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

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

A woman has not been attending Church for a quite a period of time. One day her pastor visited her and invited her to go back, “ I haven’t seen you in a while. Your usual seat has been vacant. It is still there for you.” Sternly, the woman replied, “ I will not go back to Church. The Church is full of sinners and hypocrites!” The priest calmly responded, “ If the Church is the spotless and perfect community that you think it is, you will never be invited there.”

Like a broken record, we hear that oft-repeated mantra, “There are so many hypocrites inside that Church.” I remember Fulton Sheen sharing once that after being told the same line, he responded, “So why don’t you come to Church, so that there will be one less hypocrite in that community?”

Is it really because there are sinners in the Church that we do not attend Church worship or we just invoke it as a convenient excuse to “justify” our absence in Church?

The Church is not a community of perfect, spotless and unblemished persons. The Church is not a community of saints. It is a community of imperfect, blemished sinners trying their best to become less imperfect, less blemished. The Church is a community of sinners trying its best to become saints.

Today’s Gospel, the parable of the weeds and the wheat in the Gospel of Matthew is the Christian proposal to understanding this paradox. The parable is as simple as it gets. But it is likewise so rich it addresses many questions of our day. I choose only one in this reflection. God is the sower, the world is the field. God sows the wheat seeds of His kingdom in the world. Alongside the wheat grows the weeds. The wheat symbolizes the good. The weed symbolizes the bad. Weed and wheat grow together. There is evil and good in the world.

Our usual attitude before evil is illustrated by the servants’ hasty proposal to the master “Do you want us to go and pull them up?” The Master is more wise and discerning. He proposes to wait until harvest time. It is not easy to identify the weeds from the wheat early on. Hasty uprooting might destroy both weeds and the wheat.

We are indignant towards evil. We are impatient towards the sin. But this indignance and impatience can easily become prejudice and self-righteousness. The past week, officials of the PCSO imputed some members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines of wrongdoing in accepting what was projected to be luxury vehicles for their own use. Soon after, a hail of invectives and ridicule was thrown towards the 7 bishops. They were publicly persecuted and vilified. At the Senate hearing, it was proven that there were no luxury vehicles after all but utility vehicles requested to reach far-flung and mountainous areas of their dioceses. It was shown that there was malice on the part of some officials to put the bishops in a bad light by imputing ill motive on the honest request for assistance. The bishops were vindicated and the agency that began the demolition job is now the one under investigation for wide scale corruption and irregularities.

This is the reason why the owner of the field in the parable stopped the hasty uprooting of the “weeds”. Human judgment is fallible. It is subject to errors. It can even be malicious and ill motivated. This is also the reason why the Church teaches that the death penalty (uprooting of the weeds) is incompatible to real justice. While jail punishment and incarceration even for life is legitimate, the withholding of the death penalty leaves room for the fallibility of human judgment and the justice system.

On another note, how does a believer make sense of evil even within the Church community? I propose that the parable asks us for a wider perspective and greater patience.

A wider perspective: I will be dating myself here but in the early 80’s there is a song that goes, “It’s a lover not love who broke your heart last night. It’s a lover not dream that didn’t work out right. If you listen to your heart, O you know it’s true. It’s a lover not love who deserted you.” May I rephrase that song for the purpose of this reflection? When we see evil in the Church, in the priesthood, in our Christian community let us not forget: It’s a priest not the priesthood that has gone wrong. It’s a churchman not the Church that is evil.

Similarly, a greater patience before the reality of evil allows me to realize that the priesthood is greater than an individual priest and the Church is more vast than a churchman. The sower is in charge.

In the meantime, I become patient with my own falls and failures. I won’t distance myself from the Church of Christ. I keep prodding on in this community of sinners trying its best to become saints. I look at the Mary Magdalenes, the Pauls, the Simon Peters, the Augustines, the countless sinners of salvation history who are now saints. With the grace of Christ’s Church, I remind myself that every saint has a sinful past and every sinner has a saintly future.

Let us go onward to our common future!

Mahirap ngayon ang manindigan sa katotohanan … mahirap ang tumayo para sa kapakanang pangkalahatan, kung ang kultura ng nakararami ay kultura ng pansariling pagpapasya ng kung ano ang totoo.

Nagulantang na namang muli ang simpleng pananampalataya ng marami sa Simbahan. Gumising na lamang ang bayan sa malaking ingay na idinulot ng isang malaking balita na kalahati ay totoo at ang kalahati ay kasinungalingan – ang balitang may kinalaman sa “pajero” para sa pitong obispo na galing daw sa PCSO. Ang totoo: may pondong galing sa PCSO na ibinigay sa mga programa para sa mahihirap ng ilang mga diyosesis. Bahagi ng totoong ito na ito ay dati nang ginagawa sa ilalim ng mga nakaraang administrasyon, sapagka’t ang Simbahan, antemano, ay kapartner ng gobyerno sa pagtulong sa mga mahihirap. Ang totoo: sumulat nga ang isang obispo sa dating presidente na humihingi ng isang sasakyan para magamit sa malawak niyang sinasakupan.

Ang kasinungalingan: Pajero … ni isa sa kanila ay walang hiningi at walang naibigay na Pajero. Kasinungalingan: ang mga obispo ay gumawa ng isang bagay na ilegal dahil tumanggap sila ng tulong sa PCSO. And totoo ay dati na itong ginagawa. Kung may ilegal man, ang gumawa ng ilegal ay ang nag-alok, at nagbigay ng tulong na ito na sa katunayan ay gobyerno naman dapat ang gumagawa.

Nguni’t sa mundong ito na nabaliktad na ang wasto at naging mali, at ang mali ay nagiging tama, ang sinabing pakagat ng PR man ay siyang kumapit sa kamalayan ng nakararaming tao sa Pilipinas. Matapos dikdikin ng media ng maraming araw ang isyu tungkol sa Pajero, galing sa isang kasinungalingan ng namumuno sa PCSO, kumapit ang kasinungalingan, at natakpan ang higit na mahahalagang usapin tungkol sa pamemera ng PCSO at ang paggamit nito.

Napako sa krus ng bintang at pasaring ang mga obispo. Ang mga dati nang namumuhi sa simbahan ay nagkaroon ng dagdag na pasabog laban sa Kanya, at ang dati nang naniniwala sa katotohanang ang simbahan ay isang lupaing puno ng trigo at puno rin ng damong mapanira ay nasaktan, nadismaya, at nalungkot.

Nasugatan na namang muli ang katawang mistiko ni Kristo.

Sa pananaw ng mga pagbasa ngayon, ano ba ang totoong dapat nating bigyang-pansin? Una … puno ng kabanalan ang simbahan. Sa kabila ng pasabog ng media, sa kabila ng pagkamuhi ng ilan sa mga makapangyarihang tao, bagaman at hindi nababalita, tuloy ang trabaho ng mga taong simbahan para sa kapakanang pangkalahatan. Tuloy ang kanilang pagtulong sa mga pinakamahirap. Tuloy ang kababaang loob nilang paglilingkod, at pagtupad sa isinumpa nilang tungkulin noong sila ay inordenahan. Tuloy ang mababang loob na pagtuturo ng katotohanang moral ng mga dedikadong mga pari at madre at laiko na nagkaloob ng kanilang buhay para sa ikalalaganap ng paghahari ng Diyos. Sa kabila ng katotohanang mayroong mga pari at obispong hindi kagalang-galang, totoo pa ring mas marami ang mababa ang loob at walang kibong nagpapatuloy ng paglilingkod at totoo ring marami sa kanila ang gumagawa ng lahat ng ito hindi sapagkat naghahanap sila ng ganancia at pagpapasasa sa sarili.

Ngunit alam rin natin na naglipana ang mga diumano ay katoliko na namimili ng kung ano ang gusto lamang nilang paniwalaan. Alam rin natin na ang 6.9 milyong pisong halaga ng mga sasakyang nabanggit (na wala isa mang Pajero), ay kulang sa ginastos nila para sa PR practitioner upang magpasabog ng isang balitang patok na patok sa isang bayang nahirati na sa sensationalismo, at kulturang nagpapasabog ng balita, ngunit nagtatama nito kung sila ay napatunayang nagkamali.

Alam rin natin na kay raming mga patunay na ang balag ng korupsyon ay kalat sa lahat ng antas ng lipunan, ma pribado man o publiko. Alam ng lahat na nagkakawala ang mga pondo ng bayan, nguni’t wala isa man sa mga naglustay nito ang nakatatanda kung saan napunta ang pera. At alam rin natin kung paano ang bawat isa sa kanila ay biglang nagkakaroon ng kung ano anong karamdaman, at patuloy na nagpapahayag ng kanilang kawalang kaalaman sa mga pangyayari. Kamukat-mukatan natin ay ang perang naglaho ay pawang nasa alapaap na.

At dahil sa 6.9 milyon, napako sa krus ang mga obispong nagpapagal sa kani-kanilang mga diyosesis, na gumagawa ng mga bagay na gobyerno dapat ang gumagawa, bilang kanilang kontribusyon sa kapakanan ng mga mahihirap sa kanilang diyosesis.

Matindi ang laban sa panahong ito. Mahirap ngayon ang maging pari, lalu na’t ang mga ito ay sinasabuyan ng mga pasaring tungkol sa sasakyang SA-PARI at MITSUBISHOP. Ang kasinungalingang malimit naulit ay naging totoo. At wala isa man ang umamin kung sino ang nagsimula rito.

Ito ang para sa atin mga kapatid na Katoliko … Ang magandang balita para sa buhay natin ngayon. Ang simbahan ay tulad ng isang parang na tinamnan ng mabubuting binhi. Ngunit sa gabi ang kalaban ay nagpunla rin ng dawag at masamang damo. Ang Simbahan ay isang pamayanang binubuo ng banal at baluktot, mga taong tapat at mga taong pasaway, mga nilalang na naghahanap ng kabutihan at kagalingan ng kapwa, at mga kaluluwang walang ibang balak kundi ang magsamantala, at magpakasasa.

Ang dalawang mukhang ito ay nasa ating lahat. Lahat tayo ay makasalanan, bahagi ng tinawag ni San Agustin na massa damnata, ngunit tinatawagan ng Diyos sa kabanalan at kaganapan ng buhay kapiling NIya.

Mahirap maging pari ngayon… mahirap maging katoliko …. Ngunit sa pagtingin natin sa mahabang kasaysayan ng simbahan, wala sinuman sa nagsikap magapi at sumira sa Kanya ang nagtagumpay, sapagkat ang Simbahang tatag ng Panginoon ay nakasandig sa bato at muog ng katotohanan ng Diyos.

Hindi pa tapos ang Diyos sa paghubog sa Simbahang ito na patuloy pa rin niyang ginaganap, ginagabayan, hinuhubog at nilililok niya ayon sa kanyang balak. Nadismaya man tayo at nasugatan sa ating pananampalataya, hindi tayo nagagapi at nawawalan ng pag-asa, sa kabila ng mga palpak na nagawa ng ilan sa mga namumuno sa atin, mga pagkakamaling pinasabog, pinalaki, at pinalala ng mga tampalasan at mapanlinlang na mga kawani ng media at kawani ng gobyernong mayroon rin palang itinatagong kabulukan. Sa kabila ng lahat, patuloy pa rin tayong nasa ilalim ng Kanyang pangangalaga.

Poon, ikaw ay mabuti sa lahat ng nagsisisi! Patawarin mo kaming lahat.

Talamban, Cebu City
Philippines
July 16, 2011 5AM

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