V Sunday of Lent:[2015]:Jere 31:31-34; Heb 5:7-9; Jn 12:20-33

V Sunday of Lent:[2015]:Jere 31:31-34; Heb 5:7-9; Jn 12:20-33

Introduction: Learn to live this Lenten period “burning out,” spending our time and talents for others around us by self-giving service.  “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can” (John Wesley). 

Scripture Lessions: St. Paul in our second reading tells the Hebrews that it is by his suffering and death, in obedience to his Father’s will, that Jesus established the New Covenant. Using metaphors of the “sown wheat grain” and the “spent life” in today’s gospel, Jesus teaches the same lessons. The gospel hints at Jesus’ inner struggle in accepting the cup of suffering to inaugurate the new and everlasting covenant. However, Jesus accepts the cross as his “hour,” meaning the stepping stone to his passion, death, resurrection and exaltation.

The days are coming when I will write my law deep within their hearts. All of them, from the least to the greatest will know that I am their God. In the first reading, the Prophet Jeremiah spoke about a time when God's people would be so united to God that they would know within themselves how to serve Him. That time is now. God's law is written deep within each of our hearts. We don't need anyone to tell us what we should do. Deep within ourselves we know if we are true to God or not.

Exegesis: Good and bad do not go hand in hand.  They will argue that all the bad things that high school, college and basically people of all ages get into are really normal behavior. We know that is a lie. Everything within us, deep within us, tells us that this is a lie. We know that we cannot behave immorally and face our God. So much of what the world tells us to do conflicts with the deep life within us. We have to recognize that what some call normal behavior is for us Christians, abnormal behavior. This is our time. This is our hour. We have the choice to stand for Christ and live in peace with God and with ourselves, or to turn towards that which is popular and sinful and live in turmoil.

Those who love their lives, they will lose it. This is because they choose to preoccupy their worldly minds with wealth, the flesh, desires, addictions, fames, etc... They are without any living hope. They have no eternal life awaiting them in the Kingdom of God because their lives are void of spirituality. They do not have the free gift of righteousness that comes from Christ, the gift that is necessary to be admitted into the Heavenly Kingdom of God.

Dying in Christ is to rise with him. The grain of wheat is symbolic of the Sacrament of Baptism. When a person is baptized, his old sinful nature dies and is to be buried with Christ. [Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12] And, just as Jesus was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, through baptism, a new creation is raised from death to walk the new life that has been received through Christ. [Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12]  The new creation is everything! [Gal. 6:15] By being baptized in the Name of Christ, we become a new creation. Everything has become new. The old heart and spirit that were stained by the original sin have passed away. They are dead! [2 Cor. 5:17]

Joke: Before a pastor began to preach one Sunday morning he thought he should explain why he had a Band-Aid on his chin.  "As I was shaving this morning I was thinking about today's message when I lost my concentration and accidentally cut my chin with the razor."  He then went on to preach the longest message of his life.  After the service one of the teens greeted the pastor and said, "Pastor, next week why don't you think about your shaving and cut the sermon."

Practical Application : Life spent for others will be glorified here in this world and in heaven. To receive new life and eternal life we need to die to ourselves through suffering and service.  Salt gives its taste by dissolving in water.  A candle gives light by having its wax melted and its wick consumed.  The oyster produces a priceless pearl by transforming a grain of sand in a long and painful process.  Loving parents sacrifice themselves so that their children can enjoy a better life than they themselves had.  Let us pray for the gift of this self-sacrificial spirit, especially during Lent. 

Introduction : Fifth Sunday of Lent

Message: The grain of wheat must die to produce fruit.  Such dying must be cultivated by obedience and by our covenant with God, rooted in love and forgiveness.

Saints and events in this week:   23 – Twenty Third – Monday – Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo, Bishop; 25 – Twenty fifth – Wednesday - Annunciation of the Lord: 29 – Twenty Ninth – Palm Sunday.

V Sunday of Lent:[2012]:Jere 31:31-34; Heb 5:7-9; Jn 12:20-33

V Sunday of Lent:[2012]:Jere 31:31-34; Heb 5:7-9; Jn 12:20-33

Introduction: Today’s readings focus on the upcoming death of Jesus, which Paul considers as a priestly sacrifice and John considers as the moment of Jesus’ "exaltation" and "glorification." They offer us a challenge.  Just as Jesus became the “Promised Messiah of Glory” and the “Conquering Son of Man” by offering his life for others, we, too, can only possess heaven by dying to self and by spending our lives in self-giving, sacrificial service.

Scripture Lessions: The first reading from the book of the prophet Jeremiah explains how God   replaced the Old Covenant of Judgment with a New Covenant of Forgiveness of Sins. This new, or renewed, covenant prophesied by Jeremiah was fulfilled, at least in part, through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.  In the second reading, St. Paul tells the Hebrews that it is by his suffering and death, in obedience to his Father’s will, that Jesus established the New Covenant. Using metaphors of the “sown wheat grain” and the “spent life” in today’s gospel, Jesus teaches the same lessons as St. Paul does. The gospel hints at Jesus’ inner struggle in accepting the cup of suffering to inaugurate the new and everlasting covenant. However, Jesus accepts the cross as his “hour,” meaning the stepping stone to his passion, death, resurrection and exaltation.

Story : There is a story about a little bird that was trying to fly to warmer climate in order to escape the winter cold. On the way the bird encountered a snow storm. It grew so cold that the bird fell to the ground in a farm. The bird was about to freeze to death when a cow passed by and dropped cow manure on him. The cow manure was warm on the bird and prevented the bird from freezing to death. Soon the bird felt so comfortable in the warm manure that he began to sing. The farm cat heard the bird singing in the manure, dug the little bird out of the manure and ate him. The moral of the story is: Not everyone who drops manure on you is your enemy, and not everyone who digs you out of the manure is your friend.

Exegesis : Suffering can bring salvation to the sufferer as well as to others. Today's 2nd reading from Hebrews tells us that "although he was a Son, Jesus learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him" (Hebrews 5:8-9). In other words, Jesus' suffering was beneficial both to him personally (he learned obedience) and to others (he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him). Suffering and privations, when accepted as Jesus did, can become one of the best things that can happen in the lives of believers.

Among the books of the New Testament it is Hebrews which best develops the doctrine of Jesus Christ as the eternal high priest who stands for humanity in our dealings with God. He gives two main reasons why Jesus and Jesus alone fulfils the conditions for this priesthood. 1)One is that it was God Himself who chose him for the office. "For no one can become a high priest simply because he wants such an honour. He has to be called by God for this work, just as Aaron was" (Hebrews 5:4). Jesus was specifically chosen for the office when at his baptism a voice was heard from heaven which said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17).

2)The second qualification that Jesus has for the priestly office is that he has experienced the bitter realities of the human condition, including suffering and death. Hebrews alludes to Jesus' experience in the Garden of Gethsemane where the man Jesus "offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission" (Hebrews 5:7). To understand what Hebrews says here regarding the reverent submission of Jesus and that he was heard by the Father, we need to look again at Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Jesus' prayer in the Garden was made up of two petitions. One of the petitions is conditional: "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me;" the other is absolute and without conditions: "yet not what I want but what you want" (Matthew 26:39). The second petition overrides the first. One can, therefore, say that in Gethsemane Jesus made only one prayer, a prayer of total submission to the will of God. This is his one prayer that was heard: God's will was done in his suffering and death. Ultimately even his prayer to be saved from death was heard when God raised him from the dead to live and reign with Him in glory for ever.

Joke: A Frenchman, an Englishman and a New Yorker are exploring the jungle and are captured by a fierce tribe.

The chief tells them, "The bad news is that we've caught you, we're going to kill you, and then use your skins to build a canoe. The good news is that you get to choose how you die."

The Frenchman says, "I take ze poison." The chief gives him some poison; the Frenchman says, "Vive la France!" and drinks it down.

The Englishman says, "A pistol for me, please." The chief gives him a pistol; the Brit points it at his head, says, "God save the Queen!" and blows his brains out.

The New Yorker says, "Gimme a fork." The chief is puzzled, but he shrugs and gives him a fork. The New Yorker takes the fork and jabs himself all over -- the stomach, the sides, the chest, everywhere. Blood gushes from every hole.

The chief screams, "What are you doing?"

The New Yorker looks at the chief and says, "So many holes for your canoe!"

Conclusion : Jesus suffers, dies and saves people, while this New Yorker, anyhow, dies and not ready to do any good for the people.  Only a life spent for others will be glorified here in this world and in heaven.  Today’s gospel teaches us that to receive new life and eternal life we need to die to ourselves through suffering and service.  Salt gives its taste by dissolving in water.  A candle gives light by having its wax melted and its wick consumed.  The oyster produces a priceless pearl by transforming a grain of sand in a long and painful process.  Loving parents sacrifice themselves so that their children can enjoy a better life than they themselves had.  As we step into Holy Week, may our prayer to God be "Your will be done in our lives," just as Jesus prayed in Gethsemane.

Introduction : V Sunday of Lent

Message: The grain of wheat must die to produce fruit.  Such dying must be cultivated by obedience and by our covenant with God, rooted in love and forgiveness.

Special events in this week:   26^th Monday : Annunciation of the Lord

IV Sunday in Lent:[2015]: 2Chro 36:14-17, 19-23; Eph 2:4-10; Jn 3:14-21

IV Sunday in Lent:[2015]: 2Chro 36:14-17, 19-23; Eph 2:4-10; Jn 3:14-21

Introduction: In the first reading from the Second Book of Chronicles, we learn the compassion and patience of God.  God allowed Cyrus the Great, a pagan conqueror, to become the instrument of His mercy and salvation to His chosen people who were in exile in Babylon.  In the second reading, Paul tells us that God is so rich in mercy that He has granted us eternal salvation and eternal life as a free gift through Christ Jesus.  Today’s gospel has a parallel theme but on a much higher level.  Jesus, the Son of God, became the agent of God's salvation, not just for one sinful nation but for the sinfulness of the whole world.  Through John 3:16, the gospel teaches us that God expressed His love, mercy and compassion for us by giving His only Son for our salvation.

Exegesis: “God so loved the world…” (Jn 3:16). The core of Christianity is the experience of the love of God in the person of Jesus.  This is the experience of our salvation.  This is the meaning of being born from above – being born of water and the Spirit. Water is the symbol of the experience (as from Jn 4) and Spirit is God himself who offers that experience!  In the person of Jesus we are able to experience the truth that God loves us.  “God so loved the world that he gave his only son not to condemn the world but so that through him all might be saved.”  Belief in Jesus then is not an intellectual assent.  It is not a set of dogmas that we profess in the creed.  On the other hand, it is simply being open to the possibility that we can experience God in the person of Jesus.

This is the purpose of the Word of God; it is the function of this Sunday liturgy; it is the role of the church: to mediate the experience of the love of God in the person of Jesus.  This experience makes us realize that we are in the image of God.  This experience makes us realize we are the children of God.  This experience brings inner peace and lasting happiness. It provides the grounding for our purpose of life. This is salvation.  This truth, which is not an intellectual knowledge, but an inner experience, sheds light in our darkness.  And thus, the last sentence of today’s gospel becomes meaningful: “the person who lives by the truth comes out into the light” (Jn 3:21).  Nicodemus came to meet Jesus by night – in his darkness of doubt and thirst.  He goes back after the encounter, living in the light, because he has experienced the love of God made visible in Jesus.

Joke: The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun made a note, and posted on the apple tray: "Take only ONE. God is watching."

Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. A child had written a note, "Take all you want. God is watching the apples.

Practical Applications: Try to make an encounter with Jesus. Jesus is present in the holy Eucharist amidst us. We need to make attention to the co-living situation of Jesus among us. We come to the church for worldly things or activities like helping others and all that. Do we care about the presence of Jesus here in the church?

Introduction : Fourth Sunday in Lent

Message: God pardons and raises up those who have been unfaithful, those who have loved the darkness rather than the light.  For God so loved the world that he sent his only Son to deliver the world from exile.

Saints and Events in this Week: 17 – Seventeenth – Tuesday – Saint Patrick, Bishop; 18 – Eighteenth – Wednesday – Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop, Doctor of the Church; 19 – Ninteenth – Thursday – Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary;

IV Sunday in Lent:[2012]: 2Chro 36:14-17, 19-23; Eph 2:4-10; Jn 3:14-21

IV Sunday in Lent:[2012]: 2Chro 36:14-17, 19-23; Eph 2:4-10; Jn 3:14-21

Introduction: In the first reading from the Second Book of Chronicles, we learn the compassion and patience of God.  God allowed Cyrus the Great, a pagan conqueror, to become the instrument of His mercy and salvation to His chosen people who were in exile in Babylon.  In the second reading, Paul tells us that God is so rich in mercy that He has granted us eternal salvation and eternal life as a free gift through Christ Jesus.  Today’s gospel has a parallel theme but on a much higher level.  Jesus, the Son of God, became the agent of God's salvation, not just for one sinful nation but for the sinfulness of the whole world.  Through John 3:16, the gospel teaches us that God expressed His love, mercy and compassion for us by giving His only Son for our salvation. Nicodemus, the wealthy Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, meets Jesus by night and begins a long religious discussion. Jesus explains to him that he must believe Jesus’ words because he is the Son of God.  He further explains to Nicodemus God’s plan of salvation by referring to the story of Moses and the brazen serpent.  Just as God saved the victims of serpent bite through the brazen serpent, He is going to save mankind from its sins by permitting the crucifixion and death of His Son Jesus because the love of God for mankind is that great.   

Event : "Rejoice, Jerusalem! Be glad for her, you who love her; rejoice with her, you who mourned for her" (Entrance Antiphon -- Isaiah 66:10-11). Why does the church invite us in the middle of the penitential season of Lent to rejoice? The story of a little incident that took place in Mainz in 1456 when Gutenberg was printing the first printed Bible can help us with the answer.

The printer had a little daughter, Alice, who came into the printing press and picked up a discarded sheet with only one line of print. That line of print read: "God loved the world so much that he gave..." Now, those were times when popular religion was a matter of living in fear and trembling before the awesome wrath of God. So Alice put the paper in her pocket and kept on thinking on the fact of God being so loving, and her face radiated with joy. Her mother noticed her changed behaviour and asked Alice what was making her so happy and Alice showed her mother the sheet of paper with the printed line. Her mother looked at it for some time and said, "So, what did God give?" "I don't know," said Alice, "but if God loved us well enough to give us something, then we need not be so afraid of Him."

Love: What is love? What does it mean to say God loves us? To understand what the Bible means by God's love we must bear in mind that whereas the Greek language has three different words for three different types of love English has only one. In Greek we have (1) eros meaning romantic love (like the love between a man and a woman that leads to marriage), (2) philia meaning fellowship love (like the love for football which brings people together to form a fan club), and there is (3) agap or sacrificial love (like the love that makes a mother risk her own life for her yet unborn child). In romantic love we long to receive, in fellowship love we long to give and take, in sacrificial love we long to give. Now, with what kind of love does God love us? God loves us with agap or sacrificial love. "God loved the world so much that He gave." That is one big difference between God and us: God gives and forgives, we get and forget. Giving is a sign of agap. This is the kind of love God has for us. This is the kind of love we should have for one another. This is the kind of love that is lived in heaven. And where this kind of love is absent, what you get is hell.

Anecdote: A certain saint asked God to show her the difference between heaven and hell. So God sent an angel to take her, first to hell. There she saw men and women seated around a large table with all kinds of delicious food. But none of them was eating. They were all sad and yawning. The saint asked one of them, "Why are you not eating?" And he showed her his hand. A long fork about 4ft long was strapped to their hands such that each time they tried to eat they only threw the food on the ground. "What a pity" said the saint. Then the angel took her to heaven. There the saint was surprised to find an almost identical setting as in hell: men and women sitting round a large table with all sorts of delicious food, and with a four-foot fork strapped to their arms. But unlike in hell, the people here were happy and laughing. "What!" said the saint to one of them, "How come you are happy in this condition?" "You see," said the man in heaven, "Here we feed one another." Can we say that of our families, our neighborhood, our church, our world? If we can say that, then we are not far from the kingdom of heaven.

Practical: Today the Church invites us to reflect on God's love for the world and to be joyful because of it. God loves each and every one of us, so much so that He give us His only son. Today we are invited to say yes to God's love. It is sometimes hard to believe that God loves even me, But I believe it because I know that God loves unconditionally; no ifs, no buts. Then we can love God back and enter into a love relationship with God. Then, like little Alice, our faces will radiate the joy of God's love. Then we shall learn to share God's love with those around us. Then we shall learn to give to God and to one another.

Introduction : IV Sunday in Lent : Laetare Sunday

Message : Laetare Sunday or Rejoice Sunday sets a tone of joyful anticipation of the Easter mystery.  God pardons and raises up those who have been unfaithful, those who have loved the darkness rather than the light.  For God so loved the world that he sent his only son to deliver the world from exile.

March 19 Monday : Saint Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Joseph is honored on 19 March since the end of the 10^th c; declared Patron of the Universal Church in 1870 by Pope Pius IX; patron of workers, carpenters, and of fathers; also of Austria, Belgium, Bohemia, Canada, Mexico, Peru, and Vietnam: mentioned in the Roman Canon.

23^rd Friday : Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo, bishop

Toribio, 1606; from Salamanca; as a layman he was the chief judge of the Inquisition at Granada; as archbishop of Lima he presided over the III Council of Lima(1583); established the first seminary in the New World; sought to alleviate poverty among the native population; contemporary of Rose of Lima; patron of Latin American bishops.

III Sunday of Lent:[2015]: Ex 20:1-17; 1Cori 1:18, 22-25; Jn 2:13-25

III Sunday of Lent:[2015]: Ex 20:1-17; 1Cori 1:18, 22-25; Jn 2:13-25

Introduction:  Keep our covenant agreement with Jesus Christ by becoming people of the new covenant, loving others as Jesus did, keeping our parish church holy and fully dedicated to divine worship and keeping our hearts cleansed, just, holy and pure temples of the Holy Spirit. 

Exegesis:   Like the desert (Lent week 1) and the mountain (week 2), the Temple (week 3) is a place of special encounter with God. But today we are not going to see the glorious face of Jesus; we are going to see his angry face. Jesus is not happy with what he sees precisely because the way the Temple worship has been organized no longer reflects God’s original idea of a worshipping community.

Why was this church building built? If such a question is asked here, the answers will be very interesting. Unexpected creative imaginations will be the result. But, the real answer is that it was built to be a temple. It was not built just to be a meeting place, or an auditorium, or a theater where we go to experience a drama. A temple is a building that is purpose-built. Our church building here has one chief purpose, namely to immerse us in the drama of our relationship with God. Note that I said “our” relationship with God, not “my relationship with God.” While we may come here for private prayer, the main reason is because this where we as God’s family play out our roles in the great drama of God coming to us and our going back to God our Father.

Each one of us here is a temple that is purpose-made. Because of our baptisms each one of us here is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Each one of us here was brought into being and designed by God for a purpose, namely the purpose of making Him present to others, especially when they enter into who we are. Each one of us here is a walking, living temple in which God is made present and available to others.

Joke:  John Smith was the only Protestant to move into a large Catholic neighborhood. On the first Friday of Lent, John was outside grilling a big juicy steak on his grill. Meanwhile, all of his neighbors were eating cold tuna fish for supper. This went on each Friday of Lent.

On the last Friday of Lent, the neighborhood men got together and decided that something had to be done about John. He was tempting them to eat meat each Friday of Lent, and they couldn't take it anymore. They decided to try and convert John to be a Catholic. They went over and talked to him and were so happy that he decided to join all of his neighbors and become a Catholic. They took him to Church, and the Priest sprinkled some water over him, and said, "You were born a Baptist, you were raised a Baptist, and now you are Catholic." The men were so relieved, now their biggest Lenten temptation was resolved.

The next year's Lenten season rolled around. The first Friday of Lent came, and just at supper time, when the neighborhood was setting down to their tuna fish dinner, came the wafting smell of steak cooking on a grill. The neighborhood men could not believe their noses! WHAT WAS GOING ON?

They called each other up and decided to meet over in John's yard to see if he had forgotten it was the first Friday of Lent. The group arrived just in time to see John standing over his grill with a small pitcher of water. He was sprinkling some water over his steak on the grill, saying, 

"You were born a cow, you were raised a cow, and now you are a fish."

Practical Applications:  1) Let us remember that we are the temples of the Holy Spirit.  St. Paul reminds us that we are God’s temples because the Spirit of God dwells in us.  Hence, we have no right to desecrate God’s temple by impurity, injustice, pride, hatred, jealousy.  Let us cleanse it asking God’s forgiveness through the sacrament of reconciliation. 

2) Our relationship with God must be that of a child to his parent, one of mutual love, respect and a desire for the family’s good, with no thought of personal loss or gain. 

3) We need to avoid a calculating mentality in divine worship.  We are not supposed to think of God as a vending machine into which we put our sacrifices and good deeds to get back His blessings.  Let us make our church a holier place by adding our prayers and songs to our parish worship and offering our time and talents in the various ministries.

Introduction : Third Sunday of Lent

Message: The law liberates and leads us to freedom.  It is to be trusted for it is a source of wisdom. Jesus speaks of the ultimate freedom to be won for us by his being raised up.  He is the sign of the power and wisdom of God.

Saints and Events in this Week: 9 – Ninth - Monday - Saint Frances of Rome, Religious;

III Sunday of Lent:[2012]: Ex 20:1-17; 1Cori 1:18, 22-25; Jn 2:13-25

III Sunday of Lent:[2012]: Ex 20:1-17; 1Cori 1:18, 22-25; Jn 2:13-25

Scripture lessons: Today’s first reading teaches us that the Ten Commandments are the basis of our religious and spiritual life, just as they formed a rule of life for the Israelites as the result of their covenant with Yahweh at Mount Sinai.  The responsorial psalm depicts the Mosaic Law’s life-enhancing attributes: it refreshes the soul and rejoices the heart; it is pure and true, more precious than gold.  The second reading reminds us that we must preach the divine folly of the crucified Christ and the spirit of the cross, especially during the Lenten season.  Today’s gospel gives us the dramatic account of Jesus' cleansing the Temple of its merchants and money-changers, followed by a prediction of his death and resurrection. The synoptic gospels place the "cleansing of the Temple" immediately after Jesus' triumphant arrival in Jerusalem on the back of a colt on Palm Sunday while John places it at the beginning of his gospel. Jesus cleansed the Temple renovated by King Herod in B.C. 20. The abuses which kindled the prophetic indignation of Jesus were the conversion of God’s Temple into a “noisy market place” by the animal merchants and into a “hideout of thieves” by the money-changers with their grossly unjust business practices – sacrilege in God’s Holy Place. Jesus' reaction to this commercialized faith was fierce.  Since no weapons were allowed inside the Temple, Jesus had to construct his own weapon, a whip of cords to drive out the merchants and money-changers from the Court of the Gentiles.

Lent Gospel Sum up: Like the desert in the first week of Lent and the mountain in the second week, the Temple in the third week is a place of special encounter with God. But today we are not going to see the glorious face of Jesus; we are going to see his angry face. Jesus is not happy with what he sees precisely because the way the Temple worship has been organized no longer reflects God’s original idea of a worshipping community. Two reasons can be given for this, namely, (a) the religious leaders had put rituals over morality, and (b) they had put particularity over universality.

Rituals over Morality: The religious administrators of the Temple worship took pains to see that worshippers were duly supplied with high quality cattle, sheep and doves for sacrifice. They even made sure that the “dirty” money people brought with them could be exchanged for the “holy” Temple money. At the same time, however, they were plotting against Jesus. If they took all that trouble to please God in worship, why couldn’t they take the trouble to investigate the claims of Jesus rather than condemn him so readily? For them pleasing God had become something you do in the rituals of the Temple and not in your relationship with people. This kind of religiosity makes Jesus really angry.

Joke: The story is told of a priest who was coming back to his parish house one evening in the dark only to be accosted by a robber who pulled a gun at him and demanded, “Your money or your life!” As the priest reached his hand into his coat pocket the robber saw his Roman collar and said, “So you are a priest? Then you can go.” The priest was rather surprised at this unexpected show of piety and so tried to reciprocate by offering the robber his packet of cigarettes, to which the robber replied, “No, Father, I don’t smoke during Lent.” You can see how this robber is trying to keep the pious observance of not smoking during Lent while forgetting the more fundamental commandment of God, “Thou shall not steal.”

Particularity over Universality: The second reason why Jesus was mad with the Temple priests was their practice of religious particularity over against universality, of exclusiveness over inclusiveness. Some knowledge of the design of the Temple will help us here. The Temple had five sections or courts: (1) holy of holies (2) court of priests (3) court of Israel (4) court of women (5) court of Gentiles. Though these were seen as five concentric circles of sanctity, the design made room for everybody in the house of God. It was a universal house of God “for all the nations” where every man or woman on earth would find a place in which to pray. But the Temple priests forgot that and thought that it was meant for Jews alone. So they decided to turn the court of the Gentiles into a “holy” market place for selling the animals required for sacrifice and for exchanging money. You could bring Roman money as far as the court of the Gentiles but not into the other four courts. The court of Gentiles was no longer regarded as part and parcel of the house of God, it had become a market place, pure and simple. Now it was this court of Gentiles that Jesus cleansed. In so doing he was making the point that the Gentile section was just as holy as the Jewish sections. God is God of all and not God of a select group. Like the Jews of the time of Jesus, some Christians today still think that God belongs to them alone and not to others as well.

Life Implications: A certain man died and went to heaven and St Peter was showing him round. St Peter pointed to different mansions: “Here are the Jews, here the Buddhists, here the Moslems, etc.” Then they came to a large compound surrounded by a high wall and inside they could hear singing and laughter. “Who are those?” asked the new arrival. And St Peter hushed him, “Hush! They’re the Christians – but they think they’re the only ones here.” Believers like these need a Temple court experience to awaken them to the universal love of God and bring them back to true worship.

Introduction  : III Sunday in Lent

Message : The law liberates and leads us to freedom.  It is to be trusted for it is a source of wisdom.  Jesus speaks of the ultimate freedom to be won for us by his being raised up.  He is the sign of the power and wisdom of God

Saints in this week : 17^th Saturday : Saint Patrick, Bishop

Patrick, 461 at Down; born about 389 of Romano-British origin, perhaps in Wales; founded metropolitan See of Armagh; authored Confessio; the famous Lorica(Lat., “breastplate”), a work praising Christ, is probably his; patron of Nigeria; apostle and patron of Ireland.

II Sunday in Lent:[2015]:Gen22:1-2,9-13,15-18;Rom 8:31-35,37;Mk9:2-10

II Sunday in Lent:[2015]:Gen22:1-2,9-13,15-18;Rom 8:31-35,37;Mk9:2-10

First Reading Exegesis:  In our first reading from Genesis, Abraham was put to test and he remained faithful to God. God did not require him to do anything that He Himself would not do. In fact, the command to Abraham to offer his only son was intended to foreshadow how God would offer his only beloved son for our sake in the future. God halted the sacrifice of Isaac because, Abraham’s faith was very clear by the fact that he was ready to carry out the will of God. Abraham listened to God, and then obeyed him. Abraham was ready to offer his only son Isaac to make God happy. He did not question or challenge God about the victim for the sacrifice. Instead, he left that question for his son Isaac to ask. Also, rather than ask God for anything, he was ready to offer God something very dear to him. Abraham considered his walk with God more important than any other thing. What do we learn from Abraham today? We must be ready to listen to God and, to do what he wants us to do as Abraham did.

Gospel Reading Exegesis: In the Transfiguration story in todays Gospel, Jesus is revealed as a glorious figure, superior to Moses and Elijah. The primary purpose of Jesus’ Transfiguration was to allow him to consult his Heavenly Father and ascertain His plan for His Son’s suffering, death and resurrection.  God’s secondary aim was to make Jesus’ chosen disciples aware of his Divine glory, so that they might discard their worldly ambitions and dreams of a conquering political Messiah and might be strengthened in their time of trial. On the mountain, Jesus is identified by the Heavenly Voice as the Son of God. Thus, the transfiguration narrative is a Christophany, that is, a manifestation or revelation of who Jesus really is.

The meditation on the transfiguration during lent becomes for us a prediction of what lies at the end of Lent – the resurrection of the Lord.  This is what perhaps it meant for the three apostles who were taken up the mountain only six days after (Mk 9:2) Jesus had told them about his impending suffering and death (Mk 8:31).  This was important particularly for Peter, who could not simply accept the possibility that his hero – the Christ (Mk 8:29) – will have to suffer grievously (Mk 8:32). For him it is a big lesson that Christian life is a coincidence of opposites – death and life, suffering and triumph, struggling to climb a mountain and wanting to stay there, being exalted on the mountain-top and having to come down to the market place of daily life.

God shows us his willingness to offer his only son to us, and for our salvation. Today Christ is revealed through his transfiguration as the son of God who is with us. The only thing that God demands from us is: “Listen to him.” If we listen to Christ, God’s gift to us, and do what he wants us to do, we shall be successful in our journey with him this season.

Joke: An Irishman moves into a tiny hamlet in County Kerry, walks into the pub and promptly orders three beers.  The bartender raises his eyebrows, but serves the man three beers, which he drinks quietly at a table, alone and orders three more.  As this continued every day the bartender asked him politely, "The folks around here are wondering why you always order three beers?"  "It’s odd, isn't it?" the man replies, "You see, I have two brothers, and one went to America, and the other to Australia.  We promised each other that we would always order an extra two beers whenever we drank." Then, one day, the man comes in and orders only two beers.  As this continued for several days, the bartender approached him with tears in his eyes and said, "Folks around here, me first of all, want to offer condolences to you for the death of your brother.  You know-the two beers and all..."  The man ponders this for a moment, and then replies with a broad smile, "You'll be happy to know that my two brothers are alive and well.  It’s just that I, myself, have decided to give up drinking for Lent.  Now I am drinking for the other two!" 

Practical Applications: Lent is a transformational season in the Church. This is, of course, why we hear the story of the Transfiguration read to us today. In Mark’s version the Apostles are witnesses to the event, but really didn’t understand it. Nor did they understand the reference to Jesus rising from the dead – the ultimate transformation that was to come. It would be a transformation that would transform the world. How can we transform ourselves during Lent? What do we have to do to turn ourselves from sin, the part of ourselves that pulls away from God?

Introduction:  Second Sunday in Lent

Message: Abraham offers the ultimate sacrifice of thanksgiving, the gift of his very son.  This sacrifice prefigures the sacrifice of Jesus who died for us all.  In his transfiguration, Jesus discloses a suffering messiah-ship.

Saints and Events in this Week: 3 – Third – Tuesday – Saint Katharine Drexel, Virgin; 4 – Fourth – Wednesday – Saint Casimir; 7 – Seventh – Saturday – Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs;