Cardinal Homily @Arzobispado de Manila 2/28/17

as I thank all of you for coming to this Eucharistic celebration I also apologize see I know it is a Monday it is supposed to be a day of rest and recreation for the priests and para I feel guilty that anniver an anniversary like this could be some sort of an imposition person you know when you should be already already gallivanting or sleeping or what so I'm sorry if your schedule gets disrupted no but thanks for for being here for the Eucharist and I would like to thank also my family my parents my brother my aunts no Sheena Delia she got behind that boom she cha for for being here let us just reflect on on the readings of today and somehow related to our common calling to follow Jesus and for some of us to follow Jesus in the ministry of ordained life I would like to dwell on the gospel there are three three three lines or points here that I thought would marry some some a deeper reflection on our part no not that there are the other elements are not important but but for me they are they are quite important now the first is after the initial conversation between the young man and Jesus about the the desire of the young man to find what he should do to inherit eternal life the initial response of Jesus to follow the Word of God contained in the commandments then Jesus prepared to tell him what was needed in addition and look at how Jesus didn't did Jesus looking at him loved him and said you are lacking one in one thing so go sell what you have and give to the poor this is a very important in a way pastoral approach you look you look at the person you look at this person with the deep deep desire for something that is eternal you look and as you look you know that this person is also just like any of the young people maybe just adventurous maybe careless maybe going through a stage of life where you know but you look you look and looking Jesus loved him even before the response or the lack of response Jesus already loved him and this love this love hopefully will prepare the person for something that was not easy go and sell what you have and give to the poor and no matter what the response is and as we know he turned away he had been assured of the look and the love of Christ I think this is a good pastoral approach looking and loving a gaze that is filled with understanding and love to prepare people even for the most difficult Hollings and the most difficult challenges the assurance that no matter what I see you I will look at you and I will love you I will love you and the second point is the reaction the response of this man learning about giving everything selling everything losing everything and giving to the poor then he will gain treasure in heaven his face fell and imagine Jesus continuously looking at that face that face that gets pond portrait and that face ducked falls but Jesus looking and loving and he went away sad for he had many possessions and Jesus continued looking looking as the person disappears but Jesus continuously loving but let us enter also the heart of this young man why did he go away sad probably he was focused on what he would lose he would lose everything and whatever he would gain by selling everything he would not keep but give to the poor see nobody Malone could do pero Sabine ithaca nina the gospel of the Lord some a good naman tayo praise to you so is this really good news we understand we understand the man no but the focus was what will I lose and thinking of what he would lose he felt sad and he missed out on what he would gain the treasure in heaven what he was asking for eternal life I think this is also a good a good reminder to all of us sometimes when we are asked to let go of of something we feel sad because of the thought that we would lose or miss something and then we fail to see what do we gain what do we gain when we were seminarians no maybe because the music department did not have the energy to prepare the songs for the following day Oren lagina Leung Bao what Misa a song for the preparation of the gifts lagging along who need more audios take Lord received my Liberty my mind my memory now once the director said you always sing that but are you serious are you really serious are you telling the Lord really from the bottom here okay take my mind my memory what I hold what I have now what will you do if God takes your song seriously my solution I mean stop singing that song choose other songs the young man an old name companion but how serious oh hey me but the song is beautiful no nah all this came from you it's not from me it's not mine what will I lose because it's not mine you have given all to me so I will I feel sad it's not mine in the first place and then but give me only your love you gain everything you gained the love of God para comenzar hindi nanaki kita yan so we go away sad a good reminder and the third is when Jesus explained to the disciples that yeah if it's easier for a camel to enter the kingdom of God and how difficult it is for a person with so much riches that he or she could not part with how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God they were astonished and they asked them who could be saved and Jesus looked at them again Jesus always looking looking and said for people it is impossible but not for God all things are possible for God yeah we do not know what this rich young man did after this but with the words of Jesus all things are possible for God we want to believe that this person returned to Jesus and the grace of God at work the grace of God that will not give up the grace of God that will continue looking even at a person who has decided initially to go away the grace of God that will continue pursuing this person in love without that loving gaze of Jesus then no one would be saved no one but it is not us that makes it possible it is God the look of Jesus that does not leave us the gaze of Jesus that understands our sadness our fears but also the the look that is persistent you will see what you will gain eternal life that's why the first reading is quite appropriate God will provide a way back beautiful if it's not us finding the way back to God to the penitent God provides a way back so everything is Grace Halla not entire Unicaja planned and public seduced shop Allah Allah Kahana nan de Haan bubbly sahaja and God encourages those who are losing hope those are fearful so the book of Sirach says return to God have no fear for God has prepared a way for you these are some points from the Gospels and the read the first reading that I would like to share with you and I try my best to relate those points to the calling that we have received to a ordained ministry no yeah Jesus looking at us loving us I remember when I was doing my retreat in preparation for the ordination no parag parag anoonan o Mara God always around you looking at you at that one point that we go stop looking at me if another one thing that move look at other people how where can I run from your gaze perronnette sometimes at moments you just want to be left alone no pink animal and things are and then and then how could you resist when you are being looked at with love even you even when you do not want to reciprocate him then I recall also the many times when we are afraid to lose our possessions and not only monetary or or financial economic possessions very often that's easier to annoy no but the the possessions of like position your name your image all of those Jesus is saying part from them you have to give up you have to sell them and instead go to the poor serve the poor you you're clinging to your possession my good name but know that has to be sold and give the good name to the poor my comfort no no sell that and give comfort to the poor this is a constant temptation to all of us then we find joy we find joy where is our joy if this when we have really parted with some of these possessions that have been hindering us from service I have told this story a number of times but for me it is one moment where the Lord was forming me as a priest and even as a bishop I've told this I think to all of you know in one of the recollections or one of the masses here when I was invited by a contemplative group of sisters for ongoing formation it was an international gathering held in the Philippines the Philippines was the host so the the sister in charge wrote to me said could you come for five days every day to give a lecture one hour a day so I said no I cannot do that why don't you give me one full day I will lecture the whole day but here the other days and they agreed so I gave all I gave and lectures for eight hours and they have different topics and yeah and at the end of it I was leaving no the the sister in charge of the the Filipina sister in charge of the event was running after me and I saw May envelope I know Bishop Bishop I said no no no sister no no no chicken huh no no no oh you worked hard the whole day I said no that was my gift to you that's my my offering to you I said please accept this good no then she insisted he said well if you don't need it use it for charity so when I heard a charity okay not for me for the poor but you know I felt what was inside the envelope and something in my heart said you deserve a portion of this after all you weren't eight hours at the biblical text not a worker deserves this wage and all of those are the experts tyranny and then all of them adjust this demands know that I will I will give the driver no come on or they are for the the petrol go so I go to the man I can get and and I really worked hard and he rapa you give an eight-hour lecture to contemplatives you know they they're not reacting there no no power and looking at you like the Blessed Sacrament no you do not know whether you are connecting or what no perón Perpetual Adoration you crack a joke and the most that you could get like you know I guess all of these things she guru naman I deserve to get something but Jesus looks with love and for love of us he will say go sell and give to the poor my phone rang as a former seminarian who was ahead of me in the seminary said she taught do you still remember me yes said you know my my wife has cancer and I am a school teacher I need money to take her to the chemotherapy sessions can you help me so with the phone on my left hand and with the envelope on my right I can help you hahaha I could good I mean I need it right away but me LBC by John lb she says you can go I know I'm no I don't think so no I don't feel and I'm not in I'm not in in in kavita right now I don't think there's an LBC but thinking yourself as LBC the Lord is really looking so I stopped now and open the envelope right there at the counter and gave the address of the van and it was it was quite the some money and the woman said you have to pay one thousand ganito for that a little bit well I take it from the mountain so no so I took it from my pocket so I did not gain anything I lost baa what but that evening some priests came and had some dinner and I told them the story now in one of them stood up and started stroking my bad you see Bishop to Bishop but you know the joy the peace that you had that evening really Myron you don't it was not about losing anything the mystery Wow what have I gained what is this that was given to me that I did not deserve and in our failures God will make it possible for us to find a way back to him because his gaze will always be on us loving us back to him and finally you know I I still could not fathom know this journey of the past 35 years no and I'm sure those who have Ghana who have been ordained before me those of my generation and those who are still in their first stage of journey would confirm that no matter how long you have been in ministry you are also my senior our senior no I did apostolate work in his parish st. Joseph's parish in Cuba when I was a seminarian know in the Burma Hakka Egypt nama gigging obese Punahou he he was my big boss than he was it was Vee Senor Bautista already at that time yeah yeah so so this mystery of God's of God's gaze but more and more I guess because I'm approaching also the the senior years no they are the what they call the third or even the fourth journeys no of of life yes while it is still while it is still very much alive no this sense that you you you could give to others you could evangelize you could you could witness to to Christ now in terms of being active in giving you are the giver to others and that will never disappear but now I guess what is being awakened also in in me in these years of priesthood especially at this stage is not just to be the giver but also to be the receiver to be the beholder the other meaning of the word witness and witness is not just witnessing to a witness is also someone who sees and you see the gospel being lived out lived out by other people the Gospel message taking concrete form in the lives of people even in unexpected ways and you are happy to look and see the gospel it's not just you proclaiming the gospel but you listening to the gospel as proclaimed and lived out by other evangelizers especially the little ones the poor so it's another face of witnessing more relaxed at the same time you are enriched for I could not proclaim the Gospel as effectively as some of these people could I could theorize but they alone in their state of life could proclaim that and I end with this I arrived no I know 13th of February from who's on Sunday Poland I told this already to some the 14th Valentine's Day and scheduled me father Reggie the petrest a rest day but there was something that came up so I I had to accompany some people elsewhere so I wrote in the car of the person wasn't supposed to guide us and there was another car behind us with a bishop you were supposed to visit a community so the Thomas de Bourgh Carlo but to go into a booth goes going to a Manila Hotel then not stop green red light now a Valentine's Day so stop Masaki on ho the van bores came flocking to the cars including the car that I was that I took no with it's not mine but no so selling roses flowers Morocco no no candies no and then the drivers and and the owner of the cars and so they left us and moved to the the other cars then one person came back he was selling Burke illios Martinez and she did and the driver said no he's not buying the ownership and he can maybe be like we are not buying and the murkiest of Cardinal car dealer so the race is we were not buying what I did I lowered the window no cuz he he I just thought now I wanted to talk with him and he said Cardinal Cardinal and then he heard the driver in the committee Belaya we're not buying and then he said I am not selling I want to give the bar Killians to Cardinal and you are there just witnessing how the gospel in us is unfolding this man who could not afford to lose a centavo was willing to part with the bar Killians I'm not selling and that was the only Valentine gift I got your mind gets blown along you hear the gospel of the widow putting everything that she had in the temple no you hear this rich young man bravely selling everything to give to the bishop but what joy it was the gospel not proclaimed by me but witnessed by me seeing it unfolding before others before my eyes but we need to look with love and that we understand the gospel let us pause and open our hearts and our persons to this good news so that through it they could help transform the church society and the whole of humanity with a little that we could give but we gain all you

Channel: Radyo Veritas PH

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Keywords: #CardinalTagle, #Homily, #Truth

Id: 0SpTScz5CiY

Length: 30min 20sec (1820 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 07 2017