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• Philippians 2:5-11
• Matthew 21:1-9

Today is Palm Sunday, and we find ourselves already immersed in the Mystery of Our Lord’s Passion.  Every day we are invited to take part in the Paschal festivities and participate actively in our liturgy this week for the greatness of what Jesus endured for our salvation. Today begins the Holy Week. It is called holy due to Jesus’ gift of Himself for our salvation.  It starts today with Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, which is Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, being welcomed with people cheering, “Hosanna, Hosanna, Son of David.”  Then comes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to recall the trial, betrayal and suffering of our Lord.  Then we have the triduum celebration starting Thursday, with the commemoration of the Last Supper, His gift of the Eucharist, and His great “mandatus,” that means his command to love and to serve.  Friday is the passion of Christ on the Cross which caused His death. Good Friday is the only day without the celebration of the mass.  On Saturday, we are called to continue our reflection on the offering of Jesus’s life for us as we await the vigil celebration of the Resurrection.  Easter Sunday culminates our Catholic observance of the Holy Week to realize that Jesus’ death on the cross is not the end but, through His resurrection, He is risen and alive.

Palm Sunday is an invitation to reflect on the whole Passion Story from St. Matthew.  However, aside from hearing the gospel, we also need to reflect on the significance of the blessed branches and palms we carry today. This is the moment to capture into our consciousness that we have the courage to signify our sense of welcoming Jesus’ entrance into our community.  Some may feel awkward doing it, probably because they hardly welcome Jesus into their hearts.  When possessing the blessed palms, take them home and put them at your altar. Keep them until you return them next year to make the sacred ashes for Ash Wednesday.  We are praying with great memories in our liturgy.

The gospel today reminds us of three important things which will be our reflection points.

First, people laid palms before Jesus as he entered into Jerusalem. The palm was their way to acclaim a man who roused their hopes with much accolade. I believe Jesus deserves a great welcome over and above any movie actor or politician because Jesus is Lord and the Messiah. Our celebration today is absolutely different from the first Palm Sunday. People were cheering. It was a very dramatic event, and yet we are here in the comfort of the church contemplating already the price of victory.

Second, this celebration as I have mentioned to you at the beginning of my homily is a combination of those two elements: the glory and the anguish or our sorrows. This might be a real challenge for us as we enter Holy Week. Glory in the sense that Jesus, the Son of God, triumphantly enters into Jerusalem giving of Himself just as God is giving His very Being unto our hands. Anguish and sorrow cannot be hidden, and the fact is we feel it by knowing that those people who welcomed Him succumbed to human injustice.

Third, people welcomed Him with much expectations to usher in God’s promise. They shout, “Hosanna!” – God, come to save us!” Later, many of the people are persuaded to turn against Jesus. “Crucify him, Crucify him!” People have never realized that their evil desire to let Jesus suffer is tantamount to taking away their Hope. However, the gentleness of Jesus is the complete opposite of their resistance to accept the Truth.

I hope that we have a spiritual program that can, I believe, make especially fruitful our observance of Holy Week and Easter. If we take His words to heart, we can be confident that our hearts and minds will grow to be more open to receive the abundance and richness of Christ’s Spirit, and by God’s grace, our Holy Week can be an acceptable offering, to the praise of God and for our own good and the good of the whole Church.

Because of what Jesus endured on the Cross; we must not keep ourselves at a distance from Him. Rather, as members of his Body, we must allow all that He went through to touch us at the very core of our being. Finally, this Holy Week observance means to us, not only His Passion and sufferings, but also His glorious Resurrection raising us with Him as new and redeemed creation.

God bless you.

Fr. Arlon, osa

• Jeremiah 20:10-13
• Psalms 18:2-3SA, 3BC-4, 5-6, 7
• John 10:31-42

Today is the last day of the month of March. We are awaiting the most beautiful liturgy of the Church as we are about to enter Holy Week this coming Sunday, Palm Sunday. Most of the churches are open for meditation and prayer, centering ourselves on the Passion of the Lord, the mystery of God’s love.

There are many of us who want to know how to deal with our enemies and persecutors. I guess we need to be observant to know the true character of a person when he is in the midst of crisis, problems, provocation and moments of anger and adversities. We easily detect the way the person reacts and behaves which may surprise us to see all the unchristian traits. There is that devil or animal instinct manifesting thru uncontrolled behaviors.

Listening to the first reading from the Prophet Jeremiah, we see he was not able to escape from the people’s attitude against him. They were so mean to him that Jeremiah offered a prayer of surrender, “O Lord of hosts, you who test the just, who probe mind and heart,. Let me see your vengeance upon these people, for you I have entrusted my cause.” He was probably at his breaking point dealing with those people. He asked God to do something for revenge against them.

The gospel from John 10:31-42 narrates to us the gentleness and kindness of God despite the rejection of the people wanting to kill Jesus. It was a complete opposite behavior shown by Jeremiah to deal with those people with ill intent.
There are two ways which we found that Jesus has fulfilled:

First, Jesus has the power to take revenge on those people, and yet He did not call down fire to consume them but silently left the vicinity.

Second, Jesus reminded them that He had done so many good things and miracles. There were signs where they could not read between the lines, which specifically tells them greater things, that God is in their midst and that Jesus’ good works are coming from His Father.

Thus, in dealing with our enemies, we must be loving, positive and with great faith to imitate the example of the Lord.

May God give us the grace of perseverance to be holy, and in our moments of adversity, difficulties and anger, just pray; God hears us always.

God bless you.

Fr. Arlon, osa

• Ezekiel 37:12-14
• Psalms 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
• Romans 8:8-11
• John 11:1-45

Today is the 5th Sunday of Lent. Five weeks is too long for those who have trouble focusing on being absorbed by penance, prayer, and charitable works. However, those who are faithful and ascetic desire more time spent in God’s presence.

We continue to dedicate our precious time in fulfilling Lenten discipline. We look forward to celebrating Christ’s Resurrection. We want to jump from the tomb of our heart’s pains and disappointments and find comfort in the power of God to live again, to rise from slumber, and to grow from our empty or broken hearts and souls.

We read from the excerpts of Ezekiel in our first reading today which narrates the vision of Ezekiel about the chosen people who are in exile and in captivity. They are leaving their beloved land, and the voice of the Lord tells the prophet to call these bones back to strengths and flesh. They would experience being reborn by the warmth of the breath of God in their true land in order to awaken their spirits.

In the second reading taken from the letter to the Romans, St. Paul seems to emphasize more on the presence of the spirit in the whole resurrection process. St. Paul says, “But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness.”

All the readings today encourage us to have that faith in the resurrection of the body at God’s hand which becomes the central message.

Today’s gospel about the story of Lazarus gives us clear hope believing in Jesus, who promises resurrection at the end of our earthly journey. There is eternal life in Jesus, our Lord. However, knowing this story, we cannot just focus on Jesus’ miracle, but rather establish a profound and personal relationship with Him. We are being led to process ourselves in understanding this passage:

First, Jesus says to Martha that those believing in Him will surely have eternal life and those who do believe will never die. When Jesus asks her if she believes, she says simply, “Yes Lord.” This is an expression of Faith.

St. Augustine supported the idea that faith is needed not only in things that are beyond reason because true and genuine faith can attain an illuminative role to safeguard failings and errors. In the case of Martha, the fact that she said, yes, her reason was illuminated by faith and faith informed by reason; hence, it serves the reference of her judgment which corresponds to her decision and action. Today, Jesus calls us to a decision of belief.

Second, Jesus brings Lazarus back to life, and he went out from the tomb. The power to restore or resuscitate Lazarus is a message to those spectators that believing is “living,” from the darkness of unbelief into the light of faith.

Third, Jesus’ way of restoring the life of his friend is not the resurrection per se. Jesus does not take away all forms of death and confinement from Lazarus. He would still taste death, but he was able to wake up in order to return home and come back into the human experience for a while in order to become an instrument for many to believe in Jesus. Jesus is the Messiah, who has the power to raise man from death.

Fourth, Jesus was heading to Jerusalem towards His destiny awaiting Him to be condemned, to face death, and to have His glorious resurrection. Jesus does offer as the “giver of life” and eventually, He Himself as the Resurrection. This passage is to reminisce on following the Lord where our human pains, struggles and losses would take us into a different new life.

In these remaining weeks of the season of Lent, let us free ourselves from doubts and troubled spirits, for Jesus is the fulfillment of scriptures. There should be no doubts, no need for more signs, like the early Israelites who were looking for more signs, instead of believing and accepting Jesus as the Messiah, who can raise up the dead, heal the sick, and expel demons, which are all substantially validating pieces of evidence.

God bless you.

Fr. Arlon, osa

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El Dictado del Corazón
Quinto Domingo de Cuaresma, Año A.

• Ezequiel 37:12-14
• Salmo 130:1-2,3-4,5-6,7-8
• Romanos 8:8-11
• Juan 11:1-45

Hoy es el Quinto Domingo de Cuaresma. Cinco semanas es demasiado tiempo para aquellos que tienen problemas para concentrarse en estar absortos en la penitencia, la oración y las obras de caridad. Sin embargo, aquellos que son fieles y penitentes, desean pasar más tiempo en la presencia de Dios.

Seguimos dedicando nuestro precioso tiempo a cumplir la disciplina de Cuaresma. Estamos ansiosos por celebrar la Resurrección de Cristo. Queremos saltar de la tumba de los dolores y desilusiones de nuestro corazón y encontrar consuelo en el poder de Dios para vivir de nuevo, levantarnos del sueño y crecer desde nuestro corazón y alma que se encuentran vacíos o rotos.

Leemos en la primera lectura de hoy, la visión de Ezequiel sobre el pueblo elegido que está en el exilio y el cautiverio. Se van lejos de su amada tierra. Y la voz del Señor le dice al profeta que recupere la fuerza y la carne de estos huesos. Experimentarían renacer por el cálido soplo de Dios en su verdadera tierra para despertar su espíritu.

En la segunda lectura tomada de la carta a los Romanos, san Pablo parece subrayar la presencia del espíritu en todo el proceso de la resurrección. San Pablo dice: “Pero si Cristo está en nosotros, aunque el cuerpo esté muerto a causa del pecado, el espíritu vive a causa de la justicia”.

Las lecturas de hoy nos animan a tener una fe en que la resurrección del cuerpo por manos de Dios, se convierte en el mensaje central. El evangelio de hoy sobre la historia de Lázaro nos da una clara esperanza en creer aún más en Jesús, quien promete la resurrección al final de nuestro camino terrenal. Hay vida eterna en Jesús, nuestro Señor. Sin embargo, conociendo esta historia, no podemos centrarnos únicamente en el milagro de Jesús, sino establecer una relación profunda y personal con Él. Estamos siendo guiados a procesarnos a nosotros mismos, en la comprensión de este pasaje:

Primero, Jesús le dice a Marta “Yo soy la resurrección y la vida. El que cree en mí, aunque haya muerto, vivirá”. Cuando Jesús le pregunta “¿Crees tu esto? Ella simplemente le responde “Sí, Señor”. Esta es una expresión de fe.

San Agustín apoyó la idea de que la fe es necesaria no solo en las cosas que están más allá de la razón, porque la fe verdadera y genuina puede alcanzar una iluminación para salvarnos de las fallas y los errores. En el caso de Marta, el hecho de que ella dijera SÍ, su razón estaba iluminada por la fe y la fe informada por la razón, por lo tanto, sirve como referencia de su juicio que corresponde a su decisión y acción. Hoy, Jesús nos llama a una decisión de fe.

Segundo, Jesús resucita a Lázaro y Lázaro sale de la tumba. El poder de restaurar o resucitar a Lázaro es un mensaje para llevar a aquellos espectadores que creer es “vivir”, de las tinieblas de la incredulidad a la luz de la fe.

Tercero, la forma en que Jesús restaura la vida de su amigo no es la resurrección por decir. Jesús no quita todas las formas de muerte y encierro de Lázaro. Todavía probaría la muerte, solo tenía que despertarse para regresar a casa, y regresar a la experiencia humana por un tiempo más, para convertirse en un instrumento de la Gracia de Dios, para que muchos creyeran en Jesús. Jesús es el Mesías, que tiene el poder de resucitar a un hombre de la muerte.

Cuarto, Jesús se dirigía a Jerusalén hacia Su destino, esperándolo para ser condenado, enfrentar la muerte y tener Su gloriosa resurrección. Jesús se ofrece como el “dador de vida” y eventualmente, Él es la Resurrección. Este pasaje es para recordar, para que seguir al Señor donde nuestros dolores, luchas y pérdidas humanas nos lleven a una nueva vida diferente.

Estas semanas restantes del tiempo de Cuaresma, librémonos de dudas y espíritus turbados porque Jesús es el cumplimiento de las escrituras. Sin duda, no hay necesidad de más señales, al igual que los primeros israelitas que buscaban más señales, en lugar de creer y aceptar a Jesús como el Mesías, que puede resucitar a los muertos, sanar a los enfermos, expulsar demonios, son evidencia sustancialmente validas.

Dios los bendiga.

Padre Arlón, osa

• Hebrews 9:11-15
• John 8:46-59

Today is the Passion Sunday, which is the 5th Sunday of Lent, a week before the celebration of Palm Sunday. We are again begging God, “to look down in mercy upon Thy family, by Thy favor may we be inwardly strengthened in heart and mind.”

Reflecting on the epistle from the Letter to the Hebrews emphasizes that Jesus is a sublime offering and sacrifice. The main thrust is the eternal redemption secured by our Lord Jesus Christ and not the animal offerings of the Old Testament. Jesus Christ offered Himself without blemish. He paid the ransom price for human redemption, and this sacrificial act was “once for all” which is an “eternal” one.

When “Christ being come, a High Priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands…but by his own blood.” This is in connection that Jesus’ origin comes from God, not earthly; thus, a great and perfect tabernacle. The good things were the blessings Christ won for us by His sacrificial death freely given.

Christ, “through His own blood … entered the holy place once for all time,” demonstrates the immeasurable value of His sacrifice because His blood obtained eternal redemption as compared to other offerings.

In today’s gospel, Jesus has spoken to clarify things thru His teaching. He says, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” I believe that Jesus’ words are more powerful than death for Jesus only saves and gives life to the fullest. In this gospel pericope it is clear to understand that He is sinless. He has words of eternal life when He says, “If any man keep My word, he shall not see death forever.” and the Jews said to him, “You are not fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” He says: “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” Thus, He is truly God. Here, Jesus is saying that he existed before Abraham. He is older than Abraham because he is truly God. He is “I am”. When Moses was at the burning bush and asked God what his name was, God said, “I AM”. This is what Jesus means when he says, “Before Abraham was, I am.” He is saying, “I am God.”

The last verse of our gospel reading: “So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.” They picked up stones to throw at him. They wanted to kill him. People understood exactly what Jesus was saying and yet they rejected Him. We must be careful and shouldn’t be afraid what we say if even so they reject us too.

Today, we are in the midst of our loving Savior, Jesus Christ, who existed even before Abraham, and before Adam and Eve, and who created the world. We are in the presence of our merciful Lord Jesus who holds life and death in His hands, forgives us, feeds us and blesses us.

Some of us might say, “Well what was the point of Jesus saying anything in our reading today if all that happened is that no-one believed in him, and they wanted to kill him?” My understanding is that we believed Him, and these things were written down for us. Jesus promises us the same things, that “we will never see death.”

In conclusion, Jesus has these words for us, He says: “Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

God bless you.

Fr. Arlon, osa

• Wisdom 2:1a, 12-22
• Psalms 34:17-18, 19-20, 21, 23
• John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

Today’s scripture readings continuously lead us to a dramatic commemoration of Holy Week, which will be two weeks from today.

Reading the Book of Wisdom 2:1-22, the wicked seem to be waging war against the good. They said, “Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us, he sets himself against our doings.” It is understandable that those wicked people confront us with their evil intent to harm and to destroy us because we are against them. We must be vigilant to oppose their vicious and destructive ways to put us down.

Jesus is harassed and confronted by the Jewish religious leaders as the hour of His passion is getting closer. He takes advantage purposefully of the discussion with them. He had spoken of the value of the testimony of John the Baptist and of all Christian testimony, but the fact was that they rejected outright His own testimony.

We should be enlightened that His words and works mirrored the same God, whom Jesus wants to reveal, especially that the Father’s love be known to all. The purpose of His coming is for the people to be reconciled with God, rather than the people blocking His work to give life. The work of God is to give life, primarily, to accomplish His mission.

It is obvious that they want to kill Jesus. It is ironic that these people claimed to be knowledgeable about God’s Law and yet they exactly resemble the “wicked” mentioned in the first reading. These religious leaders were close-minded in understanding the real message of God’s Law, to be merciful and to know the truth from those being favored by God due to their humility and kindness and the transforming grace of God shining through them. It is a clear message not to judge others’ goodness by your personal standard of truth. We heard the wisdom that “we claim to know all about God but we really don’t know anything.”

The last line of today’s Gospel reads, “they tried to seize Him,” but we must seize or capture the Lord in our hearts, not to kill Him, but to be open to receive the fulness of life, with all our remaining days to improve our spiritual life by using our time to grasp, listen, meditate and comprehend His words.

God bless you.

Fr. Arlon, osa

• Exodus 32:7-14
• Psalms 106:19-20, 21-22, 23
• John 5:31-47

I believe we persevere in taking more time in prayer and meditation. Distraction is always there, but we must continue to follow the dictates of God’s spirit. Never feel disappointments; just embrace the opportunity to be embraced with God’s grace.

The first reading today from the book of Exodus 32:7-14 is a fascinating story about the conversation between Moses and God. God reveals to Moses the infidelity of the people and threatens to show His wrath upon them by way of consuming them with a blazing fire. Somehow, Moses implored the Lord God, “Why O Lord, should your wrath blaze up against your own people, who you brought out of the Land of Egypt with such a great power and with so strong a hand?” In this story Moses was indeed a good leader, intercessor, and a faithful shepherd. People look with wonder at his guidance and the delivering of his people from punishment.

In the gospel today, Jesus was confronted by leaders of the Jewish community. Jesus mentioned that many good men like Moses and John the Baptizer had spoken the truth about Him. Furthermore, His calling comes from above. He then assured them of defense but instead infuriated them.

The readings today have one theme in common; it is our human inclination that we want easy and comfortable ways to barter what God offers us for something that is of lesser value. We need to have a new way of understanding that what is valuable is to give up things here on earth for the things of heaven.

We must know God’s servants who could lead us to a closer relationship with Him. Is it one of our family members, a colleague, a friend, a priest or a member of our community on whom we rely in order to build a companion towards Christ.

My prayer today is to accept the help and guidance of Jesus thru people whom we rely on to help us walk towards our heavenly destiny, to follow Jesus back on the narrow path, and to walk knowing that Jesus will always be at the forefront of our journey.

God bless you.

Fr. Arlon, osa

• 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
• Psalms 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
• Ephesians 5:8-14
• John 9:1-41

Today is the 4th Sunday of Lent, commonly called Laetare Sunday. Traditionally, this Sunday has been a day of celebration within the austere period of Lent. This Sunday gets its name from the first few words in the Latin Mass Antiphon or Introit. “Laetare Jerusalem” (“Rejoice, O Jerusalem, and come together all you that love her, rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow: that you may exult, and be filled from the breasts of your consolation.”) taken from Isaiah 66:10. In Latin, (Laetare, Jerusalem: et conventum facite, omnes qui diligitis eam; Gaudete cum Laetitia, qui in tristitia fuistis: ut exsultetis, et satiemini ab uberibus consolationis vestrae.)

This fourth Sunday, we have public scrutiny after the homily for those who will join us through baptism or confirmation at Easter. This scrutiny rite is part of the process of joining the Church to test and to proclaim their desire in public to know more about Jesus, around which our community is formed and being informed. This week we hear the story of Jesus, who is the light of the world, the one who brings light by restoring the sight of the man born blind. Since last Sunday, we have done this scrutiny in order for us to understand about Jesus. He was telling the Samaritan woman, “Whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” In today’s gospel Jesus is giving the light to the blind man; then next Sunday, the gospel is about Jesus’ power by raising Lazarus from the dead. Believing in the gospel stories, we come to understand Jesus’ identity and we come to know Him better.

Our sight is very important. Without it we walk in darkness and we have very limited mobility and the capacity to do things compared to those who have good eyesight. For the past three years, I have been battling losing my sight. I’ve had 22 eye-injections, eye-lasers, and constant visits to eye specialists. I am worried about not being able to do my pastoral responsibilities, and I have prayed for healing. My friends and parishioners assured me of their prayers too. Thanks to all of them for their intercessory prayers for me. When I have seen my doctor, he is surprised of the improvement of my vision. He could hardly believe that I could read even the smallest font. He said that out of thousand patients, I was the only one with such rapid recovery. He said, it was a miracle. I really do believe in the power of prayers and am hoping that both of my eyes are permanently healed with God’s grace.

Maybe many of us have had experiences of being put on trial. We hardly receive healing because doubts overwhelm us rather than putting our trust in the power of the Lord to heal us.

This gospel pericope from John demands our serious reflection on how Jesus healed the man born blind even though he did not ask Jesus to be healed. It was his lucky day that Jesus offered him to receive the gift of healing and the man agreed. All he did was to say, “yes.” Jesus graciously helps him see with the grace of the Lord.

There are wonderful reflection points that I want to share so that we come to a deeper understanding of the gospel.

First, the man born blind goes home, then meets his neighbors and friends which prompted him to share the story of why his vision was restored. He tells these people who have known him all his life about his encounter with a man who smeared clay on his eyes and told him to “go and wash in the Pool of Siloam.” He then “came back able to see.” The man was healed.

Second, his neighbors have seen him be able to see and his eyes widely open with clear vision. They want authorities to tell them rather than believing him. The testimony he made was, “I met a man and he healed me.” After his healing, he did not hesitate to speak about what had happened to him. That is the right thing to do that in every blessing we receive, we ought to proclaim the goodness of God.

Third, when the man born blind received healing, he was changed as a person. When God manifests His great power of healing, especially when we go to confession, our whole being changes. We become a new person, and our place in the world is different knowing God who has rescued us.

Fourth, Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath. The Pharisees said that the man who healed the blind “is not from God because he does not keep the Sabbath.” In this story, Jesus didn’t come to his own defense or to prove the Pharisees were wrong, but rather to help them and us to be right with God. Being legalistic in our approach is not good, At all times, doing good things towards others must be our primary duty. Our decision and actions require a new way of seeing. We don’t like the Pharisees who went to the blind man, in order not to see the obvious. This is our tendency, that in various ways, we refuse to see.

I humbly exhort everyone that in this season of Lent, we take time to examine our experiences that prevent us from seeing. The first reading warns us to accept his words, “Not as man sees God does see, because man sees the appearance but God looks into the heart.” We are being gently reminded to see people for who they are, not what they look like.

During this Lent, let us, “Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord,” according to what St. Paul in today’s second reading exhorts us to do.

St. Augustine says, “You ought not to see in order to believe, you ought to believe in order to see.” (Sermo, xxxviii, 2, P.L., V, 236). And it is in this sense that we must understand the journey of the man born blind.

God bless you.

Fr. Arlon, osa

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El Dictado del Corazón: Cuarto Domingo de Cuaresma, Año A

• 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
• Salmos 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
• Efesios 5:8-14
• Juan 9:1-41

Hoy es el Cuarto Domingo de Cuaresma, comúnmente llamado: Domingo Laetare. Tradicionalmente, este domingo ha sido un día de celebración, dentro del austero período de Cuaresma. Este Domingo recibe su nombre de las primeras palabras de la Antífona o Introito de la Misa en latín. “Laetare Jerusalem” (Alégrate, oh Jerusalén, y únete a todos los que la aman, regocíjate con alegría, tú que has estado en dolor: para que puedas regocijarte y ser lleno de los pechos de tu consolación) tomado de Isaías 66: 10 En latín, (Laetare, Jerusalén: et convent facite, omnes qui diligitis eam; Gaudete cum Laetitia, qui in tristitia fuistis: ut exsultetis, et satiemini ab uberibus consolationis vestrae.

Este cuarto Domingo tenemos escrutinio público después de la homilía para aquellos que se unirán a nosotros a través del bautismo o la confirmación en Pascua. Este rito de escrutinio es parte del proceso de unión de la Iglesia para probar y proclamar públicamente su deseo de conocer más a Jesús en torno al cual se forma y se informa nuestra comunidad. Esta semana escuchamos la historia de Jesús que es la luz del mundo, el que trae la luz devolviendo la vista al ciego de nacimiento. Desde el domingo pasado, hemos hecho este escrutinio para entender a Jesús. Le estaba diciendo a la mujer samaritana: “El que beba del agua que yo le daré, no tendrá sed jamás: el agua que yo le daré se convertirá en él en una fuente de agua que salte para vida eterna”. El evangelio de hoy, Jesús está dando la luz al hombre ciego, luego el próximo domingo, el evangelio trata sobre el poder de Jesús al resucitar a Lázaro de entre los muertos. Al creer en las historias del evangelio, llegamos a comprender la identidad de Jesús y llegamos a conocerlo mejor.

Nuestro sitio es muy importante. Sin ella, caminamos en la oscuridad y tenemos una movilidad y una capacidad de hacer cosas muy limitadas en comparación con los que tienen buena vista. Durante los últimos tres años, luché contra perder la vista. Tuve 22 inyecciones en los ojos, láseres en los ojos y visitas constantes a especialistas en ojos. Me preocupa no poder cumplir con mis responsabilidades pastorales y he orado por sanación. Mis amigos y feligreses también me aseguraron sus oraciones. Gracias a todos ellos por sus oraciones de intercesión por mí. Cuando he visto a mi médico, se sorprendió de la mejora en mi visión. Apenas podía creer que podía leer incluso la fuente más pequeña. Dijo que de mil pacientes, yo era el único con una recuperación tan rápida. Dijo que era un milagro. Realmente creo en el poder de las oraciones y espero que mis dos ojos sean sanados permanentemente con la gracia de Dios.

Quizás muchos de nosotros tuvimos experiencias de ser juzgados. Difícilmente recibimos sanidad porque las dudas nos abrumaron en lugar de poner nuestra confianza en el poder del Señor para sanarnos.

Esta perícopa del evangelio de Juan exige nuestra seria reflexión sobre cómo Jesús sanó al ciego de nacimiento aunque no le pidió a Jesús que lo sanara. Era su día de suerte que Jesús le ofreció recibir el don de la sanidad y el hombre accedió. Todo lo que hizo fue decir “sí”. Jesús amablemente le ayuda a ver con la gracia del Señor.

Hay maravillosos puntos de reflexión que quiero compartir para que lleguemos a una comprensión más profunda del evangelio.

Primero, el hombre ciego de nacimiento va a casa, luego se encuentra con sus vecinos y amigos, lo que lo llevó a compartir la historia de por qué se restauró su visión. Le dice a estas personas que lo han conocido toda su vida. Les contó sobre su encuentro con un hombre que se untó la arcilla en los ojos y le dijo: “ve y lávate en la piscina de Siloé”, luego “regresó y pudo ver”. El hombre fue sanado.

En segundo lugar, sus vecinos lo han visto capaz de ver y sus ojos bien abiertos con una visión clara, quieren que las autoridades les digan en lugar de creerle. Su testimonio que hizo fue “Conocí a un hombre y me sanó”. Después de su curación, no dudó en hablar de lo que le había sucedido. Eso es lo correcto en cada bendición que recibimos, debemos proclamar la bondad de Dios.

Tercero, cuando el ciego de nacimiento recibió sanidad, cambió como persona. Cuando Dios manifiesta su gran poder de sanación, especialmente cuando nos confesamos, todo nuestro ser cambia. Nos convertimos en un pueblo nuevo y nuestro lugar en el mundo es diferente conociendo a Dios que nos ha rescatado.

Cuarto, Jesús sanó a un hombre en sábado. Los fariseos decían que el hombre que sanaba a los ciegos “no es de Dios porque no guarda el sábado. En esta historia, Jesús no vino en su propia defensa o para probar que los fariseos estaban equivocados, sino para ayudarlos a ellos y a nosotros a estar bien con Dios. Ser legalista en nuestro enfoque no es bueno, en todo momento, hacer cosas buenas hacia los demás debe ser nuestro deber principal. Nuestras decisiones y acciones requieren una nueva forma de ver. No nos gustan los fariseos que fueron al ciego para no ver lo obvio. Esta es nuestra tendencia que, de varias maneras, nos negamos a ver.

Humildemente exhorto a todos a que du En este tiempo de Cuaresma, nos tomamos un tiempo para examinar las experiencias que nos impiden ver. La primera lectura nos advierte que aceptemos sus palabras: “No como el hombre ve, Dios ve porque el hombre ve la apariencia, sino que Dios mira en el corazón”. Se nos recuerda gentilmente que veamos a las personas por lo que son, no por su apariencia.

San Agustín dice: “No debes ver para creer, debes creer para ver”. (Sermo, xxxviii, 2, P.L., V, 236). Y es en este sentido que debemos entender el camino del ciego de nacimiento.

Durante esta Cuaresma, “tratemos de aprender lo que es agradable al Señor”, según nos exhorta san Pablo en la segunda lectura de hoy.

Dios lo bendiga.

Padre Arlón, osa

• Galatians 4:22-31
• John 6:1-15

Today is the 4th Sunday of Lent, commonly called Laetare Sunday. Traditionally, this Sunday has been a day of celebration within the austere period of Lent. This Sunday gets its name from the first few words in the Introit of the mass today. “Laetare Jerusalem” (“Rejoice, O Jerusalem, and come together all you that love her, rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow: that you may exult, and be filled from the breasts of your consolation.”) taken from Isaiah 66:10. In Latin, (Laetare, Jerusalem: et conventum facite, omnes qui diligitis eam; Gaudete cum Laetitia, qui in tristitia fuistis: ut exsultetis, et satiemini ab uberibus consolationis vestrae.)

This fourth Sunday, we have public scrutiny after this 8 am mass for those who will join us through baptism or confirmation at Easter. This scrutiny rite is part of the process of joining the Church to test and to proclaim their desire in public to know more about Jesus around which our community is formed and being informed.

The epistle from the letter of St. Paul to the Galatians 4:22–31 contains Paul’s allegory about Abraham’s two wives, and the two sons born through them. Paul reminds us to go back to the Scripture showing the difference between being born into slavery by human effort versus being born into freedom by the work of God through the Holy Spirit. This enlightening exhortation from St. Paul gives us the answer that Jerusalem above is our mother who gives us freedom for we are her children. The freedom we have received is from Christ. Jesus set us free; therefore, we cannot submit ourselves to slavery. Jesus sets us free as members of His body, and we recognize Christ as the head. We acknowledge His presence in the Word and Eucharist, and in faith we are transformed as witnesses to the truth, not by being affiliated with the Traditional Latin Mass, but in Jesus, our Lord and His Church. We are One Church united and nothing must divide us! Remember that Satan is the main perpetrator creating divisiveness. Our spirituality is important that we may all appreciate the goodness of God and express our gratitude that we have this Latin Mass. Dissatisfaction of what we have doesn’t help us to rejoice and be joyful.

The gospel of today is from John 6:1-15, and we will dig deep as this gospel teaches us about a great miracle, the multiplication of five barley loaves and two fish. There are three important teaching lessons here:

First, Jesus is aware that people are hungry and in need of help because they are in a deserted place with no way to procure food for the people. There is that physical hunger; however, people also feel their inability to satisfy their spiritual hunger. Instead of focusing on following Jesus, who satisfies them with their spiritual malady, they switch to material bread.

We are simply doing for the poor to show mercy and satisfy ourselves at the expense of our negligence to bring them closer to the Lord. Our main goal is like Jesus helping the people so that they would experience the promise of eternal life and be closer to Him.

Second, Jesus knows the inadequacy of His disciples to respond to their needs. When the Lord asked Philip, ““Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” (Jn 6:5) This is our tendency failing to remember that Jesus has power to do something great like His miracles of curing, intervention with those who asked for help, etc. Many times we concentrate on our inadequacy, forgetting about Jesus’ ability to meet our needs. We fail to transcend our own inadequacy in order to meet other’s needs.

Third, Jesus Christ is all-sufficient to meet people’s overwhelming needs. Jesus is the Lord God who made heaven and earth. He provides us clear understanding that in moments when we sometimes see things impossible to act on and do something for others, Jesus makes himself available with His outstretched arms to manifest His great power. There is nothing difficult for us, only to trust Him.

Celebrating Laetare Sunday, let us rejoice that we have a new perspective of understanding this story of the great miracle teaching us that our Lord Jesus Christ uses inadequate, imperfect people who surrender what they have to Him to meet and to satisfy the overwhelming needs of others, especially those who are short in knowing and acknowledging the Son of God. Don’t live for yourself. Live to be agents of God and you’ll be satisfied with the Living Bread, food that endures to eternal life.

God bless you.

Fr. Arlon, osa

• Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9
• Psalms 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20
• Matthew 5:17-19

On March 12, 2023 I was invited to talk to our confirmation class, mostly high school students. I admire their willingness to ask questions, which I believe disturb them and cause them to think how would I answer them according to the teaching of Christ thru the Catholic Church. For them, those questions seemingly intrigue them because they struggle to understand. Those questions pertain to their faith, gender identity and the role of the Saints in their lives. I have given them scriptural texts and the stance of the Church on a particular issue in order to guide them to comprehend according to moral and Catholic religious belief.

Today’s scriptural reading invites us to discern that there are laws we need to follow and accept; however, we often approach things according to the letter, meaning to say, we become legalistic rather than understanding and accepting God’s laws and how to take them sincerely in our hearts.

From our first reading, the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses spoke to the Israelites. “Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you.” Moses reminds them that keeping God’s commandments is also the promise of life and taking the Land the Lord is giving. This is how we would receive the satisfaction of our desire to live with Him and enter into His kingdom.

Today’s Gospel reading comes from St. Matthew. Jesus is saying, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish the law but to fulfill.” We believe that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Father’s promise of salvation from the Old Testament through the New Testament. Jesus manifests this by raising the relationship between God and His people by fostering a relationship of love and humble service. This fulfillment becomes a reality by His perfect example.

Personally, I am far fetched in matters of doing God’s will. That is because of sins and weaknesses bringing me away from the Lord. Hence, I am not perfect. Every day I strive with God’s help to be good and better. I would say then that what I can do is to concentrate on doing what I can, using His grace that I may persevere and be faithful. I am again called to be the best I might be. I want to make this season a time to rediscover, refocus, be renewed and re-centering on God rather than being sidetracked by negativity and despondency.

Let us make this season a grace-filled time to amend ourselves encountering more deeply the love of God and sharing the love with others as well. This is what Jesus wants for us to fulfill this law of love.

God bless you.

Fr. Arlon, osa

• Exodus 17:3-7
• Psalms 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
• Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
• John 4:5-42

Today is the 3rd Sunday of Lent, Year A. We are expecting springtime during Lent, although the weather is still cold. It impedes the growing of little buds on the branches. I know that we are excited to see tiny green sprouts to signal the coming of the new season; however, our spiritual life speaks of ember during Lent. It is a spark to convey that we are ready to be fruitful during Lent because of the many good fruits we do, like amend our life, repent, and become ready to go through the process of conversion. It means that springtime happens, even though it is cold, by living in holiness and righteous ways.

The readings today speak about being thirsty, not only in need of water to make our body healthy, but it speaks about our spiritual life that demands on the flowing grace of God to sustain us. The living water is Jesus Christ.

The first reading from the book of Exodus recalls the story of the experience of the Hebrew people as they depart from Egypt towards the promised land. They were thirsty and were complaining because of sufferings they had been through. They threw the blame on Moses, and they show their loss of faith. So, the Lord intervened when He instructed Moses to, “Strike the rock, and water will flow from it for the people to drink.” They quenched their thirst and were able to survive from death and were saved by God because of His gift of water. The chosen people had seen the hands of God protect them, and God’s intervention to keep them safe in their journey was apparently felt by the Hebrews. God was patient with them and continuously provided them assurance and provisions until they reached their final destiny.

This human experience of the Israelites presents to us how weak their faith in the living God is and how fragile the human heart is. Their hardness of heart manifests when they tested God, saying, “Is the Lord in our midst or not.” (Ex 17:7) Despite not trusting God, He did not punish them but instead provided the living water that refreshed their thirsty souls. This story makes me think of the incredible sign of God’s love and compassion for His people. Their imminent death caused by fear and doubt was prevented by His merciful look upon them.

The second reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Romans affirms truths that, “Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” (v.5) The Holy Spirit gives life to our thirsty souls. When we are lost and realize that we have sinned, God gives us signs to refresh ourselves from this truth.

The gospel today from St. John is a story about the encounter of Jesus and the Samaritan woman. The meeting between Jesus and the Samaritan woman was an extraordinary encounter because Jews typically despised Samaritans. Jesus was tired after a journey, and he sat at the famous Jacob’s well at noon when a woman came to draw water from the same well. It was unusual for a Samaritan woman to come during that hour. Ordinarily, an honorable and descent women of Samaria fetched water in the morning. Because it was noon time, there was something that she wanted to hide from Jesus, her past life. Nevertheless, Jesus knew about her sinful status without passing judgment upon her. The two had an intriguing conversation in which Jesus reveals Himself as the living water, the One who is to come. Jesus not only speaks to her but respects and honors her with a personal invitation to believe. She believed in Jesus as the Messiah and went back to her town to tell everyone. Many people believed and invited Jesus to stay with them. Consequently, many Samaritans came to the woman whom Jesus met, saying, “We no longer believe because of your word, for we have heard for ourselves, and we knew that this is truly the savior of the world.”

There are lessons that we learn from this gospel pericope.

First, when the Samaritan woman hid her identity of being sinful from others, she evaded people who knew her well in her community. We are also like the Samaritan woman; we simply hide or escape to admit our sinfulness. Sin can blind us and even anesthetize our heart and mind. The voice of our conscience becomes calloused and unregretful with no opportunity to repent. Others refuse to confess and to convict oneself with all faults and sins. It is because sins can blind us from seeing who we are.

Second, our believing and commitment to God will always be a product of our personal experience and encounter with the Lord. Many came believing, not because of the woman’s testimony, but because many of them, collectively and individually, encountered and listened to Jesus’ preaching. The people’s interaction with Jesus for two days in their village was not because of hearsay but because of their personal experience with Jesus.

This third Sunday of Lent, I pray that with all sincerity to unload our sinfulness to Jesus in the Sacrament of Reconciliation will require the willingness of the heart. May whatever we have received, like blessings of forgiveness and reconciliation with God, be our strength to proclaim the greatness of God. We must be attentive to glorify God in others so that many will also be blessed with His presence. Our effort is good, but bragging about what we have achieved is a self-defeating scheme.

Today, our Eucharistic celebration presents us with the love of God through the life-giving grace in order to quench our thirst. God bless you.

Fr. Arlon, osa

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El dictado del corazón: tercer domingo de cuaresma, año A

• Éxodo 17:3-7
• Salmos 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
• Romanos 5:1-2, 5-8
• Juan 4:5-42

Hoy es el Tercer Domingo de Cuaresma, Año A.
Hay expectativas de primavera durante la Cuaresma, aunque el clima aún esta frío, impide el crecimiento de pequeños brotes en las ramas. Estamos emocionados de ver pequeños brotes verdes que señalan la llegada de la nueva temporada, aunque nuestra vida espiritual habla de brasas durante la Cuaresma. Es una chispa para transmitir que estamos listos para ser fructíferos durante la Cuaresma debido a los muchos buenos frutos que hacemos, como enmendar nuestra vida, arrepentirnos y estar listos para pasar por el proceso de conversión. Significa que la primavera sucede aunque hace frío, al vivir en santidad y rectitud.

Las lecturas de hoy hablan de tener sed, no solo de la necesidad de agua para que nuestro cuerpo esté sano, sino que habla de la vida espiritual que demanda la gracia de Dios que fluye para sostenernos. El agua viva es Jesucristo.

La primera lectura del libro del Éxodo recuerda la historia de la experiencia del pueblo hebreo en su salida de Egipto hacia la tierra prometida. Estaban sedientos y quejándose por el sufrimiento por el que habían pasado. Echaron la culpa a Moisés y muestran su pérdida de fe. Entonces, el Señor intervino cuando instruyó a Moisés: “Golpea la peña, y de ella brotarán aguas para que beba el pueblo”. Saciaron su sed y pudieron sobrevivir a la muerte y fueron salvados por Dios por Su don del agua. El pueblo elegido había visto las manos de Dios protegerlos, y los hebreos sintieron la intervención de Dios para mantenerlos a salvo en su viaje. Dios fue paciente con ellos y continuamente les proporcionó seguridad y provisiones hasta que llegaron a su destino final.

Esta experiencia humana de los israelitas nos presenta cuán débil es su fe en el Dios vivo y cuán frágil es el corazón humano. Su dureza de corazón se manifiesta cuando probaron a Dios, diciendo: “¿Está el Señor en medio de nosotros o no?”. (Éx 17:7) A pesar de no confiar en Dios, Él no los castigó sino que les proporcionó el agua viva que refrescó sus almas sedientas. Esta historia me hace pensar en la increíble señal del amor y la compasión de Dios por su pueblo. Su muerte inminente causada por el miedo y la duda fue impedida por su mirada misericordiosa sobre ellos.

La segunda lectura de la carta de San Pablo a los Romanos afirma verdades de que “la esperanza no defrauda porque el amor de Dios ha sido derramado en nuestros corazones por el Espíritu Santo que nos ha sido dado”. (v.5) El Espíritu Santo da vida a nuestras almas sedientas. Cuando estamos perdidos y nos damos cuenta de que hemos pecado, Dios nos da señales para refrescarnos de esta verdad.

El evangelio de hoy de San Juan es una historia sobre el encuentro entre Jesús y la mujer samaritana. El encuentro entre Jesús y la mujer samaritana fue un encuentro extraordinario porque los judíos típicamente despreciaban a los samaritanos. Jesús estaba cansado después de un viaje, y estaba sentado en el famoso pozo de Jacob al mediodía cuando una mujer vino a sacar agua del mismo pozo. Era inusual que una mujer samaritana viniera durante esa hora. Por lo general, las mujeres honorables y decentes de Samaria iban a buscar agua por la mañana.

Como era el mediodía, había algo que quería ocultarle a Jesús, su vida pasada. Sin embargo, Jesús sabía acerca de su condición pecaminosa sin juzgarla. Los dos tuvieron una intrigante conversación en la que Jesús se revela como el agua viva, el que ha de venir. Jesús no sólo le habla, sino que la respeta y la honra con una invitación personal a creer. Ella creyó en Jesús como el Mesías y regresó a su pueblo para contárselo a todos. Muchas personas creyeron e invitaron a Jesús a quedarse con ellos. En consecuencia, muchos samaritanos se acercaron a la mujer con quien Jesús se encontró, diciendo: “Ya no creemos por tu palabra, porque nosotros mismos hemos oído, y sabíamos que este es verdaderamente el salvador del mundo”.

Hay lecciones que aprendemos de esta perícopa del evangelio.

Primero, cuando la mujer samaritana escondió su identidad como pecadora de los demás, evadió a las personas que la conocían bien en su comunidad. Somos también como la mujer samaritana; simplemente nos escondemos o escapamos para admitir nuestra pecaminosidad.
El pecado puede cegarnos e incluso anestesiar nuestro corazón y nuestra mente. La voz de nuestra conciencia se endurece y no se arrepiente sin oportunidad de arrepentirse.
Otros se niegan a confesar y condenarse a sí mismos de todas las faltas y pecados. Es porque los pecados pueden cegarnos de ver quiénes somos.

Segundo, nuestra creencia y compromiso con Dios siempre será producto de nuestra experiencia personal y encuentro con el Señor. Muchos vinieron creyendo, no por el testimonio de la mujer, sino porque muchos de ellos, colectiva e individualmente, encontraron y escucharon la predicación de Jesús.
La interacción de la gente con Jesús durante dos días en su aldea no se debió a rumores sino a su experiencia personal con Jesús.

Este tercer domingo de Cuaresma , rezo para que, con toda sinceridad, descargar nuestra pecaminosidad a Jesús en el Sacramento de la Reconciliación requiera la disposición del corazón. Que todo lo que hemos recibido, como bendiciones de perdón y reconciliación con Dios, sea nuestra fuerza para proclamar la grandeza de Dios. Debemos estar atentos a glorificar a Dios en los demás para que muchos también sean bendecidos con su presencia. Nuestro esfuerzo es bueno, pero alardear de lo que hemos logrado es un esquema contraproducente.

Hoy, nuestra celebración eucarística nos presenta el amor de Dios a través de la gracia vivificante para saciar nuestra sed.

Dios los bendiga

Padre Arlón, osa