May 4, 2012 – John 14:1-6 – Jesus the Way to the Father

The readings this week points us to the early history in the bible when Paul and Barnabas went to Antioch to proclaim the goods new to the Gentiles. It was at Antioch (now Turkey) that the disciples were first called “Christians.” They received the words of God through the Holy Spirit with the knowledge and wisdom that Jesus is the Lord. However, Paul had disagreements with Mark so they went separate ways. The Holy Spirit continued to work with them and made them realized their differences in opinions. 

The focus of the liturgy is the words of Jesus as the way, the truth, the life and how the Holy Spirit works within us. The Holy Spirit helps us to grow our faith to stay with Jesus and experience the life that he can give through the sacraments. The gospel challenges us to grow in His way, to find the truth about God, and live the life He wants for us by showing love and respect for one another. As true disciples of Jesus, we should put love into practice and embrace others as brothers and sisters although we are people with different viewpoints. Father John Carten stressed that it does not matter whether we are liberal or conservative in opinions; what is important is the wide vision of how Jesus Christ is working in our lives.

April 26, 2012 – Feast of our Lady of Good Counsel

Today, we celebrate the Feast of our Lady of Good Counsel, the patroness of the Catholic Women's League of Canada (CWL) which was established in 1920. Fr. Brian McNally, the spiritual advisor of CWL in Kingston, talked in his homily about the message of the angel of the Lord to Deacon Philip – “Get up and go towards the south”. Father Brian’s own message is “Come and Go”, a rhythm he compared to Jesus’ words to his disciples “Come and follow me.”  In the bible reading, Philip was instructed by the spirit to proclaim the good news of Jesus. He preached an Ethiopian eunuch and baptized him with water. As Catholics, we are also inspired by the verse in the bible to get closer to Jesus and follow His footsteps. We are asked to gather in Christ and scatter His good news. We should attend the Holy Mass and experience His love so as to give joy to others. We can invite others who are lost in spirit to become Catholics and be baptized in our church.  

April 22, 2012 – John 6:18-21 – Jesus walks on the water

In the gospel of John, Father Robert Reed spoke about the clear message of Jesus: “Do not be afraid!”   It is the favorite expression in the bible. Jesus said these words oftentimes to his apostles, disciples and followers. It clearly indicates that no matter what happens, we will never be abandoned by God as long as we believe. God’s love is eternal.  If we live in fear, we live in anxiety, make mistakes, hate and kill people. We worry so much which makes us difficult to be a Christian. We are afraid of people and of being punished due to their bad power and authority. But things that frighten us do not come from God. Despite the storms of life which can result to fear, the risen Jesus is always present within us.  We should speak directly to God for strength and guidance.

However, not all fear is bad, there is a fear that’s healthy and good which is a sign of maturity of love. This is called the fear of God which is holy and the beginning of wisdom. According to Fr. Ron Rolheiser, holy fear is love’s fear, namely, the kind of fear that is inspired by love1/. It’s a fear based upon reverence and respect for person or a thing we love. We live in holy fear when we are anxious not to betray a trust or disrespect someone. We fear God as one fear someone in love, a gracious presence who desires mutually loving relationship, one of holy fear. We fear God because we are afraid of his punishment. We don’t want God to be mad at us so we must love Him superbly. God is love, so we love the Lord our God with our whole heart, with our whole soul and with our mind. 

1/ Fr. Ron Rolheiser, “ In Exile”, 15 April 2015, The Catholic Register

April 8, 2012 – Easter Sunday

We reminded ourselves during the Holy Week how Jesus was mocked, tortured and crucified for the salvation of mankind. Jesus died in silence and redeemed by God thru His resurrection which we celebrate every Easter.  We need to remember that each Easter God’s sacrifice gives us eternal life. It opens our eyes and makes us realize of the hope we have in Christ. We must relocate our old lives out of the worldliness of sins by means of repentance and into the spirit of new life with Christ. Our faith in Him brings real joy because we recognize that we are not alone and that Christ is always near, especially during times of great difficulty. Despite the pain and suffering in our world, victory will triumph over failure, good triumph over evil just like eternal life triumphed over the death of Jesus. May the promise of Easter fill your heart with peace and joy! Rejoice in the Lord's triumph!

April 2, 2012 – John 12: - Mary anoints Jesus

The gospel is about how Judas became jealous of Jesus when Mary anointed Him with perfume. In real life, we encounter people who got jealous of what we owned and have achieved. We see and hear people who receive praise and recognition at their place of work, in the church or in their family. This public acclamation can cause jealousy by those who did not receive it. They say good and bad things about others. They employ false witness against neighbors and fall into great sin. So what we need is repentance by asking God’s forgiveness. We should then fix our eyes on our blessings before us not on others. We should focus our attention on how we can attain our own crown of glory and success. Every human being has its own fame or achievement depending on how he/she manages or controls his own life. But we should always have Christ in our minds when we work towards the fulfillment of our dreams.

March 25, 2012 – Numbers 21:5-7 - The Bronze Serpent

In his homily today, Fr. Glenn McDonald talked on how the Israelites became impatient about their plight during the time of Moses. He said we can relate this story to our lives which is full of bumps and difficulties. What we need to do is to say “I accept” to whatever difficulties and trials we are facing. We should pray for the gift of acceptance if things didn’t work out well in our lives. We should present and offer to the Lord our problems and have the gift of faith to believe that God will help us find solutions to our present situations. 

During this Lent, let us examine ourselves how we became impatient, lose hope in our sordid lives and feel sorry for the sins we have committed against God. Life is not a bed of roses or near perfection but with thorns or sufferings. God has unlimited love for everybody and he will not deny anyone who seeks help and asks forgiveness from Him.

March 16, 2012 - Mark 12:28-34 – The First Commandment

The gospel of Mark focuses on the two commandments of God, that is: To love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with your all mind and with all your strength; and the other is: To love your neighbors as yourself. So how do we show our love for our neighbors? Do we discriminate other people because of their religion, background, culture, physical attributes, gender, age, etc.? Do we care for our neighbors or we just love ourselves? Do we treat doctors, lawyers, fellow workers, your boss and staff, unemployed, beggars equally? Do you see yourself as insensitive to the needs, feelings, and emotions of other people? What happiness does it bring if we just consider ourselves, protect ourselves or enrich ourselves at the expense of others? If we think only of ourselves, we detach ourselves from others and we become lonesome. Then, evil thoughts will come in which will in turn lead to a sinful life and in the end loose one’s life. What we need is the change of heart, to open our heart in loving others, to understand people’s lives, to sympathize and empathize with them. We should show our love for our neighbors by having the correct attitude towards those who are superior to us and those who are below us. If we treat others with love and respect, we will receive the same kind of treatment. Blessings and graces will abound into their lives who follow the commandments of God.

Feb. 22, 2012 – Matthew 6:1-3,4,17,18 – ASH WEDNESDAY

The reflections on the gospel is about fasting and almsgiving which are penitential rites done during lenten season. When we do fasting, we limit the intake of food and feel grateful for the food we eat everyday which are blessings from God. It then forces us to get out of our comfort zone to make some sacrifice and  become  better human beings. We should think that the money we can save in fasting can be shared to others through almsgiving especially to  those people who are deprived  of necessities in life.

 

What is also important in fasting is not the quantity of food by eating  less but by obedience to God. We follow God's plan of salvation thru the sacraments and ask for forgiveness by doing the penitence. When we recite the act of confession during the mass, particularly the words “through my faults, through my faults, through my most grievous faults”, we recognize our mistakes, errors, sins and became accountable and liable for what we have done to hurt other people. We offer our humbled hearts during the mass with the right spirit. Then, we share in the body of Christ not for human reasons but for God's reasons.

 

Fasting does not only pertain to eating less food intake but can be done thru abstaining from gossips and pursuits. It is like taming the tounge during lent. Fasting transform the renewal of our mind by giving importance to God. We focus our mind on Him and do less talking to harm others.