The Smart Manager

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 18, 2022 — Year C
Readings: Am 8:4-7 / Ps 113 / 1 Tm 2:1-8 / Lk 16:1-13
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

There is a story about an angel who appeared at a faculty meeting and told the dean that he had come to reward him for his years of devoted service.  The dean is asked to choose one of three blessings:  infinite wealth, infinite fame, or infinite wisdom.  Without hesitation, the dean asked for infinite wisdom.  “You’ve got it,” the angel said and disappeared.  All heads turned toward the dean, who sat glowing in the aura of infinite wisdom.  Finally, one of his colleagues whispered, “Say something.”  The dean looked at them and said, “I should have taken the money.”

Wisdom, in the sense of being smart or shrewd, as we see in today’s gospel parable of the dishonest servant, is not an end in itself.  One can be smart and use one’s smartness to do mean things.  We know for a fact that many con artists and terrorists are smart people who use their smartness to create unhappiness in the world.

Today’s parable challenges us to be smart in the pursuit of the Kingdom of God, just as godless people are smart in their pursuit of selfish goals and ambitions.  Jesus uses the example of a smart manager in his master’s business to teach us the need to be smart in the Lord’s service.  We are challenged to imitate the manager’s shrewdness, not his dishonesty.

The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.   Why did the master, who had made up his mind to fire the manager, now commend him?  Probably the manager had been running his master’s business in a drab, routine, and lifeless manner, devoid of creativity and imagination.  As a result, the business was failing, so the master decided it was time to fire him.  He said, “Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.”

The manager is facing the real danger of being dismissed from service.  He knows the seriousness of the situation.  He knows exactly how helpless he is.  That is why he says to himself, “What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me?  I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.  (Luke 16:3) He is in a very difficult and precarious situation.  He scratches his head and comes up with this ingenious plan to safeguard his future.  The master praises him, because if the manager had been using such smart thinking in the daily running of the business, he would have been a much more successful manager rather than a failure.

The parable challenges all of us to be smart managers.  Yes, we are all called to be managers.  God has entrusted the whole of His creation into our hands as His managers.   Jesus Christ, in addition, entrusts the kingdom of God, the kingdom of love, justice, and peace into our hands as His managers.  World peace and harmony and the renewal of all things in Christ, are the business of us all, collectively and individually.  Jesus calls it the Kingdom of God.

Our business as followers of Christ, ordained and unordained believers, is to help bring about the Kingdom of God, starting with our own selves.  We have all been given the necessary resources to do this.  We have been equipped with the truth of faith, we have been empowered by the Holy Spirit, who dwells in our hearts, and we have been given time.  Sooner or later, we shall be called upon to render an account of how we have invested and managed these resources.

There is a story about a very rich woman who died and went to heaven.  Saint Peter escorted her down a magnificent street on which each house was beautifully made like a palace.  The wealthy woman saw one house that was particularly beautiful and asked who lived there.  “That,” Saint Peter answered, “is the home of your servant.”  “Well,” the woman said, smiling, “If my servant gets a house like that, I certainly look forward to seeing a palatial home for myself.”  Soon they came to a narrow alley where the houses were small and cramped.  “You will live in that house,” said Saint Peter, pointing with his finger.  “Me? Live in a shanty?  That’s an insult,” retorted the wealthy woman.  “This is the best we can do for you,” Peter said.  “You must understand that we only build your home up here with the materials you send ahead while you are still on earth.”

The Church reminds us today that it is now the time to send materials ahead of us in the afterlife, in order to build our homes in heaven.  These materials are not construction materials that we can buy in a construction supply company.  These materials are not just prayers and acts of charity but doing the day-to-day ordinary work in an extraordinary way.  It means consciously performing your duties well, whether you are a lawyer, a government official, a teacher, a student, a policeman, or an ordinary citizen.

We don’t have to wait, like the dishonest servant, for the last-minute display of smartness to fix our eternal concerns.  The time to be smart is now.  The smart manager used what he could not give to get what he needed so badly: friendship with his business associates. We should likewise invest all of our temporal and spiritual resources to gain the only thing that matters in the end:  the Kingdom of God.

Overflowing Mercy

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 11, 2022 — Year C
Readings: Ex 32:7-11, 13-14 / Ps 51 / 1 Tm 1:12-17 / Lk 15:1-32
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

Today’s readings from the Holy Scriptures teach us about the overflowing mercy and forgiveness of God.  They also talk about sin and repentance, confession, and communion, courtesy of the prodigal son and his father.

We heard in the First Reading that when Moses was on Mount Sinai, the chosen people were acting perversely.  They had cast for themselves an image of a cow, were worshipping and making sacrifices to it, and giving credit to the idol for bringing them out of slavery in the land of Egypt.  With that, the Lord became very upset.  God was prepared to destroy them all.  But Moses implored God to have mercy and forgiveness for the sinful people.  Hearing the plea of Moses, God changed His mind and decided not to destroy the people as He had originally planned.

In the Second Reading, we also heard how the mercy and forgiveness of God sanctified St. Paul, because he had sincerity of heart.  By the mercy of God, St. Paul, formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence, was made an example to those who would come to believe in Jesus for eternal life.

Today’s gospel also speaks of the mercy and forgiveness of God.  In this case, three parables are given to declare the magnitude of the mercy of God.  These are the parables of the lost sheep, of the lost coin, and of the Prodigal Son.  Many tax collectors and sinners came to Jesus, and this drew criticism on the part of the Pharisees and the Scribes.  They grumbled because Jesus welcomed sinners and ate with them.

Brothers and Sisters, let us meditate on the parable of the Prodigal Son.  The parable begins with a request.  The prodigal son says to his father, “Father, give me the share of the estate that should come to me.”  Here we are given our first insight concerning sin:  Sin always involves the misuse of something good.

For example, sins of the tongue, like gossip, slander, swearing, and lying, all involve the misuse of something good: namely, the God-given gift of speech.  Sins of the flesh are committed when people misuse the good gift of sexuality, which the Lord intends for marriage only.

Notice that in the story, the younger son requested the share of the estate that was coming to him.  He was not making an improper request.  He was not asking for something evil.  He was requesting something good, which his father was planning to give him anyway.  His sin came when he misused the good gift and squandered his inheritance on what the gospel calls “dissolute living,” a life of dissipation.

The next interesting point is that he does all this squandering in a distant land.  I don’t think that was a coincidence.  When people commit sins that they intend to repent of, they desperately try to run away from the Heavenly Father, just like this boy tried to run away from his father.  Those of us who commit sins make every effort to keep them secret, so that nobody knows about them.  But that is a very big mistake because, eventually, all sins catch up with us, as the boy’s sins eventually caught up with him.  In the parable we are told that he spent all his money, and then a famine broke out, and he found himself with nothing to eat.  He ended up dining with pigs.

There we have another insight concerning sin:  Sin turns us into slaves.  This is something that people who have an addiction know a great deal about.  A recovering alcoholic will tell you that when he started to drink excessively, he was acting in total freedom.  But eventually it came to the point where he could not stop.  He had become a slave to his sinful behavior.

Finally, praise God, the prodigal son wakes up and comes to his senses.  He repents, but notices that his repentance is rather superficial.  He has what the Church would call “imperfect contrition.”  Imperfect contrition is when we are sorry for our sins because we fear the consequences, especially Hell.  Perfect contrition is when we are sorry for the best possible reason:  because we have offended our Heavenly Father, whom we love above all things.  But notice that his father still forgives him.  The Church teaches us that our Father will do the same for us.  He will forgive us our serious sins if we go to Confession with at least imperfect contrition in our hearts.

Once the prodigal son is forgiven, he is able to share once again in the family meal.  For us, that is symbolic of the Eucharist.  That is why the Church teaches us that, if we have mortal sin, we cannot receive the Eucharist again until we have gone to Confession and confessed our sin.

The Vatican II document, Lumen Gentium, has a beautiful description of sin:  Sin is before all else an offense against God and a rupture in our communion with Him.  At the same time, it damages communion with the Church.  For this reason, conversion entails both God’s forgiveness and reconciliation with the Church, which are expressed and accomplished liturgically by the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.

Mother Theresa had advice for living a good life.  She said:

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of having selfish ulterior motives.  Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies.  Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you.  Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight.  Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous.  Be happy anyway.

The good you do today people will often forget tomorrow.  Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.  Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis it is between you and God.  It was never between you and them anyway.

So, as we continue our Eucharistic celebration today, let us pray for those who have fallen away from the grace of God, so that divine mercy and forgiveness may reach out to them before it’s too late.  May their ears be open so that they will hear that Jesus is welcoming them back home.

The Narrow Gate

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 21, 2022 — Year C
Readings: Is 66:18-21 / Ps 117 / Heb 12:5-7, 11-13 / Lk 13:22-30
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

An open-air evangelist, preaching on today’s gospel text, was warning his congregation about eternal damnation. He said, “There will be weeping and grinding of teeth.” But an old woman in the crowd asked, “Look, preacher, I’ve got no teeth.” “Never mind,” the evangelist said. “The teeth will be provided.”

Brothers and sisters, in today’s gospel, somebody in the crowd asked Jesus this question: “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” We can hear in the gospel that Jesus would not give the number of those who would be saved. He did not even really answer the man’s question. He just said, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate.” In other words, He’s answering a more important question: How can I be saved?

There are questions that have a special appeal to the mass media and to popular imagination. For example, when will the world come to an end? When is Armageddon coming? Who is the antichrist? What is 666? Is it the mark of the antichrist? What about the three days of darkness? These are questions that Jesus does not want to answer. I’m sure of that.

Today I invite you to reflect on this gospel, which is about salvation in Jesus Christ and therefore, entering God’s kingdom. Many of our problems in life come from our bad practice of asking the wrong questions. We ask the wrong questions; therefore, we also get the wrong answers.

The first wrong question is: How many will be saved? It is like the question of the person in the gospel. It is wrong to ask this question, because the right question is: How will we be saved? The Lord does not give us numbers of those who will be saved. The Lord shows us the way.  We will be saved by entering through the narrow gate.

For us Catholics, the possession of our baptismal certificate and regular Mass attendance do not guarantee our salvation. We must go through, like Jesus said, the narrow gate.  So now the question is, what exactly is the narrow gate?

The narrow gate is every moral decision that we make. Do we choose for God, or do we choose against God?

The second reading tells us that the trials and tribulations of life are not signs of the absence of God, but they are signs of His presence. It tells us that God is allowing challenges to come into our lives, so that we can grow closer to Him. In other words, following Christ is not an easy way.

The second wrong question is: Where is the gate? It is wrong to ask this question because the question is not where is the gate.  There is no gate. The proper question to ask is not where is the gate, but who is the gate. The gate is not a place; the gate is a person. Jesus Christ Himself is the gate.

The last wrong question is: What must I do?  It is wrong to ask this question because the Lord wants us to ask: What must I continue doing? It is because we are people who are good at the start of an activity but sometimes fail to sustain it through and through. Sometimes we are good at the beginning, but when it comes to sustaining it, that is where we falter.

So let us not ask how many will be saved, but rather how will we be saved. Let us not ask where is the gate, but rather who is the gate? Let us not ask what must I do, but rather what must I continue doing?

Brothers and sisters, what are the questions in our hearts right now that remain unanswered? Maybe the source of our pain is that we are asking the wrong question in life.

There was a very well-known and wealthy man who visited a nursing home. He was welcomed by everyone except by an old man in a corner, sitting in his wheelchair. The visitor stopped and asked him, “Don’t you know who I am?” The old man just stared at him. For the second time he asked him, “Don’t you know who I am?” This time the old man looked at him and said, “No, but you can ask the nurses. They have a file on each one of us.”

The narrow door, besides being the making of correct moral decisions, is patient endurance of all the difficult things that confront us in our lives. Jesus will be there with us all of the way.  He invites us to walk the same road that He walked. He strengthens us for this journey with His Body and Blood in the Eucharist. He invites us to make our own way to Jerusalem, there to pass through the narrow door to Calvary. But we must remember: beyond Calvary is the resurrection and the joy of eternal life with God.

Make the correct choice. If you do, you will not be disappointed when you meet Jesus face to face. Guaranteed. In the end, it is not who we think we are or who others think we are, but who we are to God that truly matters. He has the final say; He has the final file on each one of us.

May Jesus Christ be praised.

Preparedness

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 7, 2022 — Year C
Readings: Wis 18:6-9 / Ps 33 / Heb 11:1-2, 8-19 / Lk 12:32-48
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

One day in 1780, the state of Connecticut was enveloped by a mysterious darkness. The same thought came to all: The Last Day had arrived. In the House of Representatives, members were heard asking for an adjournment, so that they could go home and wait for the Lord’s coming together with their families. The chairman, Abraham Davenport, made a short speech. “Either it is the day of judgment or not. If not, there is no need for adjournment. If it were the day of judgment, I would rather be found doing my duty. I wish candles to be brought.”

Brothers and sisters, the parable of today’s gospel focuses on the unpredictable return of Jesus and our need to be prepared for His return. He is saying to us, Ready or not, here I come.

Normally, when we think of being ready, we usually think of being prepared for the worst that could happen. Locks on the doors in case of thieves. Life jackets in the event of a boat accident.

Isn’t it interesting that most of us believe in preparation for many uncertainties, but not for the most important event of our lives? We carry a spare tire in our car as a preparation for a flat tire. We have insurance in preparation for our death. Fire truck in preparation for a fire. Airline stewards provide pre-flight instruction in preparation for turbulent weather.  And we seek education in preparation for a good job.

Preparation, in our society, is a sign of wisdom. But think about this: Of all the preparations that we make for the things I just mentioned, not a single one is a certainty. Yet we feel compelled to prepare ourselves for them.

The return of Jesus is a certainty. We can never know precisely when He will return or when we will die, but His return is certain. We must constantly watch, being always faithful and ready, so that we may be found worthy to share in the heavenly banquet He has prepared for us.

The question of the parable is not whether or not Christ is coming again, or when He’s coming, or even how He’s coming. The point is being prepared for His coming and ready to receive Him whenever He comes, now or later.

When a family was vacationing in Europe, they found that they needed to drive three days continuously, day and night, to get to Germany. They all got into the car: Mom, Dad, and their three-year-old daughter. The little daughter had never traveled at night before. She was scared the first night in the car, seeing only the deep darkness outside the window.

“Where are we going, Daddy?”

“To your uncle’s house in Germany.”

“Have you been to his house before?”

“No.”

“Then do you know the way?”

“Maybe we can read the map.”

(Short pause.)

“Do you know how to read the map?”

“Yes, we will get there safely.”

(Another pause.)

“Where are we going to eat, if we get hungry before arriving?”

“We can stop at restaurants if we are hungry,” the Dad replied.

“Do you know if there are restaurants on the way?”

“Yes, there are.”

“Do you know where?”

“No, but we’ll be able to find some.”

The same dialog was repeated several times during the first night and also the second night, but on the third night, his daughter was quiet. The Dad thought that she might have fallen asleep, but when he looked into the mirror, he saw that she was awake and was just looking around calmly. He couldn’t help wondering why she was not asking questions anymore.

“Dear, do you know where we are going?”

“Germany, uncle’s home.”

“Do you know how we are getting there?”

“No.”

“Then why aren’t you asking anymore?”

“Because Daddy is driving.”

Because Daddy is driving. Yes, brothers and sisters, our Father is driving. We may not know the destination, and sometimes we may just know it as the child knew it – Germany — without understanding what or where it really is. In the road of life that we follow, there are many uncertainties and distractions. We do not know where the road will take us. We do not know when it will end. But one thing is certain: At the end of life’s journey, Our Lord will be there to meet us, to welcome us into the heavenly kingdom, if we have prepared ourselves.

Preparation cannot be a “sometime” thing but living each moment of our life for Jesus. If we can do that, we will be prepared to greet our Master whenever He comes.

How can one be prepared in this matter? If you can still remember when Jesus talks about the Last Judgment, He makes it clear that this preparation or preparedness would be measured by our readiness to serve the people we meet. He said, “What you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do this unto me.” We have to complete the task entrusted to us every day and be at peace with, and at the service of, our neighbor now, to be ready for His Second Coming.

Another way is to be faithful to the life and mission of Jesus, as we await the end time, His Second Coming. Despite criticisms, rejection, pain, and suffering, let us remain faithful to the love of the Father, as Jesus did. Let us fulfill the mission entrusted to us, that is, to proclaim God’s reign to all.

God loves faithfulness and rewards those who are faithful to Him. What is faithfulness? It means keeping one’s word or promise, and commitment, no matter how tough or difficult it gets.  Faithfulness is a character trait of God and one that He expects of us.

May Jesus Christ be praised.

True Wealth

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 31, 2022 — Year C
Readings: Ecc 1:2, 2:21-23 / Ps 90 / Col 3:1-5, 9-11 / Lk 12:13-21
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

An elderly man on the beach found a magic lamp.  He picked it up, and a genie appeared.  “Because you have freed me,” the genie said, “I will grant you a wish.”  The man thought for a moment, and then responded, “My brother and I had a fight thirty years ago, and he hasn’t spoken to me since.  I wish that he would finally forgive me.”  There was a thunderclap, and the genie declared, “Your wish has been granted.”  The genie continued, “You know, most men would ask for wealth or fame, but you only wanted the love of your brother.  Is it because you are old and dying?”  “No way!” the man cried, “But my brother is, and he’s worth about sixty million dollars.” 

Brothers and sisters, in the gospel, a man asks Jesus to interfere and to help settle a problem in the family concerning the division of ancestral property.  He says, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”  In Jewish culture, as well as in many other cultures, to be chosen as mediator is something honorable.  Normally, people would ask someone to mediate because of the person’s good standing in the community.  Jesus appears to decline the invitation and gives the reason for His refusal when He says, “Take care to guard against all greed.  For though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”  The Lord suspects that this conflict about the inheritance is driven by greed, and He does not want to take part in it. 

Brothers and sisters, up through today, many family feuds are caused by a selfish interest in inheritance.   Because of a piece of land or property, siblings give silent treatment to one another, file civil lawsuits against each other, and in some situations, harm or even kill one another. 

To show his disgust with greediness, the Lord tells the parable of the man with the bumper crop, the man who built bigger barns to store up his harvest and secure his comfortable future.  He is called a fool by God.  Why?  What did this farmer do to displease God?  There is no sign that the man is dishonest or that he cheats others in order to gain more. 

However, if we read between the lines of the parable, we can tell that the farmer is wrong on at least two counts.  Number one, he celebrates bountiful harvests without being grateful.  He believes that he is successful in farming because of his own efforts.  Thus, he does not feel beholden to anybody, not even to God.  And second, he depends solely on material possessions for his security and happiness.  He believes that by becoming wealthy, his future is guaranteed.  The farmer in the parable is a fool, because he forgets that all of creation is from God. 

There is nothing that we can claim as our own in this world.  Even personal achievements cannot come without God’s grace.  We should remain grateful to God, because He is the reason for all our being and becoming.  The person who thinks he succeeds through his own effort only tends to become proud and selfish, while he who recognizes that every blessing comes from God tends to become humble and generous. 

Moreover, the farmer is foolish to think that his wealth alone would make him happy.  The experience of so many lonely, rich people is proof that possessions do not guarantee life and happiness.  In fact, there’s more to life than money and material things.  Love, friendship, intimacy, and other Christian values are essential for joyful and meaningful living.

In the days of King Solomon, there lived two brothers who reaped wheat in the fields of Zion.  One night, in the dark of the moon, the elder brother gathered several sheaves of his harvest and left them in his brother’s field, saying to himself, “My brother has seven children.  With so many mouths to feed, he could use some of my bounty.”  And then he went home.  A short time later, the younger brother slipped out of his house, gathered several sheaves of his wheat and carried it into his brother’s field, saying to himself, “My brother is all alone, with no one to help him harvest, so I’ll share some of my wheat with him.”  When the sun rose, each brother was amazed to find that he had just as much wheat as before. 

The next night they paid each other the same kindness, and they awoke and found their stores still full.  But on the third night, they met each other as they carried their gifts into each other’s field.  Each threw his arms around the other and shed tears of joy for his goodness.  And when King Solomon heard of their love, he built the temple of Israel there on the place of brotherhood. 

Brothers and sisters, what does it matter if you have all the riches in the world, but have no real friends?  What does it profit if you manage to get the bigger share of an inheritance, but lose a brother or a sister in the process?  Would not love and intimacy in the family be more important than a piece of property? 

In the first reading, the book of Ecclesiastes tells us that all things are vanity.  When death comes, all of our human achievements, including material possessions and honorific titles, will be left behind.  St. Paul, in the second reading, wisely admonishes that it is better to set our hearts on what pertains to higher realms and not on things of Earth.  What are these higher things that St. Paul is talking about?  What else, but the virtues that Christ our Lord would like us to have, such as love, compassion, generosity, mercy, and forgiveness.  These virtues will accompany us to Heaven, not our earthly honors or possessions. 

Waiting on, Waiting for

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 17, 2022 — Year C
Readings: Gn 18:1-10a / Ps 15 / Col 1:24-28 / Lk 10:38-42
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

There is a story about three prisoners on death row, who were asked for their last wish.  The first one wished for pizza.  It was given to him, and then he was executed.  The second one asked for a steak.  It was given to him, and then he was executed.  The third one asked for cherries.  When the guard told him that cherries were not yet in season, he replied, “Well, that’s all right, I can wait.”

In today’s gospel, Jesus reminds us about the value of waiting, and the ways of waiting.  Martha was the one waiting on the Lord, while Mary was the one who waited and listened at the Lord’s feet.  Martha was busy and anxious serving the Lord, while Mary was still and calm, listening to the Lord. And in the end, Jesus tells us that Mary has chosen the better part.  

There are a Martha and a Mary in each one of us.  In prayer, may we be given the wisdom to know who we really are and what we should be, as we follow and serve the Lord.  Mary sat beside the Lord at His feet, listening to Him speak.  Martha, burdened with much serving, came to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?” 

The gospel also introduces us to two women:  Martha, the perfect host, and Mary, the perfect disciple.  They are both eager to serve Jesus, but they go about it in different ways.  

Martha is the perfect host.  She prepares the house for Jesus and His disciples.  She cooks the food and serves everyone because she thinks they are tired and hungry.  She has no idea that Jesus comes, not to be served, but to serve. 

That is why Martha is so upset, so preoccupied with preparing nice food.  She becomes anxious and even snaps at Jesus for allowing Mary not to help her in the household chores.  But Jesus gently rebukes her.  “Martha, Martha, you fret and worry about so many things, but just one thing is needed.  Mary has chosen the best portion.”  Mary listens to Him, learns from Him, experiences His presence, and occupies a place that only men should have – sitting at the foot of her master – in order to learn and be taught. 

Actually, Brothers and Sisters, we also experience this.  When we invite someone to our house, after we greet them and welcome them, sometimes we leave them alone for some time while we continue to prepare their food.  For example, we may give them photo albums to look at, or give them magazines to read, or the remote control for them to watch television.  Like Jesus, our visitors didn’t come for a free meal; they came to be with friends.  They came to be with us. 

On the other hand, Mary is the perfect disciple.  She sits beside the Lord at His feet, listening to His instructions and teachings.  She seems to know instinctively that there is need for only one thing:  to listen to the good news that Jesus brings. 

This might be the reason that God created us with two eyes and two ears, but only one tongue.  He wants us to speak less, but see and listen more, especially in our hearts.  God cannot speak to a noisy heart.  Second, the heart must be obedient and submissive.  God cannot speak to a heart that denies, rationalizes, or postpones.  Third, the heart must be open, so that all the deepest concerns and chambers can be reached and cleaned.  In the same way, God cannot clean and heal a heart that is closed tight. 

It does not mean that Jesus did not appreciate Martha’s hospitality, but He chided her for being so anxious and upset about many things.  She forgot a very important element in her relationship with Jesus.  That is, to allow time to listen to a friend, a beloved, and most of all, to her Lord and Savior. 

Brothers and Sisters, we can discern from the action and reaction of Martha and Mary in serving the Lord their different forms of spirituality.  With Martha, we have an active form of spirituality, while for Mary we have the contemplative spirituality.  It is a combination of prayer and action and reflection which we need in our lives as Christians.  Action and contemplation are not viewed as opposing forms, but complementary. 

We are drawn to the danger of too much activity; we work and work as if there is no tomorrow.  We are so involved in our apostolic activity, outreach programs, and looking for money, but we miss giving attention to enlivening our relationship with God, family, and friends, and listening to them. 

If we have given so much time to work, we must also in the same manner, have time for prayer, meditation, reading scripture, and the Eucharist.  All of us are a bit of Martha and Mary.  We are both body and soul, and we must keep both in balance.   We must give each of them its due.  Jesus does not need people who work for Him; He needs people who do His work.

Lastly, let us pray that the Lord may teach us the value of being prayerful, hopeful, and joyful in waiting. 

With Us Always

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
June 19, 2022 — Year C
Readings: Gn 14:18-20 / Ps 110 / 1 Cor 11:23-26 / Lk 9:11b-17
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

I read this story told by Archbishop Fulton Sheen: that, during China’s 1911 republican revolution, in response to the earlier Boxer Rebellion, anti-Catholic militants seized a Catholic parish.  They confined the parish priest to house arrest, so from his rectory window, he witnessed the desecration of the church. He knew that there had been thirty-two consecrated Hosts in the tabernacle.

An eleven-year-old girl was praying at the back of the church, and the guards either did not see her or else paid no attention to her. She returned to the church that night and made a holy hour and then consumed one of the sacred Hosts, bending down to receive Jesus on her tongue.

She continued to return every night, making a nightly holy hour and consuming one sacred Host. On the last night, the thirty-second night, unfortunately a guard was awakened. After she consumed the sacred Host, he chased her, grabbed her, and beat her to death with his rifle.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen became aware of her martyrdom while he was a seminarian. He was so inspired by her sacrifice that he promised to pray a holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament each day for the rest of his life.

Brothers and sisters, the eleven-year-old girl could have had no idea how she would influence a future bishop, who would in turn influence millions of people and promote Eucharistic adoration. We also have no idea how our witness and sacrifices influence other people.

Today we are celebrating the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. This feast reminds us that Jesus gives His very own body and blood, so that we might live in our faith and alive in our deeds. If we do not live in our faith and alive in our deeds, this is because the Body and Blood of Jesus are not part of our food.  So let us not deprive ourselves of this most important ingredient of our earthly life.

When Catholic converts are asked to talk about the reason why they converted to the Catholic faith, for most of them, one of the main reasons is their discovery of the truth about the Holy Eucharist. When they learn that the Eucharist is not merely a symbol, but Jesus Christ Himself, given to us in the form of bread and wine, they begin to experience a deep spiritual hunger and longing for it.  Our Catholic faith taught us that the Eucharist is Jesus Christ Himself.

Through the Eucharist, Christ becomes physically present in the church, keeping His promise that He would always be with us, until the end of the world. And, because the Eucharist is preserved in the tabernacle, we can be with Him any time we want, just like the eleven-year-old little girl in the story that I heard.

Whatever our spiritual condition may be, today’s feast of the Holy Eucharist is the greatest banquet of all. The greatest sacrifice of all. The very source and summit of our whole Christian life. This is the feast of us all, because Jesus is present in the Eucharist, and He is the Eucharist Himself, awaiting us all.

He is here for the child who receives his or her First Holy Communion, for Catholic converts, and for the lifelong believers like us Catholics. He is here for those who cannot receive him sacramentally: the little children, for the non-Catholics who are mysteriously drawn to the Eucharistic banquet.  Some people or friends we know who are in the catechumenate program show love for the Eucharist and continue to attend Mass every week, even if they cannot receive Holy Communion, and they continue to pray in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

He is here for the sick people who cannot join us in this Eucharistic celebration because of their situation. That is why the Church reserves consecrated Hosts in the tabernacle, so that the Eucharist can be brought to the sick and the faithful who can worship the Blessed Sacrament outside of Mass.

So now the question is: How can be apply this belief of the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist into our lives? There are so many suggested ways how, like Eucharistic devotion and participation in the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament as our thanksgiving, reparation, adoration, and petition to Christ, present with us in the Blessed Sacrament. We can also spend a few minutes after receiving the Eucharist in silent thanksgiving. We can visit our Lord preserved in the tabernacle.  There, we can silently speak with Him about anything we please.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church sums up Eucharistic devotion in the words of Saint John Paul II: “Jesus awaits us in the sacrament of love. Let us not refuse the time to go to meet Him in adoration, in contemplation, full of faith and open to making amends for the serious offenses and crimes of the world. Let our adoration never cease.”

So Brothers and Sisters, in a few moments, when we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, let us try to remember our faith, not only in the Real Presence in the Host, but also Jesus’ real presence in us.  That is why we are here, and that is why Jesus nourishes us, so that we can also nourish others.

At the end, let us remember this: If we celebrate the Eucharist with faith, we shall be transformed into what we eat. We shall become Christlike and be true to our name, “Christians.”

May Jesus Christ be praised.

We Are His Body

The Ascension of the Lord
May 29, 2022 — Year C
Readings: Acts 1:1-11 / Ps 47 / Eph 1:17-23 / Lk 24:46-53
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

The four gospels contain many parables of a master who sets out on a long journey and gives his servants charge of his estate until his return. In the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ, this parable becomes a reality. As we have heard in the gospel, Jesus departs to His Heavenly Father and leaves His disciples in charge of the affairs of His kingdom until His return in glory.

Each of the gospels ends with a scene in which Jesus finally takes leave of His disciples. These parallel scenes focus, not on describing the event in detail, but on the last words that Jesus leaves with His disciples. In fact, the very fact of a bodily ascension of Jesus into heaven is described only by Saint Luke.

It is Luke who wrote the Acts of the Apostles, from which we got our first reading today. A later ending of Mark also includes the Ascension. There are important similarities and differences between Luke and Acts, on the one hand, and Matthew and Mark, on the other, regarding the details of His farewell scene.

For example, in Luke/Acts, the ascension takes place in Jerusalem, whereas in Matthew and Mark, it takes place in Galilee. Both traditions, however, agree that it took place on a mountain.

In Luke/Acts, the ascension happens forty days after the Resurrection, during which period Jesus appears repeatedly to His followers. In Matthew and Mark, there is no indication of a time period between the Resurrection and the Ascension. Rather, the first appearance of Jesus to His disciples after His Resurrection is also the last.

So the gospel writers apparently were not aiming at accuracy in historical details. They were more concerned with transmitting a message. So now, the question is: What is the message? What is the charge that Jesus gives His disciples as he physically takes leave of them?

The message, if we look at the different gospels, is phrased differently in the Acts and also in the gospels. Let’s first look at the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:8).  It says: “But you will receive power, when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

In Matthew (Mt 28:19-20), it says: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The gospel of Mark (Mk 16:15-18) says, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name, they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes in their hands; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them. They will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

So, brothers and sisters, these are the last words of Jesus, as recorded differently in the Acts of the Apostles, and in Matthew and Mark. But all of them are in agreement that Jesus gave His disciples a mission, a task to engage in until His return in glory. Second, He assured them of divine assistance in carrying out this mission.

The mission is to be a witness to the good news of Jesus to the ends of the earth, to go into all nations of the world, and proclaim the good news to the whole creation. The universal reach of this mission is very clear. The message of Jesus is meant to be good news in the ears of all humankind, irrespective of nationality or culture.

Given the fact that, today, many nations have embraced other religions in preference to the Gospel, maybe it’s time to ask ourselves: Are these people rejecting the message of Jesus, or are they rejecting the messengers and the way they represented it? The air of superiority and triumphalism assumed by many Christian missionaries is a disservice to the Gospel and not part of the good news. Have we perhaps despoiled a good story in the telling?

At the beginning of the twentieth century, some mission-minded Christians started a periodical and called it “The Christian Century.” That title was an expression of their triumphalist belief that, by the end of the century, the whole world would have been Christianized. Today, we have hopefully grown wiser and humbler, as we realize that, in the twentieth century, not only did we fail to Christianize the whole world, but rather that we added two world wars to our record of “accomplishments.” To this day, there is still war and ongoing threats of war in other parts of the world.

Spreading the good news to all nations is not a goal that can be attained by dint of human mind and craft. That is why Jesus promises to empower His messengers from on high by His abiding presence, and of course, with the help of the Holy Spirit. The challenge of sharing the good news with all humankind should, therefore, begin on our knees, as we confess that we have often taken matters into our own selfish human hands, and promise to give the Holy Spirit a chance.

There is a story told about a small town in Germany that was severely blasted during the last war. Some years later the buildings were restored. One of the buildings was the town’s cathedral. When the renovation was completed, it was noticed that the large figure of Christ the King, which stood in front of the cathedral, was still unrepaired, when both hands had been blown off in the explosion.

When there was no sign of its being repaired, some parishioners went to their pastor to inquire if he had any plans to repair the statue. He surprised them all by saying that, no, he was going to leave the statue exactly as it was. He explained that, when Jesus ascended into heaven, He took His body with Him. He asked us to provide the body, which is the Church, and His Spirit would provide everything else. He would not replace the hands on the statue, to remind people that Jesus has no other hands but ours when it comes to continuing the building of His kingdom here on earth.

Let me end by quoting what Saint Teresa of Avila once said: “Christ has no body now but yours; no hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which He looks with compassion on this world. You are the feet with which He walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which He blesses all the world. Yours are the hands; yours are the feet; yours are the eyes. You are His body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”

Christ’s Presence

Fifth Sunday of Easter
May 15, 2022 — Year C
Readings: Acts 14:21-27 / Ps 145 / Rev 21:1-5a / Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

Today is the Fifth Sunday of Easter.  Each Sunday after Easter, God’s messages through the readings help us in living our everyday lives.  The main theme of today’s readings is that Jesus’ disciples are recognized by the people around Him because they follow His commandment of love. 

There are four elements through which Jesus wants to make His presence among His disciples during His lifetime and after His resurrection.  These four elements are:  the cross, prayer, Eucharist, and love. 

The first element is the cross.  Jesus says, “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after Me, is not worthy of Me.”  (Mt 10:38, Lk 14:27) Crucifixion was a form of Roman punishment during Jesus’ time, especially for criminals and rebels.  When persons were condemned to be crucified, a part of the sentence was that they should carry the cross on which they were to die, to the place of execution. 

For us, to carry the cross is a figurative expression which means that we must endure whatever is burdensome, trying, or is considered disgraceful in following our Lord, Jesus Christ.  The cross is the symbol of doing our Christian duty, even at the cost of the most painful death, just like Jesus Christ, who obeyed God and carried out His work for the salvation of all, though it required Him to die upon the cross in order to do it. 

The second element is prayer.  Jesus says, “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.”  (Mt 18:20) The best secret to unanswered prayer for whatever we need, is asking it in Jesus’ name, and not in the name of revenge, of consolation or pleasure, of an easy way out, of fame or shame, of good works or recompense for charitable donations. 

First and foremost, our prayer must never be selfish.  Selfish prayer cannot find an answer.  We are not meant to pray only for our own needs, thinking of nothing and no one but ourselves.  We are meant to pray as members of a Christian community.  When prayer is unselfish, it is always answered.   Let us always remember that the answer to our prayers is not according to our wish, but the will of the Father through Jesus Christ.  That is why we should not separate ourselves from His Son. 

The third element is the Eucharist.  Matthew 26:26 says, “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take and eat.  This is My body.’”  At the Last Supper, Jesus eats a Passover meal with His disciples in view of His passion, death, and resurrection.  The bread now is Jesus’ body, being broken and given to His disciples and to all of us.  The wine is now Jesus’ blood, poured out for the redemption of the world.  At Mass, the bread and wine are substantially changed by the power of the Holy Spirit into the body and blood of Jesus.  The bread that we eat is not a symbol of Christ’s body, but really is His body. 

The last element is love.  Jesus says in today’s gospel, “I give you a new commandment:  love one another.  As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.”  (Jn 13:34) Jesus gives us this new commandment that we should love one another because He loves us.  This teaching of Jesus about loving one another takes different forms. 

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  (Mt 22:39) Ordinarily, for Jewish people, a neighbor is only a fellow Jew.  But for Jesus, the term neighbor includes any individual who is in need of help.  That is what we understand in the parable of the Good Samaritan.  Every person in need, whether he lives next door or a town away, whether she is beautiful or ugly, is a neighbor. 

Jesus asks His disciples to use as a measure in loving other people, the love they have for themselves.  They are to treat another person as their own flesh and bone.  That is not an easy thing to do.  We normally have different standards for ourselves as compared to others.  The natural tendency is to give ourselves first priority or utmost care and to provide others with less or even no attention.  By asking us to love a neighbor as our own self, the Lord simply is helping us overcome what we call narcissistic tendencies.  We all belong to the one body of Christ, and we need to behave like we really are part of one another. 

In today’s gospel, Jesus presents an even more demanding version of the commandment to love.  He says, “I give you a new commandment:  love one another as I have loved you.”  (Jn 13:34-35) The Lord teaches His disciples to use as their standard for loving, not only their love for themselves, but His love for them. He knows that our way of loving can easily be tainted with selfish motivations.  Hence, He challenges us to love one another according to the way He has loved us.  

But the question is, what is this Christ-like love?  It is a love that is agape.  A love in spite of and not “love if” or “love because.”  Agape is unconditional love:  a love that is not motivated by how lovable the other person is.  It does not say, I’ll love you if you become valedictorian of your class, or very successful.  Or I’ll love you if you can afford to buy me a beautiful car, etc.  It is love for even the unlovable, including the poor and one’s enemies.  His love is self-sacrificing, unselfish, unselective.  The love of Jesus is also not merited love which is bestowed on those who possess adorable qualities.  It never says:  I love you because you are considerate.  I love you because you are faithful.

We are all called by Jesus to do the same thing:  to love each one not because he or she is lovable, but in spite of the fact that he or she may not be lovable.  We are to love even our enemies and sinners also.

There was a little girl who was born without an ear.  She became a shy and introverted person.  There were times when she would go home crying because her classmates made fun of her.  When she became a teenager, her mother took her to a surgeon who performed an ear transplant on her.  The operation was successful, and she became a normal and happy person.  Not long after, she had a boyfriend.  After several years, they decided to get married.  On the eve of her wedding day, she went inside her mother’s room to thank her.  As she embraced her, she noticed something strange, something absent.  She realized that beneath the long hair of her mother was a missing ear.  She cried and said, “It was you!  All these years you didn’t tell me it was you.”  The mother replied, “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to be sad for me.  I did it because I want you to be happy, to see you happy with your life.  You don’t lose something when you give it to someone you love.”

I recently received a text message from a friend that will make us reflect about life and love.  It says, “LIFE is a four-letter word that is very meaningful.  L stands for love.  I stands for inspiration.  F stands for forgiveness.  E stands for everlasting.  No matter who, what, where, and when you found life, always remember, only God can satisfy your life.” 

Good Shepherds

Fourth Sunday of Easter
May 8, 2022 — Year C
Readings: Acts 13:14, 43-52 / Ps 100 / Rev 7:9, 14b-17 / Jn 10:27-30
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

Four clergymen, taking a short break from their heavy schedules, were on a park bench chatting and enjoying an early Spring day.

“You know, since all of us are such good friends,” said one, “this might be a good time to discuss personal problems.”  They all agreed.

“Well, I would like to share with you the fact that I drink to excess,” said one.  There was a gasp from the other three.

Then another spoke up.  “Since you were so honest, I’d like to say that my big problem is gambling.  It’s terrible, I know, but I can’t quit.  I’ve even been tempted to take money from the collection plate.”  Another gasp was heard.

The third clergyman spoke.  “I’m really troubled, brothers, because I’m growing fond of a woman in my church, a married woman.”  More gasps.

But the fourth remained silent.  After a few minutes, the others coaxed him to open up.  “The fact is that I just don’t know how to tell you about my problem.”

“It’s all right, brother, your secret is safe with us,” said the others.

“Well, it’s this way,” he said, “You see, I’m an incurable gossip.”

Brothers and Sisters, jokes like this have shaped our view of priests, as if there is no difference between the life and work of a priest and that of other Christians.  That is true only up to a point.  We see another dimension to the life and work of priests when we consider it from the aspect of vocations, or the Call of God.  This is the aspect that the Church wants us to dwell on today, as we observe the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.  Today the Church invites us to reflect on the meaning of God’s call, and to pray for an increase in vocations.

To help us reflect on the meaning of the priestly vocation, let us not only pray for religious vocations, but also encourage and support young men and women who have the inclination to walk the less-travelled road.  If you feel you are called, or have the desire, to serve God and His people in a more meaningful way, and without having a family, a wife or children, then you are called to become a priest and to grab that opportunity given by God.  You should inquire further and discern God’s will.  You can consult me or some other priest regarding your desire, or call our Vocation Director.

One way of showing our love for God, especially for parents, is by supporting and encouraging our children to enter the priesthood.  The family is the seedbed of vocations; a fertile ground for more vocations.  Parents can demonstrate their faith in the way they encourage their children.

In last Sunday’s gospel, we heard Jesus three times give Peter the charge to “feed my sheep.”  In that way, He made Peter a shepherd, a pastor, a priest.  In today’s gospel, the Church presents to us the figure of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.  Our Lord continues His work of shepherding His people through Peter and his co-workers, the apostles and the disciples, and through their successors, the Pope, the bishops, priests, deacons, catechists, laypeople, and others.

Today is also known as Good Shepherd Sunday.  In today’s gospel, Jesus tells us what a good shepherd is.  A good shepherd is present, knows, directs, tends, and protects the sheep.

We who are in involved in shepherding others in one way or another, would do well to ask ourselves today if we are good or bad shepherds or shepherdesses, in the light of today’s gospel.

First of all, a shepherd must be present to the sheep.  How can the sheep hear someone who is absent, or is not accessible, or is hard to reach?  We can say anything we want, or put up numerous excuses and reasons, but being present and being with the sheep are very basic and important.

Second, a good shepherd knows the sheep, or at least takes time and gives effort to get to know the sheep.  We want shepherds who are genuinely interested and who genuinely care.  A text message says it beautifully:  People don’t care about what you know, as long as they know you care.

Third, a good shepherd leads and directs the sheep.  He or she must have an idea, a direction, of where to lead the sheep.  The good shepherd or shepherdess must have a clear vision and a strong sense of mission for the sheep.

Fourth, a good shepherd gives.  He or she must have a sense of sacrifice.  We need shepherds and shepherdesses who can also give us our sense of dignity, freedom, respect, and personhood.

Finally, a good shepherd protects the sheep.  He or she must be aware and must protect us from all that would harm us.  When push comes to shove, he or she must be ready to sacrifice life and limb for the good of the sheep.

So, Brothers and Sisters, on Good Shepherd Sunday, let us pray for more good shepherds of the church.  Let us also pray for a better understanding and appreciation of the life and work of ordained ministers, so that more and more people avail themselves of the grace which God makes available through them.  Let us also pray that more young people will be drawn to follow in their footsteps and generously answer the call of God.