21ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B

DON’T TURN YOUR BACK ON ME

Yesterday, the Parish pastoral Coordinating Council of Medalla Melagrosa Parish, malipayon, pangantucan, Bukidnon had their monthly meeting. The council talks about the incoming fiesta celebration of the parish. In the meeting, we have been discussing about our expenxes for the said fiesta celebration. This is so because the does not have any money to support for the said celebration especially on financial matters. Without the help of the other chapels the said celebration is impossible to achieve. Fortunately, the members of the said council responded positively to the needs of the parish. It is so good that nobody turn their back, for the good of the church.

GREETINGS!

My dear friends, our gospel for this Sunday is the last discourse of Jesus to the people. Because of this story, many turned their back on Jesus. Many leave Jesus because of his words. What are these words? As what I have said this is the last discourse of Jesus in the Gospel of John about the bread of Life. Many of the followers of Jesus leave him because they cannot believe that Jesus is the bread of life. In other words Jesus has been rejected by his own followers.

Turning your back to other person is a form of rejection. This action may hurt other people especially to those who are involved in the discussion. Rejection is a form of disagreeing the idea or personality of a certain person. For example, simple neglecting! If you don’t like the other person, you don’t want to see him or even talk to him and you will always turn your back on him. 

However on the part of Jesus, people doesn’t like about his thoughts. They don’t agree with the idea that Jesus is the bread of Life.  Jesus asks those who were left, especially to his disciples: “do you want to leave me too?” Today, Jesus will also ask us, “Do you want to leave me too?”

One way of leaving Jesus is through sins committing sins towards other people and towards God is a form of turning away from God. Why? Because Jesus hates sin and doesn’t want us to sin. He doesn’t like if we will hurt our fellow human beings.

Jesus in our Gospel today wants us to understand the teaching of our faith so that we can live, act and participate on it. If we don’t understands the church, we mumble also like his other disciple and at the end leave the church.  Hindi sana ito mangyayari sa atin. Hope that we will do our share on propagating the message to all, especially those who leave the church of God.

Today, Jesus is trying to tell us: Don’t turn your back on me! Help me! Help me save souls! Help me that other people will know who I am!

 Don’t turn your back on me!

20th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B

LET OTHERS SEE JESUS IN YOU

Nakahinumdom ko sa akong amigo kaniadto samtang nagkaon siya ug mangga nga hinog siya miingon: “kaon ka?” “o mokaon ko”. “PAGTANOM” he said. The response is some kind of sarcastic but somehow it seems to be true. In order for me to eat more mangos I should plant a mango tree. When you plant something it does not happen overnight for you to yield a harvest. For example, planting rice needs a lot of time before you can obtain a harvest. You need to exert efforts in order to have a good harvest. Most of the time farmers are working very hard to have a good harvest. It needs sacrifices especially time, effort, money and many others before you can have a plentiful and a joyful harvest.

Today’s gospel is almost the same gospel reading from the previous Sundays that we had. Jesus Christ is talking about bread: ‘I am the living bread that comes down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever. I think this is last one that Jesus will be talking about bread from heaven. 

On the other Sundays, we were talking about the graces of God as abundant; Just eat all you can. Last Sunday, I was talking about bread- the real presence of God in the Eucharist.

 Our reflection today is the pick of our reflection about the bread of life. Today, Jesus said:”Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” When I said that, Jesus is really present in the host that we receive every Sunday is really true. This communion will bring us to eternal life is also true but it does not happen suddenly. It is not a magical wand that will automatically bring us to heaven. It does not happen abruptly.  We need to do something about it. We need to work for it because as saint James said “faith without works is useless”. What I mean her is that every day or everyday Sunday we take communion, we go to the church; every day we pray but if it does agree with what we do, it means nothing. Jesus said if you eats my flesh and drinks my blood I will remain in you and you in me. This may mean that we also need to work for it. we need to imitate what Jesus' doings. Take what Jesus is trying to say to you. If he said be a good man, follow the holy gospel, share you blessing and help other people, we need to do it because this is what Jesus is doing. In others words, we are encourage to like Jesus. 

Kada adlaw ta mag-ampo, kada adlaw ta magsimba pero limbungan diay ta sa negosyo. You are always praying the rosary but you have a very bad attitude towards your workers. This kind of life is not what Jesus is trying to tell us today. He want to tell us to be like Him. Since we want to be with Jesus then we must also act like Jesus. Be like Jesus because he said that if we ate his body and drink his blood he will remain in us.

Everything I said today only means one thing. Let others see Jesus in you! Again, let others see Jesus in you!

19TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR B

EUCHARIST: BREAD FROM HEAVEN

When I was still a child, every morning mother would always buy bread with coffee for early refreshments. When we woke up the bread and coffee is already set at the table. There are many kinds of bread, but my mother would always buy brown bread. We have also what we called loaf bread; this bread is usually eaten with butter inside and a glass of juice. We have also bread which is one of my favorite also during childhood,” bagong bayan”. There are many kinds of bread: pan de coco, mammon, torta, siopao, pan de leche, supas, but ang pinakasikat na bread in the Philippines is Pandesal. All of these are Pan! Pan! Pan! Pan! We ate this bread because it satisfies our stomach.

However, today my dear friends we will receive the bread from heaven. What is this bread from heaven? The Eucharistic celebration today makes this bread into a reality. During communion in the celebration of the mass, we will taste and eat this bread from heaven. This is Jesus Christ. The host that we receive in the Eucharistic celebration is Jesus Christ, the bread from heaven. How is this possible? It becomes possible during the consecration of the bread and wine in the mass.

 The council of Trent in the 16^th century believed that the whole Christ (Body and Blood and the whole of Him) is really and substantially present in the Eucharist. The Eucharist contains Jesus Christ in the fullness of his divinity and completeness of his humanity. The whole substance of bread and wine is replaced by Jesus Christ.

Many scientists in the past studied the” host” in the celebration of the Eucharist to satisfy their doubts. We cannot deny that there are many people today who do not believe about it. Lucky as I am, I met one of them during one of our retreats, in the person of Dr. Ricardo Castanon. He was an atheist for almost 20 years of his life. Out of curiosity he studied the belief of the Catholic Church that the bread (the host that we received in the mass) is really the body and blood of Christ. He spent more time in research using the knowledge that he has as a doctor to prove that it is not true. However, the result is astounding; the host in the Eucharistic celebration is really body and blood of a human person. The consecrated hosts remain fresh despite of age. Science cannot explain about it, since normal bread can only last for two weeks. It was also found out that the host is really a fresh flesh of human person from the left ventricle of a human heart. We know that the left ventricle is one of four chambers of the heart. It is located in the bottom left portion of the heart below the left atrium, separated by the mitral valve. The research also shows that the wine in the mass becomes human blood of type AB. It also remains fresh which science cannot explain it since when blood is extracted into the body can only last for 15 minutes. It is really true because the research also says that the DNA has no similarities until today.

If these researches prove that the bread that we ate during the Eucharistic celebration is really Jesus Christ, what shall we do about it? My dear friends, I admonish you to take the communion seriously. It is really Jesus that we received. Allow it to sink into the bottom of your soul.

 May this Holy Communion nourishes our soul and make us a holy people of God. Believe in Jesus Christ who is really present in the Eucharist. He is the bread from heaven and whoever ate this bread will live forever. Amen. 

18th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME B

ENERGY BOOSTER(Revised)

Most people are doing the best that they can, working late at night, doing something extra in order to raise foods to sustain their life. Food are energy boosters, they usually be eaten in order to have energy for the day. If one person does not take food for the whole day, his/her energy will be exhausted and as a result he will slowly deteriorate and die.

We have to take in food to obtain energy, and eat enough to survive. Not enough food for the body drains your energy and you feel tired. In order to remain healthy and strong, take enough amount of food daily. Foods are called energy boosters because it provides energy to the body.

If we eat food to sustain our physical well-being, we need also food from heaven to maintain our spiritual well-being.

My dear friends, in today’s gospel, Jesus presents himself as bread of life. However, let us not understand it literally, since we are not cannibals or “wak wak” nga mokaon ug tawo. We don’t eat human flesh. Let us explain it figuratively: Jesus is trying to figure out the importance of following HIM. “I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”  In other words, whoever follows my way will live forever or have the promise of everlasting life.

I happen to read the book of Fr. Rafael T. Cruz and I want to share some of his stories.

“During the presidency of Richard Nixon one the most powerful Americans was a man named Charles Colson. He was powerful, Why? Because as he bragged, “I hold office next to the very office of the president of the united States.” He was so rich and has everything. However, he made an admission. He has everything but there is something lacking. He doesn’t understand about it. Until one evening, he was invited to a dinner to one of his close friends. Pero ito pong kanyang kaibigan had recently a peak experience with the Lord. His friend told him, “I have everything, power , wealth and I can do everything I want but I felt hollowness inside me until I found Jesus Christ.” Mr. Colson was about to Cry. That simple invitation changed the life of Mr. Colson. Today, Mr. Colson travelled anywhere to proclaim Jesus Christ.”

The bread that we ate during Eucharistic celebration is Jesus Christ Himself, an energy booster to our soul. Therefore, let us not forget to go to the mass always especially Sundays and holidays. The presence of Jesus in this celebration is an energy booster that will strengthen our souls. It will always give us the right energy that will keep us moving towards our goal, that is heaven.

On other hand, Don’t you know that you can be an energy booster also to other people? If you see and know somebody who suffered lots of difficulties, especially problems and sometimes tend to give up, your helping hand is an energy booster to that person. Our help is an energy booster that will keep him/her going.

If you are full of energy because you feel that God is really present in you; then, share your energy to those who are weak. Share your energy to those suffering people around you. Be an energy booster. Only in God you will find happiness, and happy people are full of energy. Release it! Share your energy! You’ve got the power!  Be a Corpus Christi to them.

Be an energy booster.

17TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME B

EAT ALL YOU CAN

One day, when I was still in Davao City, I happen to ate at a restaurant with “eat all you can” banquet. When I enter the eatery, I followed what other customers are doing, since it was my first time. I realized that in this kind of banquet self service is being observed. You will be the one to get your food. You can get everything, viand, rice, desserts and drinks, as long as you can consume it. It was a very nice system since; you will really feel that you are at home.

Greetings!

My dear friends, the grace of God are like “eat you can” dinner. The grace of God is just around us just “eat all you can”. In our Gospel today Jesus feed 5000 men not including women and children meaning to say there are more than 5000 people. It does not only say like that since, there are 12 baskets left in the banquet. The remaining 12 baskets convey that there are lots of foods available. This may mean that the graces that we have received everyday of our life are really abundant.

In life, we received loads of graces. The basic example for this is our life, the air we breathe every day, the food we take daily, friends who care for us, our families, and our neighbors are God’s given graces. These graces are just like “eat all you can” banquet, unlimited and without any expense. Remember that these unlimited graces do not only feed our stomach but also to our soul.

Since, we have received these graces in our life without any expense; it is also fitting for us to give thanks to the giver. This is our only expression as a response to the giver of the gifts.

One way of giving thanks to the giver is to share these graces to other people. Share what you have received. Invite and let other people know that you have been enjoying the “eat all you can” graces of God.

But sometimes in our life, we feel that we have been forsaken. It seems that there are empty spaces that need to fill up. There are difficulties that need to settle. If you will feel this way just approach God and ask Him to “eat all you can” to his graces. I am pretty sure that he will always give what you need. Our gospel reminds us today that God provides everything we need. Let us be conscious about it. Let us be aware of the things we have received from God. God provides us everything and it is also fitting to give him in return.

Karon gihagit kita sa Ginoo: unsa man ang imong mahatag sa Dios isip balos sa iyang pagkamanggihatagon? Unsa man ang imong ikatampo alang sa kalambuan sa iyang katawhan?

Friendly reminder: graces are just everywhere, just “eat all you can”.

16TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME B

REST!

Karong umaabot lunes July 20, 2015, ang tanang pari sa tibuok Diocese sa Malaybalay magahimo sa among retreat, gitawag namo kini ug Annual Retreat. Dili lamang kini basta basta nga retreat kondili usa kini sa paagi sa pagpahulay tungod sa daghang mga trabaho nga among naagian ug pagpamalandong sa tanan nga among nabuhat sa tibuok tuig. Kini usab usa ka pagpangandam pag-usab alang sa umaabot pa namo nga pagserbisyo sa katawhan nga gisangon kanamo sa Dios. Tungod niini ako kamong gihagit sa pag-ampo alang sa tanang kaparian aron magmalampuson ang among ipahigayon nga annual retreat.

Sa atong ebanghelyo karong adlawa atong nahibal an nga ang mga tinun-an gikan sa misyon nga gihatag kanila sa Dios ug mitaho sila kang Hesus sa mga accomplishments nga ilang nahimo. Human sila makabuhat niini, giingnan sila ni Hesus sa pag-adto sa deserto aron sa pagpahulay. Sila gipinahan ni Hesus sa pagpahulay siguro tungod sa kakapoy sa ilang panaw. Ang pagpahulay sa mga apostoles importante alang sa Ginoo tungod kay nasayod man siya nga aduna pay daghan nga trabaho nga nagpaabot kanila.

Ang pulong pagpahgulay sa ingles  “rest” from Latin rēstāre, from re- + stāre to stand. Re is a prefix, occurring originally in loanwords from Latin, used with the meaning “again” or “again and again” to indicate repetition. Rest meaning to say is to stand again and again. Mao kini ang gusto nga mahitabo ni Hesus ngadto sa iyang mga tinun-an. Kinahanglan gayud nga makapahulay sila aron sila makapadayon sa daghan pang mga misyon nga isangon kanila.

Daghan kaayo ug panahon sa atong kinabuhi nga daw kita gikapuyan na. gikapuyan kita diha sa atong pagtrabaho aron mabuhi ang pamilya. Usahay gikapuyan usab kita diha sa pag atiman sa tong tagsatagsa ka pamilya o gikapuyan ba kaha kita diha sa atong kahimtang.

Ang kakapoy makabalda sa atong pagpadayon sa sakto nga trabaho. Sama pananglitan kon ikaw walay tarong ug pahulay sa gabii unya daghan pa gayud ka ug trabaho pagka ugma, siguro gayud nga maapektuhan ang imong trabaho tungod kay wala naman gayud ikaw’y igong kusog tungod sa kakapoy. Usahay ang kakapoy makabungkag usab ug relasyon diha sa pamilya. Tungod sa kakapoy dili na hinoon maatiman ang pamilya. Mutugot ba kamo nga kini mahitabo diha kaninyo? Dili gayud!

Busa, ang giingon sa atong Gino sa atong ebanghelyo karon “pahulay sad oi!” buot niyang ipasabot, tan awa ug pamalandungi ang imong nabuhat sa tibuok adlaw o tibuok bulan. Nakaayo ba kini kanimo ug sa imong pamilya? Wala ka bay nabanggaan o nadaut nga relasyon diha sa imong pagpaningkamot? Pahulay aron ikaw makapadayon sa imong panaw. Mura ba ug sa motor pa, pa change oil pod! Aron ka makadagan ug layo layo.

Isa sa paagi sa pagpahulay mao ang akong gisugilon sa sinugdanan. Adunay uban gusto nga magretreat, adunay uban usab gusto magbakasyon sa mga mamingaw nga dapit. Kon unsa man atong buhaton, ang importante nga imong mabaliktanaw ang imong nabuhat ug aron ikaw makapadayon pa imong mga buhaton pa!

Gikapoy naka? Pahulay sa!

BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST B

EUCHARIST THE ONLY PRECIOUS POSSESSION

Karong panahuna kon inyong nabantayan daghan na kaayong nagagamit ug mga food supplement kini ilang gigamit tungod kay makatabang sa maayong panglawas. Ngano nga daghan ang naga gamit niini kijni tungod kay ilang giampingan ang ilang mga lawas ug gusto nila nga mahimsog pag ayo.  Siguro ang uban moingon atimanon nako ang akong lawas kay mao ra niy akong puhunan. This is my only precious possession. 

Maayong adlaw!

Karong adlawa atong gisaulog ang domingo sa lawas ug dugo ni Kristo. Ang atong ebanghelyo nagsaysay sa paghimo ni Hesus sa kasaulogan sa eukaristiya, diin iyang gihimo ang paghatag sa pan ug bino sa iyang mga tinun-an nga mao ang iyang lawas ug dugo. Kining atong gisaulog karon ang santos nga misa mao ang gihimo ni kristo sa iyang panahon. Sa atong pagdawat sa lawas ug dugo ni Kristo sulod niining santos nga misa kita gipahinumduman nga ang atong gidawat mao gayod si Krsito nga atong Ginoo kon ang pagkaon sa mga food supplement makatabang sa atong lawas mas makatabang ang hustiyas nga atong gikalawat sulod niining santos nga misa. Kon ang atong lawas atong gihimo nga my most precious possession then we will make the eucharist as the most and only possession. 

Ang santos nga misa nga atong gisaulog nagpahinumdum kanato sa angay buhaton sa atong kinabuhi ilabi na diha sa atong mga pagbasa. Diha sa unang pagbasa karon, gituman ni moises ang gisugo sa Ginoo ang paghalad. Di ba diha sa santos nga misa adunay panahon sa paghalad (apan usahay lang kay walay halad hehehehehe) sa ikaduhang pag basa nagtudlo kanato sa paghalad sa kaugalingon ngadto sa Dios. Sa atong pagsalmot sa makaluwas nga grasya sa eukaristiya nakahimo kanato nga maka ambit sa kahinluan sa mga sala pinaagi sa pag ula ni Hesus sa iyang kaugalingong dugo diha eukaristiya. 

Mga igsoon, karong adlawa kita gipasidan an sa paghatag ug dakong bili sa santos nga misa nga atong saulogon matag domingo. Kini mao ang maghatag kanato ug kaluwasan nga atong gipangandoy sa umaabot nga panahon. Ang kaluwasan kauban ang Ginoo didto sa langit. 

Busa kon daghan ka ug possession nga maoy maka balda sa imong pagsunod sa Ginoo, angayan kini natong pamalandungan tungod kay the only precious possession nga kinahanglan natong huptan ug dili buhian mao lamang ang Ginoo diha sa santos nmga misa. The only possession nga atong madala sa atong unyang kamatayon. Ang property, kuarta, yuta, sakyanan ug uban pa kining tanan atong mga possession nga biyaan nato sa hustong panahon. ang atong madala mao lamang ang atong kalag. Kining maong kalag molambo lamang diha sa santos nga misa. Then, let us make the eucharist as our only possession.