ADVENT REFLECTION: THE REALITY OF THE PAROUSIA

SHARING MY SUNDAY REFLECTION: Today is the first Sunday in the Season of Advent. Last Sunday we celebrated the Solemnity of Christ the King to mark the end of the Liturgical Calendar. The Kingship of Christ is celebrated as the culmination of the liturgical year because it serves as reminder for all of us that the history of Salvation and the whole of the cosmos will have its culmination in the reign of God. That is why the very corner stone of the Christian religion is the belief in the Resurrection of the dead. That in the end we profess that Christ will come again the second time to judge the world in righteousness.

THE SUNDAY reading for today was centered on the message of the Second coming or stated in the Greek word, Parousia. There are many people today who have unnecessarily burdened themselves with the task of predicting when and where the Second Coming of Christ will take place. Others are also pre-occupied with speculation as to what this world would become when Christ comes again. While others have "spiritualize" the second coming as to obliterate its intended meaning or has become an indirect way to deny its reality altogether.  But one thing for sure, anyone who has read the New Testament can never deny that Christ has promised that He will come again indeed. In simple words He uttered his promise. This promise calls for faith and not a scholarly treatise or explanation.  Eternity is like a circle, it has no beginning and it has no ending. That is why Christ said that he is the Alpha and the Omega, referring to the Greek alphabet where Alpha is the beginning and Omega the ending.  This he said if only to give us a glimpse or to cause us to have some insight of His Nature as Divine and Eternal.  The moral lesson here is that we have to be conscious of death. Because every day is always a potential that perhaps we may die. And we die; the second coming of Christ becomes a reality. Instead of preoccupying ourselves with details of how the second coming would be, we should be more preoccupied with preparations of how we shall fit into that Kingdom promised by our Lord. For if we are prepared to meet the Lord then the details will simply be a reality for us when the day comes. Christ our dear Lord said, that the Second Coming of the Son of Man is like the coming of the thief in the night unexpected, but surely. Death may come to us unexpectedly and so we have to be prepared so that when the morning of the resurrection will come then we are ready to face the Lord. If we live our lives according to God's Will, we shall be likened to the wise virgins who put extra oil in their lamps so that when the bridegroom comes they are ready.

AS WE BEGIN the new liturgical year with the celebration of Advent, we are called upon in expectation to celebrate and live the mystery of salvation in another cycle of liturgical year, until we are called home and until we see the parousia and behold Him whom our souls expect to see. Though we are dead He shall call us back to life. Like Him we shall have glorified bodies free from corruption. For, as it was said, Christ has triumph over all His enemies.  He led a train of bounty back to heaven. The Last enemy to be defeated is death. O, death where is your sting? O, death where is your victory? Christ will come and He will set us free. May we be worthy on that day. Let us put on our white garments (our baptism) and let us take hold of the palm leaf and say Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord. Alleluia! Maranatha!

Christ is King

SI CRISTO ANG HADE. Christ is King. It is interesting that the end of the Liturgical Calendar is celebrated as the solemnity of Christ the King. Just as the whole year of liturgical observances are meant to dramatize and bring to life the history of salvation and our relatio

nship with God and the Church, we are reminded that in the end of the journey it is the Kingship of Christ that must be recognize both in our personal lives and from the point of view of eschatology.

The gospel reading this Sunday reminds us of the narrative how Pontius Pilate the Roman Procurator of Judea asked Jesus whether he was the king of the Jews. Pilate understood kingship from the material and physical point of view. On this earth Kings and potentates are served but Christ being King came to serve and to love. Christ kingdom is not of this world. That is why Christ was never drawn into the political controversies of his time. Especially at a time when the Jews looked upon the Messiah from a political point of view. The Messiah as someone who would liberate the entire Jewish nation and would liberate the Nation of Israel from the yoke of Rome. But they were sadly disappointed because Christ never fitted into any of their paradigms.

How sad, that the people of His time never saw the light. The truth was providentially hidden from their eyes. That is why Pilate being a gentile was prompted to ask Jesus, albeit in a sarcastic way, "What is truth?" Today that is what people are asking, what is truth? Everyday we pray the Lord's prayer and we pray for the coming of His Kingdom. The Kingdom of God is here now in hope and in the future in reality. Christ did not promise an earthly Kingdom. It is not the kingdom promised by the false ideas of Liberation Theology. Christ never meddled in the political system of this world. For he knew and we should also know that this world has been judged. That is why St. Paul admonished us never to be conformed to this world, but be transformed from the innermost part of our mind. We should experience metanoia, the innermost transformation with Christ as ou example. This world is a passing and dying world. How urgent is the call that we lived our lives in simplicity and in love. We should never think that this world is forever. We have a higher calling and we need to set our eyes to that goal.

To be a Christian is to seek to know Jesus Christ, to love him, to obey him and be conformed to him. For this is the only way to salvation and no one else. Let us not delude ourselves from the false view of false belief that all will be saved. The only way is Jesus the Son of God.

Long live the King! Christ is King!

ALL SOULS DAY 2012

FLOWERS IS SELLING BRISKLY NOW A DAYS that All Souls and All Saints Day are being celebrated. People are flocking to the cemeteries to visit the graves of their loved ones. I am amused to note and see why there is a preoccupation for flowers as if the souls of the dead need flowers. I think that far from needing them, the souls have no need for these flowers and offering them flowers would not 

even benefit them in the least possible ways. But why do people offer flowers for the dead? Well not really to comfort the dead but to comfort ourselves. To offer ourselves the reassurance that we remember the souls of our departed loved one's. I for one do not bring flowers to the tomb of my loved ones. I only lit a simple candle and I offer a sincere prayer for the peace and repose of the dead. The only way I can help and comfort the my departed loved one is to offer for them constant prayers. Our prayers for their repose are like droplets of cold waters. I remember one very popular passage in the Maccabees 12: 38-46 which says: 

"Judas rallied his army and went to the city of Adullam. As the week was ending, they purified themselves according to custom and kept the sabbath there. On the following day, since the task had now become urgent, Judas and his men went to gather up the bodies of the slain and bury them with their kinsmen in their ancestral tombs.

But under the tunic of each of the dead they found amulets sacred to the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. So it was clear to all that this was why these men had been slain. They all therefore praised the ways of the Lord, the just judge who brings to light the things that are hidden.

Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out. The noble Judas warned the soldiers to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen. He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. 

In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin."

This is a beautiful passage from the Scriptures.

Here in this passage we could glean that even the ancient Jews the forbears of Christianity prayed for the souls of the dead and they have spouse the belief that somehow our prayers are propitiatory. In the Christian era we believe that our prayers for the dead when united completely with the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ on Calvary if effective in carrying out its objective. 

Some people who do not share our faith may object to the idea that forgiveness is impossible after death. But we anchor our beliefs on the teachings of the Scriptures and in the way it was handed down to us by Sacred Tradition. If we would read the scripture further in Matthew 12:32 which runs this way and I quote: "And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but he that shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come." Thus reading in between the lines and following simple logic, our Lord speaks of a forgiveness in the world to come. In this passage He was saying that the sin against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven in this life and in the life to come. Therefore Our Lord implied that there are sins that can be forgiven even in the after life except for the sin against the Holy Spirit. 

Furthermore this idea is supported by many passages in the scripture like 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 where St. Paul tells us that in the afterlife the worth of our actions and works shall be proven. 

It is but short-sighted to say that the dead don't need our prayers. We have to remember the many passages in the Scriptures that sometimes even the most wisest cannot comprehend, speaks of things beyond our understanding. 

Thus it is a pious act to remember our dead, not only during All Souls day but also everyday as we pray. I found it comforting each time I visit the Church or in my personal prayers I always utter the short pious ejaculations I have learned since childhood which says "Eternal Rest grant unto them O Lord, and let Thy perpetual light shine upon, them. May they rest in Peace. Amen."

As we visit the graves and tombs of the dead, let us remember to say a prayer for them. Not only for our relatives but it is also a pious thing to pray for the most needy soul in purgatory, even if we do not know them personally.

ETERNAL REST grant unto them O Lord and Let Thy perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in Peace. Amen.

FILIPINO NEW CARDINAL

 Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle as the Catholic Church’s newest cardinal. The pontiff elevated Tagle, head of the Philippines’ largest archdiocese, to the College of Cardinals along with 5 other archbishops from different countries. During the general audience in St. Peter’s Square, Benedict XVI announced that he will hold a consistory on November 24 to formally elevate the six new cardinals. - CBCP News

THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL

THE LOVE OF MONEY is the root of all evil, says the Scripture. And those who have entangled themselves on this love have pierced their hearts with many sorrows, says St. Paul. 

HOW DO the message of this Sunday's gospel reading jibe with the debate on the sin tax bill?

MONEY is a means of exchange. It represents the material value of our possessions and wealth. If used in the right way, that

 is to provide for our temporary needs and to help our fellowhumans, then money has served it right purpose. But if used a means to articulate our greed. It becomes the instrument of destruction. Destruction not only in this world but on the judgement day. In a world filled with agnosticism and unbelief, fear of retribution in the afterlife is absent. Thus, we wonder how the corrupt politician is not afraid of divine retribution or a judgement in the afterlife. Perhaps they imagine that with their wealth their families could buy their salvation with intercessory prayers and Masses. But God is not human. He can never be bought by bribes. Nor is God inclined to be deceived by flattery. Even God's existence is not dependent on our knowing Him. But surely there must be a day of retribution and judgement. The Scripture is right when it said: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

O Lord inclined our hearts to know your wisdom so that we may apply ourselves correctly in this short and trivial life. So that we will realize and recognize the breath and depth of your love. The promises of your divine love which you have hidden from the eyes of worldly-wise but you have shown them to children. For our the mouth of babies and sucklings you have ordained praise to come.

Lord, your grace is immeasurable, with confidence I threw myself into that grace. For you show mercy to whom you would mercy and you would save whom you would save.

DEAR FRIENDS thank you for letting me share with you these short reflection this Sunday. God bless.

GOD BLESS LEBANON

Let us pray for a safe journey for Pope Benedict XVI to Lebanon on September 14-16, 2012

THE CHURCH IS NEVER OUTDATED

I DON'T THINK THAT the Roman Catholic Church is outdated.  This is because the doctrine of God does not change.  We are called as well as other humans to adjust themselves not to changing times but to adapt the changing times to the Doctrines of God.  The Church should not open its doors to worldly influences.  Rather the church should dared to be different.  As Christ said that we are suppose to be the salt of the earth.  We are suppose to give flavor to a world otherwise deadened by sins.  Many of our doctrines are now under attack by the world such as the teachings on life, death and sexuality.  The church is made to appear obsolete and there is the constant pressure to accede to worldly/sinful influences. But as Christians we should dare to be different, we should dare to be unpopular.  Christ our master was never popular during His earthly days.  He was even crucified and reviled by the world.  Even His disciples abandoned Him.  This is the reason why Bishops have crosses hanging on their chests.  Crosses without the corpus because in that cross the Bishop like his master should be ready to be crucified on account of the Gospel.  We too lay members are suppose to carry our cross.  Hence we are labelled as outdated, so let it be.  We should be willing to carry our cross.  This is the path to eternal life.  Only few finds it.