Palawan Reflections: 2008 Sunday Gospels -- June

June 1, 2008
9th Sunday in Ordinary Time


Readings of the Day
First Reading: Dt. 11:18,26-28,32 / Psalm 31
Second Reading: Rom 3:21-25,28
Gospel: Mt 7:21-27 House built on rock


Everyone who listens to these words of mind and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.


Jesus instructs that "everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock."


Building a house on rock, then, involves two phases: the phase of listening and the phase of acting. My action, therefore, should be informed, enriched and guided by what I have heard from Jesus in scriptures. Oftentimes, I listen yet I find myself unwilling to act on what I have heard from him. Hence, I often find my life in ruins, "like a fool who built his house on sand."


I should be much wiser now. Only God is faithful -- all things pass away. He is my Rock.






June 8, 2008
10th Sunday in Ordinary Time


Readings of the Day
First Reading: Hos 6:3-6 / Psalm 50
Second Reading: Rom 4:18-25
Gospel: Mt 9:9-13 Not the righteous but sinners


I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.


Jesus dines with tax collectors and sinners. When pressed for an answer as towhy he does this, he says, "I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."


Jesus reaches out, then, to persons whose sinfulness is well known to the community. He does not run away from them nor condemn them. On the contrary, he shares food with them and seem to enjoy their company.


Yet, why do I avoid being seen with sinners? Is it the fear that i be linked with them and have my value before the righteous in my society diminish? Or is it my fear that I be influenced by them?






June 15, 2008
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time


Readings of the Day
First Reading: Ex 192-6a / Psalm 100
Second Reading: Rom 5:6-11
Gospel Reading: Mt 9:36-10:8 Jesus sends out the Twelve


At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.


Jesus' "heart was moved with pity" for the crowd "because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd." And so he summons his twelve disciples and instructs them to "cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons."


Whereas before, Jesus invites these disciples to "come and see," now he exhorts them to "go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" with neither gold nor silver nor sack for the journey.


After having heard the word "Come!" in the past, I shall eventually hear from the Lord the word "Go!"




June 22, 2008
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time


Readings of the Day
First Reading: Jer 20:10-13 / Psalm 69
Second Reading: Rom 5:12-15
Gospel: Mt 10:26-33 Do not be afraid

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna . . . Do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Jesus challenges his disciples to acknowledge him before others. They are to be afraid of nothing and no one. Strengthened by faith, they are to give witness to him and to the Father, in word and in deed. In word, by proclaiming on the housetops what they have heard whispered. In deed, by being ready for death. "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body," Jesus tells them.

Faith in Jesus, then, is a pricess treasure. With faith in him, the horrors of persecution become occasions for self-offering.


June 29, 2008
Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

Readings of the Day
First Reading: Acts 12:1-11 / Psalm 34
Second Reading: 2 Tim 4:6-8,17-18
Gospel: Mt 16:13-19 You are Peter

You are Peter and upon this rock, I will build my Church.

Peter declares, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” As a consequence, Jesus entrusts to him “the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” “Amen, I say to you,” Jesus declares, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.”

One quality stands out in Peter: his capacity for articulation. It is Peter who tells Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” It is Peter who volunteers to build three tents upon seeing Jesus with Moses and Elijah. It is Peter who requests Jesus that he also walk on water.

I pray, then, in union with the Apostleship of Prayer, that God continue to bless and protect Peter’s successor, Pope Benedict XIV, as he articulates for me and for humanity the world’s deepest longings.