Reflection/Homily: Twenty-Seventh (27th) Sunday in Ordinary Time of the Year C (October 6 2013)

Reflection/Homily: Twenty-Seventh (27^th) Sunday in Ordinary Time of the Year C (October 6 2013)

Theme: Having an Increased Faith in God

At a time in the history of the Israelites, there were so much tyranny, oppression and violence against the innocent. Before this time, various prophets have encouraged the people of Israel to remain steadfast in faith hoping that God would give them victory at the end. However, during the time of the prophet Habakkuk as we saw in the first reading (Hab. 1:2-3, 2:2-4), he was moved to ask God why He allowed injustice to triumph over the oppressed. From the response he got which we saw in the later part of the reading, it became clear that the Lord keeps secret how He rules the world and all He asks is that we remain faithful to Him since the upright will live by his faithfulness.

This reading brings to mind the problem of evil which several scholars have tried to examine. We wonder why there seems to be evil in a world created by a good God and why this evil also befalls good people. Like Habakkuk, we are tempted to ask God why He allows various forms of evil to befall the righteous while the wicked seem to flourish in all they do. Like the prophet and the people of Israel, we are also asked to remain faithful to God for the upright will live by his faithfulness. That God permits evil does not mean that He is not capable of eliminating evil (omnipotent) or that He is not good (benevolent). 

Reflection/Homily: Second (2nd) Sunday of Easter (April 15 2012)

Theme: Witnessing to the Gospel in Faith and Love

Pragmatism is an ideology that evaluates theories or beliefs in terms of the success of their practical application. For instance, a pragmatist will only believe that one is a good cook not when he describes the process of preparing a particular dish but when he actually prepares it well.

Pragmatism has permeated every sector of our society and religion has not been spared. In times past, people believed a man of God by the authority with which he spoke, but today, by the signs and wonders he perform. The world wants every theory to be practiced and proved effective before it is accepted.

In the gospel reading (Jn. 20:19-31), we see Thomas as a core pragmatist. He did not believe in reasoning but in experience. He never wanted to listen to the event of Christ’s resurrection and appearance but wanted to experience it. He needed an empirical first-hand experience.

In our religious practices, many of us are like Thomas. We want God to show us everything, to reveal every mystery to us before we believe. We want to see the Eucharist turn into empirical flesh and blood. We want to see a candidate for anointing of the sick rise up immediately after receiving the sacrament. We want God’s blessings and promises to materialize immediately, etc.

But have we ever cared to compare our expectation from God and God’s expectations from us? We expect God to be pragmatic, to be practical, but are we also pragmatic in our relationship with God? Can our religious doctrines and beliefs be seen practically in our lives?