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THE WORD

Eph 1, 15-23 / Lk 12,8-12

[Jesus said to his disciples,] “I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God.  “Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”

IN OTHER WORDS

Whoever acknowledges Him will be acknowledged before the angels, but whoever denies Him will be denied before the angels of God. “But the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”

How to reconcile this Lukan passage? Jesus, Savior of the world, is most merciful, and yet , both  OT and NT, state categorically: “Out of my sight, you condemned, into the everlasting re prepared for the devil and his angels!” On the other hand the Lord is no less to the point in proclaiming without limit his enduring mercy and love. When does one sin against the Spirit and is not forgiven “either in this age or in the age to come?” (Mt 12, 32). How does one forfeit salvation without the

Lord rejecting and explicitly condemning him to eternal life?  God is dead says Nietzsche. F R de Lamennais, the gifted theologian, died unreconciled with the Church. Judas, in betraying the Lord, abandons Him as his Saviour. If to Nietzsche God is dead then He cannot give life. ln rejecting reconciliation with the Church de Lamennais severs relationship with the Body of Christ His Church.

Death must beget an uncertainty of dread facing the Just Judge. The burden of accounting rests on us. As children of God each one of us is endowed with the gift of freedom capable of saying yes or no to God. Sin and guilt are ours as grace and justice are God’s. We turn down Jesus’ invitation because we refuse to heed the counsel of the Holy Spirit. Repentance is absolutely necessary to forgiveness unless we deliberately persist in sin. Love and mercy are the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Christ’s mission is completed by the mission of the Holy Spirit.  Let us honor St. Teresa of Avila, a favorite saint among Filipinos, with two quotations, “Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life, which is short and has to be lived by you alone; and that there is one glory which is eternal. lf you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing.” “Let nothing disturb you, nothing dismay you. All things are passing God never changes. Patient endurance attains all things....God alone suffices.”

  • Fr. Antolin V. Uy, SVD | DWSTagaytay

The Word in other words 2016

An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.

 

 

THE WORD

Eph 1, 11-14 / Lk 12,1-7

So many people were crowding together that they were trampling one another underfoot. He began to speak, first to his disciples, “Beware of the leaven—that is, the hypocrisy—of the Pharisees.

“There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the housetops. I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body but after that can do no more. I shall show you whom to fear. Be afraid of the one who after killing has the power to cast into Gehenna; yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one.

Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins? Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God. Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid.  You are worth more than many sparrows.”

IN OTHER WORDS

In his book Man’s Search for Meaning, Dr. Viktor Frankl wrote about his three years in extreme situation in the Nazi concentration camps where prisoners survived on meager ration. Frankl recalled, there were “men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offered proof that everything could be taken from a man but one thing: the freedom to choose his attitude in any given set of circumstances.”  These inmates could have become selfish, but they opted instead to share the little they had. “Do not fear those who deprive the body of life but cannot destroy the soul,” our Lord teaches in today’s gospel (Luke 12,4).

Today Christ’s followers may not live in the same milieu as that of the biblical ancestors. But they can suffer the same lot for their moral convictions. A friend in Laoag City who owns a video rental shop said, “Despite the stiff competition among video shops, I don’t resort to renting X-rated movies. Nonetheless, my business is doing well.”

A spouse is tempted to quit amidst marital difficulties. However, aware that marriage is a lifetime commitment, he/she strives to remedy their problem and their personal differences. Although their marriage is not perfect, both are trying hard to preserve it.

Everyday we encounter pressures to abandon our Christian moral convictions. Christ exhorts us: “Do not let men intimidate you.” Meaning, don’t follow their wrong opinions, and don’t imitate their bad example.  We may suffer the loss of our health, our job; we may see our home burned, our marriage broken up. But none of these should topple over our faith and hope that some good will come out of all this.

  • Fr. Bel San Luis, SVD | CKMS,QC

The Word in other words 2016

An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.

 

 

THE WORD

Eph 1,1-10 / Lk 11,47-54

Jesus exclaimed: “Woe to you! You build the memorials of the prophets whom your ancestors killed. Consequently, you bear witness and give consent to the deeds of your ancestors, for they killed them you do the building. Therefore, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles; some of them they will kill and persecute’ in order that this generation might be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who died between the altar and the temple building. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood! Woe to you, scholars of the law! You have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.”

When he left, the scribes and Pharisees began to act with hostility toward him and to interrogate him about many things, for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.

 

IN OTHER WORDS

In 1991, Father Nerilito “Neri” Dazo Satur, age 28, was murdered while faithfully implementing an advocacy against illegal logging in the Bukidnon Diocese. A year earlier, Fr. Neri had been deputized by DENR to become one of the forest guards leading a church-based anti-logging campaign.

Here’s an excerpt of a blog on this incident:  “On October 14th, 1991, Father Neri and a female assistant attended Barangay Guinoyuran’s patron saint esta where Neri offered mass. At a bit past 2PM Father Neri and his assistant remounted his trusted motorcycle to begin the long and arduous trip back to Valencia proper. … three men “walked out to the jungle ahead of him, each carrying M16s… Of fifteen rounds fired, seven met their mark, badly wounding the priest. His assistant, Jacqueline Lunzaga took a single round to the leg. The three gunmen, one of whom was unmasked quickly made their way over to the fallen priest and his assistant. Taking his M16 the unmasked attacker then began beating the priest in the head with it. On the third blow the rifle’s stock broke into pieces due to the force with which it was wielded.”(Raki Ben Ami, http://mindanaofocus.blogspot.com/)

There were killings of prophets in the past, and in the future prophets will continue to be hunted and killed. Such is the reality in this world where evil resides in the hearts of people. In the same manner, Jesus was heading towards his death when he started confronting the scholars of the law, the pharisees and the scribes. The price of going against evil is great. However, without people who fight against the onslaught of evil, greater harm will arise.

  • Fr. Lorz Estomo, SVD | SVD Verbum House of Studies, Los Baños, Laguna

The Word in other words 2016

An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.

 

 

 

 

THE WORD

Gal 5,18-25 / Lk 11,42-46

Jesus said, “Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb, but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others.

Woe to you Pharisees! You love the seat of honor in synagogues and greetings in marketplaces. Woe to you! You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk.”

Then one of the scholars of the few said to him in reply, “Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too.” And he said, “Woe also to you scholars of the law! You impose on people burdens hard to carry, but you yourself do not lift one finger to touch them.

IN OTHER WORDS

Recently, the Christ the King Mission Seminary celebrated their annual Philosophy Week with the theme, Pope Francis’ Philosophy: Church of the Poor and for the Poor. One of the highlights of that event was the symposium. While listening to the speaker, I was struck with what he said, “Do not feel proud of yourself just because you give food to a street child. The child doesn’t owe you anything and it does not make you greater than he is or to any other person. Actually you are just giving what is really for him.”

Pride is the most dangerous way to sin. Once the person has that kind of attitude he will then shift his focus from God towards his own self and selfish desires. This happened to the Pharisees and to the teachers of the Law. As priests and experts of the Law they should have had a deeper relationship with the Father. However, because of their self-interest and thirst for fame and praise they became insensitive to the needs of others. Moreover, they could not even recognize the presence and love of God in the person of Jesus Christ. They were totally lost!

Now, the challenge for us is to be pure in our actions and intentions. We should remind ourselves that we are nothing without the grace of God and that our actions should be founded on Agape and on our faith. In this way we become true Christians, being one in His love and His mission.

  • Sem. Gelasio Joseph P. Bagacay | CKMS, Quezon City

The Word in other words 2016

An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.

 

 

 

More Articles ...

  1. October 11, 2016 Tuesday
  2. October 10, 2016 Monday
  3. October 9, 2016 Sunday
  4. October 8, 2016 Saturday
  5. October 7, 2016 Friday
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