A Heart Bursting with Love

 

Studies for the priesthood traditionally begin with a college course in Classical Philosophy. This is because many of the terminologies and concepts used by the Church to express its doctrines, dogmas and moral teachings are based on the distinctions made by Plato and Aristotle as interpreted in the Christian sense by St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. A branch of Classical Philosophy that deals with the philosophical principles on God is called “Theodicy.” We had a wonderful time discoursing on this subject with our professor, Fr. Josefino J. Javellana, SSP. We marveled as we tried to understand the various aspects of God’s transcendent and powerful nature. He is more than the sum total of all possible human perfections!

The Sacred Scriptures and Theology, however, reveal to us a completely different nature of God, all due to the ministry of Jesus who, though truly God as the Father, came and lived as one who is also 100 percent human. Though powerful and majestic, God is love. From Jesus in the course of His three-year earthly ministry, the Gospel of Mark quotes these words: “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd.” The feast and devotion to the Sacred Heart expresses the biblical revelation that God is love. The images and pictures of Jesus holding out or pointing to His wounded heart simply serve to illustrate the great mystery on the Cross. Scholars say that the flowing out of blood, then water, from the pierced side of Jesus are indicative of a ruptured heart. The pain and the anxiety that Jesus bore out of love for us on the Cross made His heart burst.

As we celebrate today the Solemn Feast of the Sacred Heart, be embraced by God’s overflowing love. Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP

 

Reflection Question:

Is my heart bursting with love for God and for others?

 

“O Jesus, Divine Master, I thank and bless Your most meek heart which led You to give Your life for me. Your blood, Your wounds, the scourges, the thorns, the cross, Your bowed head tell my heart: ‘No one loves more than He who gives His life for the loved ones.’ The Shepherd died to give life to the sheep. I, too, want to live my life for You. Grant that You may always, everywhere and in all things, dispose of me for Your greater glory. May I always repeat: ‘Your will be done.’ Inflame my heart with holy love for You and for souls.”

 

St. Gall, pray for us.

THE EXTRAORDINARY POWER OF GOD

The evangelist Matthew takes pains to show us the great power which Jesus had: over sickness, over nature, over demons, and, as depicted in today’s Gospel, over sin. It was such a power that incited controversy, disbelief and envy on the part of some scribes. Jesus in turn confronts them head-on, by showing them even more of such power (as it were): He cured a paralytic right in front of their eyes.

In the first reading, meanwhile, we also have a display of God’s power. The well-known passage of the testing of Abraham over his son Isaac results in a confirmation of God being absolutely in command of everything. And since Abraham passed the test with flying colors, he is abundantly rewarded by a show of generous power on the part of God: “Because you acted as you did in not withholding from me your beloved son, I will bless you abundantly and make your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore; your descendants shall take possession of the gates of their enemies, and in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing — all this because you obeyed my command.”

As we know by now, God’s power surely isn’t the power of a warlord governor or that of a greedy capitalist. Rather, it is a dominance on the part of the Omnipotent God. But paradoxically, such power of God owes its force in part to the subject of that power: that is, the humble submission of the human person to it. In the case of the first reading, it is Abraham’s heroic obedience and faith; in the Gospel, it is the paralytic’s openness and docility (in contrast with the cynicism of the scribes).

Quite simply, we just have to submit ourselves to such a powerful God. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

 

Reflection Question:

How much has the power of God revealed itself in your life?

 

Almighty God, may I always submit to Your power in my life. Amen.

 

St. Lucina, pray for us.

 

GREAT THINGS COME IN PAIRS

 

Today we honor a pair of really great saints: Sts. Peter and Paul. Although both saints did have their differences and even conflicts with one another during their lifetimes, Christian art, architecture and liturgy (since the first century down to the present day) emphasize the bond of friendship between them.

Sts. Peter and Paul are associated with the city of Rome, where their tombs and basilicas are located. But in one not-so-well-known church in the city, the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, you can find two marvelous paintings of the two saints, accomplished by the terrific 16^th century painter Caravaggio. They are known with these titles: The Fall of St. Paul and The Crucifixion of Peter. A simple Internet search can help you visualize these. Contemplating them may even reveal an interesting contrast (and at the same time a complementariness) between two aspects of these two saints, and consequently two aspects as well of our Catholic Church.

The first is the scene of the conversion of Saul, more than just his fall from the horse. He is lying flat on his back, with arms outstretched, completely fallen on the ground. The second painting, is the scene of the inverted crucifixion of Peter. He is depicted as already positioned on his cross and being raised up. Some art experts and commentators say it is a symbol of Jesus’ founding of the Church upon the faith of Peter (today’s Gospel). And so, if in the first we have a falling down or a conversion, in the second it is a raising up.

Aren’t these two aspects also in all of us members of the Church? There is in us, and in the Church as a whole, both a falling down and a rising up, a conversion and an establishment. Sure, the Church is never without crises and reforms. But as the Jesuit theologian Gerald O’Collins pointed out, “If the Church is going to face satisfactorily the challenges posed by the forces that currently move and change the world, both fidelity and freedom are needed.” “ Fidelity and freedom”— now that’s another nice pair of good things. May Sts. Peter and Paul help us maintain them as well. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

 

Reflection Question:

Identify one aspect in the life of Sts. Peter and Paul that you want to emulate.

 

Grant me, Lord, the grace to follow you radically as Sts. Peter and Paul did. Amen.

 

St. Mary, pray for us.

IN THE STORMS OF LIFE: FEAR OR FAITH?

 

The setting of today’s Gospel episode should be quite easy to identify with. Not all of us may have actually experienced being in the middle of the sea during a terrifying storm, but we can easily imagine what it is.

Human life is far from being in a luxury cruise on a placid sea. In the storms of life, we are sometimes violently tossed to and fro; the waves of discouragement assail us, the horizon is not visible at all and we fear we would all sink.

Two temptations are before us. One is to conclude that such an inhuman world is absurd, and that the only adequate response is to harden ourselves in a kind of stoic pride. The other is to escape from reality into the make-believe world of fun and fantasy.

Jesus, instead, proposes an alternative: quite simply, to trust Him. The two temptations before us now morph into the crucial question: which of the two F’s will it be for us? Fear or Faith?

We can take a cue from Jesus Himself. The Gospel states that at the height of the storm, Jesus was “sleeping soundly.” Whether or not this was literally true is not so much the point. It is simply a gesture of a childlike, total trust on God, knowing that He takes care of us and will never abandon us, most especially when we are in the midst of trials and difficulties.

A story goes that a little boy was simply enjoying his time, frolicking and playing on the deck of a luxury cruise ship — as a storm was beginning to form in the middle of the ocean. In the midst of the panic as life jackets began to be passed around, a man noticed the boy. He asked him, “Are you not afraid, my boy?” To which the young boy replied, “No, I’m not. My father is the captain of the ship.” Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

 

Reflection Question:

Which feeling dominates you more when you are faced with life’s storms: fear or faith?

 

“When the oceans rise and thunders roar, I will soar with you above the storm. Father, You are King over the flood. I will be still, know You are God.”

 

St. Vincenza Gerosa, pray for us.

BARGAINING WITH THE LORD

 

Both readings today present a kind of “bargaining.” In the first reading, we have Abraham pleading on behalf of the people of Sodom; in the Gospel, two prospective followers of Jesus try to bargain with Him.

The strange thing is that in both readings, the final result of the bargaining isn’t mentioned.

In the first reading, we can easily check it in the rest of the Book of Genesis. But in the Gospel, we do not know what happened eventually with that scribe who presented himself and with the other one who asked permission from the Lord to let him go and bury his father first. Our Lord answered their pleas quite curtly as well as cryptically.

Certainly Jesus isn’t one who will waste His words on wavering wimps or sugar-coat them into attractive enticements just to adjust to His prospective disciples’ tastes. We can almost hear Him say, “If you don’t want to (or if you can’t seem to) follow me, well, no problem!” The loss wouldn’t be on Jesus at all, should anyone back out because of such a radical message. Whatever it is, the burden of the proof is always on the one being invited, the one who first hears Jesus’ call.

Using other examples from the Gospel, religious educator and writer James DiGiacomo, S.J., puts it beautifully, “[Jesus] is unwavering in His determination to tell it like it is, no matter what the cost. If this uncompromising honesty leaves Him with few or even no disciples, then so be it. He is organizing a trip through the narrow gate, and crowds need not apply. If the rich young man cannot stand the idea of not being rich, let him stay home and count his money. If the young fishermen aren’t ready to leave their nets, they’re not ready to follow Him. If Peter doesn’t want to hear about the Cross, he can stay in Caesarea Philippi where it’s safe, but the first team is going to Jerusalem” (Morality and Youth: Fostering Christian Identity). Hopefully, in the end, we will not need at all to bargain with the Lord because in the first place, we shall be unwavering in our following Him. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

 

Reflection Question:

Have you ever bargained with the Lord? Are you still hemming and hawing in totally following Him?

 

Free me, Lord, from whatever is pulling me back from taking my spiritual journey seriously. Amen.

 

St. Laszlo, pray for us.

THE SACRAMENT OF TOTAL SELF-GIVING

 

 “I have nothing more to give you.” These are words engraved on the inside of a gold ring (most probably a wedding ring), together with a tiny drawing of a hand holding a heart. This beautiful ring was but one of the interesting finds from a sunken 16thcentury Spanish galleon, discovered and retrieved by deep-sea divers off the coast of Ireland.

“I have nothing more to give you.” It’s as if Jesus Christ Himself uttered these words when we consider today’s Solemnity of the Body and Blood of our Lord. Although of course you won’t find such a sentence in the Gospel, Jesus’ very life itself speaks of the statement, “I have nothing more to give you.” Yes, everything is already there in the Eucharist, in the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is this kind of total and absolute quality of Jesus that also characterized His insistence to the Jews in today’s Gospel episode. No partial understandings or half-hearted commitments would ever suffice.

So should it be for us, too. How easy it is for us to take for granted the Holy Mass or the Eucharist; how easy it is to fall into apathy and indifference when it comes to this great sacrament. Our beautiful and even air-conditioned churches and chapels, the Masses conveniently held in malls and offices, the availability of priests for Masses on request — all these should never lull us to complacency. If only we approach each and every Holy Communion as if it were both our First Holy Communion and our Viaticum! What innocence we had back then when we received Jesus for the first time. As for the Viaticum, the term suggests the Sacred Host as our baon or food provision as we undertake our journey to  eternity.

Hopefully, we, too, will give God our all — our lives, our selves, our everything — totally and absolutely. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB  

 

Reflection Question:

In the Eucharist, Jesus gave His all. How do you receive Him?

 

May I always receive worthily Your most precious gift in the Eucharist, Lord.

 

St. Perseveranda, pray for us.

THE CENTURION AND JESUS AS SERVANT-LEADERS

 

What a marvelous example of servant-leadership we first find in the centurion of today’s Gospel. A centurion is a middle-level officer in the Roman army, who has a contingent of a hundred soldiers assigned to him. He is in charge of them, just as they are at his beck and call. At the same time, a centurion also reports to his higher-level officers in the chain of command.

We see in the centurion’s selfless behavior that he knows his rightful place regarding his request to Jesus on behalf of his servant boy. Moreover, he makes no pretenses about himself, nor does he steal the thunder from others. Such a balanced, humble outlook on his part makes for a model for us, too.

Jesus gives recognition to the centurion with this declaration, “I have never found this much faith in Israel.” And finally, the centurion had the rare opportunity to take his marching orders from the Lord Jesus Himself: “Go home. It shall be done because you trusted.”

Thereby the shift in focus takes place: the centurion goes away and the attention is now on Jesus Christ as Servant-Leader. He continues on a “healing spree” — not so much in the sense of a popular, modern-day faith healer, but rather as the incarnation of Isaiah’s suffering servant. In this sense, He is indeed not just a servant-leader, but the Servant-Leader whom even a Roman army officer (as well as we, of course) can surely emulate. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

 

Reflection Question:

As a subordinate, do I fully trust in my superior’s judgment and abilities? As a leader, do I get  my subordinate’s trust?

 

Lord, increase my trust in You who has my best interest in Your heart.

 

St. Dominic Henares, pray for us.

A MOMENTOUS AND CONSEQUENTIAL BIRTH

 

First and foremost, why the big fuss at all over John the Baptist’s name? To the cynical Shakespeare’s “What’s in a name?” the ancient Romans had an answer: “Nomen est omen” — a name is an omen, a portent of things to come, a symbol of the person’s identity and mission. With a namethat means “Yahweh is gracious,” the most popular masculine name in the world (John, Jean, Juan, Joan, Giovanni, Ian, Jan, Hans, Ivan, Johann, Johannes, etc.) is surely worth the fuss!

More so for the one whose birth we commemorate and who we are honoring today. As the herald, precursor and “pointer” of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist held his unique vocation and mission in life, carrying out a concrete assignment both unrepeatable and irreplaceable. Just as a name, even if with several namesakes, is unique to an individual person, so, too, is his identity and mission. Ask yourself then: What does your birth bring? What does your name mean or symbolize? And finally, what does your mission and vocation entail?

Remember that there are only three instances in the liturgical calendar when births are commemorated: Jesus’ (December 25), Mary’s (September 8), and this one of John the Baptist today. All the rest of the saints’ feasts and memorials are usually taken from the days of their death. Moreover, it’s as if the words of Jesus no less were the canonization statement of John himself (Matthew 11:11): “History had not known a man born of woman greater than John the Baptizer.”

Our own birthdays may not have profound consequences in world history (much less in the history of salvation) and we may not have veritable earth-shaking missions to carry out in life. But each of us is no less important in God’s eyes. For all its enigmatic tone, there is truth in what Jesus said: “Yet the least born into the kingdom of God is greater than he.” May St. John the Baptist himself be our guide and example in life. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

 

Reflection Question:

Your name points to your mission in life. What does your name mean?

 

Thank You, Father, for my name and for what it means in Your Kingdom.

 

St. Germoc, pray for us.

THE CONCLUSION OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

 

Our Gospel reading today is the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, and a fitting conclusion it is indeed. We are reminded that all the many teachings we have received from our Lord Jesus might only end up to nothing if we reduce our Christian life to mere lip-service or activism.

Two points are crucial here, as hinted at by two verbs used by Jesus, in the passage:

• Know, in the Semitic sense of the term, connotes a deep personal relationship. Jesus’ “I never knew you” is therefore rendered more meaningfully as “You have never really been my friends.”

• Do, or put into practice, is not about exterior practices or interior feelings. It is rather an action coming from the whole person, involving one’s entire self (cf. James 1:22-25).

This is the kind of “living out” of Jesus’ teaching that ensures a solid foundation, guaranteed against torrents and winds.

Such an august teaching of Jesus Christ definitely cannot remain only in paper as “nice,” to be domesticated into some sort of an “à la carte” body of ethical codes that one can just whimsically take or skip. The famous indictment by the great Mahatma Gandhi comes to mind, if only to serve as a warning and a reminder to all of us. He remarked that it was the Sermon on the Mount that “endeared Jesus to me.” But at the same time, he gave a sharp, biting critique of us Christians: “The message, to my mind, has suffered distortion... Much of what passes as Christianity is a negation of the Sermon on the Mount.”

In other words, the conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount depends on us now. Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

 

Reflection Question:

How am I living out the teachings from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount?

 

Lord Jesus, turn me into a true Christian who does Your will and follows Your teachings, in season and out of season. Amen.

 

St. Libert, pray for us.

A FOOLPROOF TEST

 

There is a time-tested methodology for discerning good or bad spirits. We are not referring here, by the way, to paranormal or supernatural activity. We mean here the so-called “Ignatian discernment of spirits.”

This kind of framework of guidelines developed by St. Ignatius of Loyola warns us of attributing something too easily to good or to bad spirits. In fact, St. Ignatius is quick to say that while the bad spirit may disguise itself to be a good spirit, the bad spirit can never produce anything good. Only the good spirit will yield something good always.

Satan, the Evil One, is known not only as the Prince of Darkness, but also as the Father of Lies. Or if you like, he is also the Master of Disguise. He can cleverly hide behind attractive and pleasant disguises. In this sense, Satan is the original wolf in sheep’s clothing.

In a way, it is true. How can Satan attract people to himself if they see him scary, obnoxious or disgusting? For this, we have to be very vigilant. And our Lord’s advice is truly foolproof and effective: “You can tell a tree by its fruit.”

In the context of the Gospel episode, Jesus used this teaching of His for the purpose of unmasking false prophets. Now, what if we applied Jesus’ acid test to ourselves? It shouldn’t take much for us to show our true colors beneath the disguises. We may fool a lot of people (nay more, perhaps even God Himself), but once we start deceiving our very own selves — that is the worst. We can even apply the most elaborate schemes for discerning spirits (yes, the Ignatian or otherwise), and they will only yield the same results.  Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

 

Reflection Question:

Do I ever take the time to test the spirits whenever I have some choices to make?

 

Holy Spirit, teach me Your ways so I may be able to discern where the spirit is coming from. Amen.

 

St. Alban, pray for us.