Body of Christ in Holy Communion helps us establish an intimate relationship and union with the coming Bridegroom.

Third, good works. Jesus said, “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” Acts of charity and generosity towards others, especially the poor and underprivileged, are the heavenly treasures that we ought to accumulate while we still have time and opportunities. In fact, Jesus identified himself with the poor: “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me.” Being close to the Lord through our loving service to the poor will surely prepare us for his imminent coming.
These are the three things we must seriously and generously invest our time on, the three feet (tripod) on which every Christian stands: prayer (worship), study (education) and good works (service). These are the oil that will keep our lamp of faith continually burning until we meet the Bridegroom, ready to enter his eternal Wedding Feast.

Fr. Mike Lagrimas
Sta. Lucia Church
JP Rizal Street, Bgy. Sta. Lucia
Novaliches, Quezon City 1117

Surprise!
Mt. 20:1-16

The Gospel this Sunday is called the Parable of the Vineyard Workers. But more accurately, it can also be called the Parable of the Generous Landowner. His action greatly surprised everyone. How can he give those hired very late in the day the same salary as those who worked the whole day? There seems to be no fairness here. However, fairness is not the issue here because those hired early in the day were paid the right salary as agreed upon with the owner. Justice has been served. Instead, the issue here is generosity.
Whenever the issue of generosity comes up, it evokes both a positive and a negative response. The positive response is trust. In the parable, those hired early in the day were confident in the security provided by the formal contract with the owner. It was a business deal. But for those hired much later in the day, there was no mention of a contract: “He said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too’” (Mt 20:6-7). The workers relied on the word of the owner, and trusted that he will give them whatever is right. And they were not mistaken.
God’s generosity is beyond the comprehension of everybody: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son” (Jn 3:16). Knowing this should be enough reason and assurance for us to trust God unconditionally. This is what St. Paul told the Romans: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Rom 8:32). Rightly, then, did the Spirit-filled Elizabeth praise the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Visitation: “Blessed is she who trusted that the Lord’s words to her would be fulfilled” (Lk 1:45).
On the other hand, the negative response to generosity is envy: “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?” (Mt 20:15). God’s generosity is quite acceptable and even desirable when we are the recipients. The problem comes when it is other people who are the recipients, especially those whom we think are less worthy than us.
This is precisely what happened to the Jews at the time of Jesus. They were convinced that they were better than anybody else since they belonged to the Chosen People of God. They expected to be treated with a “favored nation” status. They are the ones referred by Jesus in the parable as the workers who were hired first. They resented seeing people whom they considered less worthy, receiving favors from God. They hated the sight of Jesus dining with tax collectors and prostitutes, curing the lepers and talking to pagans. Jesus rebuked them for this sort of attitude: “Thus the first will be last and the last will be first.”
We belong to the Church founded by Christ Himself. We are now the New People of God. But the Gospel today exhorts us to avoid the mistake of the Jews. By all means, let us resist and overcome envy. Being the New People of God does not mean we are better than the others, and that we can expect and demand heavenly favors more than the others. Let us always remember that if God is generous with us, He can also be generous to others. The good thief crucified next to Jesus is the classic example of this. Jesus told him, “This day you will be with me in paradise.” Indeed, as God tells us in the first reading, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways” (Is 55:8).
Definitely, envy is rooted in pride. It comes in when we compare ourselves with others. When we do so, two things can always happen. It is either we see people who are less talented or blessed than us. Then we become proud and arrogant. Or we see people who are better than us, and we become envious and bitter.
The only antidote to envy is humility. It is the virtue that helps us realize who we really are in the presence of God: sinners and the “rejects”. But God continues to love and bless us despite this. Such is the formula of holiness by the saints. Instead of comparing themselves with other people, the saints always compare themselves with God. And when they do, they have only two things to say to God: “I’m sorry, Lord!” and “Thank you, Lord!”
As we come to Mass, we always come in the presence of God. And so, it is but proper to start the Mass with the Penitential Rite, an act of humility: “I confess to Almighty God, and to you my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned…Lord, have mercy!” And then we continue with the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The term “Eucharist” means, “to give thanks”. The Mass, then, is an invitation for us to humble gratitude and unfailing trust and confidence in God’s generous providence and merciful love for us sinners.
Let me close with these words of Bishop Fulton Sheen: “How God will judge my life I know not, but I trust he will see me with mercy and compassion. I am only certain there will be three surprises in Heaven. First of all, I will see some people whom I never expected to see. Second, there will be a number whom I expect who will not be there. And – even relying on God’s mercy – the biggest surprise of all may be that I will be there.”

Fr. Mike Lagrimas
On Pilgrimage in Italy

Mt 14:13-21

A man was pleasantly surprised to see his picture in the wallet of his wife. “Oh, I did not know you keep my picture in your wallet!” “Yes,” the wife replied. “When I have a problem, I just look at it, and my problem is gone.” “Really?” the man was ecstatic. “Am I that miraculous to you?” “Oh, yes, darling!” she said. “I look at your picture and ask myself: Is there any problem bigger than this?”

All of us have problems. Nowadays, the most common problem is economic, all about money. When the bills come and we do not have enough money to pay, it invariably causes us a lot of stress and worries.

In the gospel this Sunday, the disciples were in a similar stressful situation. Before them was a very large crowd – 5,000 men, not counting women and children – and they did not have anything to feed them. That is why, when Jesus instructed them, “Give them some food yourselves”, they must have been more confused: “How can we feed these thousands of people when we have barely enough food for ourselves?”

But actually, Jesus gave this instruction to lead them to take stock of their resources and come to admit their own incapacities and helplessness. So, they looked at themselves and realized: “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” But what is that for so many people? The problem is simply beyond their capacity to solve. Thus, they turned to the Lord, and it was, indeed, the right thing to do. This reminded them of what happened in the boat while crossing the turbulent Sea of Galilee. They thought the huge waves might sink the boat, and they were in great danger of drowning. Realizing their utter helplessness, they turned to Jesus who was sleeping at the stern of the boat. They did the right thing.

One real danger we have in our present world is the temptation to become self-sufficient. Seldom do people acknowledge their incapacities and limitations. Tremendous scientific and technological advances have made many people believe in their self-sufficiency. They think and behave as if they can bring everything in this life under their control. This behavior manifests itself in the many anti-life agenda such as contraception, abortion, sterilization, cloning, and various practices in genetic engineering. People tend to resolve issues and problems through purely human efforts and resources. Definitely, the trend in the world nowadays is towards the denial and rejection of God, the fruits of man’s pride and his unwillingness to admit his limitations and weaknesses.

But no matter how hard we try, we simply cannot deny the fact that we are mortal and limited beings. There are times when our very best is never enough. Without the Lord, we are nothing: “If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do the builders labor” (Ps 127). Jesus himself said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5). When we turn to the Lord in our weakness, we gain strength. That is why St. Paul gladly admitted his weakness: “Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2Cor 12:10).

This is because “God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong” (1Cor 1:27-28). We only need to look at the twelve apostles chosen by Jesus as the main pillars of the Church. Yet they were mostly a bunch of rough uneducated fishermen. St. Therese of the Child Jesus says that God uses weak and imperfect human instruments so that His power becomes most clearly manifest and He is glorified all the more.

Hence, this is an invitation for us to trust, not in our limited human powers and resources, but in God alone. In their moment of helplessness, the disciples turned to the Lord in full and complete trust. They believed beyond doubt that it is only Jesus who can solve their problem. And they were not mistaken. The miracle took place. For, as Peter confessed, Jesus is not just any prophet: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Mt 16:16).

But Jesus did not do it alone. He asked for the obedience and cooperation of human instruments. For his disciples, it was not easy to obey. How can they feed thousands of people with only five loaves of bread? In the human mind, this is simply ridiculous and impossible. But they did not question the wisdom of his instruction. They simply obeyed, and thereby cooperated in this great miracle.

A month ago, Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees attained his record 3,000 hits in baseball. The baseball was just a simple ball. In the hands of an ordinary man, it was worth only a few dollars. But in the hands of Jeter, it was worth half a million dollars. Similarly, five loaves of bread and two fish in the hands of the disciples can only feed five persons. But in the hands of Jesus, they provided abundant meal for thousands of people. Three nails in the hands of a carpenter cannot do much to hold a house together. But three nails in the hands and feet of Jesus continue to hold the entire world together until he comes in glory.

This Sunday, let us humbly acknowledge our limitations and nothingness. And let us rejoice in gratitude as we hear the Lord’s loving invitation: “All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You, who have no money, come, receive grain and eat. Come without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk” (Is 55:1). Our resources are limited, but we are challenged to let go of them and trustingly place them in the hands of Jesus. He can solve our financial and economic woes with whatever little we have that we place in his hands. As long as we are in this world, we will always have problems, but we know and are firm in our belief that “The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.”

Fr. Mike Lagrimas

St. Teresa Church

141 Henry Street

New York, NY 10002

Mt 13:24-43

An elderly lady looked worried as she celebrated her 90^th birthday. Her daughter asked her, “Mom, it’s your birthday. But you don’t look happy. What seems to be worrying you?” The old lady replied, “It’s because I’m getting so old already. I’m the only one left behind. All my friends, I suppose, may now be in heaven. And I’m afraid they could be thinking I did not make it and have gone to the other side.”

Are we sometimes afraid that we might not make it to heaven? Nowadays, there are some people who, in their smug complacency, presume that they will surely go to heaven: “God is love, and He will always understand me. So, I am sure He will welcome me into His kingdom, no matter what I do in my life on earth. So, I don’t need to go to regular confession or attend Sunday Mass. If God is love, how can He condemn sinners?” Such people get offended when they hear the priest preaching about the evil of sin and the reality of Hell and eternal punishment. They consider it as being insensitive, intolerant and uncharitable.

Pope Benedict XVI has repeatedly bewailed the onslaught of what he calls the “dictatorship of relativism.” This is the thinking that everything is relative, and there is nothing absolute. In morality, it is the belief that there is nothing absolutely evil, but only relatively evil, depending on the surrounding circumstances. Hence, the claim that there is nothing absolutely sinful, and so no one deserves eternal punishment. Hell is only for the extremely evil people like Hitler. The rest of us will go to heaven. Relativism, indeed, is very dangerous because it breeds pride, complacency and presumption.

It is true that we have to “hate sin but love the sinner” for, after all, we have to follow the example of our merciful God. It is true that we must not judge anybody, for we are all sinners. This is what the parable of the wheat and the weeds clearly points out. We have no right to pull out the weeds from the field, but instead wait for harvest time when the Eternal Judge will order His angels to separate the weeds from the wheat. It is true that the people who may be considered weeds can, at a later time, become wheat as well, through the grace of repentance and genuine conversion. It is true that in each one of us, there are weeds and wheat, and so we all need God’s mercy and kindness.

However, while we should not judge and condemn anybody, and must in fact be understanding, kind and loving to those considered as weeds, we have to proclaim the truth of the Gospel, no matter how unpleasant and painful it is to some people. In the Gospel this Sunday Jesus makes it very clear that besides the hope and assurance of heaven, there is also the frightening reality of hell: “They will throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth” (Mt 13:42).

Definitely, this is a terrifying image. But Jesus and his followers did not avoid speaking about hell, nor did they use euphemisms in referring to it. St. Paul, for example, gives us a stern warning by mentioning specific sins that keep a person out of heaven. In his First Letter to the Corinthians he said, “Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor practicing homosexuals nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor 6:9-10 NAB).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly states the doctrine of hell: It is the “state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed…To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God’s merciful love means remaining separated from Him for ever by our own free choice” (no. 1033).

The key word here is “self-exclusion.” The image of a God who mercilessly throws down an unrepentant sinner to hell is not accurate. Rather, the sinner, by his free choice, has rejected God, and thereby willfully excluded himself from the relationship and communion with God. Hell, therefore, is self-exclusion. It is the person’s free choice.

If people obstinately persist in their sins and do not reform their lives, they are going to end up in hell. This truth has not and will never change. And it should be told to everybody as warning. Hiding this truth and being silent about it, for fear of offending the feelings of some people, or of being accused as intolerant and uncharitable is actually the most uncharitable thing to do. Seeing a man walking towards a cliff and you did not say or do anything to stop him is grossly uncharitable and outright cruel. The prophet Zechariah pointed this out: “If I say to the wicked man, ‘You shall surely die’; and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his wicked conduct so that he may live: that wicked man shall die for his sin, but I will hold you responsible for his death” (Ez 3:18).

The parable of the wheat and the weeds is not meant to scare us and drive us into panic. Rather, it still is good news for all of us – for several important reasons. First, it reminds us that it is God who will ultimately judge us in the end. Today’s first reading declares, “But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency, and with much lenience you govern us (Wis 12:16). Second, it proclaims the truth of God’s universal love for all people, both the good and the bad, for he allows the wheat and the weeds to grow together until harvest and “he makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous” (Mt 5:45). And third, it reveals God’s boundless mercy for us sinners, giving us all the time and opportunity to reform our lives and be saved. Through the prophet Zechariah, He declared, “For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!” (Ez 18:32).

Fr. Mike Lagrimas
St. Teresa Church
141 Henry Street
New York, NY 10002