Feast of the Lord's Baptism, Year B

Feast of the Lord's Baptism, Year B
"You are My beloved Son."

1st Reading: Isaiah 55:1-11
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 29
2nd Reading: 1 John 5;1-9
Gospel: Mark 1:1-11

This Sunday's gospel is taken from the gospel of Mark. The
brief passage tells the story of Jesus being baptized by John
the Baptist. The description of the baptismal scene is filled
with rich imagery. The account tells us that after Jesus was
baptized by St. John in the river Jordan, immediately after
Jesus came up out of the water, the sky "was rent in two" and
the "Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove". And then a voice
came from the heaven, saying: "You are My beloved Son. On You
My favor rests."

Jesus is the perfect model for our Christian life. Though He
was greater than St. John the Baptist, in obedience to the
Father's will, He underwent John's baptism. His baptism sealed
and confirmed His Sonship before the Father - something meant
for us to know. When we are baptized, we also share in the
Sonship of Jesus and become sons and daughters of the Father.
We are also initiated into a life of following Christ - by
obeying the Father's will, as we work and live as Christian
families witnessing to the Father's love for us. And just as
the Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove, upon our baptism,
we also receive the Holy Spirit, that we may be granted the
grace and the strength to live good and virtuous Christian
lives.

Feast of the Epiphany, Year B

"They prostrated themselves and did Him homage."

1st Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 72

2nd Reading: Ephesians 3:2-3, 5-6

Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12

The feast of the Ephiphany is the manifestation of the Child
Jesus to the world. It was prophesied that from Bethlehem "shall
come a ruler to shepherd" Israel. Astrologers from the East knew
this and they traveled to Jerusalem. King Herod then became
aware of this news from them, and was greatly disturbed (as this
"ruler" could be a threat to his reign). As the astrologers set
out then from Jerusalem, to follow the star...as they saw the
star come to a standstill over the place where the Child Jesus
was, they entered the house, saw Mary with the Child, prostrated
themselves, and did Jesus homage. They presented gifts of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.

Through the gospel passages that we have heard this season of
Advent and Christmas, we find many people and things leading us
to Jesus: St. John the Baptist, pointing out Jesus to us as the
Lamb of God; Samuel telling us that Jesus would bring the rise
and downfall of many in Israel; and the prophetess Anna, talking
about the Child Jesus as the Deliverer of Jerusalem. Also, now
we have a star from Bethlehem leading us to where we can find
the Child Jesus lying in the lowly manger attended to by His
Mother Mary and His foster father Jesus. We have three prophets
and a star leading to Jesus.

People we encounter in life and the signs of the times, also
lead us to Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Whenever people lead us
to a greater spirit of charity, generosity, kindness, patience,
joy, peace, goodness, and fidelity, it is for certain that we
are led to re-acknowledge Christ and His Spirit as the center
of our lives. And as the star of Bethlehem led the astrologers
from the East to the Child Jesus, wherever there is light in
our present times - that too, will also lead us to the greater
Light who is Christ. So, as we are led by others to Christ, we
too are called to lead others to Jesus - in the same way that
we have been shown the way (through acts of charity, kindness,
patience, mercy, forgiveness, peace, etc.) Even in these times
when we see patches of darkness in our world, let the Church
show us the way to the Light - Christ, our Prince of Peace.
And when we re-discover Christ as the Light of our life, it is
but fitting to pay homage to Him who is our Savior and our King.

Feast of Christ the King, Year A

34th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A - Christ the King

"He will sit upon his royal throne, and all the nations
will be assembled before him."

Matthew 25:31-40

The first time we encountered this gospel for this liturgical Year
A, was last November 2 - the solemnity of the Faithful Departed
(All Souls Day). Since this Sunday is the feast of Christ the
King, then we are given by the gospel a descriptive image of Jesus
who "will sit upon His royal throne" and judge all the nations
assembled before Him. The nations who helped the poor and the
less fortunate, will enter into His Kingdom. And the nations who
neglected to give to the sick, the hungry, the naked, the thirsty
and the prisoner, will be condemned to eternal punishment.

When we reflect on this gospel passage, we see that good deeds
done for others is the moral standard by which Christ will judge
us. And the judgment of eternal punishment does not go mainly to
the one who did bad or evil actions to others, but to those who
"neglected" to do good to the poor and the little ones (given
the context of meaning in this gospel). By the standard of this
gospel account, a serious evil is to be attributed also to
neglect, indifference to others, and lack of concern. So, our
sins of commission (our bad actions) will be compounded with an
even greater evil if we fail to do good (sins of omission).

Families who live in a provincial, rural, or suburban locale are
more fortunate in the sense that they know the people in their
area well. Families are close to one another, they help each
other, and they are there for each other in times of difficulty,
grief, sorrow, loss or tragedy. Individuals and families who
live in a very urban set-up are less fortunate in the sense that
there is a lot of anonymity, transiency, and less stability of
residence. Relationships in this set-up are often formal,
professional, short, superficial and filled with fear, mistrust,
and hostility.

There is a way however by which families in an urban set-up can
get to know each other better: through the structure of
relationships in a Catholic parish. With the basic ecclesial
formation being given by many parish priests to their
parishioners, families and individuals get to know one another
better. And a network of supportive relationships is created to
bridge the gap of indifference, anonymity, and rugged
individualism that goes with a highly urbanized area.

When the parish priest teaches well his parishioners to be
centered on Christ and the Eucharist, all families know that the
head of their household and family is Jesus. There is unity and
harmony in the family when each member lives a good Christian
life and let Jesus be the King of his heart. With Jesus
acknowledged as King, then there will be fear of doing evil and
only a seeking to please the One who has the power to judge us
if we have done good or neglected to do what we should do as
Catholics.

Let us then thank the Father for the gift of His Son Jesus, who
in many ways reveal to us that all dominion, power, glory, and
authority, belong to Him. Let us also thank the Father that our
King is One who know how to be human like us, except for sin.
And lastly, let us thank the Father for giving us a King who
serves as a model par excellence of genuine humility - a
humility exercised even to the extent of giving His life on the
cross, so that we may be saved from our sins of neglect of
others, indifference, apathy, and lack of concern and love.

On a more personal note, let us also examine ourselves very well:
in my day to day living, is Jesus enthroned as King of my heart?
Or are there other things that prevent Him to rule over my
soul? Is it anxiety over our job or finances? Or is it a
structure of relationships that causes us to lose our peace and
focus on Christ? Maybe, as the liturgical year is now at its
end, we can take more time to examine how we have lived the
year. It is not too late to confess that we have not made Jesus
the center of our life and the King of our hearts. There is
always room to progress in our spiritual life. And we can decide
for this by opting for Christ as our King and Savior all the days
of our life.