Homilía: 3 Julio, 2022, XIV Domingo Ordinario

-

 “Pónganse en camino; yo los envío como corderos en medio de lobos. No lleven ni dinero, ni morral, ni sandalias”.
Jesús está enviando a sus discípulos a proclamar la buena nueva de la salvación a todos. Sin embargo, su instrucción suena como si los estuviera enviando a morir, a una misión peligrosa. En lugar de avisarles que traigan todas las necesidades y recursos para ser autosuficientes e independientes, les está diciendo que sean indefensos y vulnerables.
¿Pueden manejar?
Jesús es el cordero de Dios. Su misión es dar Su vida por Sus ovejas. Él es totalmente dependiente sólo de Dios. Él no necesita nada más de este mundo para cumplir Su misión. Y ahora Él está enseñando a Sus discípulos a hacer lo mismo. Él nos está diciendo que hagamos lo mismo.
¿Podemos manejarlo?
Parece difícil, ¿no?
Tengo un muy buen amigo, Doctor Samuel Thomas. El es un ministro pentecostal también presidente de una organización internacional llamada Hope Givers que da esperanza de un futuro mejor a los niños huérfanos, abandonados y desfavorecidos. 
En la India, fundada por su padre y ahora bajo su liderazgo, han establecido setenta mil iglesias. A pesar de haber recibido múltiples amenazas de muerte y riesgos de asesinato, e incluso encarcelamientos, nada lo detiene.
Una vez le pregunté: Sam, ¿cuál es el secreto de tu éxito? Sin pensarlo dos veces, respondió que su primera prioridad, segunda prioridad y tercera prioridad son proclamar la buena nueva, proclamar la buena nueva y proclamar la buena nueva. El resultado es su ministerio creciente. Quiere ser mártir por el evangelio. Aunque no siempre estoy de acuerdo con su interpretación de las Escrituras, admiro su espíritu.
¿Qué pasa con nosotros? ¿Podemos proclamar el evangelio sin miedo, con un espíritu imparable? ¿Podemos salir al mundo llevando nada más que la palabra de Dios?
En realidad, no necesitas salir de tu casa para predicar el evangelio. Santa Teresa de Lisieux es la patrona de las misiones. Vivió solo 24 años y ni siquiera ha salido de su convento. Sin embargo, es santa y doctora de la Iglesia, por su fe sencilla y firme, por su vida sencilla y auténtica.
Para convertirse en un misionero del evangelio, no necesita salir al mundo. Predique y viva el evangelio en su familia, sea un buen modelo a seguir para sus hijos, sea un buen testimonio para sus vecinos. 
Tu vocación es convertir a tu familia en iglesia, tu campo misionero es tu casa, tu barrio, tu alrededor, tu lugar de trabajo, tu escuela.
¿Se siente inadecuado, incompetente, no calificado?
Jesús envió a pescadores y publicanos, no a predicadores profesionales. Jesús dice: “No lleven ni dinero, ni morral, ni sandalias” Verdaderamente, no necesitamos nada extra para predicar el evangelio. No necesitamos un título en Teología o Sagrada Escritura. Solo necesitamos a Jesús: su espíritu, su gracia, su amor. Esto viene de nuestro bautismo, los sacramentos y una relación personal con Jesús.
Si todos nosotros leemos la palabra de Dios diariamente, recibimos los sacramentos regularmente y nos conectamos con Jesús en oración, habrá grandes cambios en nuestra parroquia, en este país, en el mundo. Habrá grandes cambios en nuestra vida.
Primero, proclama el evangelio a ti mismo. Entonces sabrás cómo proclamarlo a los demás.


Comments

Post a Comment

Read

Homily: September 21, 2026, Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist (Follow me)

-
 “Follow me.” On this feast of St. Matthew, we hear Matthew’s own account of his calling. Jesus saw him sitting at the customs post and said just two words: “Follow me.” And Matthew gets up and follows him. No second thought. No long discernment. No plan for the future. Maybe Matthew had been waiting for a moment like this—a chance to begin again. Matthew was a tax collector, considered a sinner and hated by his own people because he worked for the occupying power. Yet Jesus looked at this man whom others rejected and saw an apostle. That should give every one of us hope. God can change people. God does not wait until we are perfect before he calls us. Jesus says in today’s Gospel, “I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” We are all sinners. We all have weaknesses, habits, failures, and things in our lives that need to change. And there may be people around us struggling with addictions or trapped in sinful situations. Sometimes we may even wonder whether a person can ev...
Read more

Homily: October 4, 2026, Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (No Anxiety)

-
 “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.” This is how St. Paul speaks to us in today’s second reading. “Have no anxiety at all.” We might immediately think: That is easy to say! But look at the person who said it. St. Paul wrote these words while he was a prisoner. He was facing an uncertain future and even the possibility of death. And yet his Letter to the Philippians is often called the Letter of Joy. All of us have anxieties. I have my anxieties too—what to preach, how to raise money, what comes next, concerns about family and ministry. Parents worry about their children and their future. We worry about our health, finances, relationships, and many other things. St. Paul does not simply say, “Stop worrying.” He tells us what to do with our worries: bring them to God. “By prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.” In other words: Do what you can, and place what you cann...
Read more

Homily: September 27, 2026, Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary time (The Fair way)

-
 “Thus says the Lord: You say, ‘The Lord’s way is not fair!’” I chose this phrase from our first reading for our reflection today because it sounds very similar to what we heard last Sunday in the first reading.  “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways.” I think most of us, at some point in our lives, have said something similar to God. I know I have. “Lord, this is not fair.” “Why do I have to go through this?” “Why didn’t you answer this prayer?” “Why did you allow this to happen?” “I am trying to follow you. Could you not treat me a little better?” We may not say those words aloud, but sometimes they are deep within our hearts. So what exactly is God’s way? The second reading gives us an answer.  For centuries humanity wondered what God was like. Then Jesus Christ, the beloved Son of the Father, came among us and revealed the face of God. And St. Paul describes Jesus with these extraordinary words: “He did not regard equality with God something to...
Read more

Homily: October 3, 2026, Saturday of the Twenty Sixth Week in Ordinary Time (God Restores)

-
 “Thus the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his earlier ones.” This beautiful phrase comes from our first reading today, from the very last chapter of the Book of Job. The Book of Job is part of the wisdom literature of the Bible. Job is presented as a righteous man who loses almost everything—his possessions, his children, his health, and even the understanding and support of those around him. The great question running through the book is: Why does a good person suffer? Where is God when everything seems to be lost? Interestingly, the Book of Job does not give us a simple answer to the mystery of suffering. Instead, it invites us to trust in God even when we cannot understand his ways. And today, at the end of the story, we see something beautiful: God restores Job. “Thus the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his earlier ones.” This reminds us of the restoring power of God. God can restore what seems broken. God can bring hope after despair, joy after sor...
Read more

Homily: April 2, 2024, Tuesday in the Octave of Easter (Mary at the Tomb).

-
 Mary Magdalene stayed outside the tomb, weeping. Today’s gospel begins by describing the emotional state of Mary. We can all visualize and identify with this scene. Mary Magdalene is very sad, to the point of experiencing deep emotional pain which triggers tears. This is love.  I recall when my papa died within a week of discovering his illness. It was unexpected, we were all unprepared. All my sisters wept on the day he died, and into the days after his burial. They cried again, very emotionally, when we visited his tomb thereafter and I recited the Office for the Dead. I, too, cried a lot at papa’s death. Love is a powerful emotion. It stirs our heart to feel the pain of loss, which works up our brain to trigger the release of tears, to help reduce the emotional pain. God gave us tears to help us manage our pain.  Jesus wept at the death of Lazarus, and before He entered Jerusalem, and at the garden of Gethsemane. His love for humanity stirred up deep emotional pain, s...
Read more

Homily: October 5, 2026, Monday of the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time (Repay you on my way back)

-
 “If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.” This is one of the beautiful lines from today’s Gospel.  We can easily see Jesus as the Good Samaritan. Humanity was wounded by sin, and Jesus came to rescue us. He lifted us up, cared for our wounds, and brought us to the inn. And we can see the inn as the Church—a place where wounded people are brought to be healed, cared for, and loved. But then Jesus gives the innkeeper two coins and says, “Take care of him.” Perhaps we can see ourselves as that innkeeper. Jesus has entrusted people to our care. And we might imagine those two coins as the two great commandments: Love God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself. The first coin is love of God. God deserves the first place in our lives—our heart, our time, our attention, our will. So let us intentionally live our lives trying to please God. Then comes the secon...
Read more

Homily: May 29, 2026 Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

-
Holy Family School Mass   "The grass withers, and the flower fades, but the word of our God remains forever." What comes to your mind when you hear the term “the Word of our God”? If you are thinking it is the Bible, then you are right. The Word of God is the Bible. The Bible is also known as the Book of books, because the Bible is a collection of many books. Do you know how many books are in the Bible? If you think there are about 10 books, put up your hands. What about 20 books? Put up your hands. Who thinks there are more than 50 books? And you are right! There are 73 books in the Holy Bible! Do you know how long it took to write the Bible? Who says 100 years? 500 years? More than 1000 years? Oh yes, the 73 books of the Bible were written over 1,500 years. Around 40 different authors contributed to it. It has been translated into hundreds of different languages and read by billions of people around the world, over hundreds and hundreds of years. The world has changed over ...
Read more

Homily: February 6, 2024, Tuesday of the fifth week in Ordinary time (Solomon Failed)

-
He said, "LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below." Solomon is praising the God of Israel, acknowledging Him as the one true God. He sings a hymn of thanksgiving to God for dwelling in the temple he built. Solomon was especially blessed by God. In the earlier chapters of the book of First Kings, we read that God blessed Solomon with wisdom and all the riches of the world. Unfortunately, in the later chapters, Solomon failed God. He followed his pagan wives to worship other deities. The same lips which uttered those words of praise and thanksgiving began to praise other gods. What a pity. The Bible provides no mention whether Solomon repented of his numerous sins or tore down the pagan altars he built. Did he not turn back to the one true God He honored and worshipped? Was he tempted beyond the possibility of return? In the Letter to the Hebrews 6:4, it is stated, "For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlight...
Read more

Homily: June 7, 2022, Tuesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time.

-
 “You are salt of the earth.” When couples are in love, they call each other ‘sweetheart’, ‘honey’ and maybe ‘sugar’? Because they add sweetness to each other’s life. And most religious leaders would expect their followers to be powerful, mighty and unbeatable. But here, Jesus calls His beloved disciples ‘salt’. Such a humble reference. What does Jesus want His disciples to do differently? One. Humble yet purposeful. Salt is common yet very useful in every home, rich or poor. His disciples would reach out and preach the good news to every home, every family in the world. Two. Taste enhancing. The right amount of salt makes food tasty. Without it, food tastes bland. Just a sprinkle of it will bring out the full flavor. His disciples would help everyone realise their purpose, to bring about the full consciousness of their true calling as children of God. Three. Purifies. Traditionally, Holy water is blessed by adding a pinch of salt because salt purifies and wards off evil. Jesus’ di...
Read more

Homily: March 25, 2024, Monday of the Holy week (Servant songs).

-
“A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching.” There are four passages in the book of the prophet Isaiah known as ‘Servant Songs’, or ‘Songs of the Suffering Servant’.  Today’s first reading is taken from the first song. The next two days we will read from another two songs. These are prophecies about Jesus, written 700 years before His birth, and they reveal the mission and disposition of the Messiah. This first song describes the most important disposition of Jesus and His very purpose on earth. A bruised weed is a stalk of grain which is crushed and broken in such a way that it will never produce any grain again. It is a dying stalk. This refers to the poor and oppressed, so miserable is their life such that they can never on their own, rise above their poverty and neediness. Their only hope is having someone to lift them out of their situation. A smoldering wic...
Read more