4th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Short Reflection for the 4^th Sunday in the Ordinary Time (A): The Beatitudes

Readings: Zephaniah 2: 3; 3: 12-13; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Matthew 5: 1-12A

Selected Passage:  "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven… Blessed are the PEACEMAKERS…” (Matthew 5:3 and 9)

Meditation:  The Beatitudes, strangely enough, remind us of the real keys to happiness. Yes, BLESSED are the poor; those who mourn; the meek; they who thirst for righteousness; the merciful; the clean of heart; the peacemakers; and they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness – theirs is the kingdom of God! The true follower of Jesus takes ALL the 8 Beatitudes and lives by them. And in our places of conflicts, blessed are the PEACEMAKERS; they are the bridges; the reconcilers; and the signs of our common bond amid pluralism and diversities. Thus they are called sons and daughters of God. Visit:  www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

1st step: Write the text or Dhikr (the Arabic word for REMEMBRANCE) in your heart.

2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...

3rd step:  Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A): Fiesta of Sto. Nino

Short Reflection for the 2^nd Sunday of the ordinary time (A): Fiesta of Sto. Nino

Readings: Isaiah 9: 1-6; Ephesians 1: 3-6; Matthew 18: 1-5. 10

Selected Passage: "Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.  4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  5 And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.” (Matthew 18: 3-5)

Meditation: The greatest in the kingdom is the one who humbles himself like a child. Jesus identifies himself with the child. He who accepts (welcomes) the child accepts and welcomes Jesus.  Yes, the Gospel and the Feast of Sto. Nino invites all to be humble like little children. Visit:  www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

1st step: Write the text or Dhikr (the Arabic word for REMEMBRANCE) in your heart.

2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...

3rd step:  Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

"Homicidal Madness that Misuses God's Name to Kill..."

"Homicidal Madness that Misuses God's Name to Kill..."

‘We are dealing with a homicidal madness which misuses God’s name in order to disseminate death, in a play for domination and power.’

Pope Francis stressed this when addressing the diplomatic corps of all ambassadors accredited to the Holy See this morning in the Apostolic Palace, during the annual tradition of exchanging greetings and addressing them.

Acknowledging the suffering that is plaguing the world, he said: “I appeal to all religious authorities to join in reaffirming unequivocally that one can never kill in God’s name.”

“Fundamentalist terrorism is the fruit of a profound spiritual poverty, and often is linked to significant social poverty,” he continued.  Only with the joint contribution of religious and political leaders, Francis said, can it be fully defeated.

(Source: Zenit 1/10/17)

Pope Franciscan the Feast of the Lord's Baptism

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Today, feast of the Baptism of Jesus, the Gospel (Mt 3,13-17) presents a scene that took place at the Jordan River: amidst the penitent crowd that advances toward John the Baptist to be baptized, Jesus is there too. Giovanni would stop Him saying, “It is I who need baptism from you” (Mt 3:14). The Baptist is aware of the fact that there is great distance between him and Jesus. But Jesus came precisely to bridge the gap between man and God: if He is all on the side of God, He is also all on the side of man, and brings together what was divided. For that reason, He asks John to baptize Him, in order to fulfill every justice (cf. v. 15), that is to say to realize the plan of the Father which passes through the path of obedience and solidarity with fragile and sinful man, the way of humility and of real closeness of God to His children. Because God is so close to His children, so close!

The moment that John baptizes Jesus, from the waters of the Jordan River, God’s Father’s voice is heard from above: “This is my beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased” (v . 17). At the same time, the Holy Spirit, as a dove, lands on Jesus, giving launch publicly to His mission of salvation; a mission characterized by a humble and meek, servant style, that holds the power of truth, as Isaiah prophesied: “He will not cry out, nor shout, nor make his voice heard in the street. A bruised reed^* he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench. He will faithfully bring forth justice.”  A humble and meek servant.

Here is the missionary style of the disciples of Christ: to proclaim the Gospel with gentleness and firmness, without arrogance or imposition. The real mission is never proselytism, but attracting to Christ, from the strong union with Him in prayer, adoration and concrete charity, which is service to Jesus present in the least of our brothers. In imitation of Jesus, good and merciful Shepherd, and animated by His grace, we are called to make our life a joyful witness that illuminates the path that brings hope and love.

This feast makes us rediscover the gift and beauty of being a nation of baptized, that is, sinners saved by the grace of Christ, who have really entered, through the Holy Spirit, in the filial relationship of Jesus, with the Father, and welcomed into the bosom of Mother Church, in such a fraternity that knows no boundaries and barriers.

May the Virgin Mary help all Christians to preserve an increasingly lively awareness and appreciation of our baptism and to follow faithfully the path opened by this sacrament of our rebirth.

(Source: Zenit - 1/9/17)

The Baptism of the Lord

In the Philippines, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord falls on a Monday, January 9th, 2017. Liturgically, it also marks the end of Christmas Season.

The Ordinary Time of the Year (Cycle A) begins on the 10th of January. In the weekday lectionary, the first reading is taken from year 1. The Liturgical Color is GREEN.

The Feast of Sto. Nino - proper Feast for the Philippines - is celebrated on the15th of January. Elsewhere, the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) is celebrated.

Focus on Mary and on her Child Jesus this Christmas Season

In the midst of the Christmas season it is appropriate to focus on the Virgin Mary and Jesus in our prayer. They appear together in the Qur'an and inspired Louis Massignon to see Mary as the means to reconciliation and understanding between Muslims and Christians and ultimately as a bridge for all three Abrahamic faiths. 

In many ways Mary's "fiat", her "Yes" to God at the Annunciation stands at the center of the Badaliyya prayer and for Massignon the core of Christian spirituality. At the risk of a lack of humility may I refer you to my book, "Dialogues with Saints and Mystics: In the Spirit of Louis Massignon" where chapter seven describes the insights of Massignon in detail.

In a letter to Mary Kahil, Massignon wrote:
"There is no maternal grief in the world comparable to the vow, the 'fiat', of the Jewish Mary when she sacrificed the hope of her race into which the Messiah should be born, to serve God alone. Her fiat was to abandon herself totally to God in order to bring the Savior among us".

Massignon reminds us that Abraham's God was first revealed to the Jewish people, among whom we find the young Mary. He calls her a "daughter of Abraham". He also insists that we remember the Qur'anic vision of the one God of Abraham as that of all three monotheistic traditions.

And finally from "Dialogues":

For Massignon, to love others into life is the mystery of Mary's fiat. He places her "Yes" to God in the midst of the Badaliyya, for by conceiving Jesus, Mary conceives us and makes us holy with Him. 

Moreover every birth of a child, no matter how marginal her mother is in society, is an abandonment to God and the birth of God into the world. 

He ties Mary's fiat to her place at the foot of the Cross with the beloved disciple, painfully watching the agonizing death of her son. He understands the Badaliyya as trying however poorly to express the compassion that pierces Mary's heart with the stab of the lance into the heart of her son, Jesus, which he calls an "Exchange of Heart". Here is a profound understanding of Simeon's prophecy to Mary in the temple. In an outpouring of love through mystical substitution, Mary feels the sharp point of the sword as it enters the flesh of her dying son. Members of the Badaliyya are answering a call to an "exchange of heart" by their vow to substitute their own lives for the sake of others.

(Dorothy Buck)

The Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord

Short Reflection for the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord (A)

Readings: Isaiah 60: 1-6; Ephesians 3: 2-3a. 5-6; Matthew 2: 1-12

Selected Passage: “They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage.  Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”  (Matthew 2: 10-11)

Meditation: This feast celebrates the manifestation of the Lord to the Magi. They saw his star and followed it until they saw the child, the savior.  We need to see, too, his star, today, and follow it in our daily journey through life. Yes, his star continues to shine… but we need a discerning eyes and a heart attune to God so that we, too, one day, we find him and pay him homage. www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

1st step: Write the text or Dhikr (the Arabic word for REMEMBRANCE) in your heart.

2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...

3rd step:  Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.