Sunday, October 21, 2012

Gospel Reflection



October 21, 2012
Year of Faith
Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Canonization of St. Pedro Calungsod, Patron of Catechists and the Filipino youth
by Rev. Fr. Jim Ferry (San Carlos Pastoral Formation Complex EDSA, Guadalupe, Makati)
Anticipated Sunday Mass at Sto. Niño de Paz Greenbelt Chapel


Reading 1 Is 53:10-11

The LORD was pleased to crush him in infirmity. If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him. Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22

R. (22) Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

Reading 2 Heb 4:14-16

Brothers and sisters: Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

Gospel Mk 10:35-45

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?" They answered him, "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left." Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" They said to him, "We can." Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared." When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. Jesus summoned them and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

or Mk 10:42-45

Jesus summoned the Twelve and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."


HOMILY

The Church celebrates this evening and tomorrow, what the Church is essentially all about. The Church is in mission. Mission Sunday tomorrow reminds us of that fundamental understanding of what the Church is. It is to continue the mission of Jesus, to continue to go and bring the Good News of salvation to those who have not yet heard of Jesus, and to deepen the faith of those of us who have been baptized and have made that decision, from our own free will, to follow Jesus.

And to follow Jesus does require a particular aspect that the world does not wish to accept, and that is, the Cross. In the Gospel, when the two disciples were asking Jesus, could they sit, one at the right, and one at the left, when they came into God's Kingdom, they did not yet fully understand that in order to reach God's Kingdom, they have to be identified with the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. They needed to be faithful, even to the shedding of blood.

It is not easy to follow Jesus, but it is not impossible. It is because each of us have been baptized. We were baptized into the very life of God. The coming of the Holy Spirit in baptism enables us to be forgiven of sin, to become one with the body of Christ, the Church, to live in a faithful relationship with the Church, and be filled with the very presence of Jesus and His Spirit. We are all to testify to the Gospel of Jesus in our daily lives.

When we say the Church is in mission, we are saying that you and I, WE are in mission. Not just our brothers and sisters, lay people as well as religious priests and sisters who have left our country to bring the Good News to others, but we also must be sure that we are bringing the Good News to others by the way we testify that the Gospel is alive in us. By our acts of charity. By our acts of forgiveness. By our moments of prayer. By our willingness to suffer, to accept and embrace the Cross.

Tomorrow in Rome, another one of our blood brothers - bone of your bone, blood of your blood - will be canonized as a saint. Lorenzo Ruiz was the first. Pedro Calungsod now will be raised, and will be declared a saint martyr. He was willing to accept the consequence of baptism. We are baptized into the very life of Jesus, and that life means that we are also baptized into His Death, and that we are also baptized into His Resurrection. This young man of 17 years of age willingly allowed himself to die as he defended his priest.

Seventeen. We all think that the youth are so incapable of doing great things. We think that just because they are young, they are not capable of testifying to the faith. Now Pedro Calungsod shows us that even at that age, the so called TEEN age, our young people can still do great things for Christ. He teaches each one of us, we who are not so young, the others who are not so old, that all of us, are called to bring this Good News of Jesus, even if it means a personal sacrifice. When we have to hold on to our anger, when we have to be charitable. When we are called to be forgiving. When it means that we have to love one another even though the other does not love us. And why? Because we are in mission. We are bringing the love of Jesus, not as missionaries outside of our country, but as missionaries within our country.

For us to be truly members of the Church, we must be members of the missionary aspect of the life of Jesus. Jesus came to bring us the love and the forgiveness of the Father. He did not back away from it, even if it meant that He will be crucified because He was identified with truth. Because He was identified with love. Because He mingled among the poor and the sinful. He was in mission to bring the Good News of salvation. And now the Church - the physical presence of the love of Jesus in the world - you and me, we are baptized. We are the witnesses.

This evening, when the celebration of the Eucharist is over, and as you return to your homes, think over. How am I personally bringing the Good News of Jesus to others? How do I testify to the Gospel of justice, to the Gospel of forgiveness, the Gospel of love, to others? Am I, myself, in mission? Pedro Calungsod reminds us that regardless of our age - young, middle-aged or old - each one of us is called to be identified with the mission of Jesus.


My brothers and sisters, we already have the presence of Christ within us. And now, we will come to the altar of the Eucharist, and have His presence among us under the sign of Bread. He wants to feed us. He wants to give us this visible moment when we become closer to Him, so that we can be more worthy and STRONGER to be in mission of bringing the Good News of Jesus to others. Blessed Pedro Calungsod has done that in a very singular way as a martyr. He will be declared Patron of Filipino Youth. I hope that does not mean that those of us who are old will not allow Pedro to be an example for us. He is given to the Church. Let us pray that we, like him, remain in mission. Amen.
 
 
You may also want to see: A Holy Life - Saint Pedro Calungsod 
                                      A Holy Life - Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

Gospel Reflection



October 21, 2012
Year of Faith
Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
by Rev. Fr. Nicandro Lim Jr.
A homily delivered in St. Mary’s Church, Bunbury, Australia

Reading 1 Is 53:10-11

The LORD was pleased to crush him in infirmity. If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him. Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22

R. (22) Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

Reading 2 Heb 4:14-16

Brothers and sisters: Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

Gospel Mk 10:35-45

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?" They answered him, "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left." Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" They said to him, "We can." Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized; but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared." When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. Jesus summoned them and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

or Mk 10:42-45

Jesus summoned the Twelve and said to them, "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."


HOMILY

There is this young missionary priest sent to a particular country to evangelize.  He is a brilliant student of theology, an idealist, and full of zeal for missionary work.  That's why when he arrived in his parish assignment, he said to himself that he will lead people into knowing and loving God in Jesus Christ.  A fair goal I would say; but when his work begun and when he saw the extravagant lifestyle of those around him, he step back a bit and realized that he is not well equip for such a set up---he was surprised.  His parishioners have everything---they are all rich and Church for them is nothing compared to the social gatherings they would organize every now and then.  How can he teach his people?  How can he evangelize them?

Truly, it is one thing to maintain your ideals when they are shared by others, when the Gospel works for you, when principle works out in practice; it is quite another when it seems you are alone in some ideal and when the Gospel appears to be delivering more death than life.  He said to himself, "how lucky are my siblings who don't have material riches, nor mansions, nor corporations; how lucky are they who lived a simple lifestyle shared in a family loving each other sincerely and honestly compared to such a materialistic community."

This young priest realized that it is one thing to give your life over to family, church, community, and God when you feel loved and supported by them, when they seem worth the sacrifice, when you get a good feeling by doing it; it is quite another thing when you do not feel supported, when it doesn't seem worthwhile, and when you feel no other reason for doing it except for truth and principle.

I would say what this young missionary priest experienced capture, in essence, what Jesus taught his disciples and his very own experience on the cross. His passion was a true drama of the heart, not an endurance test for his body.  It was a test of love and commitment, and not just of conviction. I think, in the long run, we have focused too much on the physical aspects of the crucifixion to the detriment of what was happening more deeply, underneath. Why? Because none of the Gospels emphasize the physical sufferings, nor the fears he expressed in conversations before his death. Clearly, what the Gospels and Jesus emphasize is his moral loneliness, the fact that he was alone, betrayed, humiliated, misunderstood, the object of jealousy and crowd hysteria, that he was a stone's throw away from everyone, that those who loved him were asleep to what was really happening.

And what made his sacrifice so special was not that he died a victim of violence, nor that he refused to use divine power to stop his death. What made his death so special is that, inside of all the aloneness, darkness, jealousy, misunderstanding, sick crowd hysteria, coldness, and murder, he held out, he gave himself over, without bitterness, without self-pity, holding his ideals intact, gracious, respectful, forgiving, without losing his balance, his meaning, or his message.  This is the ultimate test and we face it daily in the many areas of our lives.

The young missionary priest after some time of ministering to his people realized that it is not what he sees with people that matters.  It's what he is doing for them that counts because it is he who is witnessing to the very power of God in their midst and not the other way around.  His witnessing is his evangelizing ministry and not his good looks, intellect nor knowledge.  His presence becomes the presence of the one who sent him there to do a particular missionary work.  Embracing his ministry, it helped him find God's peace in his heart.

With this, we come to understand why Jesus' sacrifice was so special---it is special because, long after the clock had run out on everything and there seemed no reason left to wait for anything, he still held on, to his ideals, his balance, his gracious, his forgiveness, and his love.  The struggle to do this, to remain faithful, is the real drama inside the death of Jesus and in the life of every missionary priest; that's why in the end it is really a struggle of the heart and not just of the body. 

In this mass, we remember all our brothers and sisters doing missionary work within and outside our country.  May they remain faithful to the one who sent them there.  With our prayers, may they feel our love supporting them.  And may our financial contribution help them in anyway they need support. Amen.



A Holy Life



Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

North America’s first aboriginal saint

Lily of the Mohawks
Canonization – October 21, 2012
Feast Day – July 14

Also known as Saint Catherine Tekakwitha, is honored by the Catholic Church as the patroness of ecology, nature, and the environment. 

Tekakwitha's baptismal name is Catherine, which in the Iroquois languages is Kateri.  Tekakwitha's Iroquois name can be translated as, "One who places things in order."1 or “To put all into place.”2  Other translations include, "she pushes with her hands" and "who walks groping for her way" (because of her faulty eyesight).
   
Tekakwitha was born at Ossernenon, which today is near Auriesville, New York, USA.  Tekakwitha's father was a Kanienkehaka (Kanien’kehá:ka or Mohawk) chief and her mother was a Catholic Algonquin. 
   
At the age of four, smallpox attacked Tekakwitha's village, taking the lives of her parents and baby brother, and leaving Tekakwitha an orphan.  Although forever weakened, scarred, and partially blind, Tekakwitha survived. The brightness of the sun blinded her and she would feel her way around as she walked.  
   
Tekakwitha was adopted by her two aunts and her uncle, also a Kanienkehaka chief.  After the smallpox outbreak subsided, Tekakwitha and her people abandoned their village and built a new settlement, called Caughnawaga, some five miles away on the north bank of the Mohawk River, which today is in Fonda, New York.
   
In many ways, Tekakwitha's life was the same as all young Native American girls.  It entailed days filled with chores, spending happy times with other girls, communing with nature, and planning for her future.  
   
Tekakwitha grew into a young woman with a sweet, shy personality.  She helped her aunts’ work in the fields where they tended to the corn, beans, and squash, and took care of the traditional longhouse in which they lived.   She went to the neighboring forest to pick the roots needed to prepare medicines and dye.  She collected firewood in the forest and water from a stream.  Despite her poor vision, she also became very skilled at beadwork. 

Although Tekakwitha was not baptized as an infant, she had fond memories of her good and prayerful mother and of the stories of Catholic faith that her mother shared with her in childhood.  These remained indelibly impressed upon her mind and heart and were to give shape and direction to her life's destiny.  She often went to the woods alone to speak to God and listen to Him in her heart and in the voice of nature. 

When Tekakwitha was eighteen, Father de Lamberville, a Jesuit missionary, came to Caughnawaga and established a chapel.  Her uncle disliked the "Blackrobe" and his strange new religion, but tolerated the missionary's presence.  Kateri vaguely remembered her mother's whispered prayers, and was fascinated by the new stories she heard about Jesus Christ.  She wanted to learn more about Him and to become a Christian. 
   
Father de Lamberville persuaded her uncle to allow Tekakwitha to attend religious instructions.  The following Easter, twenty-year old Tekakwitha was baptized.  Radiant with joy, she was given the name of Kateri, which is Mohawk for Catherine.  
   
Kateri's family did not accept her choice to embrace Christ.  After her baptism, Kateri became the village outcast.  Her family refused her food on Sundays because she wouldn't work.  Children would taunt her and throw stones.  She was threatened with torture or death if she did not renounce her religion. 
   
Because of increasing hostility from her people and because she wanted to devote her life to working for God, in July of 1677, Kateri left her village and fled more than 200 miles (322 km) through woods, rivers, and swamps to the Catholic mission of St. Francis Xavier at Sault Saint-Louis, near Montreal.  Kateri's journey through the wilderness took more than two months.  Because of her determination in proving herself worthy of God and her undying faith she was allowed to receive her First Holy Communion on Christmas Day, 1677.
   
Although not formally educated and unable to read and write, Kateri led a life of prayer and penitential practices.  She taught the young and helped those in the village who were poor or sick.  Kateri spoke words of kindness to everyone she encountered.  Her favorite devotion was to fashion crosses out of sticks and place them throughout the woods.  These crosses served as stations that reminded her to spend a moment in prayer.


Kateri's motto became, "Who can tell me what is most pleasing to God that I may do it?"  She spent much of her time in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, kneeling in the cold chapel for hours.  When the winter hunting season took Kateri and many of the villagers away from the village, she made her own little chapel in the woods by carving a Cross on a tree and spent time in prayer there, kneeling in the snow.  Kateri loved the Rosary and carried it around her neck always.


This painting is the one of the oldest portraits of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, 
by Father Claude Chauchetière, S.J. (circa 1696)

Often people would ask, "Kateri, tell us a story."  Kateri remembered everything she was told about the life of Jesus and his followers.  People would listen for a long time.  They enjoyed being with her because they felt the presence of God.  One time a priest asked the people why they gathered around Kateri in church.  They told him that they felt close to God when Kateri prayed.  They said that her face changed when she was praying.  It became full of beauty and peace, as if she were looking at God's face.
   
On March 25, 1679, Kateri made a vow of perpetual virginity, meaning that she would remain unmarried and totally devoted to Christ for the rest of her life.  Kateri hoped to start a convent for Native American sisters in Sault St. Louis but her spiritual director, Father Pierre Cholonec discouraged her.  Kateri's health, never good, was deteriorating rapidly due in part to the penances she inflicted on herself.  Father Cholonec encouraged Kateri to take better care of herself but she laughed and continued with her "acts of love."    
   
The poor health which plagued her throughout her life led to her death in 1680 at the age of 24.  Her last words were, "Jesus, I love You."  Like the flower she was named for, the lily, her life was short and beautiful.  Moments after dying, her scarred and disfigured face miraculously cleared and was made beautiful by God.  This miracle was witnessed by two Jesuits and all the others able to fit into the room. 
   
Kateri is known as "Lily of the Mohawks" or "Beautiful Flower Among True Men."  The Catholic Church declared Kateri venerable in 1943.  She was beatified in 1980 by Pope John Paul II.  Kateri is the first Native American to be declared Blessed.  Her feast is celebrated on July 14th in the United States.  Pope John Paul II designated Blessed Kateri as a patroness for World Youth Day 2002.
   
On December 19, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI signed the decree necessary for the canonization of Blessed Kateri.  Blessed Kateri will be canonized as a saint on October 21, 2012.
   
Blessed Kateri's tomb is found at St. Francis Xavier Mission in the Mohawk Nation at Kahnawake, near Montreal, Quebec.  Blessed Kateri is honored at the National Shrine of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha in Fonda, New York and the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs in Auriesville, New York. 
   
Blessed Kateri's name is pronounced kä'tu-rē.  Her Iroquois name, Tekakwitha, is often pronounced  tek"u-kwith'u. Her name Tekakwitha is occasionally spelled Tegakouita.  

"I am no longer my own. I have given myself entirely to Jesus Christ."
~ Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

 

Sources for this article were taken from:  http://conservation.catholic.org/





Prayer

Saint Kateri,

You are revered as the mystic of the American wilderness.

 Though orphaned at the age of four,

And left with a scarred face and damaged eyesight from illness,

 You were esteemed among the Mohawk tribe.

When you asked to be baptized a Christian,

You subjected yourself to abuse by your people

And were forced to run away.

You endured many trials but still flowered in prayer and holiness,

Dedicating yourself totally to Christ.

I ask you to be my spiritual guide along my journey through life.

Through your intercession,

I pray that I may always be loyal to my faith in all things.

Amen.


Saint Kateri Tekakwitha  – Pray for us


The portrait of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha above this page is by Lisa E. Brown.  
Lisa was commissioned to paint the patron saints of World Youth Day 2002.