LONG LIVE THE GOD OF LIFE

"TALITHA KOUM!"
"LITTLE GIRL, I SAY TO YOU, ARISE!"

Death is one of the inescapable sad realities of our life. It is particularly hurting when it snatches away people who are young or are specially beautiful, strong or needed in a family or society. Our faith tells us that suffering and death are not part of God’s original plan for mankind. They were introduced into our life by the devil when he convinced the first human beings to disobey God’s instructions. Their destructive presence is further strengthened every time we sin.

Today’s Liturgy of the Word reminds us that the God in whom we believe does not want death and suffering because He is a “GOD OF LIFE.” He wants that all human beings may have life and have it to the full. Such is the message of the First Reading and the Gospel.

In this Eucharistic celebration, let us be thankful to the Lord for the gifts of life and wholeness in mind and body. Let us also pray that all human beings may enjoy these blessings.


When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.” He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.

People from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” He did not allow anyone to accompany him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.

When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. So he went in and said to them, “Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out.

Jesus took along the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!” The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. At that they were utterly astounded. He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.


Euchalette, 28 June 2009
WORD AND LIFE PUBLICATIONS
MCPO Box 1820, Makati City, Philippines

LIFE FROM DEATH: SALVATION IS THE FRUIT OF JESUS' DRAMATIC DEATH

"BUT IT WAS FOR THIS PURPOSE THAT I CAME
TO THIS HOUR. FATHER, GLORIFY YOUR NAME!"

Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me.

I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But it was for this purpose that I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it and will glorify it again.” The crowd there heard it and said it was thunder; but others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come for my sake but for yours. Now is the time of judgment on this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” He said this indicating the kind of death he would die.

We are just one week away from the beginning of the Holy Week and today’s Second Reading and Gospel passage already introduces us to the basic truth that our salvation is the fruit of the dramatic death of Jesus Christ. It was through His sacrificial death that the life-giving New Covenant was sealed.

Life from death is also the challenge addressed to each of us. If we want the life of grace to grow within us, we must be prepared to die to our pride and any other form of negative passions. It is only when we die to our lower selves that we can start living unto the Lord. Then we are active partners in the New Covenant who are called to share in the fruits of salvation.


Euchalette, 29 March 2009
WORD AND LIFE PUBLICATIONS
MCPO Box 1820, Makati City, Philippines

HOPE THAT SHATTERS THE BOUNDARIES OF DEATH

DEATH AN ENTRANCE INTO EVERLASTING LIFE

Jesus said to the crowds: "Everything that the Father gives to me will come to me, because I came down from Heaven not to do my own will but the will of the One who sent me.

And this is the will of the One who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what He gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day."

Death is an inescapable reality for all creatures. For us human beings it is a tremendous mystery that confronts us all without exception. Both the rich and the poor; the powerful and the weak; the oppressors and the oppressed; the bad and the good . . . will inevitably reach that finish line whose time, place and circumstances are known to God alone.

We Christians believe that not everything ends with death. The spiritual component of man, his immortal soul, lives on. While death does conclude the earthly phase of human life, it is also a “passage,” a transformation of the human situation into something absolutely “new,” though closely dependent on the way we fared in the days of our earthly life, especially the final moments.

The new form of existence which all the souls enter is not the same for all. A judgment determines it – the conclusion of a very personal encounter between God and the soul of every individual, in an atmosphere of absolute truth and justice. A judgment which will be made known to all only at the final judgment.

All this is part of the “mystery of death.” But our present ignorance of the destiny of the departed should not paralyze or frighten us, for we know that God is not only just, but also merciful and does not reject any of those who approach Him with humble trust (see Jn 6:37).

But this is not all. Our Catholic faith tells us that a vital link, the “Communion of Saints,” still binds together those who are still living on earth with those who have crossed the border of death. With our prayers, sacrifices, offerings and words of charity we may be of help to those who have preceded us in the “afterdeath.” The prayers offered today can help save a person who died thousands of years ago, for with God every moment, no matter how remote in time for us, is still “now.”

All this is not a “pious invention” propagated to console people who feel so much the loss of their dear ones. It is a consoling truth which the Church, instructed by the Spirit, teaches us all in order that our view of death may be filled with hope and love.

We are filled with hope that no one should ever despair of the eternal salvation of anyone, not even of those who may have died without the Sacraments and apparently unrepentant of their sins. In the top-secret encounter behind close doors between God and each soul, everybody else is shut out, but not the intercessory power of Jesus Christ and all his “friends” . . .

Such a God-given hope spurs us to perform those “works of love” like prayer, the offering of personal sacrifices and especially the Holy Sacrifice of the Eucharist in behalf of the deceased. This is all that we can do – but it is really a lot! – for all our brothers and sisters who have passed away from this life.

Our presence in the cemeteries, especially on All Souls’ Day, our prayers, our lighting of candles and bringing of flowers are meant to say just this: “We believe that our dead are alive in God, and we intend to show our hope and love for them through these works of piety which become precious through Jesus Christ our Lord.” He it was who – through His death and resurrection – made death not only “bearable,” but actually transformed it into a “Passover,” an entrance into everlasting life.


Euchalette 2 November 2008
Word and Life Publications
MCPO Box 1820, Makati City 1258, Philippines

CROSS MY HEART . . . AND HOPE TO DIE?

WE BEGIN WITH GOD AND END WITH GOD

We have said this line many times before when we were kids hoping to make our friends truly believe whatever we say. I wonder if at our age now, we can still complete our line with such a bold statement . . . and hope to die!

If there is one thing we cannot stop as the soaring prices and the crash of stocks, it is the reality of death that we hope to cope with. It is only when we are ready to face death that we can be ready to appreciate and live life to its fullest.

October is the Mary month of the Rosary and it is not merely a devotional prayer but a preparatory for a happy death. The beads of the Rosary constantly reminds us of our identity. We are merely pilgrims in this life that is hoping for the final destination. The Rosary begins with Jesus and ends with Jesus. Our lives are similar, we begin with God and we end with God.

Each bead, each prayer, each praise, is like a rose offered to God that makes us a step closer to Him. May our life of faithfulness and devotion be a promise like a Cross in our hearts as we hope for a happy death. Each Rosary is a preparation for the ultimate end . . . Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.

Perhaps, it is a part of a design that the month of the Rosary leads us to Todos Los Santos, All Saints Day. We are all invited not only for our homecoming to be with the Communion of Saints in heaven, but a challenge to live saintly lives. A life of holiness is a life of truth. As the words of Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales reverberates in MAGPAS: "to be faithful and true to goodness is holiness. To witness the truth is to proclaim the truth."

And so, as we age in wisdom, may we utter the truth in every word we say and may the day come when there will be no more need to say: "Cross my heart and hope to die!" May we learn to follow the path of Mary through the Rosary that leads us to Jesus.

" I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE."
(JOHN 14:6)

Fr. Vic Y. Apacible
Parish Priest
NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE SACRED HEART
Makati City, Philippines

LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: LIFE AND DEATH

"I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me, though he die, yet will he live. Whoever lives and believes in Me will never die." (John 11: 25-26)

Fifth Sunday of Lent
(John 11: 1-45)

On the Fifth Sunday of Lent, our reflections on the Liturgy focuses on life and death. The readings are a marvelous movement from Ezekiel to Paul, to John - from Jerusalem to our world to the next, from the past to the present into the future. The movement opens with the prophet Ezekiel. The context is exile.

In 597 B.C. Ezekiel prophesied Jerusalem will be destroyed, and its destruction will be God's judgment on a people that has played the harlot of infidelity to its God. In 586 B.C. the city and its temple were destroyed.

Once the exiles repented of their infidelities, God gave them a new Spirit, His own Spirit, gives them new life, life in a Jerusalem restored, in a temple rebuilt. From death comes life. They experience once again God's presence among His people in their own dear land.

From Ezekiel the readings move to Paul, Again we hear of death and life, of dying and rising.

The dead are "those who are in the flesh, who live according to the flesh, who set their minds on the things of the flesh." (Rom. 8:5)

For Paul "flesh" has a special meaning. It denotes man and woman in their natural, physical, and visible existence, weak and earthbound; it connotes the natural human creature left to its native self.

Paul spells it out for the Christians in Galatia [and us], "Now the works of the flesh are plain: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, rivalries, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like." (Gal.5:19-21)

These are what separate us from God, weaken the life of God in us, darken the image of Christ in us. In Paul, alive are those who are "in the Spirit," in whom "the Spirit of God really dwell".

Paul spells it out for us: You are alive if your life is shaped of love: if your life is centered not on yourself, but on a whole little world around you. You are alive if joy suffuses your whole self - a joy that lends joy to all you touch.

You are alive if you are at peace - at peace with yourself, at peace with your sisters and brothers. You are alive if you are patient: if you can take the slings and arrows of each day with a measure of calm, with a minimum of complaint.

You are alive if you are kind, not only to your own kind, but to such as bore you to tears.

You are alive if you are generous - not only liberal in giving, a free spender and not a free-loader, but free from meanness of mind, from smallness of spirit.

You are alive if you are faithful: if you are full of faith in God and your fellows, if you inspire faith and trust in others. You are alive if you are gentle: if you are caring, courteous, and considerate.

You are alive if you are in control - not of others but yourself, master of whatever passions make you less human, less a mirror of the Christ in whose image you were molded.

From Paul the readings move majestically to John, from our world to the next, from the present to the future. The good news is that we are destined to be alive forever.

The Gospel of Lazarus tells us in story what Paul proclaimed to the Christians of Corinth: “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.”

The story of salvation makes sense only if we take literally the verse in St. John's Gospel: "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

The promise courses through our very veins at this very moment, the pledge of days without end: "If [you] love me, my Father will love [you], and we will come to [you] and make our home with [you]."

Today's grace is our pledge of tomorrow's glory. Ezekiel, Paul and John guaranteed us in different ways that God can make dry bones spring up to life.

But, like Lent itself, they remind us that rising involves dying. Dying begins when living begins; we share Jesus' dying by sharing the cross through the whole of our lives. It was not by refusing the cross that Jesus triumphed over death; it was in His very dying that He gave us new life - now and forever.

FR. BEN SIM, SJ
Parish Priest
SACRED HEART PARISH CHURCH
Cebu City, Philippines