Inspirations at your Fingertips!

Our Lady of Sorrows John 19:25-27 Whenever we think of Mary, it is inevitable that we always think of Jesus.  Mary is like the light of the moon that gets its light from the sun. As we have celebrated the Exultation of cross yesterday, now we recall how Mary partook of the sufferings of Jesus, her son, and eventually, shared in our sufferings as well as our way to Jesus. From the seven Sorrows of Mary, we could reflect on how the sorrows of Mary become salvific.  I shall mention three: First, "A sword shall pierce your heart" (Luke 2:33-35) From the very start, Mary's vocation is not one of glamour or fame; it's the mark of a disciple and a servant out to please God.  But Mary chose that path for us. Second, "Do you not know I had to be in my Father's house?" (Luke 2: 43-45) The pain of Mary losing her son is the pain of every mother and father to their children.  But isn't it that the vocation of every parent is to rear the children ...

The Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary Matthew 1:18-23 For Mary's birthday, we reflect on the readings introduce a theme that most aptly describes not only Jesus but the Blessed Virgin Mary, "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, the least of the clans of Judah, out of you will be born for me the one who is to rule over Israel ... " Bethlehem may be the least of the clans of Judah, but that least has brought out greatest man who ever lived and the woman who made this possible, Jesus and Mary. In the gospel, we add another "least" in the history of great men, Joseph.  A carpenter by trade, he might have planned to divorce Mary, but because of his deep love of God, he without question took Mary as his wife. Littleness, simplicity, or being the least.  Even the saints like St. Therese exult "the little way".  Mary, the least among women because of her humble status, is truly most blessed.  It's time we opt for the little way. Mary's little w...

Saturday of week 5 in Ordinary Time Mark 8:1-10 No doubt Jeroboam's term was one of the most corrupt in Israel's history.  God didn't intervene; he allowed such abomination to happen.  Yet on the final verse, Jeroboam's house was obliterated from the face of the earth. In the gospel, Jesus performed the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves.  Not only were the loaves multiplied, even the leftovers were gathered for the consumption of the multitude.  Not a loaf was wasted.  Even this gesture is a sign of grace from God. The issue is about sin and grace.  And for the apparition at Lourdes, we can partake of these insights: First, there are graces in the midst of poverty.  Bernadette, in all her simplicity and poverty of spirit, was most happy in seeing the Blessed Mother and choosing her as her humble instrument.  Let's also rejoice not in power and wealth, but in our poverty before the Lord. Second, the mystery of the grotto, a ...

The Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary Matthew 1:1-16,18-23 Happy Birthday, Mama Mary! Celebrating birthdays are always magical moments for us.  When we were children we couldn't do away with balloons, birthday hats and cakes, and gifts.  It's a time of new beginnings us who go to church to thank the Lord for granting another year in our lives.  When our birthday comes, it's a time to renew ourselves to become better persons. Celebrating Mary's birthday is a time of new beginnings in the Church and in our faith.  When Mary was conceived, it signaled the time of renewal for humanity and the call to be "new creation in Christ." As St. Paul said in Rom 5: 17, "For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!" Church tradition tells us that Mary is the new Eve, the...

by Fr. Lito Jopson Today, we recall how Mary existed in our country even during the arrival of the Spanish.  In that account in Zambales, a man saw a woman's image imprinted on a rock; and there were many stories of miracles.  And when the Spanish came, they too were amazed how the image came to be in the Philippines even before the Christianization of the new world came to be. Mary is deeply rooted in the Philippines as she was deeply rooted in her life with God. In our gospel, Jesus clarified, "Who are my mother and my brothers?"  He seems to expand the reality of family; it is not just confined among the members.  Rather, Jesus expands to include everyone; the human race with God is Jesus' family and Mary is very much a part of that family even before time.  That's why she is not only the mother of God; but also mother of men. Let us reflect on how to be a member of God's family, by doing God's work which Mary certainly did.  How can the spiri...

Mary's faith Luke 1:26-38 This day brings us to Mary, who by her fiat, brought the Child Jesus into the world.  What is the quality of her faith? First, the Immaculate conception Even in the moment of her conception, she was free from original and any stain of sin.  Her graces are both sanctifying and actual.  Let us be conscious of God who bestows us with the all graces we received when we were baptized and every time we receive the sacraments of penance and the Eucharist. Second, Virgin The dogma teaches Mary's real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made man. In fact, Christ's birth "did not diminish his mother's virginal integrity but sanctified it.  And so the liturgy of the Church celebrates Mary as Aeiparthenos, the "Ever-virgin"." (CCC 499)  Furthermore, "Mary is a virgin because her virginity is the sign of her faith "unadulterated by any doubt", and of her undivided gift of h...

Mary is eternal! Matthew 1:18-23  Listen to this anecdote of Pope Francis: "On (a) Saturday evening, in the Grotto of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens, Pope Francis was with a group of young people from the Diocese of Rome who are involved in vocational discernment. Pope Francis said he feels said when he hears Christians say they do not seek the Mary or pray to Mary. He recalled a conversation with two young catechists in the seventies, a couple with young children, who spoke beautifully about Jesus: “At one point I said, ‘And devotion to the Madonna?’ ‘But we have passed that stage. We know Jesus Christ so well, that we have no need of the Madonna.’ And what came into my heart and my mind was ‘Oh… poor orphans!’ … because a Christian without the Madonna is an orphan. And a Christian without the Church is an orphan. A Christian needs these two women, these two women who are mothers, two women who are virgins: the Church and the Madonna." (source: airmaria.com) It...

Mary in our midst Luke 1:26-38 Today is the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary.  I would like to express that I found myself at the right place and at the right time to be the jubilee parish priest of Sto. Rosario de Pasig Parish. There are three major events we are celebrating: 1. We are celebrating our 50th anniversary.  50 years of a parish dedicated to Mary is a blessing indeed. And considering that the blessed image of the Our Lady of Sto. Rosario de Pasig is more than 50 years old; the image is practically symbolic of the faith life of the people.  It is 50 years of growth in faith. 2. We have opened the jubilee year in our parish.  Whenever we think of the jubilee year we think about the remission of sins, a time of grace and freedom, and the mercy of God would be manifest.  Let us think about a year of grace for our beloved parish and how we can be instruments of grace to one another.  It is a time of remission or universal pardon. 3.  W...

This homily is given at the misa-novenario of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Parish, Project 4, QC last Nov. 24, 2011. If Mary were to be the model of pardoning injuries, the best opportunity for her to reveal this virtue is during the crucifixion of her Son, Jesus Christ.  How would one feel if a mother who knows her son through and through as the epitome of goodness would be subjected to the extremest rejection ever? But she was there, totally present for her Son, with such endurance that nobody else can sustain.  We could only surmise what was in Mary's heart all along - this is for the salvation of the world and thus, she would also endure it as her Son endures it. But notice the words of our Lord to her: Woman, there is your son (referring to John); Son, there is your mother.  And John took her to his home.  Jesus still calls for a lasting relationship that no other bond could take away.  And Jesus called for the perfection of love in communio - a c...

Back in Rome, in the catacombs, Christians of early years would decorate the tombs with paintings of flowers to symbolize heaven.  In the Basilica of St. Mary Major, the huge ceiling is adorned with golden roses.   In the feast of the Assumption of Mary, her missing body was replaced with a garden of flowers in her tomb, according to the classic film produced by Fr. Peyton's Family Rosary Crusade. We are paying tribute to Mother of the Lord the whole month of May by offering flowers to her.  We let our young children, the source of our joy, to offers flowers of different kinds as a sign of our devotion to her.  Mary is the fragrant offering like a flower to her cousin Elizabeth.  She and her offspring are the symbols of heaven reaching out to save us.  She is the life bestowed by the Holy Spirit to the barren and the outcast.  She is the hope and joy of every Christian on the way to heaven.  Her son Jesus is the main source of our happine...