PIT STOP SUNDAY

Every Sunday that comes brings with it its own unique form of amazement. After just a brief respite of seven Sundays in Ordinary Time, February 22 is Ash Wednesday, the beginning again of the 40-day run of the Lenten Season. The Seventh Sunday in the Ordinary Time, with the gospel reading from Matthew 5: 38-48, is a pit stop before the “deluge galore” of the Lenten Season.

If we have been paying attention to the gospel readings well for the past six weeks of the Ordinary Time, we have discovered that all of them are interconnected and feeding into the Seventh Sunday gospel reading, the final Sunday before the Lenten Season.

Let me, then, walk you through it . For reasons of limited space, brevity and conciseness, I abridged my reflection merely on three particular Sundays- the Second, Fourth and Fifth.

Matthew 5: 38-42:

You have heard that it was said; Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who want to borrow from you, is the concrete example of one of the beatitude- Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. (4th Sunday)

To be meek is to be gentle, humble, lowly. They are the gentle who do not assert themselves over others in order to further their own agenda through their own strength.

Further on, Matthew 5: 48, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” summarizes Matthew 18: 1-5, 10 (Second Sunday): “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven... See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.”

And, Matthew 5: 13, 14: You are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. (5th Sunday), summarizes Matthew 44-47: ... love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?

Indeed, the messages of these three past Ordinary Time Sundays were interconnected and feeding into the Seventh Sunday, a pit stop, as we are about to enter again another Lenten Season in our lives.

Fr. Allan S. Fenix

SALT AND LIGHT

“You are the salt of the earth..” Matthew 5:13.

Recently, I was informed that the person whom we considered in our childhood as a youth leader had died. Our collective memory of him is that he was a charismatic person, who would gather us during our summer and Christmas vacations, for outdoor activities. Our childhood was very memorable because of him.

For the last night of vigil, I brought with me 15 rosaries. Vigils for the dead nowadays are no longer solemn. It is no longer mourning but festive. With the introduction of the videoke sound system, they have become one big loud entertainment and drinking party.

While on our way to the vigil, I started telling my companions what we were about to do. I started assigning who would pray a particular mystery. I was surprised when one of my companions, one who even graduated from a Catholic school, told me that she was no longer “into it.” She had given up on her faith and religion. The other one also told me that her family just prayed the rosary daily during the pandemic, but stopped it when it waned.

At the vigil, I distributed the rosaries and invited those who were not yet drunk to pray with us. While we were praying the rosary, I noticed that most do not really know how to use it. They were just clutching the rosaries in their hands. They could not pray the rosary with us orally.

From this experience, I came to see that the family rosary habit we do every Friday before the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and on Wednesdays before the Black Nazarene, was like an heirloom. It was an intangible treasure etched in our hearts. If the habit is not inculcated early on in life, it is so hard to forge it in someone, especially with all the modern distractions nowadays.

You are the salt of the earth.

After praying the rosary, I invited the family members to pray with me the Liturgy for the Dead. Then, I let the gathered vigilantes offer before the coffin, the three bottles of wine, and six bottles of mineral water, I had brought with me. I also put on the coffin a small Sto. Nino medal and gave the widow a small amount.

You are the salt of the earth.

We did all of this simple rite, right in the very presence of the loud drinking crowd who also came for the vigil.

You are the light of the world...In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16).

After a month long of incessant gloom and rain, the sun shone bright and big on a first Friday. To make the day very meaningful to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I again gathered some rosaries and took a walk in a mall nearby. At first, I felt a bit of reluctance but tried offering them to guards and clerks I often encounter over there. They were delighted to get one.

The highlight of the day was when I struck up a conversation with a salesperson. I was just trying to haggle the price of a Japanese bike they were selling, though I wasn't really interested in it, as I already have four of them.

During our exchange, I came to know that the store owner was from our hometown, and our father, when he was still alive used to have business transactions with their family.

We exchanged some news about each other's families. She also invited me to attend the regular gathering at a nearby restaurant of our common Chinese family name.

Did all of this happen because earlier I was praying for the soul of our father? I told him how I missed him so much, and to please respond, if he ever hears me. Was that really an indirect tangible response from our father?

The day ended when I was going to sleep with the transistor radio by my side, listening to the evening news. It was followed by the recitation of the rosary. It was a recorded recitation but very meditative. People were taking their time and not in a hurry.

You are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world.

Fr. Allan S. Fenix

HEAVEN

What is the relevance of the Beatitudes in our present world, where we experience the rapid pace of inflation, erratic weather, and shortages of goods amidst abundance?

For existentialists, what is important is the present, the NOW. For them, what the Beatitudes taught is very futuristic. It is something not on their horizon. So, to practice it in the face of the worldly standard is to be a loser. Who wants to be one?

Let's go through them one by one.

Blessed are the meek. For they will inherit the earth. To inherit a piece of land is a very attractive prospect to anyone. This is even a very big issue among families. Many conflicts arise from the division of properties. Many kill each other.

To be meek is to be in the state of not being provoked easily by an enemy or oppressor. It is to be gentle in the midst of a revenge-based world. To trust in God to direct the outcome of events. To exercise patience in the face of adversity. Not to get envious nor retaliate. To latch on to God's provision and plan for our lives.

Easier said than done, isn't it? If we are meek, things will be taken away from us by force. People will abuse us. We will end up in the streets. To be in the streets is to be living on the earth like the homeless and street people. Thus, we will descend on to the other three Beatitudes. We will be a recipient. An entitled recipient of what? Comfort, Righteousness, Mercy.

1 Blessed are those who mourn. They will be comforted.

2 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. They will be filled.

3 Blessed are the merciful. They will receive mercy.

Thus, they earn the title as peacemakers. Blessed are the peacemakers. For they will be called children of God. During elections, politicians exploit them with hand outs in exchange for their precious votes. During the Christmas seasons, cause-oriented and civic groups look to them for their gift giving and giveaways.

To be meek, merciful and a peacemaker is to possess the virtue of delayed gratification or self control. It is the ability to delay an impulse for an immediate reward to receive a more favorable reward at a later time.

The reward is the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is ours provided we are poor in spirit, persecuted for righteousness and with a pure heart.

To be blessed is not to be less nor least but, rather, it is to be Bountifully Loaded with Extraordinary Spiritual Sanctity for the Eternal Destination – HEAVEN!

Fr. Allan S. Fenix

BOATS AND NETS

...the time has come: you must wake up now: our salvation is even nearer than it was when we were converted. The night is almost over, it will be daylight soon – let us give up all the things we prefer to do under cover of the dark; let us arm ourselves and appear in the light. Let us live decently as people do in the daytime: no drunken orgies, no promiscuity or pretentiousness, and no wrangling or jealousy. Let your armor be the Lord Jesus Christ; forget about satisfying your bodies with all their cravings. (Romans 13:11-14).

During the Advent season, we repeatedly heard John the Baptist shouting: “Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight his paths.” And now, Jesus is here saying; “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” He then called his first apostles who were fisher folks: Simon and Andrew, James and John. As he was walking by the sea of Galilee he saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew; they were making a cast in the lake with their net, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, 'Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.' And they left their nets at once and followed him.

Of all people, why fisher folks?

They are tried and tested in hard work. How many of us can work all through the night without the assurance of an assured catch? All they have in abundance is hope. Hope of a great catch from the wild sea.

Going on from there he saw another pair of brothers, James and John, sons of Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. At once, they left the boat and their father, and they followed him.

Fisher folks pray a lot. Like the three wise men guided by a star to the manger, they look up to the heavens for their directions back home to their loved ones. This is their way of adoring. The heavens are their true guide. When they find themselves in the middle of the sea in bad weather, they look through the dark clouds and howling winds to the sky, for that littlest light to bring them back to their families alive.

He went round the whole of Galilee teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the kingdom, and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness among the people.

They are loud. Observe fisher folk as they go around selling their catch. They shout loudly to call attention and be heard.

A good leader is he who knows how to delegate duties and responsibilities. This was what Jesus did, and he thought it wise to call and gather Fisher folks. It was a successful call, as they responded by leaving their nets, boats and loved ones.

We are also called by Jesus to be his disciples, for he knows we are as hardworking, prayerful and loud as the first apostles were.

Fr. Allan S. Fenix

A NEW VERSION

The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:1-5, 10).

Over two weeks ago, last December 28, we celebrated the Holy Innocents. It was the slaughter of two-year old males and below by King Herod. It was also a surprising coincidence that on that same day, someone came knocking on the confessional room to remit four abortions she had in her younger years. According to her, at that time, she was not ready to take on the responsibility of being a good parent to them. Looking at her, I decided to give her the Holy Anointing as she was both physically and psychologically sick.

I, like many around, have never experienced being a parent to a child, but I cannot forget what my sibling shared to me about having a child. According to him, it was life changing. When he first held his infant child in his arms and looked at her eyes something inexplicable happened inside of him. It is like looking at a new version of yourself.

We have the feast of the Sto. Nino in the early part of the year to remind us that the year that has just started is a new version of time. It is no longer the old version of the past, nor the future one of tomorrow. This year is a new version of the present.

Though coming from one and the same parents, each child in the family is unique due to individual differences. It is also in the same way that, though coming from one and the same God, each year is also dissimilar as it has its own individual differences.

Just as the word Santo Nino has 9 letters and it takes 9 months in the womb for a child to be born, there are also 9 practical ways to simply follow to make this year, and all the coming years, unique and individually different.

Serve
Amicably
Nine
Times
Over

Now
Inside
aNd
Out

Our life is a life of service. Serve the Lord with gladness. With a smile. Make the day for others. To serve others is to serve God. He himself said; “For as long as you have done this to the least of my brethren, you have done it for me.”

Nine times over now inside and out. To give and not count the cost. Let us avoid counting. Let us just keep on serving. As Luke 17:10 say it: “So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'”

Fr. Allan S. Fenix

A SNAKE IN EVERY FOREST

Something unusual happened to me today while celebrating the mass at a female religious convent.

The gospel reading was from Mark 1: 40-45, about the cure of a leper when Jesus told him, “Go and show yourself to the priest and offer for your cure what Moses prescribed.”

I was already reading the offertory prayer when the sisters in front of me started to panic and approached the altar table. It turned out that a small, baby snake had exited from the front altar area, which I had not noticed, as I was facing them.

They hit the small, baby snake with a broom and swept it out with a dust pan.

After the mass, the sisters told me that this was the first time during the celebration of a mass, that a snake had appeared in that chapel. To which I responded that if it is true that there is a snake in every forest, there is also one even in a religious convent.

Fr. Allan S. Fenix

STAR OFFERING

Last Sunday, January 1, the New Year, with the visit of the shepherds at the manger, it was the Liturgy of the Word. Now, this Epiphany Sunday, with the magi from the east, it is the Offertory.

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem... and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2: 1, 11).

How I wish Christmas, the happiest time of the year, wouldn't end. One of our best traits, as a people, is that we tend to extend the time of our Christmas decorations until the New Year and beyond. Unlike in other cultures, where they are immediately taken down just a day or two after Christmas day. Fresh Christmas trees are seen lying by the roadsides, and still colorful lanterns in the trash. So, the day before the Epiphany Sunday, I woke up so early and took a last picture of our lighted Christmas tree and manger. Since we are back once again to the Ordinary Time, it will all be dismantled and kept in the stockroom ready for the coming Advent and Christmas seasons.

Facing the manger, like the magi from the east, I offered to the infant Jesus the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

GOLD. A yellow metallic element that occurs naturally in pure form and is used especially in coins, jewelry and electronics.

For me, GOLD is the God of Old. I offered to him all the 9 days and more of our evening and dawn Aguinaldo masses. Most were on vacation. So, it was a breeze for many to attend the entirety of the novenario. However, there were those who really had to sacrifice, and experience hardships and difficulties, just to come for the evening or early morning mass, what with all the cold, rain and distance. So, even if we did not complete it, whether one was only able to attend one, two, three, or all nine masses, this was our personal gold that we offered to the infant Jesus in the manger.

FRANKINCENSE. A fragrant gum resin from trees of a genus in Somalia and southern coastal Arabia, that is an important incense resin and has long been used in religious rites, perfumery and embalming.

Christmas, indeed, is the happiest time of the year. We have Christmas cheers all around. Whether belonging to a religious or civic group, many went to the prisons, the mental institutions, the hospitals, orphanages... to give Christmas cheers. There are also those who have a community feeding and gift giving. If, in case, we don't belong to any religious or civic groups and are just alone, the very act of reaching out to others and greeting them with a "Merry Christmas" or a "Happy Holidays!" is enough. It is your gift of frankincense to the infant Jesus lying in the manger.

MYRRH. A yellowish-brown to reddish-brown aromatic gum resin with a bitter, slightly pungent taste, obtained from a tree of eastern Africa and Arabia.

Christmas is the happiest time of the year. However, amidst the jubilations and parties, we might have forgotten our dead loved ones.

For me, I made picture posters from scratch and visited our Archdiocesan clergy cemetery and put them there. I made one for a classmate, for those coming from our hometown and for the rest of my brother-priests. I also visited my dead loved ones and cleaned their headstones. And, of course, offered prayers for their eternal repose.

Christmas is everyday. So, we need not stop offering our own gold, frankincense and myrrh, but should continually do it. The accumulation of our spiritual merits, the STAR, will again be our offering the next Epiphany Sunday.

HAPPY THREE KINGS!

Fr. Allan S. Fenix

LITURGY OF THE WORD

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10: 11).

Everything which happened during that first Christmas night foretold the things to come in Jesus' life.

When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. (Luke 2: 17-18).

The first ones to reach the manger were the shepherds; a harbinger to Jesus' mission and role later in his active life. He is the son of a carpenter, but he will be the shepherd of his people. He is indeed the good shepherd who enters by the gate. The gate being the Blessed Virgin Mary, one of whose titles is, “Our Lady of the Gate” – Nuestra Senora de la Porteria.

And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her HEART. When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the WOMB. (Luke 2: 19, 21).

The HEART and WOMB of Mary were the gate where Jesus, the Good Shepherd entered.

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. (Luke 2: 16).

Lying in a manger. A manger is described as a long open box from which horses or cattle feed. With Jesus now with us, we will no longer go hungry or be famished. For he himself, with his body and blood, will feed us. We get sick from the various forms of cancer nowadays, as we patronize chemically-induced nourishment. That food was not him, but of some other. We did not look for him to satiate, us but for some other, artificial foods.

During the last supper, he himself said:

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper He took the cup saying, "the cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." (Luke 22: 19-20).

Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had HEARD and SEEN, just as it had been TOLD to them. (Luke 2: 20).

Heard and seen. The first part of the holy mass, the Liturgy of the Word, was done in the manger that first Christmas with the shepherds being the first mass attendants. The second part, the Liturgy of the Eucharist, will be done during the Last Supper with his apostles, and eventually during his passion, crucifixion and resurrection.

From hereon, everything is still fluid and ongoing. This is our journey of faith from the Liturgy of the Word to the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Be there and watch for it!

Fr. Allan S. Fenix