The Holy Spirit will Help us in our Time in the Wilderness|Fr. Romie-Jun Peñalosa| February 18, 2024
In this Sunday Mass Homily at Saint Michael Kalibo, Fr. Romie- Jun reminded us that as we enter the season of Lent, we are to focus on our longing for Jesus. We must prepare our hearts for His second coming, ensuring that our priorities are in order. Lent is the season to evaluate ourselves and surrender our weaknesses to God through confession. Today's Gospel shows us a concise narrative of Jesus' baptism through John the Baptist which also led to His forty-day journey in the wilderness. In Mark's account, we see that Jesus was driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness. Have you ever wondered why Jesus still needs to be driven by the Holy Spirit for Him to go to the wilderness, even though He's the Son of God? Brothers and sisters, we must also remember that Jesus is also the Son of Man who embraced our humanity. His forty- day journey made Him tired and the Holy Spirit sustained Him with strength. We also get tired and exhausted, but sometimes it is because we preoccupy ourselves with things that we think will bring us comfort. We are obsessed by the idea of comfort, which sometimes pushes us to be driven by the ways of this world. The Holy Spirit sends us into our own wilderness because nothing is in there. The nothingness and dryness allows us to meditate and dig deeper in our hearts and ask ourselves, "Why am I here?" or "What is my purpose?". Remember that wrong questions may lead us to wrong answers. On the other hand, asking the right question makes us have the right heart. It is in the wilderness where we can let go of our obsessions. Fasting this Lenten season takes us away from these obsessions. It pushes us away from our life's preoccupations. It also reminds us that our life must not be centered on us but centered on Jesus. In fasting, we gain the right perspective in life. The disciplines of Lent is about the Holy Spirit driving us away from obsessions by bringing us to the wilderness through our prayer and fasting. Spend time in prayer. Renew our perspective. Detach from our preoccupations and make Christ the center of your life. First Sunday in Lent - February 18, 2024 Theme: "Go and Proclaim: The Holy Spirit will Help us in our Time in the Wilderness" First Reading: Genesis 9: 8-17 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 25 Second Reading: 1Peter 3: 18-22 Gospel Reading: Mark 1: 9-15 Homily by Fr. Romie- Jun Peñalosa #SaintMichaelKalibo #CCSMKalibo #CECVisayas Cathedral Church of Saint Michael Osmeña Avenue, Kalibo, Aklan Sunday Mass Schedules First Mass- 6:00 AM Second Mass- 9:00 am Daily Mass Schedules Monday to Saturday - 6:30am Wednesday Fellowship Schedule (Midweek Service) 6:00 PM every Wednesday Youth Fellowship 6:00 PM every Friday iOS: https://goo.gl/MIOIUj Android: https://goo.gl/3F2w7N Website: https://www.saintmichaelkalibo.com Facebook: / smckaliboiccec Twitter: / stmichaelkalibo Instagram: / saintmichae . Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/1417183.. . Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104587191.. . Tumblr: / saintmichaelkalibo Pinterest: / stmichaelka . . Reddit: / saintmich . . Blogger: http://saintmichaelkalibo.blogspot.com/ iTunes Podcast: https://itunes.apple.com/ph/podcast/c.. . Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4DiiezN.. . #SundayMass #SaintMichaelKalibo #CECVisayas #Prayer #Homily #Faith
