A Family that Journeys Towards Jerusalem

The mystery of Christmas is the mystery of God becoming man... the invisible God becoming visible. And God became man in a family, in the family formed by Mary and Joseph. Thus, Blessed John Paul II asserts: “The divine mystery of the Incarnation of the Word… has an intimate connection with the human family.”

Yes, Christmas is a celebration of faith, but our celebration today, the Feast of the Holy Family, reminds us that Christmas will always be a celebration of the family.

And so, we ask: what can every family learn from the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph?

The gospel today talks about the story of the Lost and Finding of Jesus in the Temple. We can learn a lot from this experience of the Holy Family but allow me to focus on one.

The gospel tells us that each year Jesus, Mary and Joseph went up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover. Jerusalem is where the temple is. Jerusalem is the center of Jewish faith

If we are to imitate the Holy Family, then we must be a family ever willing to journey towards our own Jerusalem; the journey to Jerusalem is a journey of faith. We must be a family willing to enter into the path of faith. We must become a family willing to know more about our Catholic Faith. We must become a family that longs to grow into friendship and intimacy with God.

Later on, Jerusalem too, is where Jesus met his fatal condemnation. It is a place where he suffered and just outside its walls, it is where he died on the cross.

Oftentimes, it is through the cross that faith grows and matures. Dealing with conflicts and issues in the family is not always easy; asking and giving forgiveness in the family are not always pleasant; working for family reconciliation is always a demanding task. But it is precisely in facing these with openness, honesty and faith that families grow in unity, in genuine love and true friendship with God.

My dear friends, it is still Christmas, but lest we forget, a re-reading of the Story of Christmas reveals to us the shadow of the cross. In the story of Christmas, we hear about the rejection from the inn keeper, the poverty of the manger, the killing of the innocents, the escape into Egypt. All these reveals that from the very beginning, the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph has always known trials and difficulties but these did not stop them to be united and persistent in fulfilling the will of the Father

Let us not be afraid for our families. Let us not be afraid to journey into our own Jerusalem - a place where demands for sacrifice will be found, but it is also a place where a renewal of love and faith in the family awaits.

Let us allow the family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph to lead us. Let us allow the Holy Family to transform us to become holy, Christian, Catholic, families. Amen.

Resurrection and Forgiveness

Second Sunday of Easter

"On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst..."

The disciples were gathered in fear. The gospel tells us that they were afraid of the Jews. They were afraid that the Jews might do to them what they did to Jesus.

But it is also possible that part of that fear is the memory of what they did while Jesus was undergoing his passion. Remember when Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane, the disciples fled in fear. They left Jesus on his own. They deserted him. Peter even denied Jesus three times. Only a handful remained at the foot of the cross. The disciples abandoned Jesus.

In the midst of this fear, the risen Christ appeared to his disciples. The abandoned one returned to those who abandoned him. And his first words were,"Peace be with you." These are words of forgiveness; words of reconciliation. Three times Jesus assured his disciples of his great mercy and understanding. Not only that, after offering reconciliation, Jesus sent them into mission: "As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

Tanong ko sa sarili ko, Hindi pa ba natutuo si Jesus?
Ito ang mga alagad na ginabayan niya ng tatlong taon. Tinuruan. Pinangaralan. Mga alagad na itinuring niyang malalapit na kaibigan. Pero kahit ganun, iniwan pa rin siya. Itinatwa. Nilayuan. Hindi lubos ang kanilang paniniwala at pananalig sa kanya. Sila pa rin ang isusugo? Hindi ba magandang humanap na lang ng ibang mga alagad?

Jesus chose not to give up on his disciples. Jesus, the abandoned one is also the faithful one. Jesus knew that his forgiveness and his resurrection are enough to change them.

The Lord will not give up on us. He reminds us that his forgiveness and his resurrection are enough to change us. They are enough to inspire and sustain us. They are enough to transcend our weaknesses, to conquer our doubts, and make us believe and serve him until the end.

The Lord chose not to give up on us. Please do not give up on your family, on your love ones. Please do not give up on our country. Please do not give up on yourself.

The grace of the risen Christ is the grace of hope. Things may not be as we want them today. But the living God enables us to hope that in his time all things will become well according to his benevolent will.

Four Gives

Sun Lent C
“Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” We are all sinners. We are all weak. And yet at one point or another we have thrown “stones” at each other.

We are all sinners. We are all weak. We are all forgiven by God. Why do we find it difficult to forgive? What does it require to forgive. To forgive is “four gives” – to give four times.

First, to forgive is to give up pride. Forgiveness calls to be humble, to accept that we are all sinners, to understand the faults and failure of others and not to look down on them. Not to look at ourselves as if we are so much better than others. If we appreciate people who are humble so also others.

Second, to forgive is to give up selfishness. Forgiveness requires getting beyond the ego and think of the other person. The world is not a word of I, me and myself. If we need to be understood by people around us so also others.

Third, to forgive is to give another chance. We all need a second chance – the chance to correct our mistakes, to prove that we are not all failures; the chance to grow and change for the better, to improve and redeem ourselves. We all need the chance to change. If we require a second chance, so also others.

Fourth, to forgive is to give Jesus. When we forgive we let the other person experience the forgiveness of God. We become instruments of God’s mercy to another person. We become instruments of God. And that brings peace to us and to the other. If forgiveness from those we have hurt brings peace to us, so also to others.

Why does humanity find forgiveness difficult? Because forgiveness entails not a single kind of giving. It requires giving four times over. To forgive is to give four times. Ang magpatawad ay pagbibigay ng maka-apat na beses. This Lenten season let us ask the Lord that we may learn how to forgive, that we may be enabled how to give four times.