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THE WORD

2 Sm 11,1-4.5-10.13-17 / Mk 4,26-34 /(or Rm 15,13-19.20-21 / Lk 10,1-9)

After this the Lord appointed seventy (two) others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way.

Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another.”

IN OTHER WORDS

As a new priest I had high ideals on how and what an SVD missionary should be. The words of Jesus in the Gospel today were then very clear in my mind and I thought these would be mine.

I was assigned in Socorro, Surigao del Norte, an island paradise facing the Paci c Ocean where the Catholic population was a very small minority. The mode of transport was by boat. There were roads but passable only by motor bike and I had none, so when my assignment was inland, I walked; when the village I went to was on the shoreline, I would take the boat. Every time I scheduled a visit to a chapel, I would always be at a dilemma. The closest walk would be 4 km., the next 7 km., then 9 km., and finally 11 km. Only one chapel was not accessible by land. I had no problem walking the distance back and forth. I didn’t have to spend any money, and that was ideal. Not until my body complained. Then I would take the boat, which was relaxing but the parish could not afford the expense. I was given a big boat with a big engine which was a fuel guzzler. Every time I would go by boat, the expense would be around a thousand pesos while the collection would only be around 200. This was bad economics.

I would not abandon my ideals so I chose to walk to the chapels except the one which could not be reached by land. As an ambulant missionary I made my visit bringing only the necessary things and entrusted my subsistence to the people I served. When my body clamored for attention there was always the local hilot who would restore my energy. I lived in poverty then.

That was 26 years ago. Today, I live in the city. I still strive to cling to my ideals but these are always challenged by the practical needs of the present. Personally, I am poor but with many facilities at my disposal. I realized that though Jesus’ time was different from ours, the essence of mission is still the same: Stay focused and follow the way of Jesus.

  • Fr. Rodrigo Salac, SVD | HNU, Tagbilaran City, Bohol

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

2 Sm 7,18-19.24-29 / Mk 4, 21-25

Jesus said to [the crowd], “Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light. Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.” He also told them, “Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you. To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

IN OTHER WORDS

Today we celebrate the Feast Day of St. Thomas Aquinas, the greatest philosopher-theologian of Christendom, considered the “Angelic Doctor” and the author of Summa Theologiae—the most celebrated philosophical/theological treatise of Christians.

An anecdote goes that St. Thomas, one day, was given a very fleeting vision of heaven. In one blinding ash of light, he saw a glimpse of it. He was stunned and speechless. Nothing he ever wrote or imagined about the nature of the Supreme Being, the angels, the human soul, and the afterlife came close to the ineff able beauty of what he briefly glanced in a nanosecond. From then on, St. Thomas stopped writing, and grew very thoughtful.

One analogy I like most by St. Thomas, originating from St. Augustine of Hippo, is the comparison between light and darkness. He said that darkness is nothing but the absence (privation) of light, just as evil is nothing but the absence of good. When Jesus suggests that a lamp is meant to be put on a lamp stand, he seems to say that we should let our good works “shine” like a lamp light

being the metaphor of good.

After the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his disciples that they are the “lights” of the world. Jesus refers to himself as the “Light of the world.” Since we belong to Jesus who is the “Light of the world,” we are committed to light the world with our good words and deeds. Good words/deeds are done under the light; while evil deeds like adultery, cheating, theft, murder, etc. are done under the cover of darkness.

So let your light (goodness) shine (to shine is the nature of light): the light of charity, compassion,

caring, sincerity, and love.

  • Fr. Raymun J. Festin, SVD | 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.

 

THE WORD

2 Sm 7,4-17 / Mk 4,1-20

On another occasion he began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land. And he taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them, “Hear this! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain. And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables.

He answered them, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that ‘they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.’”

Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables?

The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them.

And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have no root; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

IN OTHER WORDS

We are all, by virtue of our baptism, mandated to spread the Word of God. Unfortunately, we also share in all the pitfalls enumerated in the Gospel for today. What are we to do?

It is not by accident that Jesus chose the imagery of sowing the seed. Just as the field is, at first, not ready yet to receive the seed so is the world not ready at the start. A farmer has to invest time, effort and his experience in making the field fruitful.

Second, the planting during Jesus’ time involved plowing the field after sowing. Thus strange is the seeming waste of seeds falling on all kinds of terrain. Finally, life always finds a way to grow. But if it starts wrongly, the results are not optimal.

We, as sowers of the Word, do not “own” the Word. Nor are we the source of growth. We are “only” bringers of the Word, everything else is God’s. It may not make sense, for example, if we waste good seed on non-christians or unbelievers; God will always reach out to all and will take charge of nurturing the fragile seed. May St. Angela Merici accompany us in the sometimes lonely mission of spreading the Word of God.

  • Fr. Reynaldo Jimenez, SVD | DWC, Laoag City, Ilocos Norte

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

2 Tm 1,1-8 (or Ti 1,1-5) / Mk 3,31-35

His mother and his brothers arrived. Standing outside they sent word to him and called him. A crowd seated around him told him, “Your mother and your brothers (and your sisters) are outside asking for you.” But he said to them in reply, “Who are my mother and (my) brothers?”

And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. (For) whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

IN OTHER WORDS

1,000 kisses (besos) every week. At least 52,000 kisses in a year. I received around 364,000 kisses (besos) in my 7-year stay in Argentina. Bastante! A lot! How? Usually priests stay at the front of the entrance of the church after every mass to greet the people. The usual greeting in Argentina is the “beso”. And all the people greet the priest before going back to their homes. I felt I belonged to them and they belonged to me as a family.

“Your mother and your brothers (and sisters) are outside asking for you” and Jesus said, “Who are my mother and brothers?” I was literally the only Filipino in the parish of 50,000 baptized Catholics. I was tens of thousands kilometers away from my family and my country. Yet, I found a new and

much bigger family. They had become my mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers. And indeed, they treated me as one of their own.

“Who are my mother and brothers (and sisters)?” All persons that I encounter along my journey are my mothers, fathers, and sisters and brothers. We are all God’s children. We belong to a BIG family. Really BIG! And that would mean receiving not only a lot of kisses, but billions of them.

  • Fr. Ruper Solis, SVD | (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. January 25, 2016 Monday
  2. January 24, 2016 Sunday
  3. January 23, 2016 Saturday
  4. January 22, 2016 Friday
  5. January 21, 2016 Thursday
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