indonesian catholic online evangelization

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe [A]

November 22, 2020

Matthew 25:31-46

To be a subject of a king is a foreign experience for many of us. I was born in Indonesia, and our country is a republic, and we espouse democracy to elect our leader. Some of us are citizens of kingdoms like Great Britain, Belgium, Thailand, and Japan, but the kings or queens here are serving under the constitution. When we speak of absolute monarchs, we are reminded of the powerful ancient kingdoms like Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian empires. Here, the king’s words are the highest law, and disobedient to the king’s wish is acts of treason. Surprisingly, we still have some existing absolute monarchs in our time, like Brunei, Saudi Arabia, and the Vatican!

Today we are celebrating the solemnity of Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe. Yet, it is a bit difficult to imagine Christ as a king. He never wears a crown except for thorns. He never sat on the throne except for the cross. And, He never possessed an army except for a bunch of coward disciples.  Is Jesus truly a king? The answer is an absolute yes. Jesus, as the king, is one of the dominant topics in the Gospels. Angel Gabriel announces to Mary, “the Lord God will give to him [Jesus] the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. [Luk 1:32-33]” One of the criminals crucified with Jesus cries, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. [Luk 23:42]” And throughout His public ministry, Jesus is tirelessly proclaiming and building the kingdom of God.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals that he is not just an ordinary king, not just a king among many kings. He is the king of kings, and only He can bring people to eternal life and everlasting damnation. We are reminded that since Jesus is the king of the universe, we are all His subjects. However, whether we are good subjects or bad ones, we still have to choose. Like with other kingdoms, we still need to at least two basic things: acknowledging Jesus as our king and being His loyal servant.

The good news is that He does not require us, His subjects, to wage war against other countries or pay taxes! He is the king of mercy, and thus, His order is: do the Works of Mercy. In the Catholic tradition, there are seven corporal works of mercy. These are: to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead. The seven corporal works of mercy are not complete with the seven spiritual works of mercy. These are: to instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, admonish the sinners, bear patiently those who wrong us, forgive offenses, comfort the afflicted, and pray for the living and the dead.

Doing these are not always easy, but it is necessary because it proves our loyalty to the great king. Negligence to do works of mercy brings a serious consequence: to be expelled from the kingdom. The choice is ours, and the time is now.

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Check also my Youtube channel for various catechism at “bayu ruseno”

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

November 15, 2020

Matthew 25:14-30

The original meaning of talent is not God’s given ability, but a unit of weight and value, normally gold and silver. More importantly, talent is a huge amount of money. One talent is equal to around six thousand denarii. If one denarius is the wage of ordinary daily labor, one talent means six thousand days of works or approximately seventeen to twenty years of work.

To seek the value of this parable, we need to discover the surprising twists in the story. This time, I would like to invite you all to focus on the master of the servants. The master is giving a total of 8 talents to his three servants [literally slaves]. If we pause a moment, we begin to realize how fantastic amount of money they receive. The act of giving presupposes either two things: either the master is unimaginable rich that he does not care really about these talents, or he is utterly generous and trusting. I believe it is the second reason.

To entrust these talents entails grave risks. One possibility is that the servants may fail in their trading, and thus, the master may lose his money. Another chance is the servants may run away with talents, and therefore, the master may lose both his money and his servants. Yet, despite these nightmarish possibilities, the master is firm in his decision. He trusts his servants, and it pays off. Except for his lazy servant, the master earns double!

From this, we learn a precious lesson. The best way to expand our talent is by sharing it with others. The usual way to develop our talents is by practicing it often. However, this method does not bring us exponential growth. Yet, by sharing the talents, the possibility of growth is unimaginable. Yet again, the parable is not simply about talents, but the relationship between the master and the servants, on the trust and faith of the master and gratitude of the servants. Indeed, the ability to recognize the master’s trust produces gratitude, and gratitude propels the servants to do their best.

One probable reason that the servant becomes lazy is that he fails to recognize his master’s trust and focuses on the smallness of his talent. Ironically, one talent is still a huge amount of wealth! Thus, instead of gratitude, envy creeps in, and laziness prevails. We also notice that the servant is not losing the talent, but he still receives the punishment. Though the talent is not missing, the trust of the master has been lost. And when this trust’s lost, everything is lost.

Learning from this parable, we are called to have that ability to recognize God’s “trust” and love in us. Different talents we have are just a simple manifestation of this love. Slaves as we are, we do not deserve anything from God, but God has given us superabundantly. From this realization, only gratitude shall naturally flow. But, if we miss the point, we may fall into many other sins: envy, anger, slander, or simply laziness. Again, it is not about the talents we have, but the trust and love God has in us.

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Check also my YOUTUBE channel “bayu ruseno” for latest catechesis

32^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

November 8, 2020

Matthew 25:1-13

A wedding ceremony is one of the most beautiful events in many cultures and societies. This includes the Jewish community in the first century AD Palestine. For the Hebrew people living in the time of Jesus, the wedding ceremony has two stages. The first one is the exchange of vows or betrothal. The couple is officially married, and they are recognized as husband and wife in the eyes of the Jewish community. Yet, they are going to wait for around one year before they are living together. The husband will prepare for the house as well as the reception celebration that may last for seven days.

The second stage is the wedding party. It begins with the groom fetch the bride from her ancestral house, and bring her to his home with a procession of dance and music. Since the procession usually takes place in the evening, fire and torches are indispensable. The ten virgins are part of the wedding ceremony which we may call today as the bridesmaids. They may be some of the close friends of the bride and even relatives of the couples. They are stationed not far from the wedding place to welcome the married couple. Since there is no internet and GPS, the ten virgins may not be able to locate precisely where the procession is, but they are expected to be ready.

It is interesting to see the attitude of the five foolish virgins. In Greek, the virgins are called as “moros” where we get the English word moron. It is undoubtedly a harsh word. Jesus applies the same word after His sermon on the Mount and points to people who listen to His preaching without practising them, “like a foolish man who built his house on sand [Mat 7:26].” Yet, if we observe, what we see that the virgins are doing foolish things. Not only they fail to prepare for the unexpected arrival of the groom, but they also look for the oil in the middle of the night. They are not living in the modern era where we can easily purchase it at the 24-hour convenient stores. The merchants are expectedly unavailable, and we can imagine how they rushingly search the vendors, and frantically knock their doors. This may cause unnecessary inconveniences and bring absolute shame to the couples. This may be the reason also why the wedding’s host refuses to admit these five foolish virgins.

This parable of Jesus gives us a potent reminder not to become foolish in living our lives as Christians. We are given a particular role and mission in our lives. Some of us are called to be married couples and parents.  Some of us are serving as priests or religious men and women. Some of us are teachers of the faith; some of us are leaders of the community, and others are servants. In whatever role we are, Jesus asks us to be wise in doing our ministries and demands us not to do foolish things as to scandalize others or even cause others unnecessary suffering.

If we, as Christians, act foolishly, we bring shame, not only to ourselves but Christ Himself. But, if we think and produce wise deeds, we bring glory to the Lord, and more people will praise our God.

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Check also ‘bayu ruseno’ Youtube Channel for the latest video catechism on indulgence…

All Saints’ Day

November 1, 2020

Matthew 5:1-12

Today the Church is celebrating the Solemnity of all saints. This is one of the ancient feasts in the Church that commemorates and honors all holy people who had gone before us and received their eternal reward, God Himself. We may recognize some of them, like St. Ignatius, St. Dominic de Guzman, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Catharine of Siena, but this is only a tiny fraction of the entire heavenly host. There are countless we are not aware of. The good news is that all of them are praying for us, and who knows, some of our departed beloved have been parts of this holy communion.

Speaking of the saints, the first thing that often pops up in our mind is that these are giants of our faith. Many saints, like the majority of the apostles, are martyrs. They offered their lives for Christ in gruesome ways. Many saints are performing unparalleled miracles. St. Benedict of Nursia was reported to raise a young man killed in an accident during the building of his monastery. Not only miracles, but some saints are also performing unthinkable deeds. A tradition says that St. Anthony of Padua decided to preach to the fish when the heretics refused to listen to him, and the fishes were giving their attention to the preacher of truth. When St. Vincent Ferrer preached, his voice could be heard even as far as 3 KM away. St. Catharine of Siena received the gift of stigmata, the wounds of the crucified Christ. St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina had the gift to penetrate the depth of human hearts so that people cannot hide anything before him during the confession.

Looking at the lives of the saints, we may wonder, “Is sainthood for me?” I am afraid to die, let alone as martyrs. I do not possess super abilities; not even I can speak with my pets. Worse, I continue to struggle with my sins. Holiness is far from many of us.

However, the truth is all of us are created to become saints. Yes, the purpose of why God created us is to be holy, to be part of heaven, and to share His divine life. In fact, we have only two fundamental options in the final analysis: for God or against God. If we are for God, then our destiny is heaven, and membership in eternal joy is for the saints. Yet, if we refuse to be with God, then we are doomed to hell. Thus, our choice is only two: to be saints or go to hell. Tough choice!

Yet, the saints with marvelous stories are the only tip of the iceberg. The majority of the saints are living a simple yet faithful life. St. Martin de Porres lived his entire life as a simple brother, cleaning and taking care of the convent. St. Therese of Lisieux did not do any extraordinary things during her life, but sincere prayer to the Lord. St. Louis and Azelie Martin, a simple couple yet faithful parents, raised 5 nuns, and one of them is St. Therese. And, Beato Carlo Acutis was young and liked to play Playstation, but he was also recognized as a blessed one. We are called to holiness, and we are designed for heaven. We need to be open to God’s grace to work in us.

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

check also my Youtube Channel “bayu ruseno” for any latest video catechism…

30^th Sunday of the Ordinary Time [A]

October 25, 2020

Matthew 22:34-50

The question is, “what is the greatest law?” Once again, the historical and religious context is important. When Jesus and the Pharisees discuss the Law, they are speaking about particular Law. It is neither criminal law nor international law. It is the Law of Moses, the Torah, which points to Moses’s five books. According to the tradition of the Rabbis, the Torah contains 613 specific laws. Thus, the Pharisee is questioning Jesus on the most important among 613 commandments.

For the Jewish people, the answer is not difficult and even expected. The most fundamental law among the laws is the Ten Commandments. It is the first set of laws given to Israelites through Moses in Sinai. The traditional belief holds that the Ten Commandments are traditionally by order of importance, meaning the first is the most essential, and the last is the least essential. Therefore, the first among the Ten Commandments is the greatest among the 613. It says, “I am the Lord your God… there is no other God beside me [Exo 20:2-3].”

However, Jesus escapes the expectation and reconstructs His own answer that will be the moral foundation of Christianity. Jesus’ answer is, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Though the answer is unusual, it remains orthodox because the source is also the Law of Moses. To love the Lord with our all is rooted in the Jewish basic prayer “Shema” [see Deu 6:4-6], and to love our neighbors as ourselves is springing up from the book of Leviticus [19:18]. What Jesus does is He radically changes the orientation of the Law of Moses. Instead of limiting ourselves to the prohibitions of the Ten Commandments, Jesus sets love as its direction. Love is seeking the goodness of the beloved, and love never stops until we are united to our beloved. To obey the 10 Commandments is foundational, but that is the minimum, and Jesus teaches us not to stay at the boundaries but to go beyond till we are united with God and others in God.

Before, I thought the commandment of Jesus was nice and lovely words. I love God by going to the Church every Sunday, especially during Christmas and Easter, and I love others by occasionally helping them or giving a donation to the poor. But I realize something a bit off. Jesus never says, “this is my greatest recommendation or advice.” What Jesus tells us, “This is the greatest commandments!” Law is meant to be obeyed, and here, we are dealing with the biggest laws! To love the Lord with our all is not optional. It is a must, and to love our brothers and sisters is not based on our convenience, but it is a divine obligation. To love God, neither not a part-time job nor to love our neighbors is our pastime. It is either all or nothing. That is Jesus’ greatest commandments.

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Check also my Youtube Channel at “bayu ruseno” to see various videos on Catholic faith.