When I was in grade four, my grandmother would bring me along to the wet market every Saturday at dawn. As my classmates slept, I was schooled in choosing the freshest produce.

Lola would bring me to a corner in the market and tell me to stay there and look after our bayongs. Then she’d go around to buy our food. It would take her three to four hours to do that.

“I will come back for you,” she promised me every time. I never panicked as I waited because she promised to come back for me.

Jesus assures us that He will prepare a room for us in heaven and He’ll come back for us. Then we will be with Him for always.

This is the game changer. No matter how hard and long the wait is, Jesus will come back for us. This is His blessed assurance. Randy Borromeo (randy.b@svrtv.com)

reflect

Has anyone trusted in the Lord and been disappointed? Has anyone persevered in his fear and been forsaken?

Thank You, Jesus, for Your promise. Prepare us for this special place and time. We long to be with You.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

The Gospel makes us sons and daughters of the Father. We inherit the gift of eternal life when we accept the redemptive work of Christ. More than an agreement, eternal life becomes our heritage and right as children of the Father.

²⁶ When Paul came to Antioch in Pisidia, he said in the synagogue: “My brothers, children of the family of Abraham, and those others among you who are God-fearing, to us this word of salvation has been sent. ²⁷ The inhabitants of Jerusalem and their leaders failed to recognize him, and by condemning him they fulfilled the oracles of the prophets that are read sabbath after sabbath. ²⁸ For even though they found no grounds for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him put to death, ²⁹ and when they had accomplished all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and placed him in a tomb. ³⁰ But God raised him from the dead, ³¹ and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. These are now his witnesses before the people. ³² We ourselves are proclaiming this good news to you that what God promised our fathers ³³ he has brought to fulfillment for us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second psalm, You are my son; this day I have begotten you.”

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 2:6-7, 8-9, 10-11

R: You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.

⁶ “I myself have set up my king on Zion, my holy mountain.” ⁷ I will proclaim the decree of the Lord. The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; this day I have begotten you.” (R) ⁸ “Ask of me and I will give you the nations for an inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession. ⁹ You shall rule them with an iron rod; you shall shatter them like an earthen dish.” (R) ¹⁰ And now, O kings, give heed; take warning, you rulers of the earth. ¹¹ Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice before him; with trembling rejoice. (R)

Gospel | John 14:1-6

What a remarkable thing to say: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” No one can claim this other than Jesus. Not only is He the source of life and salvation, but Jesus is also the way to eternal life. God through Jesus has become one of us so we can come into the gift of life He offers us.

Gospel Acclamation

I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me.

¹ Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. ² In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. ⁴ Where I am going you know the way.” ⁵ Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” ⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Read the Bible in one year! Read 1 CHRONICLES 22 - 24 today.

Last year, the guy who has millions of followers made the claim that he would be the last person to sign anyone’s final admission to heaven. The whole country has been subjected to so many jokes from leaders—jokes that hardly anyone considers funny, this one included. History has shown so many deranged leaders who claimed something similar or worse. There were those who tried, with might and main, to destroy the Church. In the local scene, somebody even gave a precise year when the Catholic Church will be considered a nonentity.

Bad priests, bishops, and even bad popes throughout history were quiteadept at doing disservice to the Church founded by no less than God Himself. Not one of them has succeeded. The history of the world is filled with narcissists and self-centered leaders whose repeated pronouncements always began with the solemn “I.” Some of them succeeded in inflicting very deep and lasting wounds to humanity—individuals like Idi Amin, Hitler, Pol Pot, and many others.

There is one thing common about all of them: their “I” was always a part of the unholy trinity known collectively as “I,” “Me,” and “Mine.” Sadly, this unholy trinity is what is rampant in the prevailing “ako nga rin” culture of narcissism, Philippine version. The self-entitlement, coupled with a great deal of anger when whatever they think they are entitled to is not granted, has been made worse by the world’s harshest and longest lockdowns in history. The unholy trinity has become a “quaternity” that includes gadgets as the platform.

Today, the Lord utters a solemn “I” of His own, and another triple package for good measure. “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” But there is nothing self-aggrandizing in the solemn pronouncement; nothing that begins and ends with self. They all are focused on the good and benefit of others.

We are tired of sick jokes from self-centered leaders. We long for a reprieve from all forms of uncertainty. Like Thomas, we “do not know where [he] is going.” This I profess today: “You, Lord, are the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

reflection question

How does the present state of our society affect your faith?

You hold everything in the palm of Your hands, Lord God, and I believe nothing can ever destroy the Church You built. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ______________________________________