Daily Gospel

Sunday, 27 January 2013
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C

St. Angela Merici, Virgin (c. 1470-1540)



Commentary of the day
Saint Ambrose : "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing"

Reading

Lk 1:1-4.4:14-21.


Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us,
I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received.  Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region.
            He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all. He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord."
        Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, "Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."


Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB



Commentary of the day

Saint Ambrose (c.340-397), Bishop of Milan and Doctor of the Church
Commentary on Psalm 1, §33 ; CSEL 64, 28-30

"Today this scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing"

Drink first of the Old Testament so as to drink afterward of the New. If
you do not drink of the first you will not be able to quench your thirst at
the second. Drink of the first to take your thirst away, of the second to
staunch it completely... Drink of the cup of both the Old Testament and the
New for in these two you drink Christ. Take away your thirst with Christ
for he is the vine, he is the rock that caused water to gush forth, he is
the spring of life. Drink Christ for he is “the stream whose runlets
gladden the city of God”, he is peace and “from his breast flow rivers of
living water”. Drink Christ to quench your thirst with the blood of your
redemption and the Word of God. The Old Testament is his word and so is the
New. We drink Holy Scripture and we eat it and then the eternal Word
descends into the veins of the spirit and the life of the soul: “Not by
bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the
mouth of God”. Therefore, quench your thirst with this Word yet in its
proper order: first drink it in the Old Testament and then, without
delaying, in the New. He himself says almost insistently: “People who walk
in darkness, see this great light; you who dwell in a land of death, a
light has shone upon you”. So drink without delay and a great light will
enlighten you: no longer the ordinary light of day, whether that of the sun
or the moon, but the light that casts out the shadow of death.(Biblical
references : Jn 15,1; 1Co 10,4; Ps 36[37],10; 45[46],5; Eph 2,14; Jn 7,38;
Dt 8,3; Mt 4,4; Is 9,1 LXX; Mt 4,16; Lk 1,79)

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Daily Gospel

Sunday, 20 January 2013
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C

Week of prayer for Christian unity
St. Sebastian, Martyr (c. 257-c. 288)



Commentary of the day
Saint Maximus of Turin : The new wine of true joy

Reading

Jn 2:1-11.


There was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.
Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.
When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine."
(And) Jesus said to her, "Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come."
His mother said to the servers, "Do whatever he tells you."
Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus told them, "Fill the jars with water." So they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it.
And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew), the headwaiter called the bridegroom
and said to him, "Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have kept the good wine until now."
Jesus did this as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began to believe in him.


Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB



Commentary of the day

Saint Maximus of Turin (?-c.420), Bishop
Sermon 23 ; PL 57, 274

The new wine of true joy

It is written that our Lord went to the wedding feast to which he had been
invited. So the Son of God went to that wedding feast to sanctify by his
presence the marriage he had already instituted. He went to a wedding of
the old law to choose a bride for himself among the pagans, who would
remain for ever a virgin. He, who was not born of human wedlock, went to
the wedding. He went there, not to participate in a joyful feast, but to
make himself known by means of a truly wonderful miracle. He went there,
not to drink wine but to give it. For as soon as the guests lacked wine
blessed Mary said to him: “They have no wine”. Jesus, seemingly annoyed,
answered her: “Woman, what do you want of me?”... By responding that: “My
hour has not yet come” he was surely announcing the glorious hour of his
Passion, or else the wine shed for the salvation and life of all. Mary
asked for a temporal favor whereas Christ was preparing an eternal
joy.However, our good Lord did not hold back from granting small things
while awaiting the coming of the great. Blessed Mary, because she was truly
the mother of the Lord, saw in her mind what was about to take place and
knew beforehand the Lord's intention. That is why she carefully warned the
servants in these words: “Do whatever he tells you”. His holy mother most
certainly knew that her son and Lord's words of reproach did not contain
the feelings of an angered man but a mystery of compassion... And now,
see!, suddenly those waters began to gain strength, to take on color, to
shed a good odor, to acquire taste and, at the same time, to completely
change their nature. And this transformation of water into another
substance testified to the presence of the Creator, for no one apart from
the one who created water out of nothing could have transformed it into
something else.

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Daily Gospel

Sunday, 13 January 2013
The Baptism of the Lord - Feast

St Hilary of Poitiers, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (c. 315- c. 367),  St. Veronica of Binasco, Religious (144-1497)



Commentary of the day
Saint John Chrysostom : "The holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in bodily form like a dove"

Reading

Lk 3:15-16.21-22.


The people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying, "I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire.
After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened
and the holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased."


Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB



Commentary of the day

Saint John Chrysostom (c.345-407), priest at Antioch then Bishop of Constantinople, Doctor of the Church
Homilies on Saint Matthew's Gospel, no.12 ; PG 57, 201

"The holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in bodily form like a dove"

Let us consider the great miracle that took place following the Savior's
baptism; it is prelude to what would shortly follow. Not the Paradise of
old but heaven itself opens: “After Jesus was baptized... behold, the
heavens were opened” (Mt 3,16). Why did heaven open when Jesus Christ was
baptized? To teach that the same thing invisibly happens at your own
baptism: at that moment God calls you to your homeland in heaven and
invites you to have nothing further in common with earth... If we do not
now see the same signs nevertheless we receive the same graces of which
these signs were the symbol.Then a dove was seen descending: it showed John
the Baptist and the Jews that Jesus was the Son of God. It would also teach
each one of us that the holy Spirit comes down on our soul at the moment of
baptism. It no longer comes in visible form because we no longer need it
to: faith is enough now...Why does the Holy Spirit appear in the form of a
dove? Because the dove is gentle and pure and the Holy Spirit is a spirit
of gentleness and peace. This dove also reminds us of an event we read
about in the Old Testament: when the earth was inundated by the flood and
the whole human race in danger of perishing, the dove appeared to announce
the end of the disaster; it carried an olive branch bearing the good news
of the restoration of peace in the world. Now all this was a prefiguration
of of what was to come... When all was lost, deliverance and renewal came
about. What formerly took place through the deluge of water now takes place
today as if by a deluge of grace and mercy... It is no longer only one man
that the dove calls to leave the ark to repopulate the earth; it draws all
men to heaven. Instead of an olive branch, it brings to all humankind the
dignity of adoption as children of God.

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Daily Gospel

Sunday, 30 December 2012
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph - Feast - Year C

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph - Feast
St. Sabinus, Bishop, and his Companions, Martyrs († c. 303)



Commentary of the day
Origen : "After three days they found him in the temple"

Reading

Lk 2:41-52.


Each year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety."
And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
And Jesus advanced (in) wisdom and age and favor before God and man.


Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB



Commentary of the day

Origen (c.185-253), priest and theologian
Homilies on Saint Luke's Gospel, no.18 ; SC 87

"After three days they found him in the temple"

Age twelve, Jesus remains in Jerusalem. Unaware, his parents look for him
anxiously and fail to find him. They look “among their relatives”, they
look “among their traveling companions”, they look “among their
acquaintances”, but amongst all these people they do not find him... My
Jesus doesn't want to be found in a crowd.Now learn where they found him...
so that you can find him too: “At the end of their search they found him in
the Temple”. Not just anywhere but “in the Temple” and not simply in the
Temple but “in the midst of the teachers, asking them questions and
listening to them”. So then, look for Jesus too in the Temple of God, seek
him in the Church, seek him among the teachers in this temple, who never
leave it. If you seek like this, you will find...They find him “sitting in
the midst of the teachers, asking them questions and listening to them”.
Again, Jesus is here; he is asking us questions and listening to us
speaking. Luke says: “They were all astounded”. What was it they were
astounded about? Not his questions, wonderful though they were, but his
answers... “Moses spoke,” Scripture says, “and God answered him in a voice”
(Ex 19,19). This was how the Lord taught Moses what he did not know.
Sometimes Jesus questions, sometimes he answers..., and no matter how
wonderful his questions are, his answers are more wonderful still.That we,
too, may hear him and he may put questions to us that he himself will
answer, let us beg for him and make an intense and anxious attempt to find
him and then we shall find the one we are looking for. Not without reason
does Scripture say: “Your father and I have been looking for you
sorrowfully”. Indeed, someone who is looking for Jesus should not do so
carelessly and without effort, in an intermittent way as some do... who,
for this reason, do not find him. As for us, let us say: “We are looking
hard for you”.

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Daily Gospel

Sunday, 23 December 2012
Fourth Sunday of Advent - Year C

The Great O Antiphons: "O Emmanuel"
St. John of Kanty, Priest (1390-1473),  St. Servulus († c. 590)



Commentary of the day
Blessed Guerric of Igny : «Behold, my beloved comes! He springs across the mountains, leaps across the hills» (Sg 2,8)

Reading

Lk 1:39-45.


During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."


Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB



Commentary of the day

Blessed Guerric of Igny (c.1080-1157), Cistercian abbot
2nd Sermon of Advent, §1-2 ; SC 166 (trans. ©Cistercian publications, 1970)

«Behold, my beloved comes! He springs across the mountains, leaps across the hills» (Sg 2,8)

"Behold the King is coming, let us hasten to meet our Savior" (Advent
liturgy) Solomon put it very well when he said: "As cold water to a thirsty
soul, so is good news from a far country" (Prv 25,25). He certainly brings
good news who announces the coming of the Savior, the reconciliation of the
world and the good things of the world to come. “How welcome the feet of
them that preach peace and bring good tidings!” (Is 52,7)... Such
messengers are waters of refreshment and a draught of saving wisdom to a
soul athirst for God. For such a soul, the herald of the coming and of the
other mysteries of the Savior, draws and proffers water “with joy from the
springs of the Savior” (Is 12,3). And so it seems to me that the soul is
heard to reply to the messenger... in the words of Elisabeth. It has drunk
of the same spirit as she has and says: "Whence is this that my Lord should
come to me? Behold, as soon as your salutation sounded in my ears, the
Spirit in my heart leapt for joy, earnestly desiring to hurry off to meet
God its Savior."And really, brethren, we should go to meet the coming
Christ with joy in our heart... “O my Savior and my God! (Ps 43[42],5) what
an honor that you should have saluted your servants. How much the greater
that you should have saved them?... You have given us salvation not only by
greeting with the kiss of peace in your Incarnation those you had
previously saluted with words of peace, but, more, by effecting their
salvation through your death on the Cross.” Let us therefore rise up with
joyful eagerness and hasten to welcome our Savior. Let us adore him and
salute him at a distance, crying out to him: "Deliverance, Lord,
deliverance! Lord, grant us the victory! Blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord” (Ps 118[117],25-26).

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What should I do?

         This morning, like every morning we start our day with either communal prayer or Holy mass. But one thing is strange. The weather is not as usual. Strong winds with no sunlight. People talk about the so called evil plan, the RH Bill in this Philippines. Priests and devout catholic are murmuring about this plan. They say politicians and the President are no longer protecting the citizens. The voters in the congress and the other related people are bribed and threatened in order to have the RH Bill passed. What shall we do?

           As a Catholic I am really sad, how could I express this sorrow? They want to bring this bill of Death in this Christmas season? On the other hand I am ready to oppose it whatever it may cost. Life or death no matter what lies ahead. I am even happy to help pray for a soul to be saved, my life and my mission is already fulfilled. I do not want to blame anyone anymore. Let them exercise their power and freedom. Jesus has entrusted us with this mission, not to follow the rulers of this world which is corruption in every way.

       In the Philippine daily news I see the people rejoicing because this evil plan is brought out in this little society. I do not wish to see them in sorrow again in the future. As a foreigner living in this Philippines, I feel pity  on the natives here. They are going to suffer, the persecution of the Catholic Church is officially inaugurated in this country. And I foresee there will be more evil plans awaiting. This called for faith repentance and practice our faith. I feel sad about the supporters of this Bill, and I am wondering whether they really understand the bill or just following with the flow. 

        You know, when we fall sick we have take medicines, capsules and tablets and so on. When the tablet is bitter there will be sweet coating on it. So that we might not notice when we take. In the same manner, this Bill is covered with words like Health, Right of Filipino Women, to address poverty in the country and so on.....many sweet sounding words. 

       Majority of the supporters have not read the bill completely is a fact. They were just informed by the politicians that this would help address the poverty in the country, health and right of women. If it is the problem of the poverty why not address the monopolizing-business men and women to share their richness? Why allowed all the resources to be monopolized by the small group of people, Americans and Europeans who give them dollars and Euros what they want.

   All I can say is I AM REALLY SAD FOR NOW AND FOR THE FUTURE. May God bless us...Deliver us from Evil, Lord Jesus.

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