OUR PARISH PRIEST

OBSERVANCE FROM THE HEART 22nd Sunday If we observe religious groups around us, we will instantly notice how each one is governed by specifics of discipline and custom.   An obvious discipline is on food.   While both Muslims and Jews shun pork, Jews have an additional list of forbidden animals and fish. Buddhists are vegetarians and Hindus too. While Catholics are the most hospitable to all the different food groups!   In Jesus’ time the rules were not only about food but about how to prepare, touch and eat them and also how to clean up after a meal.   Violating all these sets of rules made one impure.   People became scrupulous observers, not thoughtful practitioners of their faith. This is what Jesus sets out to do.   He castigates the man-made “traditions” – those not originating from God but mere human inventions that grew around and obscured the core of faith.   And referring to the diet prescriptions he decre...

WHOLE HEART FOR GOD 21st Sunday What a strong message the Scriptures gives to us today! In the book of Joshua, we hear Joshua proclaiming his dedication to follow God:   as for me and my househould, we will serve the Lord (ch. 24).   And the people moved by his testimony, also recalled the many blessings God gave them and said: we will also serve the Lord! The gospel today, John 6, describes how people listening to Jesus soon reacts to his words. They are now divided. Some say, “This saying is hard. How can anyone accept it?”   As a result, many from his audience retraced their former way of life and abandoned the Lord. Jesus turns to his disciples and asks:   Do you also want to leave? Peter speaks for the apostles:   Lord, to whom shall we go?   You have the words of eternal life.   We have come to believe and we are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.   The faith of Joshua and the faith of Peter challenge us today!...

THIS FOOD MEANS LOVE After the heavy rains last week, our maintenance boy found a hapless but very colorful fledgling, a young bird, separated from its mother. Concerned that it must be so hungry but not knowing what species it was, they set out to lure it with seeds, fruits, grains and finally, fish.   It turned out to be a kingfisher! If we show compassion on animals by being solicitous for their nourishment, all the more so do we pamper fellow human beings with food. Filipinos show love through food, thus the constant greeting:   Kumain ka na? (Have you eaten?).   We remind women that the quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.   And we simply love to entertain our friends with food and drink.   In last week’s episode of massive flooding, people came to the rescue of the victims by sending provisions of food and water. The readings today show how lavishly the Lord sets his table for his beloved people.   The description i...

MANDATORY PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE FROM CALAMITIES (FROM THE ARCHDIOCESE OF MANILA) Almighty Father, we raise our hearts to You in gratitude for the wonders of creation of which we are part, for Your providence in sustaining us in our needs, and for Your wisdom that guides the course of the universe. We acknowledge our sins against You and the rest of creation. We have not been good stewards of Nature. We have confused Your command to subdue the earth. The environment is made to suffer our wrongdoing, and now we reap the harvest of our abuse and indifference. Typhoons, heavy rains and floods occur in increasing number and intensity. We turn to You, our loving Father, and beg forgiveness for our sins. We ask that we, our loved ones and our hard earned possessions be spared from the threat of calamities, natural and man-made. We beseech You to inspire us all to grow into responsible stewards of Your creation, and generous neighbors to those in ...

THIS BREAD IS JESUS, THIS BREAD IS YOU 19th Sunday The readings of the past several Sundays are deliberately chosen to stress the continuity between Jesus and the Church in the matter of the Eucharist.   Many Christian churches gloss over these verses, indicative of their decision to ignore the value of this sacrament.   But as Catholics, we hold to the integral meaning of Jesus’ words and actions regarding this bread, the bread of life, the bread that is Himself. He is our center and the food for our daily journey. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” (John 6). These are very powerful words.   The bread does not refer to the multiplied loaves for the five thousand, in the gospel 2 Sundays ago.   The bread is not about earthly bread, which the crowd still sought, in last Sunday’s reading.   The bread is Jesus h...

HOUSE OF GOD, HOUSE OF HIS PEOPLE OUR PARISH AS EVACUATION SITE

OUR FAVORITE FOOD What is your favorite food? Often we have something that we simply cannot skip on our dining table.   Italians have their pasta.   Japanese like their food raw and Koreans hot.   Americans are known for their hamburger.   And Filipinos, even if they do have various regional favorite dishes, are united in their loyalty to rice – from breakfast to dinner, not to mention snacks! Again, our Scripture readings bring our attention to food.   The grumbling of the Israelites in the desert prompted the Lord to bring them quails at night and a mysterious bread called “manna” in the morning (Exodus 16).   The responsorial psalm summarizes their experience as “the Lord gave them bread from heaven.”   In the gospel (John 6) we see the crowd in pursuit of Jesus because he has multiplied bread and fish.   But Jesus clarifies the meaning of the miracle. God wants people to notice not the earthly bread but the True Bread from hea...