First Sunday of Lent Homily

hearing impaired person who sent a message to me thanking me that at least during the homily i removed the mask so that now they could read my lips i did not realize how difficult it really is for the deaf mutes or the hearing impaired to be able to follow the mass if they cannot understand anything on this first sunday of lent our gospel teach us the spiritual discipline of dealing with trials and temptations the way jesus did when he spent 40 days and 40 nights in the desert i think this is the proper background to that part in the our father where we say and lead us not into temptation see pope francis one time he shared a reflection saying something not accurate about the english translation of that part of the lord's prayer does god lead us to temptation what kind of father is he who wants his children to fall even before pope francis raised this issue i have asked the question myself actually on catholic bishops conference of the philippines paul had already come up with what they call the ecumenical version of the lord's prayer nirvais young part non-translation of that particular line and lead us not into temptation and you would remember before anxious do not bring us to the test unfortunately the new english missile reverted again to the traditional formulation now there are people who are asking the bishops to return the ecumenical version do not bring us to the test hangangayon the matter is still under discussion in the cbct instead of do not lead us to temptation nagging do not leave us translation how is that part really supposed to be translated from the original greek the secret young original caime is mon what are we asking god are we begging god not to let us undergo trials in life well today's gospel makes me doubt that very much i think we're just asking god not to abandon us when we face trials or tests or temptations in life which is taken for granted in fact today's gospel is even much stronger i don't know if you were not surprised when you heard it on sabine saint mark the spirit drove jesus out into the desert i don't not only does the spirit allow jesus to be tested he actually pushes him into it like a good coach samantha athletic competition in the coach he drives the training into higher and more difficult levels of training mandela like a father who allows his child to deal with tough realities in life precisely because he loves him or her god as it were is saying because i love you i will not baby you [Music] i will not over protect you from trials because precisely i want you to be strong english love tough love and it reminds me of the carmelite saint teresa of avila who once complained why do you allow me to go through so much suffering and apparently when jesus said to her in her prayer in reply teresa kasich no wonder you have so few friends well jesus's desert experience is an illustration of what i call tough love he is made to go through discipline in his training because he has to fight the evil one in the flesh meaning in his humanity meaning not relying on divine powers the devil is tempting jesus precisely to use divine prerogative but the spirit wants him to learn to deal with it as an ordinary human [Music] and we're forgetting that jesus opted to take flesh to become human like us in all things except sin the gospel also says jesus was with the wild beasts and the angels ministered to him do not parents teach their kids to be cautious in dealing with strangers no doubt there are many friendly and well-meaning strangers but some of them can also be dangerous some of them can also be mean some of them are out to swindle you or to fool you or to get you into trouble i wasn't born yesterday that means you are able to discern because some people are like gentle doves others are like poisonous snakes i imagine god as a father who tells his child you just have to learn to deal with different types of people you don't love your kids my exposed lunch if you really love your children you better get them exposed to different kinds of people and learn how to deal with them prudently well i imagine god as a father you just have to learn to deal with all kinds of people because i will not always be there to protect you dibaganyan parents to learn how to deal with different types of people haven't we all had to deal with people who are mean sometimes your children will deal with bullies nila so we have to deal with people who are mean also people who behave like wolves in sheep's clothing sometimes even parents have to prepare their kids with deal to deal with such situations by themselves using their own judgment and prudence tough love also involves a lot of mentoring mentoring in the determination to continue pursuing your goals in life even in the midst of adversities kasich mark tells us the arrest of john the baptist did not prevent jesus from carrying on with his mission the spirit makes sure that as part of our spiritual training our spiritual discipline we don't get bogged down by tough times so the training make sure that we don't get back down or we don't wallow in self-pity in times of trials or difficulties saint paul is giving counsel to the young leader timothy in the second letter to timothy you proclaim the word huh and be persistent in it whether convenient or inconvenient whether in season or out of season grant us lord to be one heart and one soul from this day forward for better for worse for richer for poorer in sickness in health until death do us part for better in health it will have to be a combination of many things altogether paul knows what he's speaking about satur corinthians 11 he even recalls the many trials that he had had to endure in his life and ministry how he underwent imprisonment beatings numerous brushes with death and he gets even more specific in the latter verses three times the shipwreck i passed the night and the day lulutang on frequent journeys i had to face dangers from rivers dangers from rubbers dangers from my own race dangers from gentiles dangers in the city dangers in the wilderness dangers at the sea dangers among false brethren in toil and in hardship through many sleepless nights i had to go through hunger and thirst through frequent fasting through cold and exposure to the elements looking homeless ninja people usually refer to this as make or break experiences make or break saint paul tells us precisely this just when he thought that these trials would break him they actually made him even stronger by god's grace and so you would understand why saint paul declares in 2 corinthians 4 we are afflicted in every way but not constrained we are perplexed but not driven to despair we are persecuted but never abandoned we are struck down but not destroyed why because we are always caring about in the body the dying of jesus so that the life of jesus may also be made manifest in our own bodies

Channel: Diocese of Kalookan

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Length: 18min 42sec (1122 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 20 2021