PAN DE LA SEMANA

4 th Sunday in Lent – B March 15, 2015 FROM LOWLINESS TO LAETARE Today is Laetare Sunday. Midway through Lent, the Church tells us to “rejoice” (Laetare) which is a significant word in the Entrance Antiphon. Today, the processional hymn ideally ought to reflect this call to rejoice, as some kind of a break in the discipline of Lent. The readings, as is proper of the season, are all very rich.   The first reading, while referring to God’s people and their marked tendency to “mock the messengers” sent from above, also highlights the overflowing mercy of God, who raised up Cyrus, King of Persia, who liberated the Israelites from their exile in Babylon. Now, that event was a watershed moment in the history of salvation – ours, as much as that of the Israelites. The second reading precisely develops the theme of God who is “rich in mercy.” We were all “saved by grace” and “raised up with Christ” being the “handiwork” of God. ...

--> 4 th Sunday of Lent (A) Laetare Sunday March 30, 2014 LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION! They say that among the top ten habits of unhappy people is to consistently be arguing with oneself whether to get up from bed each morning. They sigh. They whine. They groan and moan as they complain to themselves about the unfortunate need to rise up and – not shine, mind you – but to pine for what they are about to lose by leaving their beds. Well, following closely behind this is to be expected … the penchant to look for someone to blame, to shame, to shout at, and point accusing fingers at. He could be the tricycle driver ahead of you; the jeepney driver, or the thoughtless, inconsiderate pedestrian blocking your path. Whoever it is, does not matter. Everyone is fair game to an unhappy person working himself to a frenzy looking for a fight. The blind man in the gospel does not seem to fit the bill of such an unhappy person. Perhaps you could look a...

4 th Sunday of Lent Year C March 10, 2013 TASTE AND SEE THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD! The first reading and the responsorial psalm both have to do with the image of eating, celebrating, or partaking of food together with others. The second reading, though not even remotely related to eating and sharing of food, does give us the reason to eat together and celebrate – the fact that we have become new creatures in Christ, that is, reconciled to God in Him. The Gospel, for its part, although focused on the idea of forgiveness, does refer, too, indirectly to a banquet given by the forgiving father upon return of the younger lost son, who chose to follow a different path, until he got back to his senses and returned. This is a rich Sunday, readings wise, and we preachers are hard pressed to make of all three separate readings a meaningful totality. But quite apart from all this, today is Laetare Sunday , meaning “rejoice,” for laetare is the first ...

Catholic Homily / Sunday Reflection 4 th Sunday of Lent (C) March 14, 2010 Sometimes I do love reading that glossy mag called “Consumer Reports.” I love the look of new products and I love even more the ratings the magazine gives to those same new products. The pictures are tantalizing; the products themselves are mesmerizing, and one wonders with all sorts of new things that come the consumers’ way, people can ever hope to be satisfied with what they have at the moment. The thing is, we all love new things. Who would not want to sport a new outfit on occasion? Who would not want to get the ultimate, the best, the newest, and the most chic? Even now, millions are drooling this early for the much awaited iPad of Apple, which makes all others pale in comparison, and gives Amazon’s “Kindle” a run for its money! A good journalist, as the name implies, is he or she who has the knack of getting the latest “sc...