PAN DE LA SEMANA

15 th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) July 15, 2012 The two words that came to mind after reading today’s first reading – the sending away of Amos from Bethel and his banishment to Judah – are simply “so what?”   So what if Bethel were the “king’s sanctuary and a royal temple?” Amos, who was ruffling not just a few feathers and rattling the nerves of those who were being hard hit, just could not be tolerated any more. Amaziah himself, supposedly a “man of the cloth” sort of, acted as spokesman and told him what was almost like a death sentence for the outspoken and truthful prophet: “Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah!” Flimsy reasons; phony rationalizations! The words of Amaziah were nothing but plain baloney! Last week, we spoke partly about rejection. I reminded you about my own experience of being unwanted and downright rejected. I also reminded everyone how we share a lot of things in common, for each and everyone of us had that not-too-e...

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A July 10, 2011 There is something in the readings today that sit very close to nature, or at least, to the natural world as we knew it way back then. Let us face it … nature is fast disappearing. In the Philippines, only about 3 million hectares of rice lands are left, and they are fast becoming cathedrals of commerce – shopping malls, and SM, in particular! Our prime forest lands are also dwindling precipitously low, thus depriving countless species of flora and fauna, a home where they can thrive unhampered and untrammeled by so-called development. But even then, the Biblical readings ought to speak to us. They ought to offer us a view of reality from God’s perspective. And they ought to teach us valuable lessons about life … here and now, and thereafter. What are some of these timely lessons that we can glean from today’s readings? Before I proceed to answer that, let me tell you what I have recently been through … Two weeks ago,...

Catholic Homily/Sunday Reflection 15 th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) July 11, 2010 Last Sunday’s gospel confronted us with the true meaning of discipleship. Without resorting to sugar-coating, Jesus made us aware of the inherent difficulties attached to following the Lord: “I am sending you like lambs among wolves.” But we were exposed also to the bigger reality promised to those who are called to work for the Lord’s harvest. “Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” This Sunday’s readings are a further deepening on the meaning of discipleship. They give us the absolute ideal, the heights to which every serious and solid believer ought to aspire after. Hoc fac et vives , the Lord tells us. Do this and you will live. What exactly ought we to do? What in concrete does this close link between doing and living consist in, in our times, in our days, in our world? Our generation is steeped in the desire for more in every conceivable way. We want bigger and more comfortab...

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time(B) July 12, 2009 Usually, rejection comes with scorn, with disdain, with a whole lot of sarcasm and biting humor, and – to top it all off – perhaps a subtle accusation to boot. All this appears to be what is behind the experience of Amos, the prophet. The envious Amaziah, probably acting at the behest of the King, told Amos in effect to shut up or ship out. Lumping Amos with the band of rowdy and noisy charlatans – the paid “visionaries” of the time – Amaziah tells him to scram and get lost. He tells Amos to go and get cheaply paid some place else, not anywhere near the King’s “sanctuary and royal temple.” It is bad enough to be rejected. But it is even worse to be accused, subtly or not so subtly, that he was nothing more than a paid hack, a cheapjack who earned his keeps by prophesying. It was an accusation that merited a straightforward answer from the not-so-easily-discouraged Amos: “I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to the company of prophets; I ...

Catholic Homily/Sunday Reflection 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A July 13, 2008 Readings: Is 55:10-11 /Rom 8:18-23 /Mt 13:1-23 One experience we are all too familiar with, but which we’d rather not have to go through is the experience of failure. Students dread the thought of all their efforts at mastering the subject matter all coming to naught at the end of the term. Farmers need to do their sowing of new seeds at the right time, lest their seeds, for lack of sufficient moisture, wither and die. Parents go through their task of raising children with fear and trepidation because failure in this regard may spell a lifetime of regret - if not, recrimination. We all dread failure. We do not look forward to wastage of any kind, least of all our human efforts. We desire that all human effort expended in whatever field of endeavor, would turn efficacious, either for ourselves, or for others. We long for success. Students look forward to a diploma. Farmers want a bountiful harvest – an...