The Word God Spells

Luke 1: 39-56
Zep 3: 14-18a or Rom 12: 9-16 / Is 12: 2-6

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
(Luke 1:46)

The wonders of our Lord I’ve found,
The proud and haughty are debased,
The mighty He casts to the ground,
The humble to high honor raised.

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.” Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. (Luke 1: 39-56)

Reflection

The canticle of Mary, also known as the Magnificat is one of the most beautiful prayers that the Church uses everyday at Evening Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours. It is a manifestation of Mary’s perfect faith and trust in God. Many biblical scholars believe that Luke based the canticle of Mary on the song of Hannah in I Samuel 2: 1-10. Perhaps Luke wanted to establish a parallel between Samuel, one of the Old Testament precursors of the Messiah who was a “sacrificial child” promised by his mother Hannah, and Jesus, the Sacrificial Lamb and promised redeemer. Their mothers were totally dedicated to God, and for their sacrifices, both were amply rewarded. Hannah bore three more sons and two daughters after Samuel. Mary rightly declares, “My being proclaims the greatness of the Lord…He has done great things for me…All generations shall call me blessed.” Indeed she has become the Mother of mankind.

Mary’s song recalls not only the exaltation of Hannah, but those of David in Psalms 69:30 and 34:3 (“Magnify the Lord, let us exalt His Name together!”), and Isaiah (61:10, “I rejoice greatly in the Lord, in my God is the joy of my soul!”) All of them acknowledged the wonderful things that God had accomplished in their lives. Let us take Mary’s cue and call to mind all the wonders that our Lord has done for us, the blessings we now enjoy, the members of our family and true friends that we cherish, our resources and our talents and abilities. Let us take the time to enumerate these gifts from God and give Him thanks and praise. Let our souls proclaim the Lord’s greatness, and our lips exult with words of praise; God has shown us all His great kindness, and has led us to this life of grace!

With Mary we proclaim Your wondrous deeds in our lives, Father God, and with joyous songs the coming of our Savior. Thank You, Lord for all Your love and kindness, and the hope of eternal life in heaven. Amen.

Matthew 11: 25-30
Dt 7: 6-11 / Ps 103: 1-4, 6-7, 8, 10 / 1 Jn 4: 7-16

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
(Matthew 11:29)

No burden is too heavy,
No task too hard to serve the Lord,
Love always makes the job easy,
With God’s Kingdom as the reward.

At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11: 25-30)

Reflection

Jesus invites us to share in His yoke of the cross by willingly accepting the burden of Christian stewardship or ministry that we may find ourselves in. By submitting to His call we will learn from Him – how to be gentle and humble, like His Sacred Heart- and in the process grow in wisdom and understanding, live in harmony with other men, and find real peace in this world.

No man ever lived (and loved) without a cross to bear. This is the yoke of original sin that all of us, descendants of Adam, inherited from our first parents. But when we answer the invitation of Jesus to ‘take on His yoke’ — in the name of love, for His Sacred Heart — our own yoke actually becomes lighter. Like a pair of oxen bearing a common yoke, Christ becomes our partner in carrying our trials and difficulties in life. That is why those who are kind-hearted and generous have an easier time going through life even if they seem to have heavier crosses to bear. Love makes their load lighter and their journey in life becomes easier. St. Augustine wrote that in all instances, those who do not love feel their trials as “great severities”; whereas those who love others endure the same, but they do not seem to feel them as severe. “For love makes all, the hardest and most distressing things, altogether easy, and almost nothing.”

In today’s second reading, St. John gives the same advice: “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8) May the Sacred Heart of Jesus increase our devotion to Him, the Father and the Holy Spirit, and inspire us to be more loving of others as well.

Lord, may our hearts be joined with Your Sacred Heart, so that they may also be filled with love, and the glory of the Father be revealed to us. In Your service we have found rest, and in Your cross we have the hope of eternal bliss. Amen.

Mark 10: 46-52
1 Pt 2: 2-5. 9-12 / Ps 100: 2-5

Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
(Mark 10:52)

Grant us the grace to see, O Lord
What once was hidden deep within,
The wisdom to discern Your Word,
And will to break away from sin.

They came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus, the Son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road. (Mark 10: 46-52)

Reflection

The crowd of people who tried to silence Bartimaeus were more blind than this beggar. Though he was blind to many things, he “saw” the opportunity for the restoration of his sight passing by, and mustered all his strength to cry out for help. The people following Jesus, however, were all blind to the need of this suffering man, because in their minds he counted for nothing. It was only when the Lord stopped and took notice of Bartimaeus that they encouraged him to get up and made way for him to reach Jesus.

We ourselves were once blind to the things of the spirit until we joined a community of renewed Christians and became followers of Jesus Christ. We began to see many things by the grace of God and by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and by the words of Jesus Christ in the Gospel. We learned that when we ask God in prayer for discernment and wisdom, He will not refuse our request. “Lord, I want to see.” And in time we began to understand many of life’s mysteries which were once hidden because of our sins.

In our group’s bible sharing last night, a former politician shared that he had decided to give up his law practice “for God’s sake”, and for the first time in his life found true peace. Another brother in Christ shared that ever since he surrendered his will to the Lord, he has never failed to receive what his family needed, always “in the nick of time”. We all agreed that it was God’s gift of faith that restored our vision of living in the right direction. Like Bartimaeus, all it needed was for us to cry out to God for help, and He immediately gave us what we needed in order to follow Him.

Like the conversion of St. Paul in Damascus, “things like scales fell from (our) eyes, and (we) regained (our) sight” (Acts 9:18). And in the words of St. Peter (in the first reading), now we have seen that we are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of His own, so that we may announce the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9).

We praise and thank You, Father God, for making us see that it is the things of this world that blind us and keep us from following Your will, and it is in complete faith and trust in Your plans that our proper perspective has been restored. Amen.

Mark 10: 32-45
1 Pt 1: 18-25 / Ps 147: 12-15, 19-20

Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all.
(Mark 10: 43-44)

The self-important are misled
To think that power leads to greatness,
If only they can see instead,
That to be great means to be selfless.

They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way; they were amazed, while those who followed were afraid. Again He took the Twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to Him. “We are going up to Jerusalem,” He said, “and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn Him to death and will hand Him over to the Gentiles, who will mock Him and spit on Him, flog Him and kill Him. Three days later He will rise.” Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” He asked them, “What do you want me to do for you?” They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.” When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:32-45)

Reflection

Three times our Lord foretold His death to His disciples. The first time was when He rebuked Peter (Mk.8:31). The second time was when they were arguing among themselves who was the greatest (Mk.9:31-35). And finally, before He instructed them (again) about the meaning of true greatness in reaction to the misplaced ambitions of James and John (Mk.10:33,43-45). And yet in all these times it seemed they were hardly listening, because they were too preoccupied with how they could advance their own self-interests.

First it was the impetuous Peter, the leader of the band who thought he was doing Jesus a favor by arguing against the divine plan (Mk.8:32). Then James and John, who were even more audacious with their request to corner the plum seats “in His glory”. These apostles had become too presumptuous about their exalted position, perhaps because they were the first three who were called to follow Jesus, and were given the special privilege of seeing Him transfigured, and hearing the voice of God on the mountain. These had made them feel that they were bound for greatness.

True greatness as Jesus teaches us can only be attained through the cross of Christ, and through genuine service. Being a servant and rejecting the values of this world may seem impractical or outmoded in today’s highly advanced and materialistic society, but the Word of God remains constant for all generations: to be first and greatest, we must be the last and the least. The way to greatness can only be through servanthood and the persecution of all our attachments to this world. The way to greatness is through the little sacrifices we perform, like donating blood, visiting the sick or imprisoned, comforting the bereaved, helping build homes for the homeless, doing without to support a scholarship — the list can go on and on. It’s all about selflessness, the opposite of the world’s view of greatness.

We seek to be Your leaders, Lord God, by serving others in our community. Grant that we may never be overcome by self-importance whenever we accomplish the mission You set out for us to do, for we are merely servants doing what is expected of us to do. Amen.

Mark 10: 28-31
1 Pt 1: 10-16 / Ps 98: 1-4

‘Be holy because I am holy’.
(1 Peter 1:16)

Lord, help us give to You our best
In this mission where we are called;
With persecutions as a test
For us to gain a hundredfold.

Peter began to say to Jesus, “Lord, we have left everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time [i.e., on earth], houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. But many that are first will be last, and the last first.” (Mark 10:28-31)

Reflection

It may seem difficult at first to understand what our Lord Jesus meant when He said those who have left everything for His sake and the Gospel would receive a hundred times more than what he has given up in this life as well as in the next.

First, we must realize that Jesus was being more figurative than hyperbolic. He was not referring to material things, which are in fact of little worth in the context of spiritual values which are everlasting. When His followers in the early Church received the power of the Spirit and experienced the vision of His glory, as St. Peter and the apostles did on Pentecost, or St. Stephen before his martyrdom (Acts 7:55-56) or St. Paul on his way to Damascus (Acts 9:3-20), they were all willing to give up everything, including their lives in exchange for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which included sheer joy and peace, and the privilege of spreading the Good News of salvation that their Savior first proclaimed.

Throughout the centuries of Christian history, this fervor of evangelization, borne of Christ’s love and His Father’s grace, never waned, as we see for instance in the life of St. Augustine of Canterbury (7th century AD), a Benedictine monk whose feast our Church celebrates today. St. Augustine is known as the “Apostle of the English” and the patron saint of England. He was largely responsible for the founding of the English Catholic church and the conversion of this country at the instigation of Pope Gregory the Great in the year 596 AD. The Kingdom of Kent was ruled by Æthelberht, a Saxon pagan who married a Christian princess. He was converted to the faith along with thousands of his subjects by Augustine and his team of monks. Eventually, the whole country of Great Britain came under the influence of the Holy See until it broke away in the sixteenth century.

St. Augustine of Canterbury left his comfort zone in Rome (“house, brothers, sisters, mother father, lands”), for Christ’s sake and for the gospel, but he received more than a hundredfold of their equivalent in the conversion of souls for God’s kingdom in his lifetime. He left a priceless legacy, and his life will forever be remembered, along with all the other great martyrs and saints that the Church commemorates every day.

Jesus calls each one of us to be “saints” like St. Augustine, although we do not have to leave everything like him and the apostles to follow our Lord. We can spread the Gospel of Jesus simply by living a life of holiness. As St. Peter wrote in the first reading: “Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written, ‘Be holy because I am holy’.’’ (1 Peter 1:15-16)

Lord God, we thank You for the example of Your saints like St. Augustine of Canterbury, who fulfilled the words of Jesus that we will reap a hundredfold what we sow. We ask for Your grace to sanctify our life in everything that we say and do in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Mark 10: 17-27
1 Pt 1: 3-9 / Ps 111: 1-2, 5-6, 9, 10

It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.
(Mark 10:25)

What worth are all the world’s treasure
If in the end I lose my soul?
Strive for the prize beyond measure:
God’s kingdom, our eternal goal.

As Jesus was starting out on his way again, a man ran up, knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.’ ” The man said, “Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.” Jesus looked straight at him with love and said, “You need only one thing. Go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me.” When the man heard this, his face fell, and he went away sad, because he was very rich. Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at His words, so Jesus went on to say, “My children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.” At this the disciples were completely amazed and asked one another, “Who, then, can be saved?” Jesus looked straight at them and answered, “This is impossible for human beings but not for God; all things are possible for God.” (Mark 10:17-27)

Reflection

A young man we knew whose family’s estate must be worth over a billion pesos committed suicide quite recently. “Why would anyone who practically has everything do such a tragic thing?” I asked a close friend. He replied, “Mong, sometimes those who have everything are really the ones who have nothing.” How wise those words are. Having so much wealth can reduce the value of everything else, until there is nothing left worth appreciating, or being grateful for. In the end it might be one’s great wealth that will cause him to lose the most important thing of all – the pearl of great price, eternal life in God’s kingdom. “For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?” (Mt.16:26).

In today’s Gospel of Mark, Jesus was not against wealth per se. What He was condemning was one’s attachment to his wealth. Too much preoccupation with our possessions distract us from what is most essential: our right relationship with God and neighbor. It’s not money but our love of money that is the root of evil. As Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and mammon” (Mt.6:24). One will inevitably displace the other. And the man who puts his trust in his money can never be happier than a poorer man who puts his trust in God. “Sleep is sweet to the laboring man, whether he eats little or much, but the rich man’s abundance allows him no sleep” (Eccl.5:11).

There is an exception, however, for some very wealthy people who live happy and fulfilled lives. They are those who are not obsessed with their fortunes, but with the mission that their fortunes entail. They know that they are merely God’s stewards, and they have a grave responsibility to use their resources for the benefit of many. Philanthropists find joy in giving because they see the good that their wealth can do. Proverbs says, ”Honor the Lord with your wealth… then will your barns be filled with grain, with new wine your vats will overflow” (Prov.3:9-10). Depending on our attitude towards wealth, it can either be a blessing or a curse. Out of His love for him, Jesus was offering that man a rare chance to gain His eternal blessing. But out of his love for money, the man walked away, a lost soul.

May we never be presumptuous like that man to think that we can “inherit” Your kingdom, Lord God; instead, we pray daily for Your kingdom to come, and Your will be done in our life, so that we may grow in Your grace, and be free from all earthly desires. Amen.