February 7, 2016 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

February 7, 2016
5th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)


“Go Away From Me LORD, For I Am A Sinful Man.”


Entrance:
1. Lungsod nga Balaan
2. Diha sa Halaran
3. Bayan, Umawit (Borres, Baltazar, Francisco) Pag-aalaala (Francisco)
4. Sing to the Mountains (Dufford) “You have answered my plea.”
5. Come With Praise (Schutte) Prioritize Stanza 3.


First Reading Is 6:1-2a, 3-8
In the year King Uzziah died,
I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne,
with the train of his garment filling the temple.
Seraphim were stationed above.

They cried one to the other,
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!
All the earth is filled with his glory!”
At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook
and the house was filled with smoke.

Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed!
For I am a man of unclean lips,
living among a people of unclean lips;
yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me,
holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar.

He touched my mouth with it, and said,
“See, now that this has touched your lips,
your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”
“Here I am,” I said; “send me!”

Responsorial Psalm Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 7-8
R. (1c) In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name.
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
Because of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called, you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
All the kings of the earth shall give thanks to you, O LORD,
when they hear the words of your mouth;
and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD:
“Great is the glory of the LORD.”
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
R. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

Second Reading                                                 1 Cor 15:1-11 Or 15:3-8, 11
I am reminding you, brothers and sisters,
of the gospel I preached to you,
which you indeed received and in which you also stand.
Through it you are also being saved,
if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he was buried;
that he was raised on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, Christ appeared to more
than five hundred brothers at once,
most of whom are still living,
though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James,
then to all the apostles.
Last of all, as to one born abnormally,
he appeared to me.
For I am the least of the apostles,
not fit to be called an apostle,
because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am,
and his grace to me has not been ineffective.
Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them;
not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me.
Therefore, whether it be I or they,
so we preach and so you believed.

or

Brothers and sisters,
I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he was buried;
that he was raised on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, he appeared to more
than five hundred brothers at once,
most of whom are still living,
though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James,
then to all the apostles.
Last of all, as to one abnormally born,
he appeared to me.
Therefore, whether it be I or they,
so we preach and so you believed. 

Gospel                                                            Lk 5:1-11
While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening
to the word of God,
he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.
He saw two boats there alongside the lake;
the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.
Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon,
he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore.
Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,
“Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”
Simon said in reply,
“Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing,
but at your command I will lower the nets.”
When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish
and their nets were tearing.
They signaled to their partners in the other boat
to come to help them.
They came and filled both boats
so that the boats were in danger of sinking.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said,
“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him
and all those with him,
and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
who were partners of Simon.
Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid;
from now on you will be catching men.”
When they brought their boats to the shore,
they left everything and followed him.


Homily/Reflection of the Readings
Wow! What powerful readings that we have just heard from the Holy Scriptures. What I mean by powerful is that the readings make us think twice of how we would behave if we suddenly found ourselves in the Divine Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Many of us would like to think that if Jesus suddenly appeared to us, we would run towards Him and hug Him. Our words would probably be, "Finally Jesus, I waited so long for You," or "Oh Jesus, I love you."

But these were not the responses of Isaiah, Paul and Peter. The prophet Isaiah viewed himself as a great sinner among sinners, he not being worthy of being in the Divine Presence of Yahweh. [Is. 6:5] Paul, still full of guilt for having persecuted the Holy Catholic Church instituted by Jesus, viewed himself as being unfit of being called an apostle. [1 Cor. 15:9] And Peter, the first Pope, begged Jesus to get away from him because he was a sinful man. [Lk. 5:8]

Are we not also sinners living among sinners? "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." [1 Jn. 1:8] As sinners, are we worthy of being in the Divine Presence of the Lord? Or, should we also fall on our knees and say, "Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful person!"

Isaiah, Paul and Peter were blessed. They perceived the divinity of the Lord. As the Book of Revelation tells us, "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created." [Rev. 4:11] These early Church saints perceived that they who were unholy and unworthy of being in the presence of He Who was the Most Holy. Most likely, they asked themselves, "Why me?" "Why do you come to me Lord?" "Can you not find someone else who is more holy than I am?" Knowing what they were, frail creations of God, they humbled themselves before the Lord.

How did the Lord God react to the sincere state of mind and heart of these three children of His? He forgave the sins of each one of them and gave them a mission to fulfill. Isaiah was called to bring the Israelites to repentance. Paul was called to bring others to follow Jesus. Peter was called by Jesus to assist Him in His ministry and to provide leadership to the Holy Catholic Church after the death and glorious Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

As history tells us, in each case, the grace of God has not been in vain. Isaiah, Paul and Peter were most grateful to the Lord God for having chosen them and they have made a great effort to answer their calling to the best of their capabilities. This is not to say that they were perfect. Isaiah wished at times that God would have chosen someone else because the people would not listen to him. St. Paul started on the wrong track by persecuting the Christians. St. Peter ran and denied Jesus during the last twenty- four hours of His life. All of them were weak. All of them made mistakes. But, what was most important, all of them had sincere hearts and overcame their weaknesses by placing their complete trust in the Lord God.

Going back to my original question, "How would we behave if we suddenly found ourselves in the Divine Presence of the Lord Jesus?" Many of us can answer that question in absolute truth. You see, Jesus is physically present in the Holy Eucharist and in the Holy Tabernacle. In the past, how have we behaved in His Sacred Presence?

In the physical presence of the Lord, do some of us fall down with our faces to the ground? Do some of us genuflect piously before Him? Do some of us half genuflect as a habit and forget why we are doing it? Do some of us deny ourselves the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist? Or, do some of us pass before the Holy Tabernacle without displaying any honour and respect towards the Lord Jesus? What we have done in the past is but a reflection in the mirror of what we will truly do when we find ourselves in the Sacred Presence of Jesus. If we have never shown honour and respect for the Lord Jesus in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, nor before the Holy Tabernacle, should we behave differently before Him when we will see Him, surely Jesus will call us hypocrites. To avoid being called hypocrites, we must now begin to give the Lord Jesus the honour and respect that He truly deserves.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus, in human form, has been gone for a long time. And we cannot deny that we are weak. Like Isaiah, Paul and Peter, we are not perfect, but we do have sincere hearts. Because Jesus has been gone for a long time, we are tempted to forget about Him. And, by modelling after those who are weaker than we, we are easily influenced to live as though Jesus does not exist.

To ensure that we would never forget Him, over and above the many invisible gifts that have been given to us, Jesus gave us many visible gifts as reminders that He is our Lord and God. He gave us His Holy Church to which we belong as children. He gave us the Church leadership that has handed down the tradition since the days of the incarnation of God on earth. He gave us the Holy Bible as His inspired Word. He gave us the Sacraments. He gave us the Sacramentals. Every generation, He gave us saints to prove to us that it is possible to love and serve Him in all humility. And by the grace of the Heavenly Father and the power of the Holy Spirit, in the Most Holy Name of Jesus, miracles have been manifested as an affirmation that it was God's Divine Will for the saints to be canonized.

Jesus never left us alone. Over and above His physical Divine Presence in the Holy Eucharist, He has given us many visible gifts that can be seen with our eyes. These gifts are the strength of our living faith in the blessed hope that awaits us all.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, by the grace of God, while we are what we are, let not the grace of the Lord towards us be in vain. If we have neglected our salvation, let us start again from where we left off and together, let us move ahead with Jesus so the grace of the heavenly Father may shine brilliantly through us.


Offertory:
1. Gasa sa Gugma (Koro Viannista)
2. Diyutay lang Kini (Koro Viannista)
3. Dios Nia Ko
4. Narito Ako (San Andres) Prioritize stanza 2
5. Mula Sa’Yo (Francisco)
6. Paghahandog ng Sarili
7. Dwelling Place (Foley)
8. Earthen Vessels (Foley)


Communion:
1. Gugma’g Paglaum (Fernandez)
2. Ang Kinabuhing Mahinungdanon
3. Natawag Ko na Ikaw
4. O Hesus, Hilumin Mo (Francisco)
5. Awit ng Paghilom (Aquino)
6. Pagsibol (Aquino)
7. Gabing Kulimlim (Arboleda, Francisco)
8. Far Greater Love (Go, Francisco)
9. God of Silence (Francisco)
10. I Seek You for I Thirst (Valdellon)
11. In Him Alone (Francisco)
12. Lead me Lord (De Pano)
13. Your Heart Today (Francisco)
14. Here I am Lord, swak sa Gospel


Recessional:
1. Kinsa?
2. Ang Tawag
3. Humayo’t Ihayag (Francisco, Catalan, Go)
4. Magpasalamat Kayo sa Panginoon (Ramirez) prioritize stanza 2
5. I Will Sing Forever (Francisco)
6. All My Days (Schutte, Murray)
7. My Heart’s Thanksgiving (Aquino)


Happy Sunday :)

January 31, 2016
4th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)

“The Manifestation of Divine Love”

HAPPY 5th YEAR ANNIVERSARY. PARANG KAILAN LANG... 5 YEARS NA PALA ANG BLOG KONG ITO... SANA'Y MAIPAGPATULOY KO PA ITO HANGGA'T KAYA KO..... :)

The book that I'm talking about last last week is now available in gumroad.com. I posted a link also in the side bar of this blog.

Entrance:
1.     Diha sa Halaran, swak sa Psalm “Dayga ang Ginoo”
2.     Daygon ta ang Ginoo, swak pa rin sa Psalm “Dagyga ang Ginoo”
3.     Awit ng Pasasalamat (Hontiveros)
4.     Pag-aalaala (Francisco) Prioritize Stanza 2.
5.     All I ask of you (Norbet)
6.     Blest be the Lord (Schutte)

First Reading                  Jer 1:4-5, 17-19
The word of the LORD came to me, saying:
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I dedicated you,
a prophet to the nations I appointed you.

But do you gird your loins;
stand up and tell them
all that I command you.
Be not crushed on their account,
as though I would leave you crushed before them;
for it is I this day
who have made you a fortified city,
a pillar of iron, a wall of brass,
against the whole land:
against Judah’s kings and princes,
against its priests and people.
They will fight against you but not prevail over you,
for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.

Responsorial Psalm             Ps 71:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 15-17
R. (cf. 15ab) I will sing of your salvation.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me, and deliver me;
incline your ear to me, and save me.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
For you are my hope, O Lord;
my trust, O God, from my youth.
On you I depend from birth;
from my mother’s womb you are my strength.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
My mouth shall declare your justice,
day by day your salvation.
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
R. I will sing of your salvation.

Second Reading                1 Cor 12:31—13:13 Or 13:4-13
Brothers and sisters:
Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.
But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

If I speak in human and angelic tongues,
but do not have love,
I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift of prophecy,
and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;
if I have all faith so as to move mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own,
and if I hand my body over so that I may boast,
but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, it is not pompous,
It is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.
If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;
if tongues, they will cease;
if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophesy partially,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child,
think as a child, reason as a child;
when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror,
but then face to face.
At present I know partially;
then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.

or

Brothers and sisters:
Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, it is not pompous,
it is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.
If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;
if tongues, they will cease;
if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophesy partially,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child,
think as a child, reason as a child;
when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror,
but then face to face.
At present I know partially;
then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.

Gospel                         Lk 4:21-30
Jesus began speaking in the synagogue, saying:
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say,
‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’”
And he said, “Amen, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built,
to hurl him down headlong.
But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went away.

Homily/Reflection of the Readings (February 3, 2013)
Welcome my brothers and sisters in Christ to today's celebration of the Holy Mass in remembrance of the infinite goodness and love of the Lord Jesus who has revealed the Heavenly Father to us. Today, progressing through the early development of the Liturgical Calendar, we are celebrating the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. At this stage, our hearts are progressively opening to the manifestation of Divine Love.

During today's First Reading, in the dialogue between Yahweh and the prophet Jeremiah, we heard a perfect example of Divine Love. Some of the Words that the Heavenly Father spoke are very touching. Yahweh said, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you"

In His infinite knowledge, the Almighty Lord God knew Jeremiah before He formed him in the womb of his mother. There is no doubt that before each and everyone of us were formed in the womb of our mothers, the Lord God also knew us.

Then, the Lord God said, "Before you were born, I consecrated you." When studying the biblical history of the term to consecrate something or someone, we learn that it means to set it aside for a Divine service. Consequently, we can conclude that Yahweh had set Jeremiah aside for His prophetic mission to the nations.

While we are not all called to be prophets, by the grace of God, through our Baptism, we also have been set aside for a Divine service. Our Divine calling, as revealed to us through Jesus Christ, is to adore the Lord God, to obey His commandments, to share the good news in all four corners of the world, to serve one another and to shine in love towards others for the glory of God.

When the Lord God told Jeremiah "gird up your loins," He was emphasizing the necessity to be prompt to accomplish the order [1 Kings 18:46] of being a prophet to the nations. To gird up your loins means to be in an immediate state of preparation. [Job 38:3, 40:7]

In the same way, in our calling to serve the Lord Jesus, we must always be in a state of preparation. We must always be prompt to accomplish what God has commanded us to do through Jesus Christ. As Jesus said, "Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour." [Mt. 25:13] No one knows which will come first, if the Lord Jesus will return in His glory with His angels at the end of time or if we will be called to appear before the Lord God at the end of this earthly life.

The Apostle Peter said, "Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you." [1 Pet. 5:6-10]

During today's Second Reading, St. Paul was addressing the Corinthians. Based on the content of the First Letter to the Corinthians, it is believed that the faithful were debating as to which gift of God was the greatest. Was it speaking in tongues? Was it the gift of prophecy? Was it understanding the mysteries of God? Or was it faith? In answer to those questions, St. Paul stated that the best gift of God is the gift of love.

The type of love that St. Paul was speaking about is called "agape" in Greek. This is the kind of love that flows to us from God through Jesus Christ. It is creative and unmotivated. It seeks nothing. It is not attracted by goodness because God loves us as sinners in Jesus. As such, we must open ourselves to the Divine love of God to allow it to be active in us. Then and only then will our love towards others always be pure and unmotivated. 

One of the reasons that love is so important is because it is eternal. It will always be with us. The love that we show towards God and our brothers and sisters in Christ, it will be with us for eternity. The manner in which we love one another today in this world, in Heaven, we will be required to continue to manifest this love.

While all the gifts of the Holy Spirit will come to an end, love will not. While our limited knowledge and understanding of things will come to an end, love will persist forever. Why will love persist forever? It is because "God is love." [1 Jn. 4:8] It is because "Love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God." [1 Jn. 4:7] "All who obey His Commandments abide in Him, and He abides in them. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit that He has given us." [1 Jn. 3:24]

Some of you may have realized that some versions of the Holy Scripture uses the word "love" while other versions use the word "charity." The word "charity" echoes active love. No Christian actions can be performed without active love. If you are kind to someone, it is because you love the person in Christ. If you are feeding the hungry or clothing the sick, such charitable acts are acts of love. Love is perfected by our charitable acts towards others. What we do to others, we do to Christ.

During today's Gospel Reading, thinking spiritually, we were able to perceive how God manifested His Divine love in a very personal way. Through the incarnation in Jesus Christ, God came to dwell among us. What great love God has for us, that He set aside His divinity, took human form upon Himself, and dwelled in our midst so we may come to know Him as He truly is, holy, perfect, eternal, merciful, forgiving, etc... There are no other like Him.

When God came down from Heaven to dwell upon us, not all accepted the manifestation of His Divine love. As the prophets of the Old Testament were rejected in their hometown, the Lord Jesus also found rejection among His own. In the eyes of the people of His hometown, He did not meet their standards. Because they knew Him since His childhood, He was nothing special to them. How judgmental and blind the human nature can be at times.

In our daily Christian lives, we must always be aware of our thoughts, our words and our actions. Do we misjudge and condemn others as the villagers judged and condemned Jesus? Do we discriminate against others because of their colour, their race, their nationality, their education, their gender, their age or the way they dress? None of these judgments perceive the soul of others, all souls being equal in the eyes of God.

To manifest Divine love towards others, we must be prepared to make ourselves little so others may be raised. We must be prepared to serve so others may be served. We must be prepared to take the back seat so others may have the front seat. We must be prepared to honour others as we would like to be honoured. We must die in Christ so Christ may shine in others. That is what Divine love is all about.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, this week, let us take time to assess our personal status in the world. Are we gladly serving versus demanding service? Are we humble versus being proud? Are we giving love versus always expecting to receive it? Are we at the giving end of charity versus taking advantage of receiving it? These are holy reflections. May our hearts feed upon them so we may always glorify the Lord God in all things.

Offertory:
1.     O Dios Dawata (Koro Viannista)
2.     Diyutay lang Kini
3.     Ang Tanging Alay Ko
4.     Narito Ako (San Andres) Prioritize Stanza 2.
5.     Narito Ako, Panginoon (Que)
6.     Prayer for Generosity (Arboleda) 
7.     To Be Your Bread (Haas)

Communion:
1.     Ang Kinabuhing Mahinungdanon
2.     Ang Tawo niining Kalibutan
3.     Kini maong Akong Lawas
4.     Awit ng Paghilom (Aquino) 
5.     Kaibigan
6.     Halina, Lumapit sa Akin (Isidro, Que) Best choice.
7.     Hesus ng Aking Buhay (Aquino)
8.     Huwag Kang Mangamba (Pagsanghan, Francisco)
9.     Huwag Limutin (Aquino)
10.   H’wag Mangamba (Francisco)
11.   Far Greater Love (Go, Francisco)
12.   God of Silence (Francisco)
13.   Here I Am, Lord (Schutte)


Recessional:
1.     Ang Atong Tulubagon
2.     Kinsa?
3.     Ang Tawag
4.     Magpasalamat sa Kanya (Ramirez)
5.     O Bayan ng Dios (Aquino)
6.     My Heart’s Thanksgiving (Aquino)

Enjoy and have a nice weekend everyone J