Making Friends With The Lord Jesus

We are creatures who read signs. We seek their meanings and we strive to decipher them. We have this innate aspiration to look for happiness and complete fulfillment. So, we naturally seek the signs that will show us the way there. We need to acknowledge that not all signs lead to such blossoming of our being. There are lies, deceptive signs and such that only attract us but lead us elsewhere that actually worsen our condition of incompleteness. We need the perfect One, the Real One and the True Sign. Jesus in the gospel teaches us where to find that sign.

At times, we know how to conduct ourselves to pray. We memorized those set prayers in our childhood, taught by our mothers and in grade school, in preparation for First Holy Communion. However, as we grow and are exposed to more complex systems and experiences, there are times we may say that we need to learn how to pray. Today, that is what the disciples of Jesus do. They ask Him how they are to pray. Jesus opens their minds and teaches them what is known as the Lord's prayer.

Our Mother the Church makes us read the story Our dear Lord gave us about the Last Judgment. The king will gather everyone and group them like sheep and goats. He positioned the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then, he asked them what they did to him. They were puzzled by that questioning because they do not recall having encountered him. But the king surprises them. He identifies himself with the least of our brethren, i.e., the sick, the naked, the hungry, the thirsty, and so forth. Those who attended to those in need are invited to their reward. These were the sheep. The goats, however, did not attend to the needs of those who did not have food, drink, care, company, and so forth. So they got their just deserts away from the king and his kingdom.

Today, let us learn what temptations are in relation to our relationship with Jesus and how to deal with them through our dear Lord's example.

Today is a great day to give thanks to God in a special way. He reveals that God is looking for sinners, and not the virtuous. That is tremendous consolation. Instinctively, we assume that we are not worthy of God because of our sins. On the contrary, he assures us that he searches for us to be with us sinners. Those who think they are not sinners don't have any need for God. That is a sobering thought. It is practically talking about going to and being in hell. Our Lord takes us as we are, i.e., as sinners!

Fasting is a splendid form of penance. It is about voluntarily depriving ourselves of something that we naturally enjoy, like food, drink, sex, or the like. This form of sacrifice cures the attachments, disorder, and dissipation in our souls. Excessive indulgence in the enjoyments leaves in us a certain addiction or slavery to a creature. Depriving ourselves of such enjoyments straightens us up.

The gospel today encourages us to deeply consider our choices. The Lord puts himself as an example to us. He prophesies his own demise at the hands of his enemies but on the third day, he would return to life. He first gives his life so that we also give him ours. So, the gospel insists on our carrying our cross everyday to follow him. If he lost his life for us and our sins, he asks us also to lose our lives for him. Only in this total holocaust can we win and save our lives.

On Ash Wednesday, the Church begins the season of Lent, a 40-day period of preparation for Easter. Lent invites Christians to reflect on Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection, recognizing that sin led to His crucifixion and that His sacrifice redeems humanity. The Gospel reading from the Gospel of Matthew emphasizes that acts of righteousness—almsgiving, prayer, and fasting—must not be done for public recognition but for God alone.The root of sin is pride and vanity, a desire to replace God as the center of life—echoing the temptation of Adam and Eve to “be like gods.” Lent calls believers to repair three relationships: with others (through almsgiving), with God (through prayer), and within themselves (through fasting). The ashes placed on the forehead remind Christians of mortality and humility: earthly praise fades, but God's reward is eternal.

The Lord calls us to pay attention. We should be on guard. There are threats out there. This disposition is essential to a Christian. We cannot live unmindful of the world, the flesh, and the devil, not taking a vacation to snag our souls to commit sin and end up in hell. Being prayerful and responsive to God's calls at each moment will keep us safer than sorry.

The people persist in demanding Jesus to give them a sign. There have been so many signs in his miracles and still they ask for a sign. There is nothing like blindness that is due to the unwillingness to see. In any case, we should learn how to converse with the Lord in prayer. Those people referred to in the gospel of today were insincere. That is not how to have a familiar discussion with the Lord.

Jesus explains to His listeners in a way so different from that of the usual religious leaders of Israel. He speaks from personal authority, i.e., in the first person singular. This should have shocked the people, and especially their traditional hierarchy. Jesus taught with authority, unlike their rabbis, the Pharisees, and the Scribes. Jesus backed up his claims to truth with prodigious miracles. That gave them a strong motive for credibility. This should have gotten them to think more deeply about Jesus. Who is he? Or even, what is he?

The gospel today tells us about another miraculous multiplication of loaves and fish. Just like the time he multiplied bread and fish for the five thousand, he does it again for the four thousand before him. He did so because he had compassion with the crowds, because they had been with him for three days already. That is impressive loyalty. How are we doing in inserting some prayer time during our busy days?

We witness the miracle of Jesus making a deaf and mute man hear and speak clearly. He does so in a very curious way. He did that and we need to observe him very closely. How he proceeds will help us understand the largely sacramental way we should live our Christian lives.

The gospel provides us the example of a pagan woman of Syro-Phoenician descent in how she engages with Jesus in a repartee so she could get him to grant her a favor. She was worried about her daughter who was possessed by an unclean spirit. Her humility in the end attracts Our dear Lord to listen to her petition and give in to her request.

The Lord Jesus calls out his contemporaries regarding their superficiality in labeling as unclean certain things. They were worried about being contaminated by lepers, dead bodies, blood, etc, that they lost sight of what the real evil was supposed to be. Jesus points out to them the source of being unclean as being internal to man. It is not what we touch or are exposed to that make us unclean and unworthy of converse with God.

The Lord reclaims the position of God and His Will over human traditions. The problem of human traditions happens when they are prioritized over the following and fulfillment of the Commandments of God and His Will. What Christianity always does with respect to a culture is to find the good in it, and affirm it and distinguish it from what does not lead to God.

It is impressive how the Lord Jesus lets the people are cured of their ailments through touch. All they needed to do was have that faith in that by merely touching any part of his person or clothing, they would receive their miracle. These external signs provided Jesus with the credibility for the people to believe that he could perform miracles in the soul, i.e., invisible to the senses.

You are the Light of the World! Our Lord stressed that we should be a light to others. This is a great responsibility.

The Lord wants us to know that we are in a war. We are at war. We are engaged in many battles. Some we lose. Every so often, we win. But we are in a state of war as long as we are still here on earth, battling for our eternal destiny. The Devil does not rest. Hence, our Lord sees the people as sheep without a shepherd. They need protection, preparation, equipment, discipline, and so on. Foremost, they require a leader and a guide.

The gospel today shows us the unwise practice of getting intoxicated. Herod decided to do something he was going to regret forever.

Jesus sent them out! That is what he continues to do to each of us. At the end of every Mass, the priest sends us off too. Go forth, the mass is ended! We have received so much in mass that we need to share it with others.

Jesus continues to impress his listeners. They tried to grasp who and what he was. Today's gospel, however, tells us about his visit to Nazareth, where he met with some opposition. They did not give him any credence. They took offense at him. Furthermore, their excuse was that they were to be familiar with him. They grew up together. They played together. Furthermore, they thought they knew him very well. So, his teaching such doctrines and performing such miracles was mysterious to them. Where did he get this? They asked this question. Instead of exploring and investigating the matter, they took offense at him. They were closed to further learning. They were so stubborn that Jesus was not able to do more miracles there.

The Lord went about teaching. He backed the authority he possessed by performing prodigious deeds like miracles. The people listened to him and believed him because Jesus provided them with motives of credibility. One of these motives of credibility is miracles.

The gospel to celebrate the Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple reminds us of certain actions we need to monitor in our lives. Basically, it is the movement of presenting ourselves before the Lord. The devil hates this because what he wants is that we depart from him. The inches he succeeds in distancing us from our Savior are a point for him. We are therefore going in the opposite direction if we are not moving toward God's place or direction. Simeon reported to the temple to witness his salvation, and that meant seeing Jesus. Mary and Joseph also reported to the Temple to do as the Law specified. Let us get used to this. Otherwise, it is hell we are headed to.

If we would like to get a good idea of what God's Kingdom would look like, we have this opportunity in today's gospel about the Beatitudes. Jesus offers himself as a good model embodying the characteristics of how our lives should strive to look like. On top of the commandments that God offered Moses to put before the people of Israel, Jesus delivers his pitch in the famous Sermon on the Mount. He perfects and fulfills those commandments with the Beatitudes.

Our dear Lord Jesus Christ performed one of the more amazing miracles during his lifetime. He calmed a storm when urgently awakened by his disciples on a boat. He chastised them for their lack of faith.

Today, we listen to God's Word telling us about seeds again. They are sown, and they sprout and grow. However, the Lord directs our attention to the reality of those seeds springing into action in the fact of their growth. They become seedlings. Then, they grow further. How do they do that? We know not how. However, such a mystery does not prevent us from noticing the obvious, namely, they have grown. Later, in maturity, he cites the mustard seeds maturing and producing branches strong enough to carry perching birds. We can even enjoy their shade.

Jesus' teaching today includes a veiled warning about how we judge others. How we measure others--and this assumes we have a certain standard by which we assess the others--will be used with us as well. I have begun a long time ago to be merciful to the others, no matter what, because I would like God to be merciful with me too. It is as simple as that. Being very strict with the others, even to the point of being unfair in doing it because although we lack data we proceed to rashly judge them, or that we measure them by our own egoistic standards, then we will likewise get the same measure, but this time it will be God's standard. That will be totally difficult to top!

The Lord reminds us of the crucial role openness and willingness play relative to the Word of God. He employs the seed, the sower of the seed, and the different kinds of surfaces that receive that seed. Depending on that receptivity, that seed would either dry up or bear much fruit.

The end of Satan! That would be the day. We read in the gospel that Jesus was again under the microscope. His enemies claimed that he raised the dead by the power of Satan. He was in the payroll of hell. It sounds absolutely absurd. Jesus squarely and definitively attacks this accusation!

Jesus is the much-awaited Messiah foretold by the scriptures. He fulfilled all the prophecy markers found in the Old Testament. That meant he was destined to die to fulfill his mandate from his Father.

Today, we hear of a criticism about Jesus. They commented that he was crazy because he was working so hard that he was not concerned about eating. He let himself be occupied so much he did not consider taking care of himself. Questions about how much one worked without resting reasonably well so that one could work well later on. We could be bothered by this. Let us learn from the Master what he does and says.

Today, the Lord proceeds to choose his twelve apostles. Among his choices, we find men who were not perfect. Judas Iscariot is there—his personal choice, who turned out to be his betrayer. Peter was included, and he denied Our Lord three times. The rest deserted Jesus when he needed them the most. Why should we be surprised or shocked that, among those in the ranks of the hierarchy of the Church today, some are not perfect as well? This behavior of Jesus only encourages us to sing gratitude and hallelujah for God's mysterious but generous mercy and love.

We read about the unclean spirits leaving the bodies of those they tormented. They scream the identity of Jesus. But the Lord stopped them. Of course, the devil is the enemy, and Jesus did not want His fame to be based on their declarations. Moreover, people might understand his kingship incorrectly. The devil is a liar by nature. Who knows what he has in mind as he apparently propagates Jesus' Name to others.

Here comes another thorny question about what can be done on the Sabbath. The Pharisees tend to be finicky about the requirements of living the day properly. They see problems with whether it is fine to do good for others or not. There is this man with a withered hand in the synagogue. Our blessed Lord uses him as an example to show the absurdity of the Pharisees' position.

Today, the Lord teaches us the obligation we all have to form our consciences properly. This arose when some of the Jews called him out when they observed his disciples picking ears of corn. They pointed out the anomalous nature of such action from the point of view of the time it was done. It was the Sabbath. Certain things or actions should be avoided, as the Lord rested on the Sabbath. Their logic was that picking corn was not resting as the Sabbath required. However, the good Lord took that as an opportunity to form our consciences because so much depends on judging properly what to do or what to say about actions we have done. Thus, the Lord taught using the example of David--and David was a huge saint for the Jews--who ate the loaves of bread used in the Temple that were only for the priests to consume. Thus, there are higher laws that take precedence over lower laws.

It is an amazing thing that Jesus makes use of the question of the Pharisees--that was actually a protestation against Jesus--to make a revelation about God and Man. They asked Him about why his disciples did not follow what the others were doing, even those reputable ones such as the disciples of John the Baptist. He replied saying that how can they fast when the bridegroom is around. Who was he referring to? Himself actually. What is this wedding? The union between God and Man in the Person of Jesus Christ! Should they not rejoice? Shouldn't we rejoice as well?

We celebrate today the annual feast of the Santo Nino based in Cebu Cit. We unite ourselves to the Cebuanos in approaching the Divine Trinity through the Second Person who became flesh. Today, we contemplate again the child Jesus in Nazareth. We are made to recall that God became a baby and who grew up under the care of holiest couple in history, namely, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph. We need to keep in mind the declaration of Jesus in the gospel, that only those who become like children can enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

We cannot get it better than how Jesus looks for us, sinners. That is what we are, children of God but sinners. He came to this world to look for each of us to cure and save us, to forgive our sins. He does not behave like Steven Spielberg who is looking for the appropriate and adequate actor or actress for his movie. He is looking for those who see themselves as sinners, faulty, weak, struggling real human beings and descendants of Adam and Eve with all our evil inclinations and tendencies. The Pharisees and scribes in the gospel looked down on those people. They think themselves to be superior to sinners. Hence, they were scandalized by Jesus eating with prostitutes and tax collectors. He did not shun sinners. He explained that it was the ill who needed the doctor.

Today, Jesus accepts the challenge posed to him about his ability to forgive sins. He cured a paralytic to show that he can manage things that cannot be seen but happening in the soul.

The gospel today teaches us how to ask God for a favor. This way stresses the good will of the Lord to want to cure a leper. Thus, this sick man gains the favor he asks the Lord. We can imitate this manner of begging from the Lord.

We witness today how a poor leper asks Jesus to cure him of his leprosy. Let us learn this sick man how to approach the Lord and get what we need.

The Lord today shows us His example in entering the house of Simon and cured his mother-in-law. Let us study what he does there!

Jesus went to the synagogue and taught. This gives us a couple of standards we need to examine ourselves in. First, Jesus attended synagogue. Today, we have our churches. Let us visit Our Lord in our churches. There we find the portal to eternal iffe, not eternal death. Second, Jesus taught. As Christians, we need to teach others the truth of all kinds. How do we chase this standard?

Jesus calls Peter, James and John in today's gospel. Prior to that move, however, he calls everyone who would listen that since the Kingdom of God was at hand, then they needed to repent of their sins. God wants to forgive our sins so that he could call us and send us to the mission he had in mind when he created us. Sin is what holds us back!

The Lord sought baptism from his cousin John the Baptist. That was an interesting move. Why did he seek that? He was not a sinner, since he was God. John was convinced after initially hesitating to accede to Jesus' request to be baptized. Listen to the homily to find out the meaning of the Baptism of Jesus.

Today, we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus Christ. Learn more about it by listening to the homily.

Today's gospel reminds us to find our place and role under the sun. God creates each of us for a clear and definite purpose. Our task is to discover it and pursue it. It this way, can we be happy here and later in eternity. We need to accomplish that role. We do not have to envy anyone since we are each different from any other in the past, present or future. St. John had no problem in giving way to Jesus. He knew he was assigned by God to be the herald and precursor of the Messiah. He did his job so well that people thought he was the Mashiach or the anointed one.

Jesus as the Messiah long awaited by Israel fulfilled all the messianic prophecies about him in the Scriptures. Today, he declares it openly. Man, then, reacts to him. Admiration and thanksgiving were spontaneous. But he also begins to have enemies out of envy for him.

Let us learn more about what happened to Jesus after He multiplied the loaves of bread and fish to feed a crowd of at least five thousand men

Now that Jesus has grown up more, the Church presents our Savior as the Prophet. Little by little Jesus takes up his role that was and is the reason He came to become flesh and be with us and be identified with us sinners. It is not that He only was beginning to save us. He was saving us since second number one of becoming flesh. Let us watch him, not like the Pharisees were doing to catch him doing something wrong, but in a contemplative way. God loves us!