Category: Reflections

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Fr. Reu Galoy Reflections

Called to Become a Child-Friendly Community, A SUNDAY GOSPEL REFLECTION for Feast of Señior Sto. Niño By Fr. Reu Jose C. Galoy

The pastoral visit of Pope Francis to our country is indeed a blessing – a once in a blue moon opportunity especially for those who cannot afford to go and visit the Vatican City in Rome. I wonder who are those who will have the chance to get closer to the Pope and those who will be relegated to the sidelines. My only prayer is that after his visit there will be no story of people being given the special privilege due to Connection, Hype, Influence, Lobbying and Donation because to some extent this is blatant disregard to what Pope Francis wants as well as a betrayal to the theme of his visit, compassion and mercy.

The gesture of Pope Francis to be closer to people especially the poor is driven by his ability to see Christ among the least, last and lost. It is not an opportunity for Pope Francis to mingle with the ordinary people. It is rather a privilege for Pope Francis to celebrate with his flock as a shepherd, Christian faith-life together with the faithful amidst the struggles to living life lovingly and finding faith fraternally. Such an encounter is ministry in reserve – the condition of the faithful becomes the source of inspiration to the pope in exercising his office as servant-shepherd-steward.

Pope Francis is humbly and seriously taking his office as both an encounter and communion with God. Most often than not, positions of authority and function alienates the person holding it in name of protection and security and sometimes ending up as prisoner of it. That is why Jesus wanted people including children to have access to him and would like to teach his disciples to learn a lesson and all of us – our role is to help the people become closer to Christ than to us, including the Pope himself.

The powerful words of Jesus, “Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it” (Mk. 10:15). Again, Jesus is making use of contrasting images to lead people to understand his point. The image of the kingdom connotes power and prestige. The child on the other hand, represents the inferior and insignificant. Jesus did so to convey his message that the basis to enter God’s kingdom is to be childlike which to me is a call and a challenge to be Compassionate, Humble, Inclusive, Loving and Dependent on God’s grace.

The child Jesus brought light into the world through his birth. May we also try to give birth to a CHILD-friendly environment in our parish and nurture it through sharing the light that Jesus brings in our homes and workplaces.

About Fr. Reu and his other reflections.

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Fr. Baltazar Obico Reflections

“Feast of the Lord’s Baptism: New Life in Christ, Incorporation into the Faith Community”, a Sunday Reflection by Fr. Baltazar Obico, OFM

Introduction: The word padrino or ninong comes from the church religious vocabulary to mean godparents, someone who assist the parents of the child in order that the baptized child grows up to be a mature Christian. They serve as second parents to their godchild that the latter should grow into Christian discipleship. The word padrino has deteriorated into what is known as the padrino system in our culture that is contributive, if not the major cause, to our inefficient and corrupt bureaucracy. It has eroded the merit system; what is important is who is your well placed padrino who can facilitate favors on your behalf, either through employment or juicy government contracts. The deterioration can be traced to reduction of baptism to become merely social events. Chief concern is given to numerous ninongs and ninangs to the lavish feasts for the invited guests. Less interest is shown in explicit religious dimension of the sacrament itself. The obvious result is nominal Catholicism sometimes labeled as KBL (kasal, binyag at Iibing) as those are the only occasions when the baptized go to Church.

Feast/Gospel: Today we celebrate the Lord’s baptism. In Mark’s account, John the Baptist once more professed that Jesus whom he is going to baptize is mightier than he. Matthew therefore expressed John’s reluctance to baptize Jesus due to his awe of Jesus. He perceives Jesus as the more powerful one. All the three synoptics have common denominators of the baptismal account of Jesus. The opening of the heavens, the appearance of the Spirit like a dove, and the voice from heaven recognizing him as God’s beloved son in whom the father is well pleased. And all of them placed Jesus’ baptism as a prelude to his public ministry. Hence the baptism of Jesus is the father’s public recognition of Jesus’ Sonship as well as the beginning of his public life. The same text from the prophet Isaiah 42 was also uttered in the transfiguration story, where the beloved three disciples have difficulty accepting the public proclamation of Jesus that messiahship consists in his suffering and death. The Father is well pleased with Jesus because of his work as a messiah and his life as Son of God is by being a servant, a suffering servant. The baptism of the Lord reminds us of our own baptism. We have been anointed and have been constituted as God’s children.

WORD: In baptism we are made God’s children. Traditionally we have associated baptism with cleansing of original sin; the experience of painful moral weakness in trying to do what our conscience tells us, but also inclination to evil which is called concupiscence. As a consequence we find ourselves in a society structured by sinful structures, injustices and moral aberrations. The struggle against sin must go on, but with our baptisms we are marked with Christ, in dwelt by the Spirit and supported by Christian community. Therefore baptism focuses on our having new life in Christ, not simply washing away of original sin.

In baptism we have been incorporated into the faith, messianic community of believers, the Church. This means our personal relation with Christ is never a private affair but always a loving relation that originates, develops and grows in union with fellow members of Christ’s body. Our baptismal life is never solitary, isolated thing, but a communal sharing with others. Lastly, baptism enables us to share in the church’s three fold ministry of Jesus’ as priest, prophet and king. In baptism we are not only recipients of the privilege of being children of the father, but we are also tasked to
proclaim his message and establish his kingdom by our words, deeds and courageous initiatives. This ministry will entail bringing our baptismal commitment to the political arena.

About Fr. Tasang and his other reflections.

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Fr. EJ Reflections

SUNDAY GOSPEL REFLECTION for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cycle B By Fr. Efren Jimenez, OFM

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Its three days before Christmas! Who would not be touched by such a great mystery! A time to marvel at the greatness and beauty of everything pulsating with life! What amazes us, however, is how we cease to marvel at, and take for granted, the most marvelous event to shake human history. Both John and Luke summed it up passionately, “God so love the world that he gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have life eternal.” (Jn. 3:18) And Luke in today’s Gospel,” He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.”(Lk. 1:32)

“God so loved the world.” Its awesome. Many of us have a fearsome idea of God, the “God who appeared to Moses in thunder,” yet…can a woman forget her suckling child, that she should have no compassion for the son in her womb? Even these you may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have graven you on the palms of my hand.” (Isa. 49:14-16).

This is the same God whom John declares: “Beloved let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knowsGod. In this is love, not that we loved God but that God loved us.” (1 Jn 4:7-10)

The God who is love gave us a gift, not a lifeless thing, silver or gold; a person, not an angel; God gave us God’s only Son. Sweat, if you can, make an act of love, an act of faith, understandable, believable. God gave you and me, Jesus, His very Son.

“Gave!” How paltry a monosyllable! The gift was a baby shivering in straw! The gift was the Son of the Most High and the child of a Jewish mother. The gift was a young man who scuffed the dust of Palestine from one end to the other because, “The spirit of the Lord is upon me: He anointed me to preach the good news to the poor…sight to the blind, to set at liberty the oppressed.” (Lk 4:18)

A gift – the whole package. A gift because we had no claim on Christ, did not deserve him. A gift because he was born for you and me, lived and died and rose for you and me.

And He made it clear, he came that we might have life fully. He came that we might have hope in this world darkened by greed and selfishness. He became the WORD (VERBUM DEI) that we might have life in Him – and light amidst darkness in our human world.

Once, a Protestant martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer said: “Grace that comes cheap, grace that keep us ever so comfortable, will never redeem this sin scared earth. Only costly grace can do that – the WORD that engulfs humanity to the heart of God!”

Blessed Christmas to all!

Sometime in 2000, I took this shot of a young Jewish lad, Son of an Orthodox Jew, in front of our Church of St. Peter in Jaffa, near Telaviv City. Notice how he is clad in their traditional garment, wearing “Tipa” (Skullcap) on his head and phylacteries on his waist.

He was peering through outside the iron fence – similar to our grilled fence here at our church. He was kind of curious to see inside our church. He was meek looking and was willing to have his picture taken after I asked hispermission.

As Christmas draws near, we remember the baby Jesus, a Jew like him.
I put these words on the boys lips:

COME .. AND SET ME FREE.. JESUS
I LONG TO SEE YOU. .
I WANT TO KNOW YOU. . AND TO TOUCH YOU AND TO LOVE YOU.. THE ONE! LONGED-FOR MESSIAH . . of ERETZ ISRAEL . .
Free me from my TRADITIONS . .
Untie me from the bondage of my religion. YOU ARE THE KING OF ISRAEL!

About Fr. EJ and his reflections.

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Fr. Jesus Galindo Reflections

“Rejoice in the Lord Always” A Sunday Reflection for the Third Sunday of Advent B by Fr. Jesus Galindo, OFM

A visiting tourist left his hotel room on a Sunday morning, looking for a church. He approached a policeman and asked him for directions to the nearest church. He thanked the policeman for the information and was about to walk off when he turned and asked, “Chief, why have you recommended that particular church? It looks like a Catholic church. There must be other churches nearby that you could have recommended.” The policeman smiled and replied, “I’m not a churchgoer myself, but I have noticed that the people who come out of that church are the happiest looking people in town. I thought that would be the kind of church you would like to attend.” [Could it be Santuario de San Antonio? Sana.]

Today is Gaudete Sunday or Rejoice Sunday. Joy is all over the texts of today’s Mass: Rejoice in the Lord always (entrance antiphon); enable us to attain the joys of so great a salvation (opening prayer); I rejoice heartily in the Lord (first reading); my soul rejoices in my God (responsorial psalm); rejoice always (second reading). It looks as if the Church wants us to take a break from our Advent penance—although you wonder if any Advent penance is really going on, with all the Christmas shopping and Christmas parties going on!

The first question that comes to mind is: Rejoice, why? What about? Do we have any good reasons to rejoice? What is it that makes us happy these days? Hopefully not just the material frills and perks of the season, such as the Christmas bonus, the 13th month payment, gifts, vacation, extra food, etc. There must be better and deeper reasons for joy. (One of the first gifts I got this Christmas is a book entitled, “14,000 Things to Be Happy about.”)

Today’s Mass readings help us discover the true joy of the season. In the gospel we meet John the Baptist, a powerful voice and a powerful witness to Christ. People were drawn to him because of his austere lifestyle. He made a difference. As somebody once said, “Do not give an explanation of your faith unless they ask you; but live in such a way that they will ask you.” Hopefully we will arouse interest for being forgiving, generous, and honest in business and in politics.

John the Baptist was thought to be the Christ, or perhaps Elijah, or the Prophet. However, he did not take advantage of the people’s mistaken opinion about him. He knew his role and stuck to it. He was not the light, but only a witness to the light. He gave Christ the place of honor. That’s it: Christ, at the very center of our life, at the center of our Christmas celebration; not overshadowed by Santa Claus, not drowned by the glitter of lights and décor, but outstanding and out-shining them all. He is the true source of our joy!

In his first letter to the Thessalonians, St. Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing.” Amid the noises of the Christmas caroling and Christmas parties, we must strive to find some time and place for silence and prayer in order to keep in touch with the mystery. It will surely enhance the joy of our Christmas celebration.

Finally, prophet Isaiah reminds us that we must provide reasons for joy to others. We must be messengers of joy: “[The Lord] has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor!” Definitely, this reading puts our Christmas celebration in focus. Our Christmas will be truly happy and meaningful only to the extent that we bring happiness to others, and share with others God’s blessings, just as God the Father has shared with us the most precious gift—his only Son. Sharing is another name for Christmas.

About Fr. Jesus and his reflections…

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Fr. Baltazar Obico Reflections

“JOHN THE BAPTIST AS ADVENT COMPANION,” A SUNDAY GOSPEL REFLECTION for the 2ND SUNDAY OF ADVENT (B) By Fr. Baltazar Obico, OFM

Introduction: There is something in the Christmas season that the Church has difficulty dealing with;the preparatory character of Advent to Christmas. This ambiguity is seen here in the Church as two contrasting colors, signifying contrasting moods juxtaposed here. We have the bright colors of Christmasand the sober purple of advent. I think the Church has yielded the animation of the season to the business community. It has adapted itself to the early and immediate celebration of Christmas, thus effectively
glossing overadventus’necessary prelude to Christmas. The market place has dictated the dizzying tempo of the season. John the Baptist was relegated to obscurity and Santa Claus was thrust into prominence as the symbol of the season; symbol of abundance, fecundity and generosity; someone well fed (overeaten), well clothed (overdressed) and bubbling with joy.

GOSPEL:Today the Gospel gives us the figure of John the Baptist to help us prepare towards a meaningful, fruitful celebration of Christmas; not only joy brought about by material abundance but the joy of being reconciled with God and with one another. What Santa Claus is,John the Baptist is not.John appears eccentric when youlook at his wardrobe and diet. He wears a garment of camel hair with leather belt and his food is locust and wild honey. It is not the “eat all you can” burst you will find in buffet meals so much in fashion nowadays. His ascetic dress and wild diet is associated with the wilderness. He breaks its silence with his unsettling call to repentance. His own life is his message. It is in the desert that they become God’s people. It was in the desert that they intimately experienced the providence and nearness of God, something they did not realize when they were enjoying the comforts of Egyptian civilization. Gradually it dawned on them that they are one people, not 12 tribes of Jacob.

WORD:
1) Call to repentance: The Greek word for repentance is metanoia. It carries a double connotation of changing your mind and behavior. It signals a need to go beyond your mindset and allow a new mindset to drive new actions. Repentance begins by entering the desert, far from the maddening crowd. Desert experience would lead us to the appreciation that if people survive it is not because of their own talents and efforts but because of God’s providence. Until we enter into solitude and do some inner work, we will always be a one-sided creation of other people. It is not a question of simple remorse but positive commitment to the way shown him by God. It does not mean simply going to confession; it is asking why I transgressed God’s commandments at all.

2) Bear fruits of repentance: One of the dangers of equating repentance or metanoia to simple
confession and admission of guilt is the absence of change behavior. The same transgressions are repeated again and again. True repentance means new behavior, a new way of living. If Christ were to come to us in a.meaningful way, if Christ is to be more than “ho, ho, ho and a bottle of rum” we Christians have to change our minds with a corresponding change of behavior. The inner voice says we are children of Abraham and that is enough. There is noneed for repentance for they claim physical descent. They are part of the 56chosen people and the fact of their birth takes precedence over inner repentance.

3)New life in Jesus: Metanoiaor repentance literally means a 180 degreeturn; it is turning back to God from a life centered on oneself. A life centered on oneself loses its spiritual character and reducesit simply to its material dimension. Without being conscious of it, the materialistic orientation of one’s life makes us consumeristic, greedy and selfish. This is the root of our transgressions of God’s commands. In our consuming desire to satiate our material satisfaction, we alienate ourselves from our true selves. No amount of material things can fully satiate us; not the 12 thousand Peso Burberry shirt, not the hundred thousand Peso Herrnesbag nor a 30 thousand Peso Iphone; not even your Maserati sports car which can get you in trouble with trafficenforcers. It can only lead us to compulsive addiction to branded products.

4)Brothers and sisters, Santa Claus as a Christmas symbol of generosity, sharing and abundance becomes meaningful only as a result of our response to John the Baptist’s message of repentance. It is not abundance as such that makes this season joyful. Imagine you have all you wish for in your Christmas list, from small gadgets and latest accessories to more expensive amenities, but you have no one to share it with. Imagine how pathetic it would be if you are alone for nochebuena at Solaire or Resorts World. It is abundance shared with others that make this season joyful. We cannot luxuriate in the midst of want and misery. Santa Claus is not any longer in the liturgical calendar.

About Fr. Tasang and his reflections.

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Fr. Sergio Santos Reflections

A SECOND CHRISTMAS, A SUNDAY GOSPEL REFLECTION for the FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT By Fr. Serge Santos, OFM

Our pilgrim church is a strategist. Why so? Let’s take a look. Last Sunday we celebrated the Feast of Christ the King, which declares that our Lord Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. This really means Christ rules the world and the universe and the Controller of our lives and Mother Earth. Today we celebrate the First Sunday of Advent, the beginning of the Advent season and the new liturgical year. Advent comes from the Latin word Adventus, which means Coming. What is this Coming? This is the Second Coming of Christ, which would happen on the day of Final Judgment, when  Christ would turn over humanity to God the Father and Creator. We prepare for this coming so that when this spectacular day arrives, we are ready like the five Wise Virgins fully prepared heart, mind, body and spirit to meet the Bridegroom Jesus Christ. If we are ready and prepared for this Second Coming, which is considered the Second Christmas, we will be prepared for the First Coming, which is the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. This what makes the church that designed the liturgical calendar strategist.

I quote from the ORDO 2015: “ADVENT has a twofold character, for it is a time of preparation for the Solemnities of Christmas, in which the First Coming of the Son of God to humanity is  remembered, and likewise a time when, by remembrance of this, minds and hearts are led to look forward to Christ’s Second Coming at the end of time. For these two reasons, Advent is a period of  devout and expectant delight.” (Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the General Roman Calendar, 39). The church divides Advent in two parts. The first part, which begins today until December 16th, urges us to prepare for the Second Coming of Christ. The second part from December 17th until Christmas Eve highlights the preparation for the celebration of his birth. (cf. Calendarium Romanum, p. 61)

As we begin Advent today, the church reminds us that Christmas is coming. But it seems that the church is late in announcing this event. Shopping malls and stores and houses have been decorated beautifully since October. Many children have made a list of presents they want to receive. Many adults have bought gifts. Christmas carols are in the air. It’s about time the church tells us to get ready and be prepared.

And yet, in the scriptural readings today we cannot find any idea about the birth of Jesus Christ. Why? Because there are two Christmases we can prepare. The first is the one we are very familiar with, the First Christmas (Nativity). We know Jesus Christ was born like us but without sin. By following his words and example we give meaning to our human existence. Christ has gone to the Father but he will return. This is the Second Coming, the Final Judgment Day (Parousia), which is the coming of Christ at the end of time.

Maybe many of us don’t give enough thought to this Second Christmas so the church calls attention to this event. We want  for sure to go to Heaven. Therefore it is fitting and right to be found worthy for this momentous event. This Last Day is still a secret to us.

“Watch” is the warning of Jesus Christ. We will be prepared if we remain faithful to Christ and to our Christian faith. This holy season of Advent is a great opportunity to look into one’s life and check how one stands with God. Christmas should remind us of the Second Christmas. Question oneself: How would I fare if I were called today from this world? Have I followed the teachings of Christ? Could I get a passing grade? If we find ourselves lacking in preparedness, this is the season to put things in order.

We have the capacity to make the Second Christ either joyful or terrifying. Our loving God does not will evil for us. Jesus Christ wants us to be SAVED! God is giving a wonderful Christmas gift, which is ETERNAL LIFE. The spirit that we can adopt is the spirit of the Second Christmas which is highlighted in our prayer following the recitation of the “Our Father”: “Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

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Fr. Reu Galoy Reflections

SUNDAY GOSPEL REFLECTION, CHRIST THE KING By Fr. Reu Jose C. Galoy, OFM

Today marks the closing of the church’s liturgical year with the celebration of the feast of Christ the King. Jesus came as our Good Shepherd and entrusted us to one another. When he comes again at the end-time, we shall come face to face with him and see our worth through his eyes and from our own. We anticipate him asking us: Have you cared for one another? What have you done for the poor and weak among you? Put in another way, only one criterion will matter when the time comes – love and compassion for others.

As followers of Christ, our lives can best be examined on the basis of what we have done to alleviate six conditions of poverty and suffering: hunger, thirst, exile, nakedness, illness, imprisonment. Jesus tells us that our faith in God is manifested in our action in behalf of compassion and in the passion and perseverance with which we pursue the work to combat these inhumane conditions.

The kingship of Christ is not one of dominion, power and control. His kingdom is not about building empires, about prestige and popularity. Rather, it is the kingdom of love, service, justice, reconciliation and peace. It is about the transformation of our hearts into his vision – that all may have life and have it to the full or abundantly.

Jesus uses the image of the final judgment not to scare us as to what will happen at the end of the world but to teach us on the one essentials of life, on what really counts or matters. This gives us an opportunity to evaluate what concerns us in developing a healthy and joyful life. This gives us a chance to look at our service as an act of deep faith.

And so on in this feast of Christ the King we ask ourselves: What holds dominion over us? What drives us in this life? How are we growing in Christ’s vision? Are we becoming Eucharist to one another? How are we working for the transformation of our world and of our community into a kingdom of love, peace, reconciliation and service?

Perhaps, truthful answers to these questions will reveal to us that we have other gods that capture our allegiance and attention. The image of the last judgment is not only serving those in dire need. Rather it is a about serving God, for the neighbor in need is no other than Christ himself.

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Fr. EJ Reflections

SUNDAY GOSPEL REFLECTION BY FR. EFREN JIMENEZ, OFM

Note: This article is a reflection on the first reading from the Book of Proverbs.

Recently a fashion show with lots of flare for entertainment was dubbed as the ‘Naked Truth.” (There’s a lot of nakedness, but what kind of truth, that’s begging the question.)

In one scene, a known Matinee idol was seen dragging a dishevelled woman with a leash around her neck! Instantly, it went viral, receiving deserved flack of great proportion.

The management, I believe, has a lot of responsibility to the moral perception of the viewing public. There is such thing as quality in human thinking and in this case also includes our perception. This kind of show disrupts and undermine people’s capacity for critical thinking.

What is our modern concept of women? Based from an interesting comparison, an ancient description of a woman’s vocation is described elegantly in this Book of Proverbs. We find in this excerpt ideas very similar to those that are being stressed now. The first is that a woman’s productivity and significance is not simply to be confined to the home, but that she should be adequately treated in whatever work or profession she chooses.

Secondly, a woman is not to be valued merely on a physical level, or in a purely sexual way. Rather, she should be regarded for everything she is, and can be, as a uniquely human and feminine person. There are still greater number of nations or cultural attitude towards women’s status as secondary (e.g.Islamic thinking on this regard).

The great value of the woman in the home and her productivity there, is not overlooked as is evident from the lines, “She obtains wool and flax and works with loving hands. She puts her hands to the distaff, and her fingers ply the spindle.” Yet… She reaches out her hands to the poor, and extends her arms to the needy. This last line shows her socialconcern outside the needs of her house. Today a woman steps out of the house beyond her domestic skills. A woman’s commercial significance is also considered but ethical standards must be the point of reference for its full significance. The same is true in the field of politics. Understanding this, then, we have a striking commentary on a woman’s worth as a total person. Her choice of a commitment to her home and family is a most honourable one, but she need not be limited to that. Nor is she mainly judged on her physical appeal. The psalmist dismisses the value of physical attractiveness alone by saying, “Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting.” The far more beautiful aspect of a woman is her inner core of a richly creative feminine personality. She is seen as a working mother, care giver, nourisher and giver of life. The role of women in the bible is unmistakable – disciple, companion, steward, listener and devoted worker, like Martha and Mary, who chose the better part.

We must give each woman freedom and the opportunity to develop all her creative potential. This, as the quote suggests, a woman can rightly display her abilities, so that “her works may praise her.” This should be true not only in the home, but when appropriate, in the centers of commerce, law, politics, the sciences, and travel as well. As we read again, “her value is far beyond pearls.” Who can stand more brilliantly for the full potential of a woman in Christian tradition, than Mary herself, full of grace and truth.

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Reflections

Dedication of St. John Lateran

Ez 47:1-2,8-9,12; Ps 46; 1 Cor 3:9-11,16-17; Jn 2:13-22
The Holy Dwelling of the Most High
“Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor 3:16)

Today the readings for the Feast of the Dedication of the Ba-silica of St. John Lateran in Rome supersede those assigned for the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Built in the fourth century, this church remains a magnificent and lively place of worship today. It is the cathedral church of the bishop of Rome (the pope). The various Scripture readings revolve around the theme of the “temple” and illustrate the different ways in which that motif appears in the Bible: the Jerusalem Temple, the ideal temple, the person of Jesus and individual Christians.

The archaeological evidence for temples in the ancient world goes back many thousands of years. A temple was a place where a god was believed to be present in a special way, and where rituals honoring the god (especially sacrifices) were conducted. For a large part of ancient Israel’s history from Solomon onward, the Jerusalem Temple was the people’s central shrine and the only place where sacrifices were to be offered to Yahweh, the God of Israel.

Many of the Old Testament psalms celebrate the presence of Yahweh in the Jerusalem Temple. Indeed, the Book of Psalms is sometimes called the hymnbook of the Jerusalem Temple. We get a glimpse of how much the Temple meant to ancient Israel in today’s excerpts from Psalm 46. There the psalmist describes the Temple as “the holy dwelling of the Most High” and as Israel’s “stronghold,” its source of security, safety and hope because of Yahweh’s special presence there.

Nevertheless, the Temple built by King Solomon was destroyed in 587 B.C., along with the city of Jerusalem. The prophet Ezekiel was among the exiles in Babylon, and there he reflected on how such a catastrophe could have happened. While his book is full of denunciations and warnings, it ends on a note of hope when in Chapters 40 to 48 it provides a de-tailed verbal picture of the ideal New Jerusalem and its rebuilt Temple. The imagery of water in both Psalm 46 and Ezekiel 47 allude to its life-giving and life-sustaining power and its healing properties. Even after the Second Temple was built in the late sixth century B.C. and rebuilt in grand style under Herod the Great (37-4 B.C.), many early Jewish writers kept alive and embellished Ezekiel’s hope for a new and better Temple. The Qumran New Jerusalem texts and the Temple Scroll, as well as the New Testament Book of Revelation, are good examples of these hopes.

The Jerusalem Temple to which Jesus came, according to John 2, was a large complex of buildings whose Herodian re-furbishing had been in progress for 46 years. We ought to en-vision the Temple not as one huge church building (like St. John Lateran or St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York) but as a campus with many buildings and installations. By Jesus’ time, the Temple had become the major industry of Jerusalem. It employed construction workers and an administrative staff, and innkeepers and other service-providers profited from crowds of pilgrims coming regularly into the city.

In this historical context the symbolic demonstration by Jesus the Galilean prophet of God’s kingdom against the excessive commercialization of the Jerusalem Temple complex is un-derstandable both in Jesus’ program and in the effect it had on the local Jewish and Roman leaders. In John’s account Je-sus raises the stakes further by referring to the Temple as “my Father’s house” and proclaiming himself as the locus of God’s presence (“this temple”). As readers of John’s Gospel, we already know that Jesus is the Word of God who has be-come flesh and made his dwelling among us.

As followers of Jesus and so members of the body of Christ, we as individuals have become “the temple of God” through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Through our faith in Christ and baptism, we have been made into places where God is now present in a special way. Of course, we still need buildings where we may worship God in community and express our shared identity and dignity. Yet we do so convinced that Christ is the reality to which all earthly temples, shrines and churches point, and that through Christ God dwells in us and makes us holy through the Spirit. As God’s people in Christ, we are now dwelling places of the Most High.

Prayer:
• How could Jesus, according to John, identify himself as the temple of God?
• Do you ever think of yourself as a temple of God? How might such a concept affect your actions?
• Why do you go to your local church? What do you hope to find there?
Daniel J. Harrington, S.J. is professor of New Testament at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

© 2008 America Magazine

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Fr. Jesus Galindo Reflections

“You are God’s Building.” SUNDAY GOSPEL REFLECTION By Fr. Jesús Galindo, OFM for Dedication of the Lateran Basilica A

Business and religion have always gone together. They did in the time of Jesus and they do so now—with a slight difference: In Jesus’ time, they brought business to the temple; now, we bring the temple to business centers (malls, banks, government offices, etc.). Fund-raising activities are a usual occurrence in most parishes. Attached to most churches are stores selling religious articles. Clerks in parish offices are busy collecting all sorts of fees; and collection boxes are strategically located in our churches.

Jesus, though “meek and humble of heart,” got quite angry when he saw the vendors and money changers in the temple of Jerusalem. He threw them all out, as we read in today’s gospel. Those people, bible scholars tell us, were doing a legitimate service to worshippers by providing the unblemished animals needed for the sacrifice (Ex. 12:5), and the shekel coins used to pay the temple tax (Ex. 30:13; Mt. 17:24). Perhaps it was their overpricing and exploitation that irked Jesus.

We read today the gospel passage about the cleansing of the Temple in connection with the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. For over 300 years Christians had no churches; they met in private homes and in the catacombs. When emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, he made it the official religion of the State and donated to the Church the palace he had acquired from the Laterani family. Said palace was transformed into a basilica—the official residence of the Pope. Thus, the Lateran Basilica is considered the Mother of all Christian Churches.

All religions have places of prayer and worship (churches, mosques, synagogues, ashrams, etc.) where God is believed to be present, or where God’s presence is more intensely felt. Sometimes they are referred to as the “house of God.” In today’s gospel, Jesus calls the Temple “my Father’s house.”

We know that God dwells in the whole wide universe. He cannot be confined in any physical structure, in any temple, no matter how ornate and how large it may be: “The Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands” (Acts 7:48). Jesus promised his presence, not to any physical structure, but to the community gathered in his name: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt. 18:20).

It was Jesus himself who introduced a new concept of temple. When the Jews, after the cleansing of the temple, asked him for a sign, Jesus pointed to his own body as the temple where God dwells: “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up” (Jn 2:19). In today’s second reading, St. Paul says: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God?” God then dwells in people, not in buildings. Perhaps this is the reason why Jesus never built any church or chapel but rather spent his time feeding the hungry and healing the sick—God’s temples.

The pastoral implications are clear: Important as it may be to have a beautiful church building, it is by far more important to have a beautiful community. The church building should be the mirror of the community using it. It is incongruous to have a beautiful church while the parish community is rocked by intrigue and division. People won’t like to go to a church that houses a broken community. In most parishes, the largest bulk of the budget goes to construction and repairs of the church and convent. If we really believe that people are God’s living temple, then we have to re-assess our pastoral priorities and invest more on people and less on structures.

About Fr. Jesus and his other reflections.

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