Homilies

17TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: THE GENEROSITY OF GOD

THE MULTIPLICATION OF LOAVES is one of the most loved stories in the Sacred Scriptures. We have the exchange of deeds of generosity. God is there as a great provider. Jesus performed the miracle which only shows the generosity of God.

The story is said to be a reflection of an event that happened in the Old Testament. In the second book of Kings, Elisha the prophet was speaking to the people, “For thus, says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and there shall be some left over.’” God performed a miracle by providing the people with food. In both events of the Multiplication of Loaves, we see two important persons who shared. First is the man from Baal-Shalishah and second, the boy in the Gospel. Two generous persons who did not hesitate to give what they have. It is an act of being self-less. Giving the most basic of needs to others speaks of generosity at its best. We remember the widow in the Gospel who gave her all.

Generosity is a virtue that comes from God himself. God gave this to humanity in order for them to reciprocate the gift to God and others. The act of generosity must now spring from the person; it should start from within oneself. In the many instances in life, miracles happen out of generosity. God works on this generosity. Generosity also comes from being grateful and joyful of the gift received. This would be passed forward, or one famous film would say it “pay it forward.”

This Sunday is the celebration of Filipino Mission Sunday. This day we remember the Mission Society of the Philippines (MSP), a missionary society which was founded in 1965 by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference (CBCP); its foundation was rooted on the values of generosity, gratitude, and joyfulness. We are reminded that our beloved Missionary Society started from humble beginnings. The generous heart of the bishops is instrumental. Their graciousness led to the establishment of the MSP as a continuous concrete act of generosity. The sharing and offering of lives of many of our Filipino Missionaries is a genuine sign that we are indeed thankful to God to the gift of faith received. We thank the Lord by giving back to him our apostolate in the missions. The willingness of missionaries to leave the familiar and comfort confines of one’s country so people of other places can know Jesus comes from the simple act of generosity of God by making our country rich in faith.

Our Church continues to invite us to share the gift of faith to others. I had a foretaste of what it means to bring ones faith to peoples of different cultures. Witnessing to the faith was my concrete experience when I had my Overseas Training Program in the Diocese of Auckland in New Zealand. My experience as a Filipino seminarian abroad taught me that our faith is very much relevant to a world that hungers for God. It is true that many do not believe in God in that part of the world. But I am very much surprised to realize that a much bigger number of people long for God. The unique faith of a Filipino Catholic is a big gift to the Church. Our deep sense of religiosity and piety is invaluable. It has the power to enliven the faith of a dying Church. It makes the faith of others alive.

 I am also amazed that together with our faith are our values of respect, patience, resilience, understanding, humility, gentleness and love. These are the same values that St. Paul has taken into consideration in his letter to the Ephesians. Allow me to share an experience. One Sunday morning, inside the church foyer, I was surprised to see a non-Filipino youth from the parish taking the hand of a Kiwi for a blessing. It was a lovely sight. It’s very unusual to see a parishioner making Mano to someone who’s not even Pinoy. It is surprising yet it is very heart warming.

 There are countless stories that our missionaries can share about their life of generosity in the missions. Many mission experiences can make us remember that all of these wonder or even unwanted circumstances came from God’s generosity. Our obedience and willingness to share the gift of faith truly rely on the graciousness of God. It is God who continues to inspire us to give ourselves to the mission. We have relied upon God’s generosity since the very day that we were born. We continue and will be wanting of God’s boundless generosity. Who can ever know what God will do next? Our faith and trust in God makes us strong and believe that he will provide us of our need in our respective missions.

We pray for the grace that the generosity we share to others be rewarded. By God, He himself will keep on bestowing upon us His countless blessings. Graces that we do not deserve yet it is there for us to enjoy, may God make us multiply in our good works. We love you Lord, help us become faithful to the mission you have entrusted to us, may our apostolate sow the gift of faith in others and may it bear fruit with many vocations to the missionary priesthood. You are a God of infinite generosity. Amen.


     [Sem. MARC LOUIE CALO, MSP
       MSP Seminary, Tagaytay City}
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CATHOLIC CHURCH OF THE PHILIPPINES: FIL-MISSION SUNDAY

Today, the Catholic Church in the Philippines celebrates the Fil-Mission Sunday. Every last Sunday of July is celebrated as a day to remember the missionaries who belong to  the Mission Society of the Philippines or MSP, a missionary society which was founded by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) forty-four years ago. The MSP represents the Filipino mission because it is the primary and official missionary arm of the Catholic Church in the Philippines.

How are we going to celebrate the Fil-Mission Sunday? This celebration calls for an “offering” on our part. What is the nature of our offering?

First, the offering can be spiritual. We offer this day our ardent prayers for the MSP missionaries. Since its inception  in 1965, the MSP now serves in twelve countries: Taiwan, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, the Cook Islands, the Netherlands, England, the USA, and Guyana.  Some of these countries belong to the First World, and some are not. But honestly, First World or not, there are always challenges and demands. On the one hand, in the First World countries, the challenge is how to persuade people, who tend to be materialistic and secularized, to come to Church. On the other, in Papua New Guinea or in Guyana, the challenge is how to combat loneliness, malaria, and physical hardships in reaching people living in remote villages. These MSP missionaries need our assistance; they need our prayers.

Second, the offering can be material. We don’t only offer prayers for our Filipino or MSP missionaries, but we also present material offerings for them in order to sustain their apostolate. All of us, by virtue of our baptism, are called to be missionaries, for we are called to proclaim the faith which we have received. But the truth is, not all of us can do that literally. Thus, our being a missionary can be in a form of “representation.” We have the MSP as the Philippine Church’s official missionary arm; the MSP missionaries “represent” us to the world. They go to the missions in the name of the Catholic Church of the Philippines. Therefore, the MSP missionaries deserve every Filipino faithful’s support.

We appeal for your generosity. The young boy in the gospel is marked by an exemplary generosity. Children, in general, tend to be “selfish.” They have a tendency to think only about themselves. But the young boy in the gospel is somewhat different. He is willing to give what he brought. Momentarily, he forgets about his own needs and he willingly shares what he has to others. In the same vein, let us be generous today to the MSP missionaries, who work in spreading the gospel for our sake, for the sake of the Catholic Church of the Philippines.

Mabuhay ang mga MSP missionaries!

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