OUR PARISH PRIEST

  'WAG MAGING BASHER! Mk 7: 1-18 14-15 21-23       Nang mamatay si Pres. Noynoy Aquino saka natuklasan ng mga tao ang mali nilang akala sa kanya noong nasa Malacañang pa siya. Isnabero daw at elitista, yun pala ay talagang mahiyaing. Wala daw pakialam at damdamin, yun pala ayaw lang niya mang-agaw atensyon sa mga dapat bigyan nito. Hindi daw madasalin tulad ni Tita Cory, yun pala talagang tahimik at mapagnilay sa sarili niyang paraan.   Tumbok ng Mabuting Balita ngayon ang uri ng ating pakikipag-kapwa. Kay dali nating manghusga kahit mababaw lang ang alam natin sa iba. Akala natin ang labas ng lalagyan ay pareho din ng laman sa loob nito. Nakikita natin ang kilos pero hindi sinusuri ang tunay na dahilan. Ano pa nga ba ang pagkakaiba natin sa mga Pariseo at mga eskriba sa panahon ng Panginoong Hesukristo?   Binuntutan at pinaligiran ng mga mapanghusga ang Panginoong Hesus. Siguro masasabi nating sila ang mga original na “bashers” sa Bible. Laging nani

  ARE YOU A BASHER? Mk 7: 1-18 14-15 21-23       When former President Noynoy Aquino died, many people realized how they have misjudged him while he was in office. They branded him as snob and elitist, only to find out from his closest friends that he was really a shy person. They called him indifferent and unfeeling, when in fact, he just didn’t want to grab the limelight from the people who deserved it more. They said he didn’t pray as much as his mom Cory, though he was really a silent and reflective person in his own way.   The Gospel speaks directly about this quality of our relationships. Looking at others, we are prone to judge people superficially. We see the cover and mistake it for the contents. We observe the movement and mistake it for the motive. What sets us apart then, from the Pharisees and the scribes of Jesus’ time?   Jesus was surrounded and followed by judgmental people. Maybe we can say, they are the original, biblical “bashers.” Alw

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  MAGTITIWALA PA DIN! JN 6: 60-69       Na-stroke ang isang lay minister namin. Regular ko siyang dinalaw, pinagdasalan, at sinikap aliwin. Nang tumagal at hindi pa siya gumagaling, nagsimula na siyang magtanong. Bakit hindi pa ako gumagaling? Bakit ba nangyari ito? Bakit ako pa sa dami ng tao? Sa mga sumunod kong dalaw, ayaw na niyang makipag-usap, ni ayaw akong tingnan at sa pader lang nakabaling.   Maging ang mga tagasunod ng Panginoong Hesus ay nahirapang tanggapin ang sermon niya ukol sa pagiging Tinapay ng Buhay. Maraming bagay, kahit sipatin pa sa angulo ng pananampalataya, nagiging mahirap unawain, tanggapin, at bigyang kahulugan.   Bakit tayo nagkakasakit o nagkakaproblema o nawawalan ng mga minamahal o nahuhulog sa kamay ng malulupit na tao? Dahil wala tayong makuhang mabilis na sagot, nagsisimula ang duda, galit, himutok at pagtalikod sa Panginoon. Subalit inilalarawan ni Pedro ang damdamin ng mga alagad na dumadaan din sa ganitong mga bagay s

IT’S NOT EASY, BUT I WILL TRUST Jn 6: 60-69       One of our lay ministers suffered a stroke. I regularly visited him, prayed for him, and consoled him. Time passed and he began to question why his recovery was slow. When will I get well? Why did this happen? Why to me, of all people? In the next visits, he refused to talk to me, even avoiding to look at me by staring on the wall.   Even Jesus’ disciples found something hard to take in the sermons he gave about himself being the Bread of Life. Things in our lives, even when considered from the optic of faith, becomes difficult to understand, to accept, or to reconcile.   Why do we get sick or have many problems or lose loved ones or fall into the hands of cruel people? Since we cannot get an immediate answer, we begin to doubt, to get angry, to rebel and then to turn away from the Lord. But Peter exemplifies the sentiment of disciples who go through all these things but take another route. They continue to trust, to belie

  O MARIA, AKAYIN MO KAMI!       Ngayong Linggo ay Agosto 15 at nagugulat tayo bakit ang serye ng Mabuting Balita ukol sa Eukaristiya ay nagbibigay-daan sa pistang ito ng Mahal na Birhen. Kailangan natin ng paliwanag at pagninilay para diyan.   Una, ang paliwanag. Ang “dakilang kapistahan” ay isang pangyayaring ipinagdiriwang kahit tumapat sa Linggo, at humahalili ito sa karaniwang Misa ng Linggo, tulad ngayon. Kahit pa ang pamagat ng dakilang kapistahan ay bumabanggit kay Maria o sinumang santo, ang sentro nito ay si Kristo at may mahalagang mensahe ito tungkol sa Diyos sa pamamagitan ng santong pinararangalan. Ang kapistahan ng Pag-aakyat sa Langit kay Maria ay katang-tangi dahil ito ay nagdiriwang ng isang “democratic” na aral ng ating Simbahan. Ang mga obispo sa buong mundo, na kumakatawan sa kanilang mga kawan, ang humiling sa Santo Papa noon na ideklara ang pag-aakyat sa langit kay Maria, buong kaluluwa at katawan. Ibig sabihin pala, ang turo at ang pist

  MARY, LEAD US TO JESUS!       This Sunday is August 15 and so we are surprised perhaps why our Gospel series on the Eucharist gives way to this feast of Mary’s Assumption into heaven. For that, we need an explanation and a reflection.   First, the explanation. A solemn feast or solemnity is an event we celebrate even on a Sunday, and in fact, it takes the place of the usual Sunday celebration, like it happens today. Whether   the title of the solemnity mentions Mary or another saint, the solemnity in fact, centers on Christ and imparts a very important message about God through the life of the saint being honored. The solemnity of the Assumption is unique in that it celebrates a “democratic” dogma or teaching of the church. Bishops all over the world, representing their flocks, petitioned the pope to declare that Mary was assumed body and soul into heaven. That means, the teaching and the feast came directly from the hearts, from the simple faith of the peop

  BULONG VS. BULUNG-BULUNGAN JN 6: 41-51       Ang “bulung-bulungan” ay kakaiba sa “bulong.” Ang bulong ay para huwag kang marinig ng iba. Ang bulung-bulungan ay para marinig ka ng iba at ma-impluwensyahan mo sila. Ang bulung-bulungan ay tanda ng pagtutol, ng pag-aaklas, ng pag-ayaw. Kaya nga sa turo ni San Benito, isang pinakamalaking kasalanan ng isang monghe ay ang magbulung-bulungan sa loob ng monastery. Nakakasira kasi ito ng kapayapaan ng isip; nakakasira ng pagkakaisa at kapayapaan ng pamayanan; nakakahawa ito sa iba sa negatibong paraan.   Nagbulung-bulungan ang mga Hudyo laban kay Hesus dahil hindi sila makapaniwala sa kanyang pahayag. Paano ang simpleng taong ito ay magmumula sa langit? Paano siya magiging Tinapay ng Buhay na dulot ng Ama para sa buhay ng mundo?   Bilang mga Katoliko, ipinapahayag natin ang pananampalataya sa Eukaristiya. Dahil sinabi ni Hesus na siya ang TInapay ng Buhay, tugon natin ay “Amen” kapag tinatanggap natin ang kanya

  MURMURING AGAINST GOD? Jn 6: 41-51       A murmur is different from a whisper. You whisper so as not to be heard by others. You murmur so that you will be heard by someone who you want to influence. A murmur is a sign of disagreement, or rebellion, or dislike. No wonder, in the Rule of St. Benedict, one of the most serious sins a monk can commit is to murmur in the monastery. It destroys one’s peace of mind; it destroys the unity and peace of the community; it infects others in a negative way.   The Jews were murmuring against Jesus because they find his claim incredible. They couldn’t believe how a simple man like Jesus could come from heaven. They couldn’t accept what he teaches about being the Bread of Life whom the Father gives for the life of the world.   As Catholics, we profess our faith in the Eucharist. Because Jesus said he is the Bread of Life, we say “Amen” to him when we receive his Body and Blood in Communion. We say “Amen” to him when we