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Homily
for TET Mass of Celebration My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: It is with great joy that I wish you a blessed and happy New Year. Today here at Our Lady’s Cathedral, we rejoice to observe the beautiful traditional custom of TET. It is so wonderful that we can do this beginning within the celebration of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the special gift of God to us. It is all about life. The Eucharist commemorates the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Therefore, it is not only about life on this earth but truly about eternal life. TET is also about life but a life limited to the now and the next twelve months. Then the new year becomes old. Indeed, it is then over and done! The Eucharist on the other hand is about life now and forever. Therefore, by celebrating the TET in the context of the Mass, we are able to ask God for His blessings of life for all the days of our lives into and including life everlasting. Today’s Gospel, for example, is a wonderful guide to use regarding our daily lives on this earth with a view towards life everlasting. Jesus reminds us that His blessings are extended to the poor, the suffering, the hungry and the sorrowful. The reason God hears the cry of the poor results from the fact that very often it is the poor and helpless who believe in Him and therefore freely turn to Him for their needs. They trust God and not themselves. They recognize that only God can fully satisfy their needs and their wants. On the other hand, those who are rich or famous or popular are often self-centered. They believe that they themselves have earned such power and strength. Some even think that their talents are a result of their own intelligence. Thus, they become self-centered. They become restless, discouraged and angry. No wonder Jesus says “Woe to those who act this way.” As we celebrate TET today, let us thank God for the blessings of a new year. And let us ask Him to help us in our daily lives. We ask for His help not to become rich or famous or powerful. We ask for His help to become good and holy and faithful and happy people now so that we can have eternal happiness with Him forever. How do we become good and holy and faithful and happy people now and forever? Actually the answer is simple but the accomplishment is sometimes difficult. The answer which Jesus gave us is “Keep the Commandments.” When we obey the Commandments of God, we are fulfilling His Will, His plan for us. Through the Commandments, which Jesus summarized for us as love of God and love of neighbor, we discover God’s plan for us. His plan for the human race is that we come to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him so that someday we can have life everlasting with Him in heaven. Jesus knew that since we are sinners, it might sometime be hard for us to obey the Commandments so He said: “Take up your cross and follow Me.” This was to encourage us to make choices and decisions that are based on truth. Remember, the truth always sets us free. Therefore, choices and decisions based on truth enable us to keep the Commandments. When we do this, we discover that carrying our daily crosses and obeying the Commandments puts us on the right track for living a good and holy and happy life. I want to assure you of my prayers for each of you, members of the Cathedral of Our Lady and friends and visitors of this Vietnamese Catholic Community. I pray that you will have a wonderful celebration of TET this year and all the years of your life on this earth. I pray that after each of you has completed all your TETS on this earth, you will be granted a truly new and everlasting life in the Kingdom of Heaven. “Chuc mung nam moi.” Most
Reverend Eusebius J. Beltran |