Faith of a Centurion

To Break or To Keep the Law

2012-01-17T22:20:00.002+08:00

18 January 2012: Wednesday of the 2nd Week in Ordinary Time

Mark 3:1-6

Inscribed on a Zen monastery sign:

If you break the law, you will never attain freedom.

And underneath it:

If you keep the law, you will never attain freedom.

The issue in Mark’s Gospel today is not the healing of the paralyzed man, but the healing done on a Sabbath. And because it was forbidden on the Sabbath, the Pharisees were furious, to the point of attempting to kill him. To the Pharisees, the Sabbath should be kept holy, and therefore, no work was permitted.

But Jesus defied that law blatantly, for the sake of the one in great need. The Law of love is over and above all other laws. Compassion is foremost a virtue greater than others. There is a hierarchy of values. Not all values belong to the same plane. Altruism is one of the greatest characteristics of Jesus.

I remember a story of Peter and Agnes. Both of them were eyeing a luscious mango on the table. Her mom said, “Agnes, take the mango and divide it fraternally.”

Agnes said, “What do you mean by fraternally?”

“It is to divide the mango into two, giving the bigger part to your brother, and keeping the smaller part for you,” her mom replied.

Without hesitation, Agnes gave the mango to her brother, and said, “Take the mango and divide it fra-ter-nal-ly.”

Ang Diyos ng Liwanag

2011-12-24T16:37:00.000+08:00

ika-24ng Disyembre 2011 Misa de Gallo

2Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16; Psalm 89; Luke 1:67-79

Note: This article appears in the Filipino Sambuhay today. Sambuhay is the missalette published by the Society of St. Paul in the Philippines.

Lumakisi Yuan, 10-taong gulang, sa isang bahay-ampunan. Isang madaling-araw, nagisingsiya. Bagaman madilim pa, alam niyang hindi magtatagal at magbubukang-liwaywayna. Hindi kalayuan mula sa bahay-ampunan may isang napakagandang lawa atbiglang naramdaman niya ang kabig ng isang hangarin. Gusto niyang makita angunti-unting pagsikat ng araw sa kalangitan mula rito.

Ngunitmahigpit ang batas sa ampunan. Walang batang babangon bago ang kalembang ngbatingaw. Higit sa lahat, pinagbabawal ang lumisan ng bahay nang walangpahintulot.

Subalitnagbakasakali siya. Nagmadali siyang nagbihis at lumabas na hawak-hawak angkanyang sapatos. Ayaw niyang ma-istorbo ang kanyang mga kasamang batangmahimbing na natutulog. Habang tinatahak niya ang mahabang pasilyo, tumitindiang kanyang takot na mahuli. Tila bagang may nagmamasid sa bawat iskinita ngdormitoryo ng bahay ampunan na nagpapakita ng kanilang galit sa kanyangpaglabag sa batas.

Kalaunan,dumating siya sa lawa at naghintay sa bukang-liwayway. Totoo nga, unti-untingsumikat ang araw, at nagbago ang kulay ng langit. Pinanood niya ang paglalarong kulay sa lawa, ang pagsabog ng dilaw, kahel, pula hanggang sa kulay ngliwanag ng araw. Manghang-mangha siya sa kagandahan ng lawa.

Nangtumunog na ang batingaw, naalala niya ang oras. Hahanapin siya sabahay-ampunan. At siguradong mapaparusahan siya. Bago niya nilisan ang lawa,sinabi nito sa kanyang sarili: “Maraming salamat. Babalik ako. Ayos lang kungmapaparusahan ako. Ngayon may bago akong alam: ang Diyos ng lawa ay mas magandasa dios ng ampunan.”

Saaraw na ito, sa agaw-dilim ng Simbanggabi, ibaling natin ang ating puso sa Diosng Liwanag na mas higit pa sa iba’t ibang “dios” na kumikitil sa ating kalayaanat kasiyahan.

Tuladni Yuan, namumuhay tayo sa ating mga sariling kulungan. Tulad ng bahay-ampunan,nasasanay tayong mamuhay sa ating maliit na mundo.

Angnakakatakot mangyari ay simple lamang: dahil sanay na tayo sa atingkinagagalawang sariling bahay-ampunan, hindi na tayo magbabakasakaling danasinang “Dios ng Lawa” at mangarap ng bagong buhay.

Itoang diwa ng ikabente-kuwatro ng Disyembre. Naghihintay tayo sa meron, hindi sawala. Naranasan na natin ang maghintay sa walang darating; sa isang pangakonglaging napapako. Sa kabilang-banda naranasan na natin ang maghintay sa merongdarating, tulad ng paghihintay ng minamahal na nangibang bansa at nasa eroplanona patungong Pilipinas.

AngPasko ay isang paghihintay sa meron; sigurado ang bukang-liwayway. Kailanganlamang na magbakasakali, harapin ang lahat ng takot, lisanin ang kulungan atmaghintay. Ito ang Awit ni Zacharias sa Ebanghelio: “magbubukang-liwayway saatin ang araw ng kaligtasan, upang magbigay liwanag sa mga nasa kadiliman atnasa lilim ng kamatayan, at patnubayan tayo tungo sa daan ng kapayapaan” (Lukas1:78-79).

Saaraw na ito, mainam na pagnilayan natin ang ating buhay na may kasiyahan saating puso. Ibabad nawa natin ang ating sarili sa tunay na kagandahan atliwanag ng Pasko, at hindi makulong sa mga nagkukunwaring liwanag. Mas mainamkung manahimik tayong nakamasid sa Belen: suriin ang madidilim na parte ngating buhay na kailangan ng Liwanag ng Niñong isisilang. Manalanging maisilangsi Hesus sa gitna ng ating buhay. Pagkatapos, hayaang maglaro ang iba’t ibangkulay sa lawa ng ating buhay, sanhi ng tunay na Liwanag.

Ang Butil Ay Isang Pangako

2011-12-17T20:47:00.002+08:00

ika-18 ng Disyembre 2011 Ika-4 na Linggo ng Adbiyento
2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16; Psalm 89; Rom 16:25-27; Luke 1:26-38

Minsan magkasamang nagtatanim sa hardin si Lola Indang at si Lilia, ang kanyang apo. Sinusuri nila ang mga butil ng iba’t ibang bulaklak. Wika ni Lilia, “Kakaibang mumunting mga pangako itong mga butil. Maliliit na pangako ang bawat isa sa kanila, di po ba, Lola?”

“Tama ka, apo,” sagot ni Lola Indang. “Bawat butil ay isang pangako. Ngunit, tulad ng mga pangako, may mga kailangang kondisyon upang ito’y tumubo at lumaganap.”

“Ano po ang mga kondisyon ito?” tanong ni Lilia.

“Kailangang hayaan ng bawat butil na ibaon siya sa lupa, isalang sa init ng araw, ibabad sa ulan, at subukan ng hangin upang mamulaklak, mamunga at maging ganap na tanim,” paliwanag ni Lola Indang.

Nangako ang Diyos ng kaginhawaan sa panahon ng kapighatian; ng lakas sa panahon ng tukso’t pagsubok at ilaw sa panahon ng kadiliman. Ngunit hindi makakamit ang lahat ng ito kung wala tayong pananampalataya sa Kanya at lakas ng loob magtiwala sa Kanyang tawag sa bawat isa sa atin.

Katulad tayo ng mga butil. May plano ang Panginoon sa bawat isa sa atin. Sa ating mga kamay nakaukit ang balak niyang gawing ganap tayong mabuti at banal. Nasa atin ang kapalarang maging tunay niyang mga anak. Ngunit bago maisakatuparan ito, kailangan nating “pumirma sa kontrata” - maging aktibong nakikiisa sa Panginoon.

Ito ang mensahe ng lahat ng pagbasa sa huling linggo sa panahon ng Adbiyento. Unti-unti tayong inihahanda ng Panginoon sa bawat linggo upang tanggapin nating lubusan ang pakiki-isa sa pagpapatupad ng pangako Niyang kaligtasan. Sa unang linggo, inilapag Niya ang kanyang pangako. Sa pangalawang linggo, inihanda niya ang ating mga puso sa pamamagitan ng paglilinis sa ating mga budhi at pakikipagkasundo bilang pagpapawi sa ating mga kasalanan. Sa pangatlong linggo, pinangako niya ang kasiyahan sa buhay kung sasali tayo sa kanyang planong ito. At ngayon, tinatanong na tayo kung sasama ba talaga tayo sa kanya.

Habang binabasa natin ang Ebanghelio ukol sa pagbati ng Arkanghel Gabriel kay Santa Maria, tinatanong din tayo, tulad ni Maria, kung nais nating makilahok sa planong ito. Umaasa ang Simbahan na ang ating sagot sa tawag ng Panginoon ay tulad sa tugon ni Maria.

Bago ang pagbati ni Arkanghel Gabriel kay Maria, minumungkahi ni San Ignacio de Loyola sa isang nagre-retreat na ginagamit ang kanyang librong, Spiritual Exercises, ang isang eksena sa kalangitan. Pinagmamasdan ng Tatlong Persona ang sanlibutan at nakita Nila ang ating pagkamakasalanan. Dahil dito, nagpasya Silang ipadala na ang pinangakong Mesias upang iligtas ang sanlibutan.

Doon nila pinili si Maria upang maging ina ng Pangalawang Persona, si Hesus. Kailangan Nila ang ‘oo’ ni Maria sa pagpapatupad ng Kanilang binabalak. Ito ang unang kondisyon ng pagbabago tungo sa ganap na buhay. Tunay at tapat ba ang ating pagsang-ayong makilahok sa balak ng Tatlong Persona?

Pangalawa, ang pakikibahagi sa balak ng Diyos ay hindi sa salita lamang. Tulad ng maraming pangako, ilang sandali lamang ang pagpapabatid. Ilang segundo lamang ang pagpirma sa isang kontrata; ilang minuto lamang ang pangako sa kasal. Isang iglap lamang ang isang sumpaan, ngunit ang kakabit ng ilang sandali ay buong hinaharap na buhay. Kasama sa isang kataga ng “oo” ni Maria ang kapighatiang haharapin niya bilang ina ng tagapagligtas. Kaakibad ng kanyang “oo” ang pait ng paglisan ng kanyang Anak isang araw upang gawin ang kalooban ng Diyos. Higit sa lahat, bahagi nito ang pagyakap sa hapdi ng pinakamalalim na sugat, ang pagpapakasakit at pagkamatay ng kanyang Anak sa krus. Tulad ng butil, kailangan nitong maging bukas sa lahat ng uri ng pagsubok upang ito ay lumago, mamulaklak at mamunga.

Pangatlo, ang hiling ng Panginoon sa atin ay pagpapakumbaba. Mukhang mahirap isakatuparan ang balak ng Panginoon sa atin. Sino ba naman ang nadadalian sa pagpapakabanal? Sino ba naman ang hindi nahihirapan hanapin ang tawag ng Diyos sa ating personal na buhay? Ngunit kung susuriin natin ang mga bida sa panahon ng Adbiyento tulad ni Sarah at Abraham, si Manoah at ang kanyang asawa, si Hannah, si Haring Dabid, si Zacarias at Elizabeth, at kung isama pa ninyo ang mga apostoles, si San Pablo, hindi nila ipinagkaila ang kanilang kahinaan. Ito ang huling kondisyon: ang mapagkumbabang puso’t diwa.

Ipagdasal natin na maganap nawa ang mga kondisyong ito sa atin, upang ganap ang pagtanggap natin sa pagdating ni Hesus sa ating buhay.

Gratitude

2011-10-30T15:10:00.005+08:00

28 October 2011 Sts. Simon and Jude, apostles
Ephesians 2:19-22; Psalm 19; Luke 6, 12-16
Homily for the Duffy-Delaney Day of the Ateneo de Manila High School

Let me talk about everything we celebrate today: The end of the Marian Months celebration; the Duffy-Delaney Day; the feast of Sts. Simon and Jude. And since I am new, let me draw my stories from my past, prior to being here in the high school. The common theme of all these is the only over-arching point: Gratitude.

The first time I experienced something like the Duffy-Delaney celebration was in 1995. I was a Jesuit regent, like Bro. Madz here, in Xavier University High School. During that time Mrs. Ria Arespachochaga was a JVP there. She knew that I had five preparations (5 lesson plans), a moderatorship, and three organizations. Come Teachers’ Day, all the students prepared something for us.

I knew that when the calendared date arrived, the same ritual would repeat itself. “You know,” one of the other Jesuits would say to me, “your students will be doing something for you.” And I would say, “Can’t we pass this year?” And so I did just that. I exited and watched “Toy Story” the 2nd top-grossing film by Disney/Pixar that year, 1995. I thought, Teachers’ Day was contrived. Same time last year, same day next year, it goes on and on and the same thing happens. Why would you want students to ‘appreciate you’ when sometimes they don’t show that everyday?

So I retreated to the movie theater, thinking that it would be a time for me to rest. The next day, one of my students wrote me, “Why were you not here, Father? It is our delight to love you.”

And so the first point: We are here to celebrate and remember a value: that of gratitude, in the hope that we become grateful persons. The poet Rumi writes, “Find the real world, give it endlessly away, grow rich flinging gold to all who ask. Live at the empty heart of paradox. I’ll dance there with you - cheek to cheek.” (Notice the backdrop). Like birthdays, a day is set to highlight who matters to us, what value is important. Now, we pray for gratitude, but not to be grateful just here, today, this minute; but everyday. To show our love to those people whom we found in the real world, giving themselves endlessly away, growing rich flinging all they have to us.”

* *

One such person is Fr. John Patrick Delaney SJ. I “met” Fr. Delaney SJ who died in 1956 through the people whose lives he touched in UP. I was chaplain there from 2003-2008. From a book called “Chapel Chismis” his former students compiled anecdotes about him. When UP decided to transfer their main campus from Manila to Diliman, Fr. Delaney went with them. When Ateneo was still in Padre Faura, UP was our neighbor; now, it still is. The first thing that Fr. Delaney did was to visit every household in the area. He scoured every single nook and cranny of UP, that soon, a simple chapel has been built and it was full. Since the faithful community was growing, the congregation decided to build a chapel which you see now. The Church of the Holy Sacrifice had been built by a lot of people, some of them declared National Artists as Napoleon Abueva, Vicente Manansala, Arturo Luz, and Leandro Locsin. These were the people whom Fr. Delaney personally visited first. When I met some of these people in UPSCA, they said one thing: they built the church out of gratitude to the man who “virtually moved heaven and earth to bring Christ to Diliman, the campus of UP.” (Mrs. Narita M. Gonzalez)

And thus, the second point: Gratitude is a response to an initiative of love. It is not to be demanded as an entitlement.

In 1989, I took the small bus to Sapang Palay as a novice. A young boy was sitting in the front seat of our bus when a very old man came in the door. He looked around for an empty seat. So the young boy got up and gave him his. After a while, the boy asked the old man, “What did you say?”

The sitting passenger said, “I didn’t say anything.”

At which the boy remarked, “I thought I heard you say, “Thank you.” The old man thought he was entitled to be given a seat because he was old, and so he need not thank the boy!

Do you agree? Should the old man say, “Thank you” or not? What do you think? Who says, “No, the old man has no obligation to thank the boy.” (Raise your hand)
Who says, he should have said, “Thank you” (raise your hand).

Oh yes, I agree: for one to receive a pat in the back, one has to give support first. Fr. Delaney once said, “Give until it hurts.” And St. Ignatius of Loyola in his prayer of generosity will say, “To give and not to count the cost.” And Christ will say, “Give until death.”

For Mary, the cost was a heart pierced by the sword. The rosary is a meditation of the cost of giving. Sts. Simon and Jude, whose feast we celebrate today, gave all that they have to the faith. The cost is not just hurt and blood, but death. And now we remember them, yes, celebrate them, in gratitude. They have loved us first. But of course, Jesus loved them first. Ergo, their martyrdom is a response of gratitude to those who loved “en todo amar y servir.” (Raise your left hand and say to the person to your left, “Thank you.”)

We are not lacking in examples. If you visit the Everest Faculty Workroom today, you will find a sign on their door (Note the photo.): “Libre Haplos.” This to me is the mark of a true mentor of Ateneans. When we give endlessly, gratitude naturally follows. (Raise your right hand and say to the person to your right, “May maghahaplos din sa iyo!”

Let’s do this: (5 Gestures)

(Sarado) A closed hand cannot receive. The phrase has a Biblical ring, and a biblical wisdom that applies profoundly to everyday human affairs. (Suntok) The person who will not share himself with his neighbors receives little friendship in return.

(Protesta) It’s no accident that in many countries the symbol of totalitarianism is the one that you can’t shake hands with: a clenched fist. (Bawi) A person with a clenched fist, no matter how you give, will never receive it because his hands are closed. (Sarado) But the tragedy is far worse, open a clenched fist: there is nothing there. He has nothing to give.

(Bukaspalad)To be sower of seeds, a person must open his hands. (Bukas-kamay as offer) He must do this, clearly, before he can reap. And the process doesn’t stop there. (Taas Kamay) To possess knowledge or wisdom, one has to have an open mind to receive it. (Bukas-Kamay sa Dibdib) To be loved, one has to love first. (Bukas-Kamay sa Puso)

My first assignment after ordination was actually a return to Xavier University. There in the middle of the main campus is the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception. One day, a little boy and her mother visited the church early morning when the rays of the rising sun penetrated the colored glass windows. The boy pointed at the figures of the stain glass windows, and asked his mother who they were. The mother said, that they were saints.

The boy asked, “What are saints?” His mother replied, they are people who let the light of God shine in their lives, and thus they live happy and grateful all their lives.

I have met many of these modern-day saints in Payatas Dos when we were constructing our small chapel. Fr. RB has seen that chapel. I still remember the glow in their eyes and the excitement they had even when they were sitting on the floor for mass. We have so much to be thankful for. Are you happy and excited to see the final result of our chapel, the central facility and symbol of the Ateneo’s Mission and Identity?

As we see the renovation of our chapel taking shape day by day, let us look into our hearts and pray for gratitude. As it is being constructed, let us also rebuild our lives according to the saints. St. Ignatius of Loyola in his book, the Spiritual Exercises, once said, that the beginning of virtue is gratitude.

We become saints when we smile with gratitude all the time. Today we thank our every day saints, our teachers and staff. Let us therefore begin greeting each other, “Happy All Saints Day!” not just today but everyday especially our teachers and staff to remind us that we have to be happy, like saints, everyday. “Happy All Saints Day!” everyday!

Tumanggi Ka Na Ba sa Paanya ng Hari?

2011-10-18T18:48:00.003+08:00

ika-9 ng Oktubre 2011 Ika-28 na Linggo sa Karaniwang Panahon
Isaiah 25: 6-10; Psalm 23: 1-6; Phil 4: 12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22: 1-14

Isang pagdiriwang ang handaan. Sa hapag-kainan, magkakasama ang magkakapamilya’t magkakaibigan. Pinapalagay sa isang handaan na may halaga sa nagdiriwang ang lahat nang imbitado. Sa pamamagitan ng pagdalo, pinapanday ng nag-anyaya at inanyayahan ang kanilang ugnayan.

Sa hagdan ng halaga ng pagdiriwang, ang kasalan ay isang higit na pinagsasaluhan. Hanggang ngayon, pinaghahandaan ang isang kasalan. Matagal bago dumating ang pinaaasam-asam na araw, pinapadala na ang imbitasyon sa mga panauhin. Kaya naman inaasahan na ilalaan na nila ang araw para sa okasyong ito. Sa panahon ni Hesus, hindi nakatakda ang oras ng pagdiriwang dahil inaasahan ng punong abala, na nakalaan na ang buong araw. Kaya naman sa talinghaga sa ebanghelio, pinatawag na ng hari ang mga panauhin noong handa na ang lahat. Kumbaga, nakalapag na ang pagkain, simula na ang pagdiriwang!

Sa kasawingpalad, tinanggihan ng mga panauhin ang paanyayang ito. Sa ibang pagbasa, nagbigay ng samu’t saring dahilan ang mga inanyayahan. Simple lamang ang punto: mas mahalaga ang pinagkakaabalahan kaysa ang kasalan. Maaari ring tingnan ito bilang isang pagpapahiwatig na hindi magkasing-halaga ang ugnayan nila sa hari kaysa sa kanilang mga gawain.

Sa totoong buhay, may mga tumatanggi sa paanyaya ng Panginoon. Bagaman karamihan ay nagsasabing hindi nila hihindi-an ang Panginoon, hindi ito nagaganap kapag panahon nang tumugon sa Kanya. Sa talinhaga ni Hesus, ang mga tumanggi sa alok ng Panginoon ay ang mismong mga Hudyo. Nasa gitna na ang Mesiyas, ngunit hindi nila tinanggap Siya; kahit na sila ang pinili ng Diyos. Kaya naman, inalok sa mga Hentil at binuksan ang pintuan ng langit para sa lahat. Sinuyod ng Panginoon ang kasuluk-sulukan ng sanlibutan. Ibig sabihin, ang paanyayang makibahagi sa hapag ng Panginoon ay inaabot sa ating lahat, maging sino o ano pa man ang ating mga katayuan sa buhay.

Subalit, mayroon pa rin tayong kakayahang tumanggi. Malaya tayong hindi-an o tugunan ang paanyayang ito. Sa kahuli-hulihan, walang magagawa ang Panginoon sa taong ayaw sa biyaya Niya. Marahil naisip natin: Sino ba ang tatanggi sa Panginoon? Sa totoong buhay, marami. Kahit sa ating sarili, marami tayong pagtatanggi sa Kanya na nasusukat sa katapatan ng ating mga dasal. May kuwento ako:

Si Aling Nena ay 60-taong gulang. Araw-araw, pumupunta siya sa Simbahan upang taimtim na manalangin. Isang usiserong bata ang nakakita kay Aling Nena. Nais niyang malaman kung ano ang pinagdarasal ng matanda, kaya sinundan niya ito sa Simbahan at nagtago sa isang pader na malapit sa luhuran.

Wika ni Aling Nena, “Panginoon, matanda na ako. Sapat na ang aking buhay. Nakatapos na at may kanya-kanyang buhay ang aking mga anak. Maaari na akong mamayapa.” Araw-araw naririnig ito ng bata. Kaya nagpasya siyang sagutin ang panalangin ng matanda, “Aling Nena, narinig ko ang iyong mga dasal. Bukas na bukas din, kukunin na kita bandang alas-tres ng hapon.” Nabagabag at natakot si Aling Nena. Hindi siya makatulog nung gabing iyon.

Marami tayong mga panalanging hindi tapat sa ating puso. Pinagdadasal natin ang kapatawaran, pero nananaig pa rin sa pinaka-ilalim ng ating sarili ang pag-ayaw sa pakikipagkasundo. Pinagdadasal natin ang kapayapaan sa ating pag-iisip, ngunit ayaw nating gumawa ng hakbang upang batiin ang taong sanhi ng ating sama ng loob.

Ngunit alam nating makakamtan ang kapayapaan sa sarili kung bubuksan natin ang puso sa anyaya ng Panginoon na magpatawad. Ilang beses na ba tayong nagdasal sa misa ukol sa pagbubuklod ng lahat, ngunit tayo mismo ang sanhi ng pagkawatak-watak? Ang kapayapaan at pagkakaisa ay dalawa lamang sa maraming biyayang nakakamtan sa hapag ng Panginoon.

Pagdasal natin na maging tapat tayo sa ating mga salita, at higit sa lahat, kapag panahon nang lumahok sa hapag ng Panginoon, hindi natin tatanggihan ang kanyang paanyaya.

When We Always Say Tomorrow!

2011-08-26T01:16:00.003+08:00

25 August 2011 Thursday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time
1 Thessalonians 3:7-13; Psalm 90; Matthew 24:42-51

Time is an important element in the Gospel today. But it tells us the value of the present time, in view of the uncertain future. The time to prepare is now because we do not know what will happen in the future.

There is a story of three apprentice little devils who laid out their individual plans to destroy humanity. They presented the plans to Satan.

The first devil said that his plan was devious especially to the Enemy. “I will announce to everyone that there is no God!” he said to Satan.

Satan said, “Well, some will believe you, but many won’t. They know God is alive.”

The second devil said that his plan is more scheming. “I will announce to everyone that there is no hell!” Satan was not pleased. He said, “Despite the attraction that they can do anything they want, some will believe you, but many won’t. They know that if they do what is immoral, their lives will be like hell.”

The third devil said that his plan is deceptive. “I will announce to everyone that there is ALWAYS time!”

Satan, suddenly lighted up and said, “Go, go right away! You will convert millions!”

The person who always thinks that there is always time will keep on procrastinating. But there are things that we cannot put off the next day. There are things that has to be done now, before the hour when there is no tomorrow for us.

In an emergency, the doctor who gives a correct diagnosis in a split second, took years of study. On stage, the artist who performs excellently in a two-hour show, practiced even without inspiration. Parents who raised their children well, have formed them every single moment. Students who get high marks have studied long before the hour.

Our defining moment is a result of daily and regular preparation.

Sumisidhi ba sa Iyo ang Hangarin ng Kapayapaan?

2011-06-11T14:19:00.004+08:00

12 Hunyo 2011. Araw ng Pentekostes

Acts 2:1-11; Salmo 104; 1 Cor 12:3-13; Juan 20:19-23

Note: This article appears in Sambuhay missalette today. Sambuhay is a publication of the Society of St. Paul in the Philippines.

Bumubukal ba sa iyo ang hangarin ng kapayapaan kapag may alitan? O kaya sumisidhi ang mithiin ng pagbabalik-loob sa Diyos kapag may nagawang pagkakamali? Tumitindi ba ang pagnanasang maliwanagan kapag may hindi maunawaan at di napapawi ang paghahanap ng kasagutan sa gitna ng maraming katanungan? Lumalakas ba ang katok sa iyong pusong manalangin sa gitna ng maraming pagsubok na walang naaninag na pag-asa? Kung naramdaman---o nararamdaman---ninyo ito, naranasan ninyo ang Espiritu Santo. Ang Espiritung ito ang siyang pinagdiriwang natin sa Linggo ng Pentecostes.

Matagal nang pinagdiriwang ng mga Hudyo ang Pentecostes. Sinimulan ito bilang pasasalamat sa biyaya ng ani, kung saan iniaalay nila ang unang bunga ng kanilang mga kamay. Pagkatapos, naging tradisyon ito bilang pagaalaala sa pagbibigay ng Sampung Utos kay Moises. Pentecostes, ibig sabihing ika-50 araw, ang tawag ng mga Griyego sa pagdiriwang ng mga Hudyo sa tinatawag na Feast of Weeks, ang pagdiriwang ng ani pagkatapos ng limampung-araw mula sa Passover o Feast of the Unleavened Bread. Ayon sa Gawa 2:1-11 (kasama din Gawa 20:16 at 1 Cor 16:18), nananahan ang Espiritu Santo sa mga alagad ni Hesus sa araw na ito. Ito ang katuparan ng pangako ng Panginoong Hesukristo sa kanila.

Ngunit hindi nagbago ang diwa ng pagdiriwang. Ang bunga ng ani, ang pagbibigay ng Sampung Utos, at pananahan ng Espiritu Santo ay mga karanasan ng pagdalaw ng Diyos sa tao sa lupa. Isang tunay na biyaya. At dahil dito, ang pagdiriwang natin ay isang pagpapaalala na ang Espiritu ay tunay na nasa ating lahat, nararanasan sa mga hangarin ng kapayapaan sa gitna ng alitan, liwanag sa kadiliman, pag-asa sa kawalan, pagbabalik-loob sa pagkasuwail, pagkakabuo sa pagkawatak-watak.

Pinapaalala ang halaga nito sa ating pananampalataya dahil laging nakakaligtaan ang Espiritu Santo, or kaya hindi natin ito napapansin. Sa tatlong mahahalagang pagdiriwang sa Liturhiya ng Simbahan, hindi natin makikita ang dagsa-dagsang nagsisimba sa Araw ng Pasko at Muling Pagkabuhay.

Sa Tore ng Babel, narinig natin ang pagkawatak-watak ng mga tao dahil sa kawalan ng pagkaunawaan dahil sa iba't ibang dila (Gen. 11:1-9). Kaya sa Pentecostes, ipinadala ng Panginoon ang iisang Espiritu upang buuin ang nagkalat sa pamamagitan ng pagkakaunawaan sa gitna ng maraming pananalita, o pagkakaisa sa gitna ng maraming angking kakayahan. Nararamdaman ito sa diwa ng bayanihan lalu na sa oras ng malaking trahedya.

Kumikidlat at kumukulog nang ibinigay ng Panginoon ang Sampung Utos kay Moises (Ex 19:3-8, 16-20). Kaya sa Araw na ito, pinahihiwatig ng pananahan ng Espiritu sa atin, ang bagong daan tungo sa Panginoon. Ang Utos ng Diyos ay hindi lamang nakasulat kundi nakaukit na sa ating puso; nararamdaman kapag tumindi ang hangaring ituwid ang nagawang pagkakamali.

Ipinadala ng Panginoon ang Propeta Ezekiel sa lambak ng kamatayan upang bigyang buhay ang mga kalansay (Ezekiel 37:1-14). At dahil dito, ang Espiritu Santo ang magbibigay panibagong sigla sa bahagi ng ating buhay na nawalan na ng kulay. Nararanasan natin ito kapag nakapagbibigay tayo ng pag-asa lalu na sa mga walang kumakalinga o walang kinabukasang natatanaw. Hindi daw natin maiibibigay ang wala sa atin. At dahil ang Diyos ng pag-asa ay nasa atin, maaari nating paliyabin ang pag-asa na nasa iba.

Higit sa lahat, nakakapagdasal lamang tayo sa kapangyarihan ng Espiritu ng Diyos. Dahil sa pananahan ng Espiritu, nakikilala natin ang Diyos. May isinulat si C.S. Lewis upang maunawaan ito. Kung ibig mong malaman ang bato, kailangan mo itong lapitan. Hindi ito kusang lalapit sa iyo. Kung nais mong makilala ang isang tao, at ayaw niya ito, hindi natin siya tunay na makikilala. Kailangang may pagkukusa din siya. Ganoon din ang Diyos: Siya ang nagkusang makilala natin Siya, at tunay ngang nagpakilala Siya sa atin kay Hesukristo. Ang pananahan ng Espiritu ang siyang pagkukusa ng Panginoon upang makilala at makita natin siyang gumagalaw sa ating kasaysayan at pangaraw-araw na buhay. Ang bawat namumutawi sa ating mga labi sa pagsamba sa Diyos ay galing mismi sa Diyos. Ayon kay San Pablo, walang makakapagsabi na Panginoon si Hesukristo kundi sa pamamagitan ng Espiritu Santo (1 Cor 12:3).

Lalu na sa ating pagdiriwang ng ating kasarinlan o Independence Day, binabaling natin ang ating panalangin at pagtingin sa Espiritu Santo upang alalahanin ang responsibilidad ng lahat palaguin ang ating buhay ayon sa liwanag ng Panginoon. Ipagdasal natin na maging tunay na daan tayo ng kapayapaang dulot ng pagkakabuo sa iisang Espiritu.

Have You Been Lonely?

2011-05-22T07:24:00.005+08:00

22 May 2011 Fifth Sunday of Easter
Acts 6:1-7; Psalm 33; 1 Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12

In lull periods between chores at the feeding center, Juan’s* eyes turn glossy and forlorn. When he was in Phoenix, he was caught by the border patrol and imprisoned for 8 months. During his detention, his wife was pregnant with his first child. On the day of the child’s birth, Juan was deported to the Arizona-Mexico border gate. He never saw them since.

The stories of the migrants I’ve met and served at the Comedor, the feeding center of the Kino Border Initiative (please LIKE our page here) are stories of separation. We feed people who are lonely and distressed. The pain of separation from their loved ones is fresh and the wound is deep. The options are bleak: if one returns to their origins in Mexico or Central America, they have to bear separation for years; or if one returns to the US, they have to cross the inhospitable Sonoran desert and the possibility of death (related article on this here).

In the Gospels, the disciples of Jesus are distressed over his words about going away (John 13:33-36). But Jesus assures them that His departure is more gain than loss for them, for He will become closer to them after His resurrection and they will enter into a deeper communion with Him. Therefore, they should not be ‘troubled’ by the prospect of a certain loneliness in this world, exposed as they will be to the forces of unbelief (John 16:33) or having to live without their friend. And here Jesus goes on saying that when He passes over to His Father, He will prepare a place for them, the “many dwelling places” in “His Father’s house.”

For many migrants all over the world, the situation of the disciples in the Gospel is all too familiar. On one hand, they leave their families because they want to prepare a better future for them. They are aware of the dangers of being away. In many ways than one, they are like Jesus: on them their families hinge their hopes and dreams away from poverty or the violence in their own countries (eg. Mexico, Libya and North Africa, Vietnam and Cambodia).

On the other hand, their families who are left behind are effected by the parting. Children with absentee parents; those who live away from home; the experience of death; those who had a falling out with a friend are just a few examples when loneliness sinks deeply into our hearts.

The Gospel challenges all who encounter loneliness to put our trust on Jesus who promises a dwelling place in heaven. Thus, it reads that Jesus tells his disciples (us) that they (we) will be where He Himself is, both in the present and in the future. We will, with the help of the Spirit, enter through faith into a closer relationship with God. And this communion is a gift from the Trinity (v.2-3 and 23). It is no wonder that this Gospel is read in funerals: Isn’t it consoling to know that our departed loved ones have not vanished but are there waiting for us? I find this consoling when my dad passed away: our separation is temporary!

But the many ‘dwelling-places’ are not degrees of perfection or status in heaven, in the sense that, the holier you are the bigger the mansion. The meaning is that the Father’s love and life that is present in Jesus is so immense that there is room for all of us! His heart is bigger and wider than what we can imagine. Whatever or whoever we are, there is always room for us in God.

Loneliness is a negative experience. Thus it entails pain and suffering. It destroys our notion of companionship or friendship: no person can totally satisfy our need for absolute presence. Couples have to separate when they have to go to work. Friends cannot stick to each other all the time. The promise “I will be with you always” does not mean the one who promises will accompany you wherever you go --- you don’t want them present in the restroom, do you? Life includes ‘separation’ time.

But there is one who can be present to us, wherever we are! He is the one who can satisfy our need for constant companionship. That is why, the negative feeling of loneliness can turn into an experience of communion with God. Because Jesus can do that: He is more present to us now than he was here in human form.

Those who have accepted this fact and lived this truth is said to live not in loneliness but in solitude. They are those who live in the heart of God, with or without their family and friends’ presences, peacefully. They can have their time for themselves without the impulse of reaching out to their cellphones or opening their social networks because the ‘silence is unbearable.’ Silence and solitude are very much related. You need both to change your loneliness into peacefulness.

*not his real name.

Have You Been Vulnerable?

2011-05-14T09:12:00.003+08:00

15 May 2011 4th Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:14-41; Psalm 23; 1 Pt 2:20-25; John 10:1-10

Salvador was dazed and disoriented. After being rounded up by the border patrol while driving, he was detained for a year because he couldn’t show them his legal papers. He was from Chihuahua, a state in Mexico, and crossed the border unauthorized. Two days before he was sentenced for deportation to Mexico, his wife gave birth to a boy which he never saw.

I met Salvador the day he arrived at the Deconcini gate in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. After given a ticket by the immigration officer for a free bus ride back to his hometown, he headed to the Comedor, the feeding center of the Kino Border Initiative (Please LIKE our page here). I was serving deported migrants at the Comedor.

The story of Salvador at his most vulnerable is shared by many other migrants who come to the Comedor or Dining Area twice every day. They have their own stories to tell, and we meet them at the darkest and lowest point in their life. It is at this point that I begin to wonder about the lost sheep and the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. These are, literally, the lost and the least in the fold.

The image of the Good Shepherd is ancient in the Christian church. In Rome, wall paintings of the Good Shepherd are found in the catacombs. Though I can imagine how the image can be lost to the present generation, I wonder why the image continues to inspire us. When shepherding was a common occupation in the time of Jesus, the image understandably have potent power then. But even at present when shepherding is left to a few, its communicative power remains.

I think the image gains its power because of the growing number of people who can identify with the lost sheep. We have in many different ways reached the point of Salvador. When we are at our lowest and darkest or when we feel abandoned, ostracized and alone, we find ourselves attracted to an image of protection. And thus, many of us say that we often remember the Lord and seek His Presence when we are suffering. We say that people who are proud will return to the Lord sometime --- just wait for a tragedy to happen.

But the story of the Good Shepherd and an image of the same story like the Woman Who Lost a Coin tell us otherwise. It is not the lost sheep (or the lost coin) who looks for the Shepherd, but it is the Shepherd who looks for them. He is the one who comes to the lost; as the Woman who searches for the coin that doesn’t move from where it has fallen (Don’t we feel paralyzed at the enormity of our burdens?)

And so the point today: I think that we experience God when we are at the lowest point in our lives not because we search for Him. Or being problematic, we go the church to beg God to hear our prayers. That makes God like a necessary crutch. Or, when our prayers are not answered the way we want it, He becomes another person to blame.

God comes to us in our most vulnerable state, because our defenses are down. God has always been with us, accompanying us, even if we don’t give Him the attention. He is always there, even if we deny His presence. Think of a wall: when it is destroyed, anyone from the other side can come to you. Put yourself in God’s shoes: when we want to help a friend, but the friend does not want it, we will not be able to lend our hand. I believe, this is how God comes to us when we are lost. He is the one who finds us.

Proof: the photo you see in this blog is Salvador praying to his “Salvador” (Savior).

Hope in Shattered Dreams

2011-05-08T04:03:00.003+08:00

8 May 2011. 3rd Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:14,22-23; Psalm 16; 1 Peter 1:17-21; Luke 24-13-35

I saw them kiss. Josefina and Anteo were lining for breakfast at the Comedor, the feeding center of the Kino Border Initiative. They were migrants, recently deported from the United States. They were picked up by the US Customs and Border Protection together, but were deported separately. Josefina was deported at the Deconcini Gate in the Arizona-Sonora border, while Anteo was thrown out of American territory miles away in Tijuana, the California side. Anteo made it back to Guatemala, while Josefina stayed at the women's shelter of the KBI, managed by the Missionaries of the Eucharist.

I met Josefina at the Comedor. She volunteered to help us out after serving the meals. While slicing calabasita, she told me that she had four children, whom she left with her mother. She and Anteo had to leave home for a better life for them. Since Anteo was able to make his way again from Guatemala, they would try to cross the border again. All for the love of their children. Today, they bid us goodbye. They will take the dangerous road back to the US before more troops are deployed following the death of Osama bin Laden.

The journey these migrants take is everything but easy. Migrants from Guatemala hitch a ride to the US-Mexican border by the train that carries produce from Central America to the US. They hang on steel ladders of a train car and make their way to the roof. There they wait until the train stops at their destination. From there, they cross the inhospitable desert, wrestling with death itself. In 2010, 214 human remains were found in the Arizona desert; 78 casualties is the present record from October 2010-March 2011.

If you meet these migrants after deportation, what would you say? They come dazed and disoriented. They look at you with great questioning. Crossing the border unauthorized is not right, but for those without means, the law does not matter as much as their families. Isn't it that the survival of loved ones is more important than territory?

The Gospel today tells the story of Cleopas and another disciple (perhaps, his wife? And why not?) They both leave Jerusalem, the place where their hopes have been shattered. Their minds are with Jesus whom they thought would liberate them from the oppression of Rome. They are walking towards Emmaus, which the Romans called, Nicopolis or "Victory City." They badly need a victory. Like Josefina and Anteo. Like many migrants we serve everyday.

How are you to talk to people with shattered dreams? In the midst of great tragedy, we are all left without words. Sometimes I find that there is something wrong when we say, "Everything will be alright." In one way, it is correct and true. There are many bad situations that ends well. But in some situations, the condition may not turn out well, except when miracles happen. When I was chaplain of the UP Maroons, it was easy to talk about hope at the first few games. But loosing continually and nearing the end of the UAAP matches, it seems futile to talk about hope when you only have one game to play and we haven't won a single game. Definitely, making it to the top five will not happen. Or extreme cases like the terminally-ill. What then would hope be?

As the two disciples walk towards the Victory City, the True Redeemer walks alongside them. He listened while the disciples pour out their frustration. Jesus responds by recalling the Scriptures, eventually giving them a new story and a new way of looking at the events that frustrated them. They also got something: an enflamed heart. Jesus helped them make sense all that has happened.

I believe this is the hope that the Lord gives us. He doesn't remove our problems: when we are able to solve them, we then encounter new ones. But we are able to find meaning in our frustrations. The terminally-ill renews their spirit by gathering the people who makes their entire life meaningful; the student who fails a subject learns from the fall; Anteo and Josefina makes the journey courageously, fired by the love they have for their children.

Hope then is an orientation of our spirit. It is either we hope or we don't. We either move on or we regress. It is different from happiness, when we dream that everything will turn out well.

In the Gospel, it is clear that the hope Jesus gives is an enflamed heart witnessed in the accounts of the disciples in the first reading from Acts. It is the inspiration and energy the early disciples possess, that ability to work for the good, because it the right thing to do, not just because it stands a chance to succeed. Hope is not the conviction that everything will turn out well, but that everything makes sense in the view of eternity. Think of the great exemplars of holiness. The martyrs died but their death to them and to us today has sense. Think of our heroes, their lives become our bread on which we live. Think of our parents, their hardwork has made us who we are today. Think of Jesus: the stone the builders rejected became the cornerstone.

The Gospel then invites us to see the world and our lives in the perspective of eternity. Just as the disciples gain a new sight that enabled them to recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread, we pray that the Lord transform our blindness and give us new eyes and a renewed hope.

- Posted by Jboy Gonzales SJ using BlogPress. Copyright 2011.

Location:Nogales, Sonora, Mexico

The Miracle of Easter

2011-04-27T20:23:00.005+08:00

1 May 2011 2nd Sunday of Easter
Acts 2:42-47; Psalm 118; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31

The message of the Gospel today is the very miracle of Easter. That whatever is bound, enchained, enslaved, or unfree can be loosened, liberated and freed through forgiveness. By exercising this capacity to forgive, we free each other from what bounds us like pain, anger, and resentments. And by being forgiven, we become free. In this freedom, we achieve what is elusive to most of us: peace.

Let me explain. Let us look at our personal relationships. There are many resentments within our families: marital conflicts, custody battles, and/or inheritance. Between friends, there are strained relationships: a betrayal, a falling out, or a hurt from an uncharitable remark.

Recent records in history has seen the bloodiest effect of racial and religious hatred. The most glaring is the holocaust. Christians against Jews. Or, genocide in Central and South Africa. Or the escapes of Vietnamese refugees to other countries caused by strife and violence. The killings in Cambodia. Our list can go on and on and on. The point is clear: unless there is healing by forgiveness, peace will not come by easily.

But forgiveness is easier said than done. The deeper the wound, the longer it takes. Genuine forgiveness is not given casually: as if the violation has not been done as the popular maxim: forgive and forget. We should not forget or else the violation is repeated and tolerated. Aren't we, Filipinos, suffering from a short-term memory: the victimizers of the past are now back in the seats of government? Isn't it true that the People's Revolution of 1986 has been like a ningas-cogon: aren't we worse than before? Isn't it correct that misbehavior in our personal relationships are repeated because we try to forget as if they never occurred? Forgiveness is given, not so that we repeat our past, but so that we begin a new future.

Forgiveness is given by authentically acknowledging the wounds for what they are, and what they have caused. And the acceptance that we are capable of being hurt and wounding others. Unless we are able to see this (vs self-righteousness), genuine forgiveness cannot come by.

Forgiveness involves humility. It involves swallowing our pride. This is what I experience in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The struggle before receiving the Sacrament is the very thought of acknowledging our woundedness and sinfulness to another person, in shame. Why would I confess to a priest who is also a sinner like me - or even worse than me? Confession is indeed a humbling experience, yet genuine repentance and humility are the conditions for forgiveness to happen. And as a priest, who is very much a sinner too, I am very grateful to the trust a repentant sinner accords me.

The Gospel tells us that Jesus showed Thomas His very wounds. Jesus acknowledges the wounds that has been inflicted on Him and then identifies Himself with it. What we have become has been formed and molded by our wounds. But even in His last breath, Jesus forgives: "Forgive them, Father, for they do not know what they are doing?" That is why, today is also called, Divine Mercy Sunday. We celebrate God's mercy on us, but at the same time, we are also challenge to be merciful.

But peace in genuine forgiveness is made possible by the Spirit. Jesus said, "Peace be with you" and then, He says, "Receive the Holy Spirit" and after, He breathe on them. The exchange of breathe in the Spirit is important. Remember how God breathe on Adam and Eve for life to occur in Genesis? Breathing is what makes us alive; the Spirit thus makes us genuinely live and therefore, forgive. Paul said that forgiveness is made possible by the Spirit. And therefore, this power is a gift of the Lord to us: we are capable of genuine forgiveness. However, we have to work on it. The Our Father gives us the condition: "And forgive us our sins, AS we forgive those who sin against us."

Together with the breath of the Resurrected Christ, we can therefore free ourselves from what makes us bound. Remember a tenet I live by: He, who angers you, controls you. The miracle of Easter is freedom from what or who controls you, given through forgiveness, for the peace that we all yearn.

Easter's Shock

2011-04-22T02:00:00.000+08:00

24 April 2011 Easter Sunday
Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118; 1 Cor 5:6-8; John 20:1-9

Allow me to begin a few hours ago. It was customary for early Christians to hold evening liturgies called vigils, especially the night before a great feast. In the universal Church these vigils are commonly done during the three most important feasts of the liturgical year: Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. Pentecost vigil though has not been particularly celebrated in the Philippines.

In the Easter vigil, we all begin in darkness, reminding us of our state before the resurrection. It suggests the mood of Lent, when we have scoured the dark recesses of our lives and prepared it for the Lord's light. The beauty and profundity of the image of the light, as Easter, becomes powerful in the background of darkness.

So it is in the understanding of Easter. In the movie, The Mission, Robert di Niro plays the mercenary and slave trader Mendoza, who kills his brother in a fit of jealousy and anger. As a self-imposed penance, he carries the implements of his past like his sword and armor, to the Jesuit mission above the Iguazu falls, the community of the Guarani Indians whom he has formerly hunted. When the Guarani recognized him, they threaten his life, but seeing what he has been doing, they cut the rope and release his 'past' plunging into the raging waters of the river. Experiencing freedom and forgiveness, he starts a new life with the Guarani and eventually becomes a Jesuit.

Easter Sunday is about redemption. Mendoza's character illustrates our capacity for redemption. We are capable of changing for the better. But what is striking for me is the dialogue before Mendoza takes the burden of his past and carries it up the precarious peak of the falls. Fr. Gabriel (Jeremy Irons) visits him in his cell. Mendoza sulks and tells him that there is nothing that could redeem him from his heinous crime. And Gabriel said, 'At least, dare to try' and got Mendoza's reply, "Are you ready to see it fail?"

Easter's gift is the guarantee of redemption offered to those who believe that everything has failed. Nothing is more astonishing in all the mysteries of our faith as the Resurrection. Because it is hard to believe it, and it is not within logic. It is riveting. But that is exactly what the Resurrection does. It tells us that there is a reality far beyond what is normally thought possible.

I met Lupillo in Mexico on our pilgrimage there. His work was to gather drug and alcohol dependents who lived in the streets of the city. He would scour the places and invite them every Friday for a meeting, hoping to help them recover from their dependency, or at least provide care for them. This did not happen overnight. His was a story of the impossible becoming possible.

He was on the streets for 22 years. The people he serves trusted him because they knew he understood them and their situation. Afterall, he was one of them. He began to make a turn when he saw what he was doing to his family. At first he thought that recovery was impossible. For a guy like him, poor and addicted, he thought he wss unredeemable. He clung to the care of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe's words to Blessed Juan Diego, "¿No estoy yo aquí que soy tu madre?"(Am I not here who am also your mother?)

So in one of the meetings for alcoholics run by religious congregations, he began to learn about the faith, and hoped in the resurrection. The rector of the Basilica of Guadalupe saw his leadership qualities and invited him to help in the ministry. In one of my meetings with him, he said that he has been sober for around 13 years, and since then he had repented and repaired his relationship with his family. Now he shares that resurrection experience with others. There is no way for overflowing gratitude, but share to others.

We have many times said to ourselves that there are dreams not worth pursuing because of all the odds. Or we believed that certain dark aspects of life cannot be healed. Even before daring. Even before trying. We have been defeated before fighting.

But the Resurrection jolts us to see that victory awaits us. There is forgiveness already offered for the gravest of sins, and hope for bleakest of situations. And there is no reason for us to forget: we are reminded by the celebration of Easter every year, or like the words of a bishop, "if only we understand Easter, we will see many Easters every single day."

Ang Ating Aleluya!

2011-04-21T02:37:00.000+08:00

ika-23 ng Abril 2011. Kapistahan ng Muling Pagkabuhay ni Hesus
Gen 1:1-2:2; Ps 104; Gen 22:1-18; Ps 16; Ex 14:15-15:1; Ex 15; Is 54:5-14; Ps 30; Is 55:1-11; Is 12; Bar 3:9-4:4; Ps 19; Ex 36:16-28; Ps 42; Rom 6:3-11; Ps 118; Mt 28:1-10

Note: This article appears in Sambuhay missalette today. Sambuhay is a publications of the Society of St. Paul in the Philippines.

Happy Easter po sa inyong lahat!

Nakilala ko si Lupillo sa Mexico. Tinitipon niya ang mga adik sa alak at droga na nakakalat sa mga gusali. Inalagaan niya sila sa pamamagitan ng tulong na galing sa mga deboto ng Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. Walong taon na niya itong ginagawa. Araw-araw, umiikot siya sa paligid ng Basilica ng Guadalupe upang yayain sila na sumali sa panalangin, pagbabahagi, at salu-salo. May mga pagkakataong may paggamutan para sa mga may sugat at pantulong sa pag-iiwas sa mga bawal na gamot.

Nakuwento ni Lupillo sa amin kung paanong narating niya ang ganitong uri ng paglilingkod. Dati siyang taong-gusali. Kilala niya at kilala din siya ng ibang mga inanyayahan niya sa kanyang paglilingkod. 20 taon din siyang kasama nila. Ang pagiging isang katulad nila ang siyang nagbibigay ng patunay sa kanyang tapat na hangaring tulungan ding iahon ang kanyang kapwang may problema sa alak at droga. Sino pa nga bang makakaunawa sa kanila kundi ang taong naging tulad nila?

Nang nakita niya ang epekto ng kanyang ginagawa sa kanyang pamilya, naisip niyang magbagong-buhay at tulungan ang sariling maging malaya sa labis na pagkalulong sa alak at droga. Ngunit, alam niyang mahirap ito kaya hiniling niya ito sa Diyos sa pamamagitan ng Nuestra Señora ng Guadalupe. Araw-araw sa Basilica ng Guadalupe, hiniling niya ang lakas upang makaahon sa kanyang kadiliman. Lagi niyang iniisip ang sinabi ng Mahal na Ina ng Guadalupe kay Beato Juan Diego, "¿No estoy yo aquí que soy tu madre? Hindi ba't naririto ako, ang iyong nanay?"

Tumulong ako sa pagtitipong inoorganiza ni Lupillo. Nakita ko ang pagkakaibigan ng mga dumadalo. Ang pagbabahagi ng kanilang kuwentong-buhay ay nagsisimula sa pagpapakilala kung may bago mukha, at kung gaano katagal nang nakaiwas sila sa kanilang adiksyon. May nagsasabing isang linggo, tatlong buwan o dalawang taon. Sa bawat tagumpay, gaano man kaliit, pinapalakpakan nila ang bawat isa. Isang pagpapakita ng pakikiisa at suporta sa bawat hakbang tungo sa tuluyang pagbabago. Wika ni Lao Tzu: nagbibigay ng lakas ang pagmamahal ng iba sa atin, ngunit ang malalim na pag-ibig natin sa iba ang nagbibigay ng tapang at lakas ng loob sa atin.

Ang proseso at suportang ganito ang labis na nakatulong kay Lupillo. Dahil unti-unti na siyang gumagaling at napatunayan niya ang abilidad ng isang lider, kinuha siya ng Rector ng Basilica upang maging bahagi ng programa ng simbahan para sa mga nangangailangan. Ngayon, binabawi niya ang kanyang pagkukulang sa kanyang pamilya.

Ang pagsibol ng liwanag sa gitna ng kadiliman ang tema ng Pagdiriwang ng Muling Pagkabuhay ni Hesus. Inaalala natin ang tagumpay ni Hesus sa kamatayan, at pinagdiriwang natin ang paglaya sa ating mga kasalanan. Meron tayong matutunan sa buhay ni Lupillo, upang maisabuhay ang alleluia ng Gabing ito ng tunay na Liwanag!

Unang- una ang halaga ng alaala sa komunidad. Mahalagang balikan at ibahagi sa kasamahan ang ating kuwentong-buhay upang tanggapin at makita ang ating pinatutunguhan. Sa liturhiya ng Muling Pagkabuhay, isa-isa nating ginugunita sa mga pagbasa ang kuwento ng ating kaligtasan upang lalung maunawaan ang kahulugan ng pagpapakasakit at muling pagkabuhay ni Kristo. Sa pakikinig sa mga pagbasa mula sa Genesis, maaaninag natin ang galaw ng Diyos sa ating kasaysayan ng kaligtasan at sa ating personal na buhay. Nagkakaisa ang lahat ng Kristyano sa buong mundo dahil sa iisang alaalang nasa Banal na Kasulatan.

Pangalawa, ang halaga ng pagtanggap na galing sa Diyos ang anumang pagsibol ng panibagong buhay. May pangarap ang Diyos sa ating lahat. Hangad niyang makapiling tayong lahat sa Kaharian ng Langit. At dahil ito ang Kanyang hangarin, binibigay niya sa atin ang biyayang makamtan ito. Ito ang hiniling ni Lupillo sa Panginoon.

Panghuli, ang halagang makita at ipagdiwang ang unti-unting hakbang tungo sa ganap na pag-ahon. Ngunit merong nakakapigil sa atin upang lubusang makita at isabuhay ang pagdiriwang na ito. Madalas nating sabihin, "Wala namang nangyayari. Ganito pa rin ako." Hindi natin nakikita ang mga maliliit nating tagumpay kung ganito ang ating ugali. Tinatakpan nito ang ating mga mata upang makita na lumalapit na tayo sa kaganapan ng ating mga mithiin. Kasi, sanay tayong nakikita ang malaki at bonggang pangyayari lamang. Ngunit ang tunay na buhay ay isang proseso, isang unti-unting paglago. Kaya, tulad nina Lupillo, ang bawat maliit na alleluia ay pinapalakpakan.

Ipagdiwang natin ang ating mga maliit na tagumpay. Sa pagdiriwang ng Muling Pagkabuhay ng ating Panginoong Hesukristo, ipagdasal nating madama nang malalim sa buhay ang nangyayaring mga alleluia sa ating buhay tungo sa ating ganap na Alleluia!

Why We Celebrate Good Friday

2011-04-20T02:00:00.002+08:00

22 April 2011 Good Friday
Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Psalm 31; Heb 4:14-5:9; John 18:1-19:42

When my father died, I was several miles away. I was in the hinterlands of Bukidnon, a barrio called Dumalaguing. At that time, no means of transporation could bring you there except by foot. It was a five- hour trek over high altitude trails and the vast Pulangi River that carved the valleys of the mountain region. The Bukidnon indigenous people lived in small communities. The connection we had to the outside world was through the local radio. The household of Manang Angging was tuned to this AM station when I heard about the news.

I arrived in Legazpi City dazed and disoriented. The death was sudden: dad's first and fatal stroke. He had seen me off to the Jesuit novitiate ten months ago. I did not know it would be the last time I would embrace him alive.

Amidst all the queries about the details of the funeral since I have to stand in my dad's place as the eldest, all I wanted to hear were his last days. What happened? What were his last words? Did he say something for me, for anyone in the family, for all of us? Not to piece a premonition theory, but to glean from his last days what may have summarized his life, and what could be my life's by-line.

What is there about the dividing line between life and death that I could, in whatever way, grasp and lived by? Some have indeed made their last deed a crowning achievement of what they lived for or what they have become. Richie Fernando SJ, my batchmate, died from a bomb in Cambodia, protecting the life of his student. Some yearned for those they dearly loved and thus desired to have them around their deathbeds; they were the ones the dying lived for. Some, a final gesture of forgiveness. In whatever way, we find the end sacred.

This to me is a way to understand Good Friday. The last moments of the life of Jesus are significant that we do not want to let go of them: we remember, we immerse ourselves in it, we glean from these moments what we can live by or die for. Most of all, we commemorate them with a spirit of reverence and recollection.

As the blessed sacrament is placed on a repository at the end of the Holy Thursday mass, we rewind our memories to the garden of Gethsemane where Jesus made the request to His disciples to stay with Him as He struggled in prayer. In our most tormented moments, or at the brink of death, we need the assuring company of our loved ones. And so, churches decorate the repository like a garden. Some repositories are decorated with a flourish of flowers and fountains (to the ire of liturgists who insist that it should be bare and simple). And we stay on our knees and pray. Some would take the Visita Iglesia, a journey visiting seven or more churches on Holy Thursday evening. We reenact the Garden scene: we, the present disciples, will stay and keep vigil, even for an hour.

On Good Friday, as the commemoration of the Passion unfolds towards the hour of death at 3 PM, various activities mark the movement towards Christ's death. In many nooks and crannies of neighborhoods, we hear the Pasyon ng Mahal na Panginoong Hesucristo, a chanting of the life of Jesus. There is a belief that it should end before the beginning of the Seven Last Words. Some would do the Stations of the Cross with their family and friends, and abandon any excesses. On Good Friday, loud revelry is prohibited to create an atmosphere of solemnity.

But the crowning liturgy is the Good Friday Service. It is the only day in the whole liturgical year that mass is NOT celebrated. In this service, we find the churches packed to the brim, and long lines at the veneration of the cross stretches the liturgy sometimes for three hours. But the people don't mind: what is three hours compared to the suffering of a God who loved us to His death?

The thing about death is this: there is not much to say. It strikes at the deepest core of our being. The very thing that fascinates and repels us is now staring back at us: death invites us to surrender. The cross is inevitable and necessary for our redemption. We kiss the cross of Christ with all reverence, following an acceptance and taking on of it, as true disciples of the One who died for our sins.

Sometimes we need to articulate what is obvious: the Passion of Jesus of Nazareth, the historical Jesus, is over and done. Jesus said it, "it is finished." But Christ in us still continues to suffer. He is nailed and crucified in us today. What is in us that makes Christ suffer? What needs to die in us? To answer this, we must remember His last days, His last words. Again and again.

His passion was filled with betrayals. A companion betrayed Him. His friends deserted him. They all ran away. His close friend denied Him. The people He died for are the ones who castigated Him. In different forms, there lurks in our hearts a streak of Judas, Peter, or a deserter, a Pharisee, an Annas or a Caiaphas, a mob, or a soldier who would strip and shame Jesus at the pressure of another, such as peers. Or a combination of them.

On the other hand, the responses to the repeated beatings are also in His last moments: words of forgiveness, compassion, and love. He who said to turn the right cheek when one slaps you on the left side of your face has walked the talk. The One who said that He was willing to die for His friends has proved it with His life. St. Ignatius of Loyola said that love ought to be showed more in deeds than in words: Jesus is the very source of this insight, because He is love itself.

There is more to one's last moments. They lead us to our very center where within it lies our deepest questions. Perhaps, they do not give us total clarity of what is in store for us when we die, but they indeed clear the way for us to live.

Q on Maundy Thursday: Were You Breast-fed?

2011-04-19T02:00:00.000+08:00

21 April 2011 Holy Thursday
Exodus 12:1-14; Psalm 116; 1 Cor 11:23-26; John 13:1-15

I was breast-fed. What has this to do with Holy Thursday? I believe, a lot. So read on.

In the 4th century, pilgrims who made it to Jerusalem wanted to bring their experience home. So they began to reenact the last scenes of the life of Jesus in their liturgies, especially at the end days of Holy Week. The practice spread throughout all of Christendom that today Thursday, Friday and Saturday became the Triduum Sacrum (holy three days). These days correspond to the remembrance of the Last Supper, Passion, and Death of the Lord. Together with Easter, they have become the most solemn celebrations in the liturgical year.

Holy Thursday begins with the commemoration of the Last Supper. The Gospel brings us to the story of Jesus with his disciples at table. There is a feeling of impending doom. Judas, the betrayer, has entered into a pact to sell Jesus for 30 pieces of silver and has been waiting for an opportunity to give his Master away. The Pharisees' plot has started rolling. After all, Jesus has provoked their religious sensitivities by healing on a Sabbath and calling God, His Father, thus making Him His equal (John 5:18). Jesus, Himself, knows that the events are all coming to his eventual arrest. And so, to leave a mark, Jesus does two acts that will be remembered through all time: He breaks bread and He washes the feet of His disciples.

First, He breaks bread and shares the cup. These are gestures of nurturance. From one loaf at table, we slice the breakfast bread for everyone. In the drinking custom in the Philippines, tagay is drinking from one glass that is passed on among a group of friends. These nonverbal actions say more things than what meets the eye; its simplicity speaks which even a thousand words cannot suffice. Let's take the words of St. Paul from his letter to the Corinthians in the 2nd reading. The words I say during consecration at mass are taken from these too:

"The Lord Jesus on the night He was betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me'. In the same way, also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." 1 Cor 11:23-25

Thus, to remember Jesus' gesture by breaking bread and passing the cup to one another became the identity of the early Christians. Today we call it their trademark or brand as a group of believers who proclaimed the Lord (1 Cor 11:26). It was their gesture of communion, of being one in the Lord.

And therefore, the sharing of one bread is an experience of being people of need, but also, people who fed each other from each other's substance. Isn't this what mothers do when they breastfeed their babies? Their milk is from their very substance which they give for their child's nourishment. And it is still best for babies-with effects even in adulthood!

In other words, being fed and at the same time of feeding one another are palpable experiences of communion, of being one body. It is Christ who feeds us from His substance and in turn, we also feed one another continuously, for the nourishment of all. Thus, we can talk about being fed from Christ's breast. St. Catherine of Sienna also says this. She writes to her friends in Naples:

Dearest mother and sisters in sweet Jesus Christ, I Catherine... write to you in his precious blood, with the desire to see you confirmed in true and perfect charity so that you be true nurses of your souls. For we cannot nourish others if first we do not nourish our souls with true and real virtues ... Do as the child does who, wanting to take milk, takes the mother's breast and places it in his mouth and draws to himself the milk by means of the flesh. So... we must attach ourselves to the breast of the crucified Christ, in whom we find the mother of charity, and draw from there by means of his flesh (that is the humanity) the milk that nourishes our souls. (Carolyn Walker Bynum, Holy Feast and Holy Fast: the Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1987, p. 176)

Second, Jesus washes the feet of His disciples. The gesture is radical and revolutionary. Even today, no matter how we hear this from Jesus every single year, we are still in the 'old way' of thinking. Imagine the president of the country washing your feet? In a significant gathering, the 'who's who' will be given the presidential table. Or they will be given the first priority at the buffet table. If not, someone else will get food for them, so they won't have to bother lining up. Think of the mayor of the town in a wedding reception: no one will have him seat where the waiters are. Think of the priest who baptized your child: he will be shoved to the VIP table right away. But not anyone's fault: culture has it that to best way to show hospitality to the guest is to make them feel like the monarchs of old.

In other words, the shock value of Jesus' action is meant to be remembered. It illustrates that he is indeed radical and revolutionary, therefore His teaching on love is new and fresh. Service is defined as a washing of another's feet, a reversal of values. In practical life, the mayor and the priest should take the place of the food servers and househelps, and they in turn will be the ones to be served by those in the seat of power. (And challenge, will you do that to the mayor or the priest of your wedding? Or, will they like it? Test it: invite the homilist at the Holy Thursday mass and have him wash the dishes before you give him food. Try to do that to the bishop.)

The newness of the commandment of Jesus is where Maundy Thursday comes from. It comes from the latin, Mandatum novum, a new commandment. It is the Antiphon we use in the washing of the feet. The way to nurture each other is to serve each other THESE ways. If the mayor or the parish priest expects to be served than to serve, the effect is not mutual nourishment. I don't think I need to say more.

Take Your Branches to the Church

2011-04-14T02:34:00.000+08:00

17 April 2011 Palm Sunday
Isaiah 50:4-7; Psalm 22; Phil 2:6-11; Matthew 26:14 - 27:66

Take your palm branches to the church and have it blessed. Attend mass, but don't leave without holy water sprinkled on your decorated palms. Today is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. This has been a tradition since the 4th century, and many Christians (not just Catholics) pretty do the same thing.

We reenact in the liturgy the entry of Jesus in Jerusalem where people took branches as He entered riding on an ass, as a king entering His kingdom. Cloaks carpeted His way. People singing, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of our God! Hosanna in the highest!" (Matthew 21:6-11).

What we don't know was that the gesture of waving branches was a political statement, since palm branches were a symbol of Israel's political sovereignty since the revolt of the Maccabees. The great desire of Israel to be freed from the clutches of foreign rule as Rome, stirred the need for a political Messiah which they thought would be in the person of Jesus. And they were disappointed: their concept destroyed when their king entered, not on a horse, but on a donkey.

This Sunday, therefore, invites us to enter into a reflective and solemn mood, like the need for quiet when we are frustrated. Jesus is a King of a different kind; His way is uncommon and radical. When we would rather go to war, He would vouch for peace. In fact, riding on a colt dug a common memory in the prophecy of Zechariah. It tells of a king who will ban armaments, whose rule will be gentle, and whose reign will be peaceful (Zechariah 9:9-10).

Palm Sunday challenges us to look closely and honestly into our ways and see which of our values conform with God, and which does not. When we speak ill of our enemies, especially those who do not agree with our positions on certain issues; when we would rather be antagonistic than respectful of them; when we are 'closed' than open for dialogue, are we like Jesus in His passion who neither wished harm on His enemies or summoned the angels to rain fire and brimstone on them?

Are we like Jesus who said, "Love your enemies" as the mark of a Christian, and even on the cross, prayed for forgiveness for them? Sometimes it is ironic that those who claim to be staunchly Christians revert to ways that are antithesis of the very values of Jesus. Instead of being like Christ, we become like the Pharisees, who thought they were doing a great service to their very faith. Look again, those who sang, Hosanna, as Jesus entered, would be the same ones who would shout, "Crucify Him" and put Him to death!

Jesus has atoned for our sins, meaning, He has reconciled us with God. He has made us one again with God. In the word, atonement, you can decipher the meaning: at-one. The Passion of the historical Jesus of Nazareth has been done in the past. It is finished. But it continues within ourselves: helping us rid of those disvalues, or the 'values' contradictory to God, so that we eventually become at one with God. The objective is clear; it's the very purpose of our creation: made in God's image and likeness. Isn't it just right to be reconciled with Him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation?

So, take your branches into the church! It is not to protect you from dark spirits when you place them on your door, as you commonly believe superstitiously. Or it is not to fulfill an obligation, so as not to invite the wrath of God on your life. You will not sin if you don't have branches. But bringing them helps.

The palm branches remind us to enter into the depths of the Holy Week by actively participating with the community in its recalling, reflecting, and being one with Christ who continually suffers today.

We pray that when we sing, "Hosanna" we rightfully acknowledge Christ as our Lord and King, the only one who possesses our very being! We will not anymore exchange Jesus for Barabbas, or cry, "Crucify Him!"

Observe: in all our masses, we sing the Sanctus, Hosanna in the highest. And when we do, we are at one with the choirs of angels in heaven!

Do You Believe in the Resurrection?

2011-04-07T02:09:00.001+08:00

10 April 2011 The 5th Sunday of Lent
Ezekiel 37:12-14; Psalm 130; Rom 8:8-11; John 11:1-45

Note: This is a scheduled post. Every article published in this blog has been written long before the 11th of March 2011, the beginning of my 30-day retreat. The rest will come out at the date and time I have programmed it in blogger. A big favor to ask: please pray for Fr. John Murphy SJ, who gives the retreat and 8 Jesuits, including myself, doing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. My prayers also for all of you who have sustained me and encouraged me to blog since 2005.

The ads tell it all: you have to believe in this product because the endorser testifies that indeed it is effective. Then you will see a correlation between the product and the endorser. Baby's milk by a celebrity mom; medicine by a certified medical practitioner; facial soap by a supermodel. To believe in a new product, we rely on other people's experiences.

Analogously, this is like the raising of Lazarus: the resurrection is true because Martha, Mary, the disciples and many others have seen it happen and believed (John 11:45). Six days before the Passover, Lazarus will sit at table with Him (John 12:1-2) while a great crowd will gather not just to see Jesus, but to see Lazarus (John 12:9).

In the Season of Lent, the Church gives us a guarantee of Easter; that Lent prepares us to the truth of the Resurrection. The last weeks of Lent is characterized by an impending sense of darkness and inevitability. There is no way for Jesus to save us, than the way of the cross. There is no way for us to experience the rise of new life, than the way of passion and suffering. Like an expectant mother: the way to behold her child is through labor. The guarantee is the Gospel story we heard today.

And therefore what is the importance of having a preview of the resurrection? It is for us: we need a witness or better, many witnesses who can testify that it is true. It is a consolation for Martha and Mary, that their belief in the resurrection is not an empty promise. That is why, aside from Peter in Matthew 16:16 and Andrew to Peter in John 1:41, there is no comparable statement that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God except from the mouth of Martha. To many in the early community of Christians, this confession was the mark of a true disciple.

Personally, the Raising of Lazarus is a story of great consolation. We hear this Gospel especially in funerals, and the context is correct. The story tells us about the close friendship of Jesus and the family of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. It tells us that this intimacy naturally compels Martha to send word to Jesus that His friend (their brother) is seriously ill. Jesus' coming is delayed and Lazarus dies. Mary approaches Jesus distraught and weeping, and some sharp words, "If you have been here, he would not have died." And Jesus' response is that of tears and weeping.

Isn't the dynamic of sorrow like the story? Those who genuinely weep are those who are in the community of love. And those that are within it share the experience of loss and tragedy. And most of all, those who can empathize are those whose hearts are also in pain with them, as the circle of Martha, Mary, the disciples and Jesus.

And what consolation to know that those who have died, did not vanish into thin air and became nothing as many Existentialists purports. How good it is to know that our deceased have actually passed on to a better life where we too will inevitably go - we will all die someday - but we will soon be with each other again!

But of course, we cannot preach this way to those in the midst of sorrow! In an occasion of great pain, the best response (and sensitively) is not to give a lecture on death and the resurrection. So, please do not attempt to quote all books that I have to be happy when at a family or a friend's wake. I KNOW but I don't need it at this time! And personally, don't give the "everything happens for a reason" because a road accident out of reckless driving is unreasonable! Sometimes these empty platitudes reveal our wanting to say something when there's no need. Enough said.

The best thing to do is what Jesus did: be with and share the sorrow with touch. See how He heals scores of broken people: the blind man (Mark 8:22-26), Peter's mother-in-law (Matthew 8:14-15), the daughter of Jairus (Mark 5:21-43), the woman with an hemorrhage who just touched His cloak (Mark 5:25-34) and many others!

Hold people's hands. Embrace them with great warmth and sincerity. Put your arms on the shoulder of the sorrowful. Weep with them as Jesus - though avoid the hysterical weeping! You know what I mean.

Our personal deaths or dryness, our private pains and wounds, are made whole again as we tenderly touch and are touched by one another. The Gospel about the raising of Lazarus proclaims the renewal that is discovered when we share our sufferings with one another. Healing, forgiveness, well-being are experiences of 'little easters' and they are all made possible in our interconnectedness! It goes without saying, aside from the miracle is for God's glory (John 11:4), that Jesus raised him (and not the many others who died) because of friendship, compassion and love.

As we enter into the heart of the Season of Lent in the celebration of the Holy Week, let us share each other's sorrows especially the regret for our sins because, the Lord, in His great love for us, takes on our sins and our sufferings and changes them to salvation and joy! Let us not forget to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who suffered for us! He is the resurrection, the God who gives life.

How Do You Find Working?

2011-04-01T02:00:00.000+08:00

3 April 2011 4th Sunday of Lent
1 Sam 16: 1-13; Psalm 23: 1-6; Eph 5:8-14; John 9:1-41

Note: This is a scheduled post. Every article published in this blog has been written long before the 11th of March 2011, the beginning of my 30-day retreat. The rest will come out at the date and time I have programmed it in blogger. A big favor to ask: please pray for 8 Jesuits, including myself, doing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. My prayers also for all of you who have sustained me and encouraged me to blog since 2005.

How do you find your work? Or better, how do you find working? Do you like working or do you want to escape from work? Would you rather do nothing or would you do something? Our work is very much integral in our faith. So this Sunday, we shall look closely at the things we do every day.

We hear in the Gospel today Jesus working, specifically He is healing a man born blind. During the time of Jesus, people believed that blindness - or any disease or handicap for that matter - indicated God’s punishment for a sin. So that the disciples naturally asked, “Rabbi, was it his sin or that of his parents that caused his blindness?” (John 9:2).

Jesus answered, “Neither was it a sin of either his parents or of himself. Rather, it was to let God’s works show forth in Him. We must do the deeds of Him who sent Me while it is day” (John 9:3-4). Therefore, Christ pointed out that in the healing of the sick, His work gave glory to God.

This tells us so much about the works of Jesus and how He works. By the “works of Jesus” is meant ALL His deeds. It means His supernatural deeds such as His miracles. Making the blind see, the lame walk and raising the dead to life are some examples of supernatural deeds. He also performs redemptive acts as forgiving sins and reforming sinners.

But, take note, it also includes His work as a skilled laborer. He works as a carpenter, and He is known by his neighbors as a laborer. We often overlook this. We think that God’s work is always the ‘great’ events. Think again. He earns His keep as we do today. He is very much like you and me. In theology we always say, that Jesus is 100% human and 100% divine. Not 50% this and 50% that.

We have to remember that when Jesus began his public ministry, He was 30 years old. It is most probable that before His baptism in the Jordan, Jesus was working as a carpenter, first with St. Joseph, and then by Himself after Joseph passed away.

In our lives today, we too participate in the divine work of Jesus. As parents, God makes you His instruments to establish and continue human life on earth. To rear your children wisely in the Lord is cooperating with the creative act of the Lord. As those in the health and medical profession, you establish the “order” in a person’s physical body which the illness has corrupted. So that the body is “well again” -- in the words of Genesis, that everything is “good.” As lawyers, you re-establish and re-affirm the right order of society as God created it to be. As those in the restaurant business, you mend broken relationships when people kiss and make up while enjoying their dinner. Whatever we do, in whatever trade, skill or profession, we always participate in God’s creative action by providing the goods of life or by distributing them for the welfare of humanity.

So we can ask ourselves: With the specific work that I have, how do I participate with the work of God? How do I not cooperate with Him? What factors contribute or not contribute to full and active participation?

Second, the works of Jesus are always attune with the will of the Father. Every single deed is within the wavelength of God. This is a brought about by daily prayer. Jesus cooperates with His Father; His will is united to His Father’s will. He said, “My Father is at work until now, and I am at work as well” (John 5:16).

But surrendering to the will of the Father is not without struggle. Remember Gethsemane, He prayed to God, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26: 39). See how He submits His will to the Father!

In our daily tasks, we contribute to the redemption of the universe. Every day we find opportunities to practice faith, hope and charity; or we find situations to live a life of justice, prudence, prayer, peace or temperance. In our work places, there are missed opportunities because we are afraid of what people will say to us. In a culture where graft and corruption is accepted, people who wanted to do what is right are often ridiculed as “self-righteous” or “holier-than-thou.” In unjust structures, the right thing becomes counter-cultural.

Today, we can also reflect on these questions: How did I respond to opportunities to sanctify our lives? And how did I not respond to them? What inspires or prevents me from surrendering my will to the Father?

Finally, the deeds of Jesus glorify God that the crowds return to their homes praising and glorifying God. Every single deed of Christ therefore reveals God’s perfection. And when it is manifested, we experience God. In his letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul writes, “The fact is that whether you eat or drink -- whatever you do --- you should do all for the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31). As Christ works in ourselves and in the world, so do we also work for the glory of God.

Aside from your ‘pious practices’ how do people see God’s glory in your daily and mundane deeds? How do you reflect the qualities of God in your actions?

Our work gives dignity and honor to ourselves. The more our works are united with the will of God, the more we become who we are meant to be --- as children of God. And so we encourage everyone to work, the way Jesus works. He said, “We must do the deeds of Him who sent Me” (John 9:3).

Are You at Peace?

2011-03-25T01:15:00.002+08:00

27 March 2011 Third Sunday of Lent
Exodus 17: 3-7; Psalm 95; Rom 5:1-8; John 4: 5-42

Note: This is a scheduled post. Every article for the 2011 Sundays of Lent and Easter published in this blog has been written long before the 11th of March 2011, the beginning of my 30-day retreat. The rest will come out at the date and time I have programmed it in Blogger. A big favor to ask: please pray for 8 Jesuits, including myself, doing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. My prayers also for all of you who have sustained me and encouraged me to blog since 2005.

Today, let us take the message from the 2nd reading. St. Paul writes to the Romans. He said that we are justified by faith and are at peace with God through our Lord. St. Paul shows that the Old Testament promise of a Savior and a Messiah is realized in Christ. This is the message of the Transfiguration last Sunday. The greatest figures of the Old Testament are witnesses of the Transfiguration of Christ. Moses with the Law and Elijah with the prophets. By His sufferings and death, Christ conquered sin. And thus, St. Paul says that Christ then reconciles all people, justifies all of us, and therefore brings peace between us and God. Sin destroys our relationship with the Lord, and therefore, when sin is overcome, then our relationship with God is restored.

But we all know that sin is not completely destroyed in each one of us. The objective of Lent is to help us see the venom of our own sins and how it destroys our relationship with ourselves, with others, with nature and with God. During this struggle of ours, Christ is our peace if we trust and follow Him. This was the message last Sunday, God says to us, “This is my beloved Son, on whom my favor rests. Listen to Him” (Matt 17:5).

Christ then is our peace and the source of grace. Peace is the message of the life of Christ. When Christ was born, peace was announced by the angels. Peace was declared by the disciples as Christ entered Jerusalem in a triumphant procession which we will remember on Palm Sunday. Even when He was rejected at his birth in Bethlehem or by the people in Jerusalem, He continued to offer peace.

He always say, “Go in peace” as a sign of farewell to those He has healed. “Go in peace” was His admonition that accompanied the grace of forgiveness when He absolved the sinner. In the name of peace, Christ commissioned his disciples to advance the frontiers of God’s kingdom when He sent the disciples to the towns and on His ascension into heaven. (Incidentally, do you recognize “Go in peace” at mass and at the Sacrament of Reconciliation?)

Where do we find this peace? St. Paul says that Christ is our peace because He establishes this peace in our hearts. He has reconciled us to God and to each other. And therefore, we cannot find peace until our hearts rests in God (St. Augustine).

When Paul wrote to the Ephesians, He said, “It is He who is our peace, and who made the two of us one by breaking down the barrier of hostility that kept us apart ... reconciling both of us to God in one body through his cross, which put that enmity to death. He came and announced to the good news of peace to you who were far off, and to those who were near” (Eph 2: 14, 16, and 17).

In our hearts, the peace of Christ is stable. It does not rely on any other element but reconciliation with each other. Only when we are united in the Holy Spirit, with one heart and soul, do we find this peace since we are the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts: “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given us” (Rom 5:5). And by sharing His life, we have a stable peace: “Live in harmony and peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Cor 13:11).

In our lives, we are therefore encouraged to cooperate with this peace that the Lord has given in our hearts. We are to imitate God as a peacemaker (Matt 5:9). To do the best that we can to establish peace in the world is to imitate God. And thus, in the interest of peace, we use our time and talents to establish unity and tranquility in people’s lives.

This is very relevant in a world of war and conflict. Think of the unrest in this world and how a country in conflict affects others. Think Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt or Libya. Think of civil strife. Think of discontentment in our government. Reflect on disunity and disillusionment in the Church. Reflect on destroyed or strained relationships within our organizations and personal circles.

By working for peace, we can lead others to God. By working for people who are “not at peace” because of several reasons such as illnesses, hurts, or poverty, we can somehow help by visiting and providing opportunities to have someone to talk to. We can work to help those suffering from environmental calamities as a result of global warming. We can work for justice before God, by overcoming sin that always disturbs and destroys us. Or we can help restore justice in our society.

We can use this Season of Lent to ask this question: When have I become a source of peace? And when have I become a source of conflict and division? What have I done or have been doing to restore peace in the world, or in our own personal worlds, today?

Live in Hope

2011-03-18T01:15:00.001+08:00

20 March 2011. 2nd Sunday of Lent
Gen 12:1-4; Psalm 33; 2 Tim 1:8-10; Matthew 17:1-9

Note: This is a scheduled post. Every article published in this blog has been written long before the 11th of March 2011, the beginning of my 30-day retreat. The rest will come out at the date and time I have programmed it in blogger. A big favor to ask: please pray for 8 Jesuits, including myself, doing the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. My prayers also for all of you who have sustained me and encouraged me to blog since 2005.

Last Sunday, the first sunday of Lent, we heard of the temptations of Jesus. We were encouraged to do likewise, to overcome our temptations in our lives. But we know now, that it is not easy to refuse the offers of Satan. It is even difficult to be aware of some temptations, much more so, it is challenging to refuse the evil spirit’s various seductions. Our lives witness to many failures in this difficult task, by the repetitive and ‘favorite’ sins we confess at the Sacraments.

Today, the Gospel about the Transfiguration of Jesus gives us the hope and encouragement we need to continue on our journey. Pilgrims will find it very difficult to move on if they don’t know where their going. By persevering in overcoming temptations and enduring our sufferings, we hope to transfigure our lives by the grace of our Lord.

Before the Transfiguration, our Lord predicts his passion and death. Matthew says, “From then on, Jesus started to indicate to his disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly there at the hands of the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be put to death, and raised up on the third day” (16:21). This shocked the disciples because it is different from their concept of the Messiah who was thought to be like a victorious king, as David, who will liberate Israel from the oppression of Rome. And therefore, in the minds of the disciples and the people, for the Messiah to be handed over to the Gentiles for punishment is a total disgrace and destruction of what they popularly thought a Messiah to be.

And so, the disciples needed an assurance in the future that He is indeed the Messiah, the Son of God, though not in their frame of mind, but in the mold of the mind of God. By witnessing to the Transfiguration, they are assured that Jesus is indeed the Son of God. They are witnesses to the glory of the Divine and Human Jesus as they have seen the face of Christ shine like the sun (Matthew 17:2) and the clothes of Christ are as bright as light (Matthew 17:3). After the event of the Transfiguration, the Apostles gave testimony of its truth to others (Matthew 17:9).

What is the effect of the Transfiguration to the Apostles? It simply become the cause of their hope in Christ. Thus the memory of the Transfiguration sustains the Apostles in the darkest moments of Christ’s suffering and death, and their own pains and sorrows in their future mission. In addition, it confirms who really is Jesus. Peter’s answer, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God” (Matt. 16:16) is confirmed by the Transfiguration.

In our lives today, the Transfiguration brings us hope. By trusting in the word of the disciples who were the witnesses and the Word of God in Scripture, we know that our faith in Jesus is true. This is important when there are many anti-Christ or anti-Christianity movements (though some parade themselves as pro-humanity). They may not deny Christ, but water down or deny His Divinity. Thus, the Transfiguration gives us hope that indeed there is meaning and importance in our struggle to overcome temptations and enduring our sufferings.

Second, it tells us that our suffering for Christ in our lives is a participation in His sufferings. We sometimes tell ourselves that we offer whatever we endure in trying to become a good Christian to the Lord. We now know that suffering is the path to glory. That our efforts at studying is the sure path to success. That our travails of our work for our family or our future is the way to a secure future. That the cross that comes in our loving leads towards the resurrection. St. Paul said, “I consider the sufferings of the present to be as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed to us” (Rom 8:18).

Finally, the Transfiguration becomes our goal in our pilgrimage here on earth, therefore it becomes the destination in our lives. A person on a journey is given much encouragement when we know where we are going. The same thing in every endeavor that we do: if we know the why of every single project or work, we are inspired to exert greater effort when we grow tired and weary. A student who walks in life with a purpose will find studying meaningful than a someone without a goal.

The same things when we practice virtue. In the Season of Lent, when we grow tired and discouraged in being good or in trying to live a true Christian life, it would be profitable to reflect on the Transfiguration. Here we know that to be a Christian means to be transfigure into the likeness of Christ, as Genesis reminds us, that we are made in God’s image and likeness.

And so today, gaze on the Lord who is Transfigured and never to turn your eyes away from Jesus, the Son of God. St. Paul urges us to live in hope when he says, “And this hope will not leave us disappointed, because the love of God has been poured in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom 5:5).

Live in hope. Listen to Him (Matt. 17:5).

The Test of Freedom

2011-03-13T05:26:00.003+08:00

13 March 2011 1st Sunday of Lent
Genesis 2: 7-9, 3:1-7; Psalm 51; Romans 5: 12-19; Matthew 4:1-11

Note. This is a scheduled post. Blogger publishes this entry at the date I intended it to come out in my blog. Please pray for us, 8 Jesuits, making the 30-Day Retreat, the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.

We begin with an anthropology of what we are in the view of Christianity: we are most human when we serve, praise and reverence God (Principle and Foundation, Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius of Loyola). We sometimes refer to this when we say that the glory of God is humanity fully alive -- but when? When we behold the face of God and do God’s will. And therefore, our understanding of original sin is having the ability of a created being to deny God. It is possible for each one of us to make a choice for God or our self.

Grace does not force our will, so that everything that we do is motivated by our love for God. Thus, in every turn, we are tempted in order for us to make a choice: to curtail or impede our freedom or to respect our very humanity.

There are two dictionary meanings of the word, temptation. First, to tempt means to seek to seduce into evil. To tempt means to lure people to sin. To tempt is better envisioned like a seductress to a man, or a seducer to woman. To tempt means to persuade one to enter into an illicit relationship. In Scripture, however, the verb peirazein is often better translated by the word, test.

In the Old Testament, we read the story of Abraham and Isaac, when God tested the loyalty of Abraham by seeming to demand the sacrifice of his only son. The passage goes, “And it came to pass that God did tempt Abraham” (Genesis 22:1). Obviously, the word tempt as to seduce to sin, cannot be used here because it is something God would never do --- to lead one into sin. It means rather, that Abraham has to submit to a test of loyalty and obedience.

In its New Testament usage, to tempt a person is not so much to seduce him or her to sin, as in the first meaning, but to test his strength, loyalty and his ability for service. In the Temptations of Jesus, it is said, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1). If we take again the word tempt here as in the first meaning as to lead one to sin, it means that the Holy Spirit is partner in the attempt to compel Jesus to sin.

Thus, in the Bible, to tempt has the idea of testing, to test one’s loyalty and obedience, to test one’s strength. Here is one precious truth about temptations. Temptation is not designed to make us fall. Temptation is designed to make us stronger and better persons. Temptation is not designed to make us sinners. It is designed to make us good, and to make us holier. We may fail the test, but we are not meant to. We are meant to emerge stronger, with much dignity and worth. Temptation is not so much our penalty, but our glory. If a metal is to be used for bridges, the metal is tested at stresses and strains far beyond those which it likely has to bear.

So how should we regard temptations? Take it as a challenge: the object is not to yield, but overcome it. It is like talent shows with judges to critique like the Master Chef, American Idol or Pilipinas Got Talent. Their harsh words is suppose to coax the contestant to give out the very best.

There are four steps to face temptations. First, you must not be weakened by your situation. For example, if you are already handsome and intelligent, you could easily yield to the temptation of being seduced. Second, you must not be deceived by the persuasion. You see your tempter will have the right words and will be very persuasive. “Sige na, by doing this you will prove you really care for me.” “Ngayon lang. Sa susunod wala na.” “Nalulungkot kasi ako, maiintindihan naman ng Diyos.” Baits can come each day--- the internet, television, magazines or peer pressure.

Third, you must not be gentle with your emotions. Huwag alagaan ang mga nararamdaman, huwag magpapadala sa emosyon! Often at the peak of our emotions, we decide and act what we will soon regret. St. Ignatius gives this advice: Don’t decide when you are at extremes--- too happy or too sad, too angry or super so kilig.

Finally, you must not be confused with the immediate results. You may lose your friends. You may lose your lover. You may lose acceptance in a group or be ridiculed. I suggest, then so be it: we do it in the principle that our loyalty is first and primarily to Christ and no one else. We owe it to who we really are--- as a child of God--- and to our family. Most of all, you owe it to God.

And so when we use our freedom, understood as the ability to make a choice for God (not one’s self), then we become better human beings. If we yield to temptation, failing the test and violating our freedom, we become deformed.

Jesus, in the Gospel today, sets the example of how to become fully alive. In the first Sunday of Lent, it is good to know what we are meant to be.

A Common Day of Mourning

2011-03-12T02:51:00.004+08:00

9 March 2011 Ash Wednesday
Joel 2:12-18; Psalm 51; 2 Cor 5:20-6:2; Matthew 6:1-18

There are varied ways in Catholic Rites to celebrate the beginning of Lent. For many Catholic churches of the Eastern Rite such as the Orthodox Churches, they begin it two days ahead of us from the Roman or Latin Rite. So they started Lent last Monday, the 7th, while we begin it today, Wednesday. Lent means the same for all of us, but we place a significant attention to the biblical number of 40. Elijah and Jesus spent 40 days and nights of prayer and fasting in the desert.

Thus, Easter is 40 days from Ash Wednesday. We determine Easter by the day of the full moon in April, and then we count backwards to determine the time we mark ourselves with the cross on our foreheads.

The color of Lent is purple which is liturgically associated with mourning and repentance. In ancient times, fabrics dyed with this color were very expensive. Thus, the color was only accessible to the rich, and most especially associated with royalty. I guess today, when we celebrate liturgical seasons peppered with the theme of reconciliation such as Advent and Lent, we prepare ourselves for the death of royalty - our royalty - to order ourselves to the real Royalty, our God and King! These seasons of preparation redirects our attention to Jesus, at Christmas and Easter.

The Season of Lent is inseparable with Easter. It prepares and leads us to this peak of our faith. First, the sorrow of Lent in the symbol of the ash. In the Old and New Testament, a repentant sinner wears sackcloth and covers himself with ashes. The ash that is placed on our forehead symbolizes repentance. But these are outward signs of repentance. Ash Wednesday begins a journey of repentance, return to the Lord, and then supporting each other in this common enterprise of holiness.

The Lord tells us in the first reading that we should rend, not our clothes, but our hearts. We should return to the Lord with all our hearts, with fasting and weeping, begging on our knees for the Lord’s forgiveness and mercy. The kind of heart that is asked in the Lenten season is a contrite heart; its sorrow is deep and inward. We can call this feeling as a holy and blessed sorrow because this is about our relationship with God. It is not the tears that comes from an actor’s eyes, or from a broken-hearted, or from our experience of death and hurt. This time it is not about us as victims of pain; but us as the cause of another’s pain. It is about another, and this time, it is about God. It is a sorrow because we have hurt someone else and we would like to repair the damage that we have done. We cry because our relationship with another has been severed and it is constantly bleeding. We weep because we have contributed to the injustice in our society.

We are haunted by cultural and societal sins, meaning, we cannot wash our hands and say, I have not contributed to the perpetuation of discrimination, abuse, unrest, graft and corruption. When we hear the civil strife in Egypt and Libya, or scandalous corruption in the Philippine military, we know what we mean by societal evil. When Christians --- yes, not just Catholics --- put ashes on their forehead, we, as a community, declare a worldwide day of repentance. We acknowledge that our sins affect others.

Second, the return to the Father is the joy of Lent. This may come as a surprise, but it isn’t. It is like coming to home where we are assured of warmth. We look at our sins in the background of the love of God. We are sorry for our offenses because God continually loves us despite our unfaithfulness. That means when we repent, we know that God will forgive us because God is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger and rich in kindness.” Psalm 51 is a celebration of God’s mercy towards us. Mercy and a renewal of heart are guaranteed to those who sincerely asks for forgiveness. The Anglo-Saxon word for Lent is spring. Ash Wednesday marks the first day of our transition from winter to spring! Psalm 126 says, “May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy!” Thus, our joy comes from contrition and penance. In our lives, this is illustrated by the joy we experience when someone forgives us; when having offended our parents and being forgiven, we weep with comfort, relief and joy!

Thus, the meaning of Lent becomes profoundly true in view of spring, in view of Easter. The Gospel reminds us that we should not appear fasting like the hypocrites. Our faces should be washed clean like those with assured joy. It is a tragedy that many of us remain in Lent, and forget the joy of Easter. We think Christianity is centered on sorrow, and not on joy. This is why we have contributed to a dark and gloomy Christianity. We must not miss the point of repentance. We repent because we want to return to the embrace of God, as the son returns to his loving father in the parable of Jesus. It is therefore not an accident that we call the Season of Lent a celebration. Like all celebrations, the most successful event is a result of thorough preparation. Lent prepares us for the overwhelming joy of Easter.

Finally, the journey to the Father is not just done alone. We support each other because to be holy is difficult. Thus the role of the community is important, the way our social environment forms our moral behavior. Paul exhorts us that we should work together to receive the grace of God. Thus, we should help each other create the environment for repentance and re-formation. It can mean physical space like dried twigs on church altars, simple music for masses during Lent or communal participation in reconciliation services. It also means that we can encourage one another, that indeed this is the “acceptable time” to return to God. Many people come to Ash Wednesday mass because the hope in the possibility of returning to God is enkindled. There is in our hearts parts that we hold back and needs to be re-joined to God. Or for many, the time to once more strengthen one’s faith is created when members of the Christian community work together to make the Lenten Season meaningful. Ash Wednesday then is an acceptable time, the day of our salvation!

Shut Up!

2011-03-12T02:28:00.002+08:00

6 March 2011 9th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Deuteronomy 11:18-32; Psalm 31; Romans 3:21-28; Matthew 7:21-27

Jesus says in the Gospel today, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven." If not everyone, then some will. Who will then qualify? He continued, "only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven." Further on, He adds, "everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them."

In other words, there are prerequisites in being with God in heaven. First, we listen to God's words. Second, we find God's will for each one of us. He wants us to follow the teachings of Jesus such as those from the Sermon on the Mount (loving one’s enemies) and the Last Judgment (feeling the hungry, visiting the sick, etc).

Finally, we act on them according to our capacities and abilities. God wants us to live out the plan He had in mind for us when He created us. What is that plan? It is to use the talents God gave us, not for our own selfish agenda, but for the advancement of God’s Kingdom on earth. This is what we say when we pray the Our Father: “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

In our world today, to find the starting point of our actions---God's desire for each one of us---is proving to be challenging. The world today has a culture of talk. Everyone is encouraged to "speak up and be heard." The internet has various platforms to articulate and express our ideas, opinions and even rants about anything and everything. Mobile devices does not allow a waiting period to regurgitate our ideas before it comes out. We can text, call, chat, and post instantly from literally our hands.

It is easy then to claim that we are right; that we hold the truth; that we are in tune with God's will, while other people's take on an issue isn't. It is easier then to tell everyone, that we do call on the Lord, therefore, they should believe us. Especially when we hold some power: as celebrities, as personalities with cult followers on Twitter or Facebook.

The challenge then is not to speak up, but to shut up. To close our mouths, in order to quiet down, listen, pray, research, reflect and think before we speak up, post or tweet. God speaks in the quiet of our hearts. Unless we are trained to do these, many of our opinions will be baseless, our tweets useless, our blog posts contentless, and our statuses trite and trivial. Worse, we might feed spoiled information to people who might not have the time to verify what you say because they have held on to your word by virtue of your personality.

And if our house, as the Gospel tells us, is built on sand, we expect it to crumble when the storms come. Sadly it is already happening in a culture of meaninglessness and hopelessness. As we approach the Season of Lent beginning Ash Wednesday this week, we allow ourselves some time to shut up.

What Attracted You to the Faith?

2011-03-01T14:13:00.005+08:00

2 March 2011. Wednesday of the 8th Week in Ordinary Time
Sirach 36: 1-17; Psalm 79; Mark 10: 32-45

What attracted you to the faith? Yes, I know, I was like you: I was baptized when I was an infant. But there was a point in our lives when, we had to own the faith. We were initially ‘seduced’ into it by some things which we think was important.

Believe it or not, I was attracted to the Jesuits because of food and music. Shocked? Yes, no matter how shallow, that was the truth. I didn’t know about the Jesuits until high school because I was raised in a Franciscan parish; educated by the Benedictines in grade school and then the Dominicans in high school. What began as a prospect of fun and adventure in a city two hours away from home, ended with me following God’s call.

It first began with the meals the Jesuits offered during the Vocation seminar in Naga. I loved the food! And then, the event ended with a mass. In the liturgy, I discovered the songs I loved to play at our parish were composed by Jesuits. St. Augustine said that God’s grace builds on one’s nature. St. Ignatius said that God begins from where we are. What these great figures of spirituality said were true to me.

Good thing, I was not alone. Some were attracted to the Church because of the promise of healing. Some were attracted by power and fame. Some were attracted by the opportunity of being known in the community. Business-owners in Quiapo, Philippines, clamored to have the image of the Black Nazarene turn to their stores during the January procession for a year of luck. In addition, I knew of some choir members who first began their service because their crush was there. Never mind. Never undermine the power of God.

The apostles, James and John, for all their leadership in the growth of the Christian faith, fell into something like that. After Jesus explanation and description of His impending suffering and death, James and John totally missed what Jesus was saying. They wanted Jesus to grant them a place in His glory. (In another Gospel, it was their mother who requested this.) They do not know what they were asking.

To some extent today, we are like James and John. We do not know what we are asking. We do somehow miss the objective of our faith. To be like Jesus means to carry our cross and follow Him. To be a Christian means to serve the whole of humanity. Discipleship is following the way of the cross of Jesus in faith, through the service to all. To suffer is a large part of the mission; but it doesn’t deny we do experience deeper happiness in the very struggle within it.

From experience, the cross purifies whatever impure or trivial motivations we have. There are those who easily bail out of the Church when they begin to experience pain within it. There are those who have experienced rejection, scandal, discouragement, disillusionment, or disappointments in the leadership of those in the Church.

But there are those who stayed. After missing the point, they learn, eventually, to get the point. James and John promised Jesus that they are willing to drink from the cup. And they have. Despite the stupidity of some of our leaders, many of us have bravely and courageously stayed and struggled within the Church.

Gone are the days when we thought that being a Catholic or a Christian is to be dining with nice friends in a banquet hall filled with good music. We are not anymore in the clouds, expecting everyone to agree or do what we think is the right thing to do. It is sometimes hard to think that there are more people who will not agree with us, including those whom we believe are educated enough to think what is compassionately right.

Are You Burdened?

2011-03-01T12:50:00.003+08:00

27 February 2011 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 49:14-15; 1 Cor 4:1-5; Matthew 6: 24-34

There is a lesson we can pick up from my family. Two uncles claim that they have taken the wrong course in their lives. The eldest wanted to become a lawyer, but was forced to take medicine because a doctor gives a family prestige and honor. He bailed out after a few years and became a manager. The youngest, wanted to take medicine, but my grandfather said that he should follow his footsteps, so he took law.

My dad, on the other hand, was independent-minded and stubborn. So, he took what he wanted: agriculture. Since he was happy with it, he raised us to follow our hearts. So far, my brothers and sisters are satisfied following their dreams. Oh, and I am too. Very much.

These raises some questions.

Have you ever felt tired of doing what other people require you to do? Have you ever felt that you are just ‘going through the motions’ like an automated machine or a hotel receptionist with a ready smile when a guest comes in? Have you ever felt that the ‘persona’ you project at work is different from the real you? Or simply, are you so confused about your situation that you feel your heart is divided between what you have to do and what you really want to do?

If your answer to these questions is yes, or moving towards a nod, then perhaps it is time to ask sincerely about whom or what we serve. You might be serving two masters; or at least, trying to give 100% of our one and only life to two things (which is impossible, as Jesus says in the Gospel today).

Unfortunately, for most of us, we are forced to face this choice once a tragedy befalls us or when our values are threatened. If a child of yours tells you that he or she does not want to run the family business which you have painfully put up, what would you say? Your business or your child’s happiness? Or, what would you choose, a well-paying job or a work you are inspired to do, but it not at par with the pay of the former? In the spiritual plane, God’s will or something else?

Second, everything will fall into place after we decide on what or who governs our lives. Jesus said, “Do not worry... Your heavenly Father knows that we need (these things) but seek first the Kingdom of God ... and all these things will be given to you.”

Many of us have experienced some tragedy or failure in our lives, some to a greater extent. When a setback happens, our reaction is usually worry and anger. If God is good, why did He allow this to happen?!!! We would vent out our frustrations and disappointments on God. Sometimes it is good to accept that these things happen. I know this is such a strong statement to blog, but (put all of your frustrations into one simple sentence), indeed, _ _ _ _ happens! I remember one actress who said, “It is not the burden you carry that breaks you, but how you carry it.”

Check nature. One of the my favorite shells is the Venus comb murex. They have spikes, some of them long. In college, I collected shells. I always wondered why the spikes didn’t break up easily with the lash of the waves on rocks on the beach. The reason is simple: they rode with the waves. The same thing, we just have to accept that misfortunes do happen. The difference is in how we face them.

We know that many of our burdens overload us because some are unnecessary. If you have two masters, you carry both of them.

The Gospel tells us that to unburden ourselves, we must be aware that we cannot serve two masters. We have to decide on only one, and put all of our effort to it. (I hope you choose God.) And all other things will fall in place.

For Fr. Pedro Arrupe, SJ, the former General of the Society of Jesus, he said that “what or whom we are in love with, will decide what we will do daily.” So he said, “Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.”

Is it possible to see God's grace outside of our walls?

2011-02-22T11:19:00.002+08:00

23 February 2011 Memorial of St. Polycarp, bishop and martyr
Sirach 4:12-22; Psalm 118; Matthew 9: 38-40

The readings today is particularly important in evaluating our 'exclusive' tendencies. This closed mentality is what Jesus calls the "yeast of the Pharisees." The disciple John complains about other people who do not belong to their group, but nevertheless perform miracles by driving out demons in Jesus' name. To John, no one, other than those within their circle, has the right to do what Jesus commanded.

Jesus took the opportunity to teach the disciples to veer away from the closed and ancient mentality of the "chosen people" - to be the chosen people was seen as an exclusivity, a monopoly of God.

But Jesus responds, "You must not stop him; no one who works a miracle in my name could speak against me. Anyone who is not against us is for us." (Mark 9,40)

Jesus widens our horizons. He wants us to realize that God's grace also operates outside of the walls of our groups, organizations, congregations, political views. That God's grace is not bound by our own categories.

To me this has some implications.

Within the Church, what is your attitude towards people who are also Catholics, but do not worship the same way as you do? For example, if you like the Latin rite, do you look down on those who prefer the vernacular? If you like pre-Vatican liturgical music, what is your attitude towards pop liturgical music that makes the young sing?

On certain gray areas in terms of our moral lives, what is your attitude towards co-Catholics who may not agree with your stance? Do you make a general and sweeping statement that they are of the devil? What if they have decided on a clear conscience a stand which is not the same as yours, do you condemn them to hell?

The stance of Jesus also has ecumenical implications on exclusivity. In the Church's document on dialogue with our Christian brothers and sisters, do you reach out to them also, or are you hostile to them - even if they have hostile tendencies to Catholicism? Even if they have openly criticized our practices on public television? Is it possible to still see that they too do good in Jesus' name?

I admit that the Church lacked proper catechism. The 2nd Plenary Council of the Philippines said that our faith is uninformed. Though genuine, our faith has been maintained by popular piety. There are many who have not had bible studies. When some Catholics transfer to another sect, where they get the biblical studies that we have not offered to them, and in turn, they lived a good Christian life according to the teachings of Jesus, who are we to judge that that is not God's grace?

- Posted by Jboy Gonzales SJ using BlogPress. Copyright 2011.

Location:Allende,Mexico City,Mexico

How to Love An Enemy

2011-02-18T14:42:00.002+08:00

20 February 2011 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lev 19:1-2, 17-18; 1 Cor 3:16-23; Matthew 5: 38-48

On 15 December 2010, Sr. Angelita receives the news of the murder of her mother and sister in their house. Her sister worked in a labor union in Mexico. But she doesn't know who actually killed them. She said that in Mexico, you will never know who kills people. There are many cases that crimes are committed by the police or those they protect.

One of the hardest commandment to live by is to love our enemies. To Jesus, loving our enemies is the mark of the Christian. It would distinguish us from the others. But it is not without difficulty. It is radical and violent to our natural tendencies of self-preservation. It is almost impossible. I really mean the adverb, almost. Because, if it is impossible, then Jesus is unrealistic.

The objective of loving our enemies can be seen in the word Jesus used for 'love' - agape. Agape is the love we accord to someone because of their humanity. It is different from eros or philia when love is intimate. Agape is to give the person what is due. It is not expected, therefore, that we love our enemies as we love our closest friends and family. If you were given the grace of loving them like family, then praise be to God!

If we find it almost impossible to love our enemies, what do we do? What do we do when someone betrays us? How do you handle a painful situation? How do you forgive? If you are in Sr. Angelita's shoes, would you pray for the perpetrators? These are the questions we have to face squarely if we are serious in following Jesus. These are the questions in the mind and heart of Sr. Angelita.

Let me begin with a personal knowledge of God: He is extremely intelligent. So He will not ask us to do the impossible, without giving the grace for us to perform it. In Jesuit circles, we call it 'the grace of office' - God will give you the grace you need to do His mission.

So first thing to do is to ask for the grace of forgiveness. Usually, we do not want to ask for this grace because our natural tendency is NOT to pray for them. I know what this mean, it is easier just to ignore them even in prayer; we would feel guilty if we wish them evil. Deep in our hearts, we also know that if evil befalls them, we would rejoice or, to the prim and proper, smirk and say, "That's God's punishment" or "That's what they deserve."

But Jesus does not want us to ignore them, because He himself prayed for them at the cross. In the very midst of suffering by His enemies, He said, "Lord, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing." This same Jesus who gave us the command to love our enemies gives us the grace to obey His command. All we have to do is to ask for it. Do you want to ask for it?

When I was a teacher, I used to bring my class record to prayer. In all honesty, some students you like, some you don't. Some like you; some also don't. Nevertheless, you have to treat them as equally as possible. There are students who are unruly. So I would focus on the students whom I find difficult to deal with and then pray for their welfare. Somehow in praying for their good, I began to like and eventually love them. It became easier to understand them and then to treat them well.

This is the second thing we can do. When we want to change a negative attitude toward a person, we pray for their well-being. Somehow their dislikability changes.

The third is something I particularly experience as a priest, but not exclusively for us. When people I don't understand come to confession, I get another perspective on them. And they seem to be different to me after the Sacrament. When people begin to share their inmost thoughts and personal stories in venues like a prayer group, somehow our negative reaction to them changes. We see them in a different light.

When we are able to do these three things, we would see enemies, not as foes, but as human beings. And thus, love them as agape. We see them as God sees them.

When Ninoy Aquino said, "The Filipino is worth dying for" - he meant all, including those who wished his death. When Jesus died on the cross, He also lived the same thing: all, including those who persecute Him, are worth dying for.

The Power of Kindness

2011-02-12T18:36:00.003+08:00

13 February 2011 Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sirach 15:15-20; Psalm 119; 1 Cor 2:6-10; Matthew 5:20-37

Carlos is 52 years old. He is a recovering alcoholic and drug dependent. He has been in the streets of Mexico for 22 years. What has pushed him to leave home is resentment. As a child, his mother didn't show any affection to him. His father, a drunkard, was violent. The streets of the city has given him peace more than his home. But it has also destroyed his life.

Anger has wrecked many relationships and fueled many to throw their lives into the pit. Listening to various stories in that sharing group in Mexico City, I realize that many, if not all of us, have been in a situation of anger. The resentments we continually carry have scenes of being insulted, bullied, betrayed or hurt. And these forms of anger show their ugly heads in situations we are unaware of. Take for example the rage in the middle of a traffic jam. Rage is not commensurate to the situation. Take another example: we flare up and lose our cool when a partner in the office forgets to clean up at the snack room. What we don't know is that our over reaction is a cumulative effect of past angers.

Why is there so much anger around and in us? Why do we spend so much energy on rage? What if we expend these energies on kindness than on anger? Can kindness be the answer to many problems in our lives?

The Gospel today is taken from the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus urges us to show kindness to one another. He even suggests to 'turn the other cheek' when someone treats us barbarously. Jesus, as we all know, walks his talk. He shows kindness to sinners. He is compassionate and merciful to his enemies especially on the cross.

Kindness blesses the person to whom we are kind. It even has a greater power to change us and to change others. Look back and zero in on an act of kindness you've shown to others. What do you feel remembering it? Focus on a friend who has shown kindness to you, what feelings do it evoke? Memories of kindness give us satisfaction. They bring a smile to our faces.

Now let us focus on the positive changes in our lives. Many of our achievements and growths have been wrought by a collective cultivation of people who cared for us. What do you think would have happened if Carlos grew up in a loving and caring home? Kindness not only brings happiness to those involved but can even work miracles in our lives. Kind words are like magic: it can make you do the things we are too lazy to do.

Furthermore, kindness is a power we all have, rich or poor. It is a resource that is at the disposal not just of a single person but also of organizations and nations. It is a supply that is unlimited.

I met Marta at the park of Indios Verdes also in Mexico City. She was homeless. She told us that she left home when her husband cheated on her. His only biological son was in a mental facility. In the park, she took care of her 'son' - another homeless man she met in the park. Juan, who also attended the sharing group with Carlos, had been on the streets for 34 years. He said he had been sober for 5 months. His foot, rotting from gangrene was regularly cleaned by Marta. Her kindness had helped him avoid alcohol.

Carlos and Marta are the poorest of the poor. But they discovered that they have a supply of kindness that continually overflows. What is more amazing is that the more we give of kindness, the more there is to give.

On the day before Valentines, let us focus on this one great aspect of love by asking ourselves how much kindness is present in our lives and how much of it is manifested in our relationships.

Can food make you sinful?

2011-02-07T10:10:00.004+08:00

9 February 2011 Wednesday of the 5th week in Ordinary Time
Genesis 2: 4-17; Psalm 104; Mark 7: 14-23

Catholics have abandoned diet restrictions for religious reasons. Pork that was associated with pagan rituals in the Old Testament has been allowed for us for many centuries, while some religions have maintained it. The conversion of many people from different races and culture has petered down any uniform rule on what not to eat. The Gospel tells us why.

Jesus said that what defiles us is not what comes into our mouths, but what is in our hearts. Pork or blood from different animals considered unclean will not make us unworthy of worship. Genesis in the first reading tells us that everything God made is good. Every single creation is meant to nurture life.

We are challenged by the Lord today to look into the very roots of our sinful patterns. He challenges us to discover how our inordinate attachments to people, career, status, needs, desires, or material things lead us to sin. Our unexamined interior life contributes to the undesirable aspects of our character. Eventually they affect the very relationships that matter. Including the bond we have with God.

Be as Christ's Light

2011-02-05T13:02:00.005+08:00

6 February 2011 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 58: 7-10; 1 Cor 2: 1-5; Matthew 5:13-16

There are ways in which we become witnesses of Jesus. We can let His light shine through us. We can live out His teaching. And we can suffer for Christ when His teaching is ignored or attacked by people around us.

One of my favorite teachers did not teach me in class. He couldn’t speak because he suffered a stroke and he was paralyzed. Most of his words were “yes,” “no,” “Ok!” Before his heart attack, he was teaching at the Loyola School of Theology. He was a musician; he responded to the liturgical reform of Vatican II in the late 60s. He composed many mass songs in Filipino. He was Fr. Eduardo Hontiveros SJ. I played his compositions at mass when I was in high school. Realizing the songs was composed by a Jesuit, I was intrigued.

Years after, I encountered him at Loyola House of Studies after taking my vows in the novitiate. But then, his speech was already impaired. Nevertheless, he was audacious: he did not allow his physical disability to stop him from composing. He used a computer to articulate his heart and his faith. When I was working at the Jesuit Music Ministry, he would stop by and give us a copy of his songs. What moved me most was a serene surrender to the Lord. I cannot remember an encounter with him without a smile.

Fr. Eddie Hontiveros SJ’s life is a good description of what Jesus means when He called us to witness to him. We are the light of the world. We are the salt of the earth. The light shines brightly for everyone in darkness. Salt gives taste to bland food.

His life is like Paul’s in the second reading. Fr. Eddie’s life is a “demonstration of Spirit and power” (1 Cor 2). To me, it is a witness that his “faith does not rest on human wisdom but on God’s power.”

When we were baptized, our parents and godparents held candles to symbolize the light of Christ. In succeeding sacraments, candles are used to remind us that it is the light of Christ in our lives that we illuminate before others. With Christ’s light, our lives are not to be kept hidden. Through us, Christ gives taste to our otherwise bland and banal lives. This is the meaning of AMDG (ad majorem Dei gloriam) which Jesuit-trained students traditionally write above the top margin of an exam paper: whatever we do, it is for God’s greater glory!

Moreover, we also witness to Jesus when we stand up to His teaching when it is threatened and rejected.

In the halls of government, only a brave few would not succumb to the peer pressure of accepting bribes. A fresh graduate came to me regularly for spiritual direction. He said that he was very much disturbed by the corruption that had become an acceptable norm in his department. One day, he did not accept an “extra payment” to speed up the resolution of a land dispute in favor of a government official. His officemates accused him of being “holier-than-thou” pretending that he was far righteous than them. Eventually, the incident earned him their ire.

That is the same thing when a student does not allow friends to copy answers in an exam. Peer pressure often bullies a good student to become a cheat.

Fr. Al Nudas SJ was also one of my best teachers. He taught me English and composition in Juniorate in 1991-1992. He was articulate and a very persuasive speaker. He taught at the University of the Philippines. But he died losing his voice. It must have been great suffering. Another life of surrender. However, his words became a guiding tenet to me: “To provoke people to think by our works and our lives is already great service.”

So today’s readings challenge us to question the extent of our witnessing to Jesus. To what extent are we letting Him shine through us? By witnessing to Christ, we also strengthen and encourage those who are also struggling to be better. The Responsorial Psalm says that the “The just person is a light in darkness to the upright.” (Psalm 112)

Do we suffer for Him and His teaching? Or, do we weaken the ability of others to witness to Christ? Do we make the good suffer?

Let Mutual Love Continue

2011-02-03T14:56:00.001+08:00

4 February 2011 Friday of the 4th week in Ordinary Time
Hebrews 13: 1-8; Psalm 27; Mark 6: 14-29

"Let mutual love continue... Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment, and of the I'll-treated as of yourselves, for you also are in the body." Hebrews 13: 1-3

Eliseo worked in the Middle East for 8 years as a construction worker. He sent his hard-earned income to his wife for their family. On one of his visits to the Philippines, he saw his wife in bed with another. In rage, he murdered his wife, but her lover was able to escape. Convicted now, Eliseo serves his sentence at the National Penitentiary where I served as assistant chaplain.

I do not have a similar experience as Eliseo, but I understand the deep pain and anger of betrayal. Our individual experiences are never the same. We respond to the environment differently. Our background and contexts are unique from each other. So it is said that our personal experiences cannot be contested.

But listening to Eliseo's story sure got me hooked and engrossed. I 'lost' myself in his sharing that I felt the layers of feelings in his heart as if they too were mine.

We are capable of empathy. We have the ability to understand the feelings of another. Such that we can share in each other's burdens and relief, sorrow and joy, sacriﬁces and successes. Thus, when someone is grieving over the loss of a loved one, we can deeply identify with them especially if we have analogous, though not the same, experience. This is how mutual love continues: when we share our hearts with one another.

When Jesus hears of the death of His cousin, John the Baptist, we can somehow read "between the lines" of Scripture. Not everything is written: but we can glean that Jesus is saddened by it. We can imagine the twitching and perhaps the welling of tears in His eyes. Maybe, He is speechless at ﬁrst, then looks down, sits and covers His face. We can empathize with Jesus and perhaps the disciples of John. When we share the pain of Jesus, then we are able to know and love the person of Jesus. Our experience of Jesusbecomes truly personal.

But Jesus' experience of imprisonment is not superﬁcial. He knows what it means to have a cousin, friend and precursor in prison. He knows the experience of a death sentence. He himself died as a criminal on the cross. He knows betrayal ﬁrst hand from Judas and Peter. Thus, He is truly one with Eliseo, except sin.

The same thing in our lives. We can 'continue' our mutual love for each other if we listen and share each other's lives. We do not know individuals in Egypt, but we are affected by the violent protests there today. We are not physically present in Egypt, but we can genuinely say that the unrest must stop because many lives are in danger.

Thus, we can also participate with whatever we can do: raise awareness of the issue, express our opinions through social networks so that our voices are also heard and the more, not the least, that we can do is to pray. God is NOT the least and last resort. Jesus knows the mob and what it can do.

When the Light Goes Out

2011-01-22T00:04:00.004+08:00

23 January 2011 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 8:23 - 9:3; Psalm 17; 2 Cor 1: 10-13.17; Matthew 4:12-17

In the summer of 2009, I made my second entry into Sagada, a scenic and pretty town in the Mountain Province of the Philippines. It is characterized by the abundance of flowers, dramatic limestone peaks and a panoramic view of the valley. It stood about 1,500 meters above sea level, thus the climate was fresh and cooled by altitude. It was a place for adventurers and those who just wanted a quiet respite from the bustle of city life. I went there with a bunch of Jesuits who had just finished their annual retreat. While plying the little nooks and crannies of Sagada, we decided to go spelunking in Sumaguing cave. I was claustrophobic, and so I knew what might happen down there.

And it did happen. I was underneath a narrow stalactite passage when all lights went off. I was first in line and suddenly, I couldn’t breath. I panicked! I could not return because there was a long line following me. I just had to move on. But without light, it would be very difficult. Then one of the Jesuits said, “someone from up there will bring the light.” It brought me some hope.

My experience illustrates the meaning of the readings today. From both Isaiah and Matthew, they tell us the meaning of the coming of Jesus in our lives.

“The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light; on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death, light has arisen.”

Indeed, the coming of the Lord is like my experience in the Sumaguing cave. How many of us have scary and terrifying situations when the “light” in our lives just went off? When we have been left in a ‘narrow passage’ and there was no way to go and no light to guide us?

A few months ago, the onset of diabetes had been greatly felt. My bloodsugar would go haywire and I was in a state of ‘darkness.’ When my father died in 1990, a period of darkness fell on my family. When I was working in prison, the verdict was the time when all possibilities of a free life went out for the inmates. I heard many stories of people who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and literally, the ‘lights went out’ for them. To many of my friends, the rejection of a loved one was hurting that they felt like ‘dying.’ For some students, when their grades did not meet the requirement of their scholarships, their world went down the drain.

When tragedy strikes us, we remember Isaiah and Matthew: “The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light; on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death, light has arisen.” Sometimes we just have to repeat and repeat this passage in Scriptures to assure us that light is coming. And indeed, He comes.

But we also hear of success stories of those whose light has gone out. Some have even made their lives far better than before: a new perspective on life, a realization of the people who matter, the acquisition of a renewed strength, the audacity to overcome limitations.

Today, we reflect: what’s your success story?

Basketball And Jesus

2011-01-19T15:47:00.003+08:00

21 January 2011 Memorial of St. Agnes
Hebrew 8: 6-13; Psalm 85; Mark 3: 13-19

If you’re in a sports event and the coach calls for ONLY 12 people, what do you think he is forming? Your guess is probably right: a basketball team. Each team consists of five players. In actual basketball, each team adds 7 more players on the bench in case of injury, foul or to give another player a chance to play and score. So, to form a basketball team, we need 12 people: 5 players and 7 on the bench.

It is not an accident that the Gospel today focuses on the number 12: Jesus appointed Twelve. In addition, it is not a typographical error that the first letter of the word, Twelve, is capitalized. Meaning, to choose 12 and not any other number is a deliberate choice of Jesus. Twelve is the number of Hebrew tribes that settled in the Promised Land. But Israel has been destroyed and all its people has been scattered. The dream of the Jews is a reunion of all who trace their roots to the twelve tribes of yore.

Just as a coach forms a team of 12 for basketball, so Jesus deliberately appoints Twelve to send out the message that He is forming a new Israel. The dream of restoration is now present in Jesus.

But forming a team of 12 has a purpose: to play basketball against another team. The purpose is to win and garner sports awards. Likewise, the Twelve are given a mission to accomplish. In the Gospel of Mark, it is “to be with Jesus, to be sent to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.”

The objective of the Apostles is still true today. We are Jesus’ disciples in this present world. How do we live out the mission given to the Twelve?

Let’s go back to the formation of a team. The coach holds the team together. That is why Jesus said that we are to be with Him. Before we are ministers of the Word of God, we are first and foremost disciples of Jesus. Our hearts are solely anchored or tied to Him.

Each player has a unique and specific role within the context of the team. Someone is to be the point guard, the off-guard, the center, the small forward, and the power forward. In the same way, the method we are to preach will be uniquely different from the manner another will spread the Word of God. We do not lose our identity in doing the mission of the Lord. But we are all working as a team in the same vineyard.

Driving out demons is a form of healing. Healing is an act of restoration or renewal. As disciples, are we agents of unity and wholeness? Do we gather people, or do we separate them? Do we strengthen and foster relationships or do we sever friendships and community life?

Jesus is inviting you into His team. Will you play?

Can You Break "God's Law" for a Person in Need?

2011-01-17T22:56:00.004+08:00

19 January 2011 Wednesday of the 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
Hebrews 7, 1-17; Psalm 110; Mark 3: 1-6

There are blatant sins. But there are sins which are seemingly right, but slowly kills the spirit. This is the sin of the hardhearted.

The Pharisees are not evil. They want what we all dream in a civilized society. Civilization is characterized by organization, order and the law that keeps that order. To follow the rules keeps the peace in a society that can otherwise turn into chaos. We feel safe if we all act according to the structures and policies we legislate. Think of traffic. If we follow traffic lights, there would be less accidents.

The Gospel today tests the limits of the law and therefore, challenges the one who staunchly follows the rules. We have the man with the withered hand who needs healing. But it is Sabbath: healing is considered work like a doctor’s job. And work is prohibited on a Sabbath. For the Pharisees, we have to consciously give the Lord time to be worshipped. Why can’t the man with the withered hand come back the next day? Why can’t Jesus perform His miracles after the Sabbath? What’s one more day compared to the long time of waiting for healing? What’s one more day for Jesus? He was working the rest of the week, doesn’t He deserve some rest too?

But Jesus proposes and challenges our set ways: “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath rather than do evil; to save a life rather than destroy it?”

To Jesus, the highest law is the law of charity. Doing good is always immediate; every opportunity to do good has to be done. It cannot be postponed the next day. The healing of the man with the withered hand is for Jesus more important than the particular observance of existing laws.

Jesus desires that we should be discerning. We should develop the ability to see the breaking of God’s grace into events in our lives, in new creative ways, far beyond what we have been accustomed to. Consider traffic: is it right to beat the red light in an emergency? Can you counter-flow when your wife is about to give birth? Can all rules crumble at life-threatening situations? You know the answer.

With regards to the Church -- and that includes all of us: Are there instances when the Church -- and we --- can get so blinded in following what we think are necessary rules that we fail to encounter the breaking of God’s grace? When can the observance of God’s laws like liturgical rubrics be set aside in place of love for God’s people in need?

Sometimes what seems to be right can actually destroy love at the very foundation of every law in a civilized society.

What's Keeping You from Changing?

2011-01-16T22:56:00.003+08:00

17 January 2011. Memorial of St. Anthony, abbott
Hebrews 5: 1-10; Psalm 110; Mark 2: 18-22

St. Ignatius proposes to the one who makes the Spiritual Exercises to meditate on God continually creating us. To see that we are works of art in the making. To discover that our life is a process. And also to envision, in the wider context, that it is also the same with the world. God is patiently at work, like a potter molding clay as Jeremiah describes to us.

As change happens, there are many things that are opposing. The old wineskins are incompatible with new wine. Old clothes and a brand new patch for it are unsuited. What has been is not anymore true to what is today. Archaic ways of doing things are not anymore relevant to this day and age.

When Jesus said this proverb, He was pointing at the Gospel. The ways of the world are irreconcilable with the ways of the Lord. When Jesus is present, the world’s table manners change. If the world would group people of the same stature around the table, Jesus would gather a diverse array, including those the world would turn its back on.

The context is simple: the Pharisees and scribes criticized Jesus for having a meal at the house of Levi, a tax collector and sinner. How could a prominent Teacher and Rabbi eat with those who are incompatible with His stature? How many are not at ease when a VIP refuses the presidential table and insists in being at the sides?

To insist on fasting when served with an array of scrumptious food at a wedding is out of place. The manner of the self-righteous is such. If one has a vow of poverty, one shouldn’t eat roast pork when there is lechon. Isn’t it insulting to the poor? The poor eats whatever is on the table, roast beef or dried fish. The rich can choose; the poor can’t. The manner of the Pharisees implies that dried fish is rightfully for the poor. Jesus, the Bridegroom, insist that all, including the marginalized, deserve to partake in a five-star buffet. To be poor in spirit is concretely practiced when one eats what is served without complaining.

Of course, sin is antithetical at the table of God’s kingdom. That is why Jesus offers forgiveness to our acts of sinfulness, but welcomes the sinner at the party. This is the reason why we say before communion, “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world” and “Lord, I am not worthy to receive You, but only say the word and I shall be healed.” Sinners then are the ones Jesus gather at His table.

The Gospel challenges us and introduces us to virtues we may not usually consider. It encourages us to change our perspective in ourselves: we are always in a process towards becoming as God wants us to be. It asks us to develop an attitude of openness to change. It insists on the reality of goodbyes and letting go. Flexibility and adaptability are not only values of survival and evolution, they are also virtues articulated in Scriptures.

On the contrary, rigidity and a resistance to change are inharmonious with the ways of the Lord who continually creates. Well, psychology has it that these are also issues of being stuck. It is recommended that those who are, should make a trip to the psychiatric table.

Therefore, beware of the rigid! They can make their psycho-emotional difficulty into a virtue. Understandable: the old is always safe; plunging into change is hazardous and risky. But if you are at the brink of a new life, do not be disheartened by them. Remember, Jesus has a famous phrase for them: “Woe to you, Pharisees!”

What Prevents You From Admitting Your Sins?

2011-01-15T06:06:00.004+08:00

16 January 2011 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 49: 3-6; Psalm 40; 1 Cor 1:1-3; John 1:29-34

I am not a stranger to make-up. Growing up in theater means having to use cosmetics in every show. People use eyeliners and foundations to exhibit a perfect look. Some people are even so attached to cosmetics that they have already believed that their made-up face is what they actually looked like.

This is what we do when we sin. We put make-up on what we have done so that the gravity of our sins are watered down. We joke about sin, downplay it, or deny it. Students now say that they don’t cheat, but they ‘share’ their answers so that their classmates will not suffer the consequences of failure. They have made cheating a form of charity.

Or they would justify cheating with ‘I am like everyone else. Who among us, at some point in our lives, didn’t cheat?’ We use different ‘cosmetics’ to cover up our sins, until one day, the sins we commit, do not matter anymore. Until they become ‘normal’ and part of ordinary culture. Proof: graft and corruption. It is commonly accepted that when you want a government official to give you priority, you have to ‘contribute’ something.

No one wants to admit that they have killed unborn children. They would say that they have terminated a pregnancy or they have removed an unwanted fetus. To make it sound clinical is to remove the cold-bloodedness of the very act of murder.

The consequence of this is a growing claim that we are less sinful. And when we are less sinful, we don’t need forgiveness. Why would we ask for forgiveness when, to our mind, we are not in the wrong because every one is doing it? And when we do not need forgiveness, then we do not need God who forgives.

People say that the greatest sin is not what we’ve committed: it is to commit sin and then to deny it. I believe this is what is meant when we teach that the sin against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable. The Holy Spirit helps us confess to God, to our brothers and sisters, and to ourselves that we have sinned through our own faults, in thoughts, in words and in deeds. Does this sound familiar at the Penitential Rite? When we don’t admit that we have sinned, then there is ‘nothing to forgive.’ And the Spirit’s act to reconcile us with God becomes futile.

The thing is: we find it difficult to accept our sinfulness. Acceptance will destroy our self-image as utterly perfect and righteous. We are afraid that if we show our blemishes, we will be rejected. We will become vulnerable.

Kilian McDonnell says, “Many people do not recognize Christ because they do not recognize themselves as sinners. If I am not a sinner, then I have no need for Christ. No man will celebrate the mystery of Christ in joy if he does not first recognize in sorrow that he is a sinner who needs a Savior.” Commonweal magazine (1 August 1970)

But John the Baptist tells us in the Gospel today, that we will be fine. He points, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.” He beholds the Lord. He tells us to keep our gaze on Jesus. And therefore, it is okay to admit our faults because He will remove our shame. John assures us of total acceptance and love; in fact, John tells us that we will not disintegrate in the hands of the Lord. On the contrary, we will find ourselves and be made whole.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation is made available for all of us who are disintegrating because of our sins. It is a sacrament of healing, and not of rash judgment. It is about forgiveness, and not punishment. What is tragic is that we do not take advantage of this Sacrament. To Catholics, the Sacrament is a grace given by God. There is a venue for us to palpably feel forgiven and at the same time, guided in our spiritual life.

This is part of the absolution formula that the confessor-priest says, “Through the ministry of the Church, may God grant you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” The penitent should come out of confession feeling pardoned and at peace!

This Sunday, it is important then to behold the Lord at all times. To the Lord, our natural self is more important than the image we project. It would be more profitable if we reflect on the various cosmetics we use that prevent us from appreciating who we really are, warts and all.

Do You Need To Rest?

2011-01-14T05:00:00.002+08:00

14 January 2011 Friday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Hebrews 4: 1-11; Psalm 78: Mark 2: 1-12

When we hear the word “rest” what comes to our mind? Perhaps a beautiful white sand beach or a favorite mountain retreat or on busy days a few hours off in a coffee shop. But the word “rest” in the letter to the Hebrews in the first reading is about something else. In ancient times, rest has been used to mean “resting” in God, being at home with God.

Unfortunately, resting in this sense is found to be difficult to do. Thomas Merton once wrote that as we progress, we have become very restless. The distractions of many advertisements have led us to pursue them only to discover that the promise of rest is as good as the hours you spent in the spa. Instead of giving us the peace of mind we long for, these various seductions left us more confused and non-committal. Rest does not last forever.

Thomas Merton’s words have become truer than ever: these distractions have lessen our capacity for peace. Take for example how we can’t stand silence. We do not want dead spots. In media, we say that we have to keep talking so that there is no “dead air” --- 10 seconds of silence is a mortal sin if you’re a broadcaster.

Thus the letter to the Hebrews that says, “Let us be on guard while the promise of entering into His rest remains” is both a caution and a challenge. We are to be vigilant so as not to forget that our rest remains only in God. We are to watch out that we are not drawn into the seductions of many things around us that we become scatterbrains. We are to be very sure that when we operate in this world, we will not forget God’s promise to bring us to Him, to enter into His home.

So today, find time to think about the distractions that veer you away from God. Why do they bring you further from being at home? After prayer, think about those things that bring you closer to God. Why do they bring you closer to home?

Have You Been Destroyed by Words?

2011-01-12T06:02:00.002+08:00

13 January 2011 Thursday of the 1st Week in Ordinary Time
Hebrews 3: 7-14; Psalm 95; Mark 1:40-45

I hear a lot of celebrities saying in the middle of intrigues, “Words do not matter. It won’t kill me.” But words do matter. Take for example, malicious gossip. It destroyed many people’s reputation. It marred the way people look at you. It created a lot of prejudices that made things a lot more difficult to acquire. It also devastated many relationships that could have been fortified by trust. It had, in many ways, ostracized people: they lost their friends and found themselves alone.

In the Gospel today, the word that matter is “leprosy.” In the past, once you had been diagnosed with leprosy, you were automatically shunned from communal activities. You could not worship in public places. You were placed at the periphery of society. You had to live in graveyards considered by culture as a no-man’s land. The word leprosy was a stamp of death. There was no cure. Not like today, with the advent of a Multi-Drug Therapy or MDT, leprosy can now be healed.

But today, there are words that replaced the stigma of leprosy. A doctor’s diagnosis of “cancer” will catapult you to a new lifestyle. You will live in fear and dread. Or if words got around about you darkest secret, publicly revealed by your closest friends out of spite, it will throw you into a life of shame. Words do matter.

The Gospel teaches us that just as words wound people, words can also heal. Jesus’ words, “I do will it. Be made clean” are the sentences the leper want to hear. Those words restored Him to health, and thus returned him back to society.

It is good to understand that the word we dread to hear are replaced by the Word of God.

What words do you say that break or make people? Do you listen more to words that destroy or the words of God that builds our lives?

Is it Difficult to Pray What You Cannot Accept for Yourself?

2011-01-11T13:05:00.005+08:00

12 January 2011 Wednesday of the 1st Week in Ordinary Time
Hebrews 2: 14-18; Psalm 105; Mark 1: 29-39

“Knowing” is the word for today. When we say that we “know” a person, we can mean different things. They can be acquaintances, those you’ve been introduced to, or even those whom you know, but they don’t know you. For example, you “know” a showbiz personality, but they don’t know who you are. They can be our co-workers or classmates whom you may know a bit of their general information, but nothing else. They can also be some of your close friends who holds some of your personal data, but they don’t know you intimately.

The biblical sense of “knowing” means that we know everything about the person, through and through. Some best friends or intimate partners reach this kind of level, but no one perhaps knows us “through and through” and to the very last strand of our hair, but God Himself. God’s knowing is a total oneness with our being that nothing that is of us is held secret. We cannot escape God, as the Psalmist says in Psalm 139:

You have searched me, LORD, and you know me.  You know when I sit and when I rise;   you perceive my thoughts from afar.  You discern my going out and my lying down;   you are familiar with all my ways.

The letter to the Hebrews affirms this biblical “knowing” because Jesus is as close to us as flesh and blood. He knows us totally and completely. There is a difference between someone who says, “She’s one of our friends” and another who says, “I am one of them.”

Jesus is able to heal us because He is one of us. He is able to “know” our hearts. He accompanies us in our illnesses. He understands what we are undergoing when we are sick or when we are caregivers of the ill. Take for example the Gospel today. Peter’s mother-in-law longs to care for her guests as custom dictates of hospitality. But she cannot because she is ill. In addition, I can also imagine Jesus’ understanding of Peter’s dilemma: it will be quite a challenge for a disciple to focus if he worries about his family. Jesus’ compassion makes healing possible; it is the power that gives life.

Ideally, this is the same for doctors: they have to know the patient first, then diagnose the illness according to this knowledge. So that prescription effectively aids healing.

Since Jesus became one of us, as we reflected in the past Season of Christmas, He continuously shares all our struggles. By being one with all our sufferings, He is able to heal and save us from our woundedness and sinfulness.

How open are you about all your struggles to the Lord? Are there things you still find difficult to pray about because you know how grave they are; that you are even not ready to accept that you committed them?

Do you need a make-over?

2011-01-07T21:26:00.004+08:00

9 January 2011 Feast of the Lord’s Baptism
Isaiah 42: 1-7; Psalm 29; Acts 10: 34-38; Matthew 3: 13-17

Three choir members in my area in Payatas were sorting through items in our post-Christmas rummage sale. Ann looked at a tray of assorted jewelry and found them all junk. Juliet found an old cross pendant and said it was a treasure. She went home and polished it and wore it the next Sunday. Krystel looked at the cross and said, “It is good you wear Jesus all the time.” With one object, one would see junk, another a treasure, and yet another Jesus.

At the beginning of Ordinary Time, it is good to remind ourselves about approaching the Word of God. We will be listening to the same stories as last year or even the year before. And our tendency is to dismiss them and say, “I know that story.” Experience tells us that just as Ann, Juliet and Krystel saw one object differently, we can see the Gospel in three different ways. We can listen to it; learn from it; and then apply it to our life and live it.

The Baptism of Jesus is one story that we already know. When John baptized Jesus, the sky was opened, the Spirit descended like a dove, and a voice spoke from heaven. We simply listen to this story.

However, we can push this deeper by asking for their meaning. What do we mean by the sky opened? Our default imagination of God and all things holy are from above. What separates us from the heavens is that God is ‘up there’ while we are ‘down here.’ The same thing with the Israelites. There is a separation between the earth and the sky.

So when the sky opened, it means that God wanted to come down to the earth. That is why the prophet Isaiah (64:1) said, “Why don’t you tear the sky open and come down.” When the Lord ‘breaks’ this barrier and comes down, it means that He has heard our prayers and He is coming to save us. No wonder, the story of the Baptism of Jesus begins His public ministry because a new age has began.

Now remember Genesis. In creation, the Spirit of the Lord hovered over the waters. Therefore, when the Spirit descended it means that a new creation has began. In St. Ignatius terms, it means that God has decided to ‘re-create’ us once again, the way potters re-molds the clay after a disastrous attempt.

And finally, the Lord says, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” Jesus is therefore recognized. That is why tradition has it that the Baptism of the Lord is the “end” of the Christmas season, because the Baptism is a declaration of Jesus’ authenticity as God’s Son.

In our lives, a ‘re-creation’ has happened in baptism. Our baptism reminds us that we are children of God, and therefore, we have put on a different identity. In a deeper sense, when we were baptized, the skies were opened, the Spirit descended on us, and we had become a new creation as a child of God. So St. Paul writes to the Colossians, “You were at one time spiritually dead because of your sins, and now, you have been brought back to life with Christ.”

This Sunday, as we ended the celebration of the new year, we can look deeply into ourselves as a new creation. That God has given us a fresh start on our lives.

On one hand, we have already been changed in baptism. But on the other hand, we are also works in progress. We have to re-think our lives, make a personal evaluation of the past year, and perhaps, amend our ways with practical and reachable goals. (An article I wrote about making spiritual assessments is here.) This is in view what our selves are constantly recreated and re-formed by the Lord.

When we recite the “I believe... “ we are reminded of our promises to believe in the Trinity at our individual baptisms. When we profess our faith every Sunday, it is to remind ourselves that God has given us another opportunity to improve our lives according to our dignity as children of God. In many ways, Sunday renews our lives weekly.

Has the Lord Given You the Ability to See Him?

2011-01-01T18:18:00.004+08:00

2 January 2011 The Epiphany of our Lord
Isaiah 60, 1-6; Psalm 72; Ephesians 3, 2-6; Matthew 2, 1-12

Note: The Filipino version that appears in Sambuhay today, Sunday, is in the previous post. Sambuhay is a publication of the Society of St. Paul.

We used to call the feast today as the Feast of the Three Kings; but I agree when this was changed to the “Epiphany” meaning “manifestation of God” --- when we are enabled to see with our own eyes God in the form of a child. All of the readings today celebrate this new way of seeing and recognizing God.

There is an important place in our faith for the ability to see. We are asked to fix our gaze on Christ, no matter what we do. The first reading and the responsorial psalm tells us about Jerusalem in shining radiance that all people from all corners of the world come together to sing God’s praises. All people gazes on the star of Bethlehem like the wise men who comes from the East. Despite the commercialization of Christmas, we actually see all sorts of people celebrating Christ today!

But who can see? The readings gives us the answer: everyone! The ability to see God is beyond race or religion --- Jew or Gentle recognizes God. The second reading explicitly show that “it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles are co-heirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” The magi from the east as Matthew describes were not Jews, they were Gentiles who belonged to a different religion.

How can we see? The Gospel tells us that those who sincerely searches for God find God. Those whose hearts yearn to see God recognizes the presence of God in the physical world. Those who crave and desire to find “God in all things” actually experience the divine in the most banal and ordinary things of the world. They are those who see what the saints already saw: that everything is a manifestation of God. Therefore, even if the wise men do not have the historical yearning for a Messiah as the Jews, the wise men were able to find God in the most surprising of all locations. Bethlehem was an insignificant village; they found a plain mother, father and a child, but saw through them and recognizes the extraordinariness of the child that they prostrated themselves and did him homage.

On the other hand, Herod and those whose hearts are evil and malicious do not find God. There are those who doubt God. They would ask for evidence or proof about God and, despite what we present, they will never come to believe. They would look at faith with distrust and regard faith as a problem. Talk about belief and they would shut you off, and worse, laugh at you. And therefore, no convincing will bring them to see God as you see Him. The truth of the matter is this: They will not find God --- until a tragedy happens or an extreme terminal illness befalls them. When all of their doctorates fail to heal their illnesses, when nothing can help them as in a life-changing exam, they will eventually begin to rethink and see the world ‘with a different eye.’

It is no wonder then that when we are faced with something uncharted or something happened that we cannot put heads and tails on it, we ask in faith for enlightenment. That like the Star of Bethlehem who guided the magi to the Child, we too are to be given the light to understand the world and our lives. To understand is to come closer to the God of Wisdom. Thus, when we study and discover truth after truth, we all the more wonder about the greatness of something beyond. TIME has it that Albert Einstein who delved deeper into things, finally wondered about the laws of the universe, “What separates me from most so-called atheists is a feeling of utter humility toward the unattainable secrets of the harmony of the cosmos.”

We see God in the world today because He reveals Himself to us first. We get to understand a friend only when he or she shares secrets with us. This is what we celebrate this Sunday: God chose to reveal Himself to us first, thus enabling us to see and encounter Him in our daily lives.

*painting by Brian Whelan.

Nagpakita na ba sa Iyo ang Diyos?

2011-01-01T18:00:00.005+08:00

2 January 2011 Dakilang Kapistahan ng Pagpapakita (Epipanya) ng Panginoon
Isaiah 60: 1-6; Psalm 71; Ephesians 3: 2-6; Matthew 2: 1-12

Note: This article appears in Sambuhay today, Sunday. Sambuhay is a publication of the Society of St. Paul in the Philippines.

Tulad ng Epipanya o ang Pagpapakita ng Panginoon, binabago ng Simbahan ang iilang mga pagdiriwang upang ituwid ang ating mga paguunawa sa kapistahan. Noong mga panahon lagi itong pinagdiriwang sa ika-6 ng Enero. At dahil ang ika-anim ay hindi natatapat sa linggo, nakakaligtaan ng nakakarami ang kahalagahan ng pagdiriwang. Kaya ginawa ng Simbahan ang Dakilang Kapistahang ito sa unang linggo matapos ang bagong taon.

Sa pagbabago, higit na ipinamalas ng Simbahan ang kadakilaan ng araw na ito sa pananampalataya, mainam na makita natin ang tamang pag-unawa nito. Hindi na “Three Kings” ang tawag, kundi “Epipanya: ang Pagpapakita ng Panginoon.” Ibinaling ng Simbahan ang ating mata galing sa mga pantas at ang kanilang mga dalang regalo, upang itutok ito sa dapat na titigan: si Hesus.

Dalawa ang maaari nating pagmunihan ngayong linggo. Unang-una, ang pagpapahalaga sa paghahanap sa Diyos. Sa unang pagbasa, sinasabi ni Propeta Isaias na “natitipon na ang mga anak upang umuwi” at labis na ang kanilang tuwa. Maliwanag na ang kanilang daang pauwi ay sa Jerusalem, ang bayan ng Diyos. Sa Ebanghelio, ginagabayan ng bituin ang mga pantas tungo sa kinaroroonan ng Mesias. Sa iba’t ibang uri ng paglalakbay na ito, lahat nakatutok lamang sa Panginoon, ang mithiin nilang matagpuan.

Nguni’t totoong matatagpuan nating lahat ang Diyos. Wika ni Gerard Manley Hopkins SJ na umaapaw ng kaluwalhatian ng Diyos ang sanlibutan. Sabi ni Seneca, ang bawat nakikita natin ay may scintilla, isang kislap ng Diyos. Natagpuan ni San Benedicto ang Diyos sa labas ng kalungsuran; sa kabilang banda, naranasan ni San Ignacio ang Diyos sa loob nito.

Pangalawa, maaari nating tutukan ang Diyos. Ang taong naghahanap sa Diyos, kusang magpapakita ang Diyos. Ito ang kahulugan ng Epipanya, isang pagkukusa ng Diyos ang magpakita sa lahat ng tao. Kinakatawan ng mga pantas o mago ang mga bayang hindi kabilang sa Israel. Ibig sabihin, ang pagliligtas ng Diyos ay para sa lahat ng tao. Hindi kailanman ekslusibo ang pagmamahal ng Diyos. Sakop ng maluwalhating Liwanag ang lahat ng sanlibutan. At dahil dito, ipapatupad ng Diyos ang pangarap ng sinumang naghahangad makita Siya.

Paano ba natin makikita ang Diyos sa ating pang-araw-araw na buhay? Tinuturo ng Banal na Kasulatan na ang taong payak at simple lamang ang makakakita sa Diyos. Hindi nababalisa ang mga pastol sa iba’t ibang iniisip dahil iisa lamang ang kanilang hangarin: ang pagpapastol. Hindi nagugulo ang isipan ng mga mago, dahil iisa lamang ang kanilang hangarin: ang sundin ang guia ng iisa lamang na bituin.

Kailangang linawin natin ang ating puso’t isipan upang makita ang pinakamahalaga. May kasabihang itinago ng Diyos ang sinaunang Bituin, ang kapangyarihang makita Siya sa pinakailalim ng ating puso. Kaya sabi ni San Agustin, hinanap niya ang Diyos sa labas, at hindi Siya natagpuan; Hindi niya akaling nasa kaibuturan lamang ng kanyang puso ang Diyos.

Sa panahong samu’t saring mga advertisements ang nangangako ng iba’t ibang kaligayahan, nagiging kumplikado ang ating buhay. Nakakalimutan natin ang pinakamahalaga. Hindi ba mas madaling sumampalataya ang mahirap kaysa ang estudyante ng unibersidad? Hindi ba mas madaling magtiwala sa Diyos ang simpleng tao kaysa sa mga edukado? Maraming pagtutungali ang nangyayari sa isipan ng mga edukado dahil mas marami silang nalalaman?

Isang maningning na bituin lamang ang kailangan ng pastol at mga pantas upang maniwalang merong makahulugang pangyayari ang nagaganap. Ngunit hindi maisip-isip ni Herodes at ang kaniyang mga sakop -- ang mga edukado -- na sa isang maliit na lalawigan ng Bethlehem mangyayari ang pagsilang ng isang hari. Para sa kanila, ang isang hari ay dapat isilang sa palasyo o sa isang kilalang lugar. Iba ang pamamaraan ng Diyos sa atin.

Ngunit ang isang pagtatagpo ay isang pagkukusa ng dalawang tao na magpakita sa isa’t isa. Kailangan din ang ating pagkukusang magpakita upang matagpuan ng Diyos. Sa ating paghahanap, hindi natin makikita ang ayaw magpakita. Kahit anong gawin natin, kapag pinagtataguan tayo, mahirap silang hagilapin.

Dahil dito, pagisipan nating mabuti kung may pagkukusa rin ba tayong magpakita sa Panginoon. Nananalangin din ba tayo araw-araw? Nakikilahok ba tayo sa mga gawaing espirituwal tulad ng mga sakramento? Nagbabasa ba tayo ng Bibliya upang hindi mawalay sa atin ang Salita ng Diyos? Itinuturing ba nating kapatid ang iba’t ibang tao, kasama ang mga kaaway, kabilang sa ibang pananampalataya, o dayuhan?

Sa araw ng Epipanya, pagdasal nating mamalagi tayo sa liwanag ng Panginoon. Kung susundin natin ang Liwanag na ito, mararanasan natin na ang Diyos ay hindi lamang naghihintay na matagpuan, Siya mismo ang patakbong sasalubong sa atin.

*painting is by Sadao Watanabe.

Patuloy na ipinapanganak si Hesus Tuwing may Ginagawang Kabutihan

2010-12-24T19:50:00.005+08:00

ika-24 ng Disyembre 2010 Christmas Vigil
Isaiah 62, 1-5; Psalm 89; Acts 13, 16-25; Matthew 1, 1-25

Hinihimok ni San Ignacio de Loyola sa nagninilay ng Spiritual Exercises na pag-isipan ang isang eksena bago ipinadala ang anghel Gabriel kay Maria. Minamasdan ng Banal na Santatlo ang buong mundo. Tinitingnan Nila ang kaguluhang nagaganap hindi lang sa sanlibutan kundi sa bawat puso ng mga tao. Wika ni Propeta Isaias, “balot ng dilim” ang ating lupain. Nakikita nila ang maaaring patutunguhan ng mundo kung ipagpapatuloy nila ang kanilang pagkamakasalanan. Sa kabila ng matagal na pagtitiwalang magbabago ang mga tao, nagugunita na nila na panahon na upang iligtas ang sanlibutan; kailangan na nilang maki-alam sa mga karumaldumal na nagaganap. Panahon na upang ipadala ang Liwanag sa kadiliman. At dahil dito, napag-isipan Nilang mabuti na ipadala ang pangalawang Persona sa sanlibutan. Kailangang makiisa Sila sa sangkatauhan upang iligtas ito, kaya kasama sa plano ng Diyos ang pagsasakatawang-tao ng kanyang Anak na si Hesus. Kaya nagsimulang ibinunyi ng angel Gabriel ang balak ng Banal na Santatlo kay Maria; at dahil sa pagsang-ayon ni Maria, ibinalita nito na magaganap ang Salita ng Diyos sa kapangyarihan ng Espiritu Santo. Alam na natin ang mga sumunod na eksena. Alam na rin natin na ito ang pinaka-rurok na dahilan sa ating pagdiriwang ng Pasko.

Kapag pinag-isipan ang ganitong eksena, makikita natin na ang Pasko ay hindi lamang isang eksenang naganap na, kundi isang pangyayaring patuloy na nagaganap. Kapag sinusundan at binabantayan natin ang mga nagaganap sa buhay, bansa, sanlibutan at kalikasan, isinasabuhay natin ang unang-unang katangian ng Pasko. Tulad ng Banal na Santatlo, nakikita natin na hindi na dapat hayaang mangyari ang mga nababalitaan nating masama. Panahon na upang makialam. Tama na ang panggagahasa sa kalikasan: ayaw na natin ng bagyo, baha at anumang sakuna na dulot ng Global Warming. Tama na ang pangungurakot ng gobyerno: ayaw na natin ng pamahalaang walang pagmamalasakit sa bayan. Tama na ang ating pagiging makasarili: ayaw na nating saktan pa ang taong minamahal natin. Isang gawa ng nagmamahal ang pagmamasid: habang nire-respeto ng magulang ang mga desisyon ng kanilang mga anak, nakikisangkot ito kung alam niya na walang kinahihinatnang mabuti ang ginawa nila.

Pangalawa, makikita natin sa Santissima Trinidad na kusa Silang nagbalak na maki-alam. Tama na. Panahon na. Tayo mismo. Hindi na sila nagturuan o naghanap ng masisisi. Alam nila kung sino ang maysala, ngunit Sila mismo ang nagsimula ng pagbabago. Si Hesus mismo ang nagkusa upang itigil na ang mga sistema ng kasalanan sa mundo. Siya na ang nagsabi,: “Ako na ang ipadala mo sa mundo.” At dahil labis ang pagmamahal ng Panginoon sa atin, ibinigay niya ng kusa ang kanyang anak upang iligtas ang sanlibutan. Dahil dito, isinasabuhay natin ang Pasko kapag tayo mismo ang simula ng pagbabago. Nakikisangkot. Nakikibaka. Nagbibigay ng buhay.

Pangatlo, isang pagganap sa kahulugan ng Pasko ang pagsasakatawan sa katangian ng Diyos. Ang paglalaganap ng isang mabuting plano ay isang pagsasabuhay ng katangian ng Diyos. Laging niloloob ng Diyos ang kabutihan nating lahat. Isa sa mga bayani ng mga nakaraang sakuna ang mga nagpalaganap ng balita ukol sa mga pangyayari at mga pangangailangan ng mga biktima ng sunog, baha at bagyo. Sila ang gumamit ng iba’t ibang paraan tulad ng internet, radyo at telebisyon, text at iba pa upang manawagan ng tulong. At tulad ni Maria na nakisama sa balak ng Diyos, tumugon sa panawagan ang iba’t ibang tao sa pagtulong sa kapwa Pilipino. Kung hindi sila makabigay ng donasyon, ang kanilang sarili at ang kanilang inalay. Bata o matanda, mahirap o mayaman, nakikita natin ang kanilang kagandahang-loob. Wika ng isang Pinoy na taga-ibang bansa, “I belong to a country of heroes.” Buhay na buhay pa rin sa ating kultura ang bayanihan. Kung maaari lang itong ipagpatuloy kahit tapos na ang sakuna.

Ngunit ang Pasko ay patuloy ding nangyayari sa mga kapus-palad. Nagkuwento ang isang guro sa Tulay ng Kabataan. Inayos nila ang mga damit ayon sa sukat upang ang mga bata mismo ang pipili ng kasya sa kanila. Limang damit lamang ang maaari nilang piliin. Namasdan nila ang isang bata: iba-iba ang sukat ng kanyang piniling mga damit. Alam ng guro kung para kanino ang damit na yon; at alam na rin natin. Ang mga kuwentong ito ang pagsasabuhay ng Pasko.

Nais kong isipin na hindi lamang isinabuhay ng bawat tao ang katangian ng Diyos lamang sa pagpapakamatuwid. Isinakatawan nila ang Diyos mismo. Naging tagapagligtas sa panahon ngayon. Sa pagsasabuhay sa iba’t ibang katangian ng Pasko, pinapanganak natin si Hesus hindi lamang tuwing Disyembre, kundi sa bawat sandali ng ating buhay.

May Katuturan Ba ang Ating Panaginip?

2010-12-16T23:13:00.003+08:00

18 Disyembre 2010 Simbanggabi
Jeremias 23: 5-8; Psalm 71; Mateo 1, 18-23

Mahalaga ang ating mga pangarap. Nagbibigay ito ng kahulugan, direksyon at kaayusan sa ating buhay. Mas maayos ang paglalakbay sa buhay kung alam natin kung saan tayo tutungo. Kung dumating ang panahong nagsasanga-sanga ang landasin, ang ating pinakamalalim na mithiin ang gagabay sa atin. Pipiliin natin ang landas na pinakamainam upang makarating sa ating patutunguhan.

May pinanggagalingan ang lahat ng naglalakbay. Nangagaling sa pagkabilanggo sa bayan ng Babylonia ang mithiin ng kaligtasan ng bayang Israel. Wika ng Panginoon, dito sila “itinapon” dahil sinuway nila ang kalooban ng Diyos. Kakabit ng pangarap na bumalik sa sariling lupa ang alaala ng kanilang paninirahan sa dayuhang bayan ng Ehipto. Ito ang karanasan ng Israel sa panahon ni Jose at Moises. Nagkaroon ng kahulugan lamang ang kanilang makasasayang paglalakbay dahil sa iisang pangarap: mabuhay sa lupang ipinangako ng Diyos sa kanila.

May pinatutunguhan ang lahat ng manlalakbay. Ang pangako ng Panginoon na namumutawi sa bibig ng kanilang mga propeta ang nagsilbing butil ng pag-asa. Ang pangako ang siyang simula ng pag-ahon sa kanilang pagkalugmok. Dahil sa pangakong pasisibulin sa lipi ni David ang isang Manliligtas, nagkaroon muli ng bagong buhay at pag-asa ang bayang Israel. Pababalikin sila muli ng Panginoon sa Jerusalem at muling magiging magiting ang kanilang bayan tulad ng panahon ni Haring David. Para sa bayang Israel, gumagawa na ng paraan ang Diyos, at ang unang hakbang Niya ang kanyang binitiwang mga salita. Kumbaga, binuhay muli ng Panginoon ang kanilang mga mithiin: pwede na muling mangarap!

Ngunit sinasabi sa kasulukuyan nating karanasan na mahirap matagpuan ang pinakarurok ng ating mga puso. Mahirap linawin sa ating isip ang tunay nating nag-iisang mithiin. Hindi dahil wala tayong hinahangad, kundi dahil marami tayong gustong mangyari sa buhay. At dahil sa iba’t ibang uri ng mithiin, marami sa atin ang nawawala: hindi na nakikita ang nagbibigay ng direksyon, kahulugan at gabay sa buhay. Kung makita lamang natin ang ating mga panaginip, makakabalik tayo sa tamang landasin.

Isang panghabang-buhay ang pakikibaka tungo sa tanging pangarap. Maaaring tingnan sa ganitong angulo ang kuwento sa Ebanghelio. Nagbalak si Jose na hiwalayan at hindi tanggapin ang pagiging ama ng nasa sinapupunan ni Maria. Hindi nakapagtataka ito; maiintindihan natin ang sitwasyon ni Jose. Ngunit ang kaniyang binabalak ay maaaring tama sa ating pagtingin, ngunit hindi tuwid sa mata ng Diyos. Kasama at mahalaga si Jose sa plano ng kaligtasan ng Panginoon, at walang makakahadlang nito. Kaya, itinuwid Niya ang hangarin ni Jose sa pamamagitan ng isang panaginip. Sa Lumang Tipan, iniligtas ng Panginoon ang pamilya ni Jakob o Israel sa taggutom. Binuhay at pinarami ng Panginoon ang lipi ni Jakob sa Ehipto, sa paraan ng panaginip ni Jose bilang gobernador ng Ehipto.

Kung tutuusin: hindi tama sa mata ng tao ang pagbebenta kay Jose sa mga mangangalakal ng Ehipto bilang isang alipin at hindi rin tama sa tingin ng tao ang pakasalan ang isang babaeng nagdadalang-tao. Ngunit, may mga bagay na hindi tama sa mata ng tao, ngunit itinutuwid ng Diyos. Sa buhay ng maraming pari’t madre, hindi tama ang suwayin ang kagustuhan ng kanilang magulang, ngunit tama ito kung ang kanilang mithiin ay hindi tugma sa kalooban ng Diyos. Dahil dito, kailangang pagdasalan nang mabuti ang ating pagdedesisyon sa buhay.

Samakatuwid, matatagpuan muli ang kahulugan sa buhay kung malinaw sa atin ang ating tunay na mithiin. Dahil sa impluwensiya ng mass media, maraming nilalako na pangarap ang mga billboards at patalastas sa TV, radyo at internet. Inaagaw ng lahat ng mga ito ang ating attensyon, nabibighani tayo sa kanilang kagandahan, at higit sa lahat, nalulunod tayo sa libo-libong mga pangarap. Samakatuwid, nagbabago-bago ang lahat ng ating landasin; walang nananatiling permanente sa buhay at sa ating mga ugnayan. Isang hungkag na konsepto ang salitang, commitment. Mas maraming tao ngayon ang litong-lito at walang pinatutunguhan sa buhay. Higit sa lahat, mas maraming hindi na marunong pumili ayon sa kanilang kagustuhan.

Sa mabilis na pagbabago ng ating mga mithiin, hinahamon tayong lalung mag-isip at magmuni-muni. Kailangang pag-isipan natin, sa gitna ng lahat ng ito, ang pangarap na ayon sa ating tunay na pagkatao, nakaugat sa ating tunay na sarili, at nakatutok sa tunay na kalooban ng Diyos. Kailangan nating ihiwalay ang malalim na mithiin sa mababaw at hindi mahalagang kagustuhan. Kailangan makita natin ang iba’t ibang uri ng pinapahalagahan sa buhay at piliin ito ayon sa mahalaga, mas mahalaga, at pinakamahalaga.

Sa misa ng Simbanggabi sa Panahon ng Adviento, alalahanin natin ang ating mga kagustuhan, mithiin at tanging pangarap sa kalooban ng ating puso. Malalaman mo kapag ito ang pinakamalalim, pinakamahalaga at pinakatotoo sa iyong pagkatao. At kapag na-iimagine mo ang iyong sariling nakamtan na ito, mapayapa ang iyong kalooban dahil ito rin ang kalooban ng Diyos. Wika ni San Ignacio, kapag iisa at magkatugma ang puso natin at ng Diyos, kapayapaan ang ating mararamdaman. Kung matatagpuan natin ito, nagsisimula na tayong maglakbay sa bukang-liwayway ng ating buhay.

Do You Want To See the Fruits of your Labors?

2010-12-15T06:49:00.002+08:00

15 December 2010 Wednesday of the 3rd Week of Advent
Isaiah 45: 6-25; Psalm 85; Luke 7:18-23

In the middle of the heat of Hubert Webb’s release from prison, we can use this image to describe the mood of the readings today.

John the Baptist is in prison. Before his incarceration, he was preaching about the imminent coming of the Messiah. He was urging people to repent and prepare the way of the Lord. He told them that he was baptizing them with water, but the Savior who was to come will baptize them with fire and the Holy Spirit. He also said that He was not worthy even to tie the thongs of his sandals. His self-effacing effort was to bring the limelight, not on him, but on Jesus. He was giving the people great hope and expectation. Now within the walls, he wants to know if what he preached is becoming a reality. He wants to be assured that he didn’t give the people false hopes. He needs to hear for himself that he was right.

Jesus then tells John’s disciples the signs of fulfillment. He said, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news preached to them.” John then, upon hearing the news from his disciples, is greatly strengthened.

In our lives, we do experience analogously what John the Baptist greatly desired. We want to see for ourselves the fruits of our labors. We want to know whether the things we have done is right. We need to see some signs that we are correct in our parenting, in our teaching and in the decisions we have made for our personal, economic and spiritual lives.

The following are the signs we want to see. As parents, we want to see and receive feedback that we are raising our children the right way. We want to get their class report cards to gauge their growth in knowledge and character. We like to hear of their achievements as signs of productivity and creativity. These concrete manifestations shape their future as well as assuring us they will survive and find meaning in their lives without our tutelage. In the confines of our old age, knowing our children are settled and stable is a great assurance that we can die in peace.

It’s like getting good news of one’s acquittal while still in prison, as Hubert Webb and companions on the day the Supreme Court announced its verdict. The fulfillment of one’s dreams is at hand.

But the readings tell us something else. The first reading from Isaiah urges us to even believe our dreams even before it happens. Why? Because the one assuring us is the Lord who does not break His promises. He is the God who is to be trusted. He is not like those who are finicky. He said, “Turn to me and be safe, all you ends of the earth, for I am God; there is no other! By myself I swear, uttering my just decree and my unalterable word: To me every knee shall bend; by me, every tongue shall swear, saying, “Only in the Lord are just deeds and power... In the Lord shall be the vindication and the glory of all the descendants of Israel.”

John the Baptist cries us to all of us to prepare our hearts and souls for the Lord’s visitation in our history. Part of this preparation is to look at our insecure future and compare our trust in ourselves with the Lord. Moving towards the right direction means a healthy partnership: our human and divine efforts; our lives and the Lord’s grace.

Pangako, Paghihintay, Pagbubuo

2010-12-13T22:21:00.004+08:00

13 December 2010 Memorial of St. Lucy, 3rd Week of Advent
Numbers 24: 2-17; Psalm 25; Matthew 21: 23-27

Note: Homily of the monday mass at Radio Veritas Philippines, the Catholic Radio.

Maligayang Adbiento po sa mga tagapakinig dito sa Radio Veritas. Tatlong punto lamang ang nais kong ibahagi ngayon. Pangako. Paghihintay. Pagbubuo.

Unang-una, pangako. Sa panahon ng Adviento o paghahanda sa Pasko ng Pagsilang ng Mesias, laging binabalikan ang pangako ng Panginoon sa atin. Sa buong lumang tipan, inuulit-ulit ng Panginoon ang kanyang pangakong magpapadala ng tagapagligtas upang maahon tayo sa ating mga kasalanan. Ito ang narinig natin sa unang pagbasa. Wika ng Panginoon sa bibig ng propeta Balaam: isang bituin ang mangunguna sa lipi ni Jacob at sisibol galing sa Israel! Kilala na natin ang tanging bituin na ito: ang Panginoong Hesukristo. Ang Pasko ang siyang katuparan ng kanyang mga pangako.

Marami tayong pangakong natupad, nguni’t mas marami tayong pangakong napako. Sabi nga ng marami, “promises are meant to be broken.” Subalit, hindi ito ang tingin ng Kristiyano. Ang tunay na nagsasabuhay ng turo ng Diyos, hindi nagbibitiw ng salita na hindi naman isasakatuparan. Tulad ng Diyos, hindi niya ipapako ang kanyang mga pangako sa atin. Ito ang dahilan kung bakit nagtitiwala tayo sa kanyang mga Salita.

Wika ni Hannah Arendt, ang ating pananampalataya ay nakasalalay sa pangako ng Panginoon kay Abraham; at ang ating maayos na pamumuhay ay nakabatay sa maraming pangakong nakasulat sa ating Saligang Batas at sa mga kontratang pinapasukan nating lahat. Tulad ng Diyos, nangangako ang gobyerno na aalagaan ang ating karapatan. At tulad ng pangako ng Diyos na mamahalin Niya tayo magpakailan man, ang bawat pumipirma sa kontrato ng kasal, nangangakong tutuparin niya ito hanggang kamatayan. Magkakagulo kapag ang mga binitiwang mga salita ay hindi natin ginagalang.

Pangalawa, pahalagahan natin ang paghihintay. Naranasan niyo na bang maghintay sa wala? E, maghintay sa meron? Mahalaga sa ating buhay ang maghintay. May mga naghihintay ng trabaho o may naghihintay ng boyfriend o girlfriend. Ikaw, ano ang hinihintay mo? Sa panahon ng cellphones, mas madaling tantiyahin kung anong oras darating ang ating hinihintay. Mate-text lang tayo, “Wer U?” malalaman na natin kung may oras pang gawin ang ibang bagay para hindi nasasayang ang ating oras. Dahil dito, nawawalan na tayo ng pasensya kapag naghihintay tayo ng matagal.

Ngunit may halaga ang paghihintay sa buhay. Hindi lahat ng bagay maaaring madaliin. Kapag minadali ang pagsasaing, hilaw na kanin ang maihahain. Kahit maraming pagkaing instant, pinipilahan pa rin ang mga lutong bahay na inihanda sa tamang oras. At kung nalalanghap mo na ang niluluto, nagiging “excited” tayo sa kainan. Ganito din ang paghihintay: Lalong inaasam-asam ng ating puso ang sinuman o anumang hinihintay.

Subalit, hindi tayo naghihintay sa wala. Naghihintay tayo sa siguradong darating; dahil tinutupad ng Diyos ang Kanyang Salita. Alam natin na may kaligtasan dahil darating sa ating buhay ang Tagapagligtas. Kung nakikipila tayo sa sineng gusto nating panoorin; kung binibilang natin ang mga araw tungo sa pagdating ng ating mahal sa buhay; bakit hindi natin bigyan ng panahon ang ating sariling maghanda sa pagdating ng Panginoon? Pagdasal natin na sana igugol ang oras ng paghihintay sa Panginoon, sa paghahanda ng ating mga puso’t kaluluwa sa kanyang pagdating.

Panghuling punto sa araw na ito: Pagbubuo ng mga Nagkawatak-watak. May plano ba kayo ng inyong barkada na magkikita-kita ngayong Pasko? May balak ba ang inyong pamilya na mag-reunion? Kung meron, may dahilan kung bakit sa Pasko, laging isang tunay na salu-salo ang nagaganap. Nagtitipon-tipon ang mga magkakabarkadang nagkahiwalay dahil nag-aaral na sa iba’t ibang kolehiyo. Nagkikita-kita ang mga pamilyang hindi laging nagkakasama dahil naninirahan na sa ibang bayan kasama ang kani-kanilang pamilya. Hinahalintulad sa isang nanay na naghahangad ng pagbabalik ng kaniyang mga anak ang Diyos na nais pagsama-samahin ang mga nagkawatak-watak, sa iisang hapag.

Anong pinag-uusapan sa isang reunion? Kapag nagkakasama kami ng barkada ko sa high school, obvious ang pulutan: ang kuwentong high school kasama ang mga kalokohan at ang mga unang crushes. Kapag nagsasalusalo ang pamilya, binabalikan ang mga alaala ng pagkabata. Tunay na sinasariwa nito ang nakaraan, sa pag-asang nakatanim na sa puso ang pinagdaanan.

Pinapanday ng pagbabalik-tanaw ang pagbubuklod natin. Ang tanging bumubuo ng isang malalim na pagkakaibigan ang mga alaalang tulad ng mga litrato sa ating photo-album. Sinasariwa nito muli ang pagmamahal na namamagitan sa isa’t isa; upang sa paghihiwalay muli hindi na magiging malabnaw ang ugnayan.

A Season of Joy!

2010-12-12T23:45:00.001+08:00

12 December 2010: 3rd Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 35: 1-10; Psalm 146; James 5: 7-10; Matthew 11: 2-11

John the Baptist lives in the desert that is dry and covered with brushwood. This image is often used to describe Christianity. There is a type of Christianity that is gloomy and dark. The type that thinks that our faith is a faith of seriousness and rigidity, marked by the strict following of rules that begins with “Do not.... or else you go to hell.” Eventually, this type of faith produces a religion of fear or a religion that is stuck with suffering. But the last word in our lives are not our crosses: Christianity is attractive because Christ’s suffering did not end on the cross, but on the resurrection.

And thus, in Liturgical Seasons with an ambience of reparation like Advent and Lent, a break is often made. During Lent, the Laudate Sunday reminds us that our suffering will end in triumph. Today is Gaudete Sunday, the 3rd Sunday of Advent. It is literally a celebration. We light the rose or pink candle that symbolize joy. It breaks that misconception of Christianity as a religion of seriousness and stiffness. St. James writes in the second reading that our mood should be like a farmer who waits for “the precious fruit of the earth.” The Lord promises in the mouth of Isaiah that the “desert and the parched land will exult.. They will bloom with abundant flowers.”

Joy is at the very core of our faith. Isaiah in the first reading urges us to meet the Lord in gladness and singing. Paul set before the Philippians the quality of joy: he stressed, “Rejoice!” When he was writing his letter to the Philippians, he was in prison almost certain of his death. But still, he said, “Rejoice!” The prophet Zephaniah also said, “Shout for joy!”

You see, Christian joy is independent of all things on earth because its source is the continual presence of Christ no matter what situation we may find ourselves in. Take for example two sweethearts. They are always happy when they are together, no matter where they are. Whether they are in middle of the smelly fish market, the garbage dump of Payatas or the scented ambiance of cafés, as long as they are together, they are happy. Their joy is not dampened by their human situation. The source of their joy is beyond their life situation. They said, “kahit saging, basta loving.”

The message of John lays down important principles of joy. First, John stressed our social responsibility. He tells us that we should share what we have with one another. There is a certain deep fulfillment when we are able to help others. Joy is found in generosity. When we ‘empty’ ourselves, we find happiness. We find joy in giving, not in hording. That is why our Christmas tradition should be a tradition of gift-giving; its focus is an altruistic love, more than the receiving.

Second, there is joy in our daily, routine work. John said that our salvation is worked out in the daily grind. John ordered that a person should not have to leave his job to work for his salvation. For example, many of us compartmentalize faith --- we do our daily routine as if they are separated from faith, and we go to mass to fulfill our duties to God. But John tells us that our daily menial work is part of faith. If one is a tax collector, be a good one; if one is a soldier, be a good soldier. Do not take advantage of one’s position. In our present situation: if you are a teacher, you will be saved by becoming a good teacher. If you are a student, you will be saved by becoming a good student. If you are church or civil official, you don’t have to leave your work to be saved, but do your job excellently and you will be saved. Our faith teaches us that nowhere can a person serve God fully well than in one’s daily work.

Finally, there is joy in prayer because we meet the very source of our joy: God who loves us. When we pray we remember the love of God, and only desires what is best for us. He the joy lies in the very quality of God’s love for us: He loves us for whatever and whoever we are.

A few weeks ago, a husband said to me: “My wife had a mudpack, and she looked great for two days. Then, the mud fell off.” (joke! Just testing your rigidity!) With or without the mudpack, God loves us. Isn’t this a real source of joy? It is not surprising therefore, that Jesus described to us the Kingdom of God as a “a banquet” --- a celebration, a party, a gathering. And that is why we gather at Christmas to taste the ‘Kingdom of God’ -- when families and friends come together and share a meal, they taste heaven!

Christianity is about joy: we know when a person has Christ in his heart, because the person lives and exudes a certain joy in his heart. Perhaps a practical exercise: look at yourself in the mirror. Is your face exuding the dryness and lifelessness of the desert, or is joy emanating from it? And oh, there is another way: ask children. They will tell you the truth.

Understanding the Immaculate Conception of Mary

2010-12-08T03:29:00.003+08:00

8 December 2010 Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
Genesis 3: 9-20; Psalm 98; Eph 1: 3-12; Luke 1: 26-38

Allow me to be graphic: First, imagine a plate you use for food. Then imagine the same plate with poop on it. What is your reaction? Naturally, we cringe on the plate with poop. Why? Because feces does not belong to the plate. Plates are containers of food. It has to be clean and should not be contaminated.

The same thing, though simplistic, can be used to understand the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Because Mary will be the “plate” or vessel in which Jesus is to be born, then God made her clean and free from original sin. In other words, being immaculate is not through Mary’s power, but God’s decision in view of her being the mother of His only begotten Son.

In the Constitution, Ineffabilis Deus of 8 December, 1854, Pius IX pronounced and defined that the Blessed Virgin Mary “in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin.” (Detailed explanation here.)

The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, therefore, is a preparation for Mary’s role in the future, just as the plate is cleaned in view of what it will contain. And therefore, the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception should always be attached to Christ. Because of Christ’s redeeming power, Mary has been graced to be free from original sin.

How then can we apply the teaching of the Immaculate Conception in our practical and mundane lives? Let us first settle with our future. In view of the second coming of Christ in the end of the world, we participate in the preparation of the whole of humanity for the Final Judgment. In view of the our own personal deaths when we finally meet the Lord, our whole life then is a preparation period for this transition to a better life. In view of encountering God in our own personal history, we make ourselves open anytime the Spirit palpably inspires us. God’s intervention or participation in our individual lives are experienced by the senses as seeing and hearing in the conversion of St. Paul.

Second, we reflect and evaluate ourselves on the type and quality of our preparations. The following questions are very concrete in the midst of the Season of Advent:

How ready are we to encounter the Lord anytime? How do we constantly purge ourselves of our inordinate attachments? Are we remorseful, repentant and eager to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation to straighten our relationship with ourselves, others and with God?

Finally, we reflect on the measures we actively take to prepare ourselves. In this liturgical season that prepares for Christmas, we may take some of these steps.

We have to focus our attention on the story of the birth of Jesus. In a commercialized culture, where receiving gifts symbolized by Santa Claus take center stage, there are many things that we can do to refocus on the true nature of Christmas. The role of parents is important in bringing the holiday spirit. They should retell the story of Christmas to our children. In decorating our homes, we can put prominence on the belen to remind our children the reason for the season.

We can do an “agere contra” or “doing the opposite” of our natural tendencies. If we find ourselves becoming very individualistic and selfish, we participate in activities that are altruistic such as rummage sales for the poor, gift-giving for underprivileged children, or visiting the sick and the prisoners.

If we find ourselves taking for granted the people who matter, then we can begin remembering them by writing them personally and greeting them with Christmas cards, or perhaps, using the allotted resources for the holidays only for them and ‘deprive’ ourselves this time.

If we think we have been ‘estranged from the Lord’ then we can participate in many spiritual and communal activities such as Reconciliation services for Advent, the Simbanggabi masses, and even spending a significant time to quiet down, pray and meditate on the story of Christmas.

By doing some of these things, we will be able to ‘prepare’ ourselves to become vessels of God’s grace; just as God prepared Mary to become the “container” of our Savior.

Banal Ang Ating Mga Pangako

2010-12-05T21:55:00.003+08:00

ika-5 ng Disyembre 2010 2nd Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 11, 1-10; Psalm 72; Romans 15, 4-9; Matthew 3, 1-12

Note: This appears in today's Sambuhay, a publication of the Society of St. Paul.

Sa kanyang pinakasikat na librong, The Human Condition, isinulat ni Hannah Arendt, isang pilosopong Aleman, na hindi napapanatag ang kalagayan ng isang tao dahil sa dalawang aspeto ng kanyang buhay: Wala sa ating kamay ang ating kinabukasan at binabagabag tayo ng ating sugatang nakaraan. Bagaman, ganito ang ating sitwasyon, may dalawang bagay ang nakakapawi sa ating mga takot at pagkabagabag. Para sa nakakabagabag na kinabukasan, ang pangako ng ating mga minamahal ang nakakapawi nito. Para sa mga isyu natin sa nakaraan, ang pagpapatawad ang nakakahilom ng ating mga sugat.

Unang-una, nagkakahugis ang ating kinabukasan dahil may mga nangangako sa atin. Nakabatay sa ating Panatang Makabayan ang ating pangakong sundin ang batas upang maayos ang kinabukasan ng ating lipunan. Nakabase ang ating mga kontrata sa pangakong tutuparin ang mga ito. Nakaugat sa sumpaan ang pagbabagong-buhay at katapatan ng mga magkasintahan.

Higit sa lahat, banal ang anumang pangako dahil unang nanumpa ang Diyos sa atin. Sa sumpa ng Panginoon kay Abraham nakabatay ang ating pananampalatayang Kristiyano. Pinangako ng Diyos na pasasaganain niya ang ating mga lahi at hindi niya tayo iiwanan. Sa unang pagbasa, hindi kinakalimutan ng ating Diyos ang kanyang pangakong kaligtasan sa kanyang bayang Israel. Hindi kaya ng Panginoon na hayaan lang niyang malipol ang kanyang bayan. Kaya nangako siyang pasisibulin sa lipi ni David ang isang bagong sangang magbibigay ng kapayapaan at pag-asa sa atin. Ang panibagong pagsibol na ito ang pangakong Mesiyas.

Dahil dito, banal ang bawat sumpa natin sa ating kapwa. Sa sumpang ito, hindi natin pinapako ang ating mga pangako. Dahil sa ating mga pangako, ang ugnayan nating lahat ay nananatiling matibay at tapat.

Pangalawa, ang may pinangagalingan ang bawat isa sa atin. Sa bawat pakikisalamuha natin sa isa’t isa, dinadala natin ang ating mga nakaraan. Halimbawa, kasama sa pagiging magkakaibigan at magkakapamilya ang mga tampuhan at alitan. Hindi sa lahat ng bagay, pare-pareho ang ating mga isipan. Minsan kailangan nating lawakan ang ating pag-iisip upang makita ang pinagmumulan ng isang away: kadalasan, galing ito sa ating mga isyu sa buhay. Dahil dito, laging kailangang magpatawad at patawarin.

Kung hindi natin kayang magpatawad o kaya’y makatanggap ng kapatawaran, mas mahirap umusad at umunlad. Hindi natatahimik ang ating puso dahil hinihila tayong paurong ng ating mga hinanakit. Kung makamtan man natin ang ating tagumpay, ang kasiyahan ay laging may bahid ng sama ng loob. Hindi lubusang at ganap ang karanasan ng pag-unlad.

Ayon kay San Juan Bautista, kailangan nating magbalik-loob sa Diyos. Sa isang banda, ipinangako na ng ating Panginoon ang kapatawaran sa ating mga kasalanan. Hindi na kailangang magdalawang-isip: siguradong igagawad ito gaano man kabigat ang ating mga pagkakamali.

Ngunit kahit siguradong tatanggapin tayo sa tahanan ng Diyos, hinihingi pa rin ang ating sariling pagkukusang paglapit sa Diyos. Sa ating karanasan, mahirap ang pagkukusang ito. Maraming takot ang ating hinaharap at binubuno. Natural sa tao ang pagmamataas: maraming hindi nakakatanggap ng kanilang kasalanan. Kung hindi man lubos ang pagde-deny ng kanilang kasalanan, may mga nagtatangkang nagdadahilan upang hindi makita ang karumaldumal na epekto ng kasalanan. Sasabihin, “tao lamang ako” o “lahat naman tayo nagkakamali” o “wala ako sa tamang pag-iisip.” Kung tutuusin, parang tama naman itong mga salita; hangga’t mapag-isipan nating mabuti. Ibig sabihin ng mga salitang ito: parte ng isang tao ang pagkakamali. Kung kasama sa ating pagkatao ang pagkakamali, hindi kailangang mag-sorry o humingi ng tawad.

Mahalaga ang pagtutuwid ng ating buhay dahil iba ang pagkakilala natin sa tao: hinubog tayong kawangis ng Diyos. At dahil sa ating Mesiyas na pangako, naging tunay na anak tayo ng Diyos. Ito ang dahilan ng anumang pagbabago: hindi bagay sa anak ng Diyos ang anumang dungis ng kasalanan. Ang paglilinis ay hindi lamang mahalaga sa lahat ng aspeto ng ating buhay. Ito ay isa ring pagpapakita ng respeto at pagpapahalaga. Kaya gumagayak tayo sa lahat ng mahahalagang lakad tulad ng pagpasok sa eskuwela, paghahanap ng trabaho, o pagpapakasal.

Kaya isang paglilinis ang Panahon ng Adviento. Isang paghahanda sa isang mahalagang pakikipagtago natin sa ating Ama: isang tunay na pagbabalik sa Tahanan ng Diyos. Simple lamang: walang gustong humalik sa batang madungis.

How to Fulfill Your Deepest Desires

2010-12-04T23:57:00.005+08:00

5 December 2010 2nd Week of Advent
Isaiah 11: 1-10; Psalm 72; Romans 15: 4-9; Matthew 3: 1-12

If we strip the Liturgical Seasons of its lofty image, each season corresponds to very physical and practical experiences. Advent is like the expectation of a baby; Christmas is a celebration of birth. Lent is about the pains and sacrifices we bear; Easter is about the successes resulting from them. Ordinary Time is about the daily aspects of our lives. The Seasons are about our life as a whole.

Jesus shares totally our humanity. And this is affirmed in the Liturgical Seasons that celebrate every single aspect of both His humanity and His divinity. When we celebrate the whole liturgical season, we likewise share in the divinity of Jesus. We therefore hope that our life will be patterned according to the life of Jesus. Simply, that Jesus’ life will also be ours.

Advent is a very practical season. It teaches us the importance of waiting for our deepest desires to come to fulfillment. It instructs us, as the second reading states, so that “by endurance and encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.”

Advent is a season of desire. It is a time to identify and label what we want. We cannot achieve something or go somewhere unless we name our aspirations. In the story of creation, the Lord named what He desired before it came to fulfillment: “Let there be light. And there was light.”

The Gospels tell us that even if the desire is obvious, Jesus still asks, “What do you want?” He asks that from the blind who wanted to see; He asks the mother of James and John. St. Ignatius of Loyola called it the “id quod vollo” (that which you desire). So Ignatius gives instructions to the one making a retreat: you ask this grace ... before you contemplate. Even if it is obvious or the Lord already knows what we need, we have to state to the Lord what we want from Him.

Identification is not for God, but for us. Naming our desires trains our hearts and our heads, not just clarity of goals but the discovery of the Lord who articulates His desires for us in our hearts. Tradition has it that God placed a piece of His heart in each one of us that we might know His heart. And we will not be at rest unless our hearts rest in God’s (St. Augustine).

Advent articulates humanity’s deepest desires in the vision of Isaiah (11:1-10). It is what we hope for.

1. To Israel exiled in Babylon, they aspired for a leader who would lead them justly.
To the Filipinos and many other countries in the world: In an era of political and economic unrest, we aspire for the same qualities of a leader Israel longed for.

2. Both Israel and the whole world hope for world peace. “When the wolf shall be the guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion will browse together, ... the baby shall play by the cobra’s den. There shall be no harm or ruin on all of my holy mountain.”

Advent therefore affirms our humanity. To be human is to desire. Every single human being has a dream; collectively, the whole human race dreams of harmony.

If we are to desire peace and harmony that permeates our individual, local and global lives, the Second Sunday of Advent gives the conditions for it.

The first reading tells us that the earth should be “filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as water covers the sea.” People who are agents of destruction, discord and division are those who do not know the Lord. Those who truly love the Lord will work to gather people. Those who contemplate the life of the Lord will soon realize that any form of violence, including violence as an activity of initiation in a fraternity, is never in accord with God’s will. And those who live out what we pray about, will come to see how important it is to be under the grace of the Lord.

Finally, in the voice of John the Baptist, the precursor of Jesus lies the second condition to achieve peace. It is the ability to forgive and amend our ways. Forgiveness heals the wounds of our past. Often, we cannot move to speedily fulfill our dreams because we are stuck in the past. Our pains, hurts, and regrets still determine our choices and clouds our visions.

If unaware of our pains, they control even our relationships. Sometimes, we have to look at the things we are afraid of, such as our fears of rejection and failure. They keep us from forgiving others and ourselves. They pose as obstacles to our return to the God who waits. And so the Lord tells us to straighten our paths by the route of forgiveness.

We pray that we find the Season of Advent meaningful and practical in our lives. It teaches us to desire and it gives us tips to fulfill them. More importantly, it assures us that just as Jesus fulfilled the desires of the people in the Old Testament; He too fulfills our desires for a Savior.

Is Your Relationship Built on Trust?

2010-12-01T18:06:00.003+08:00

2 December 2010 Thursday of the 1st Week of Advent
Isaiah 26: 1-6; Psalm 118; Matthew 7: 21-27

Trust has always been an issue in many aspects of our lives. We trust a product because of previous experiences. We have shared our experiences of durability. We are given a year’s warranty just in case we are dissatisfied with it. But with people, trust is a precarious word: sometimes a friend whom we trust, betrays us. The very people whom we have hoped and relied on suddenly bails out on us. Who then can be trusted?

Psalm 118 is today’s responsorial psalm. It says:

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.

It is better, therefore, to trust the Lord than any other. All others will break their promises; but the Lord will keep His word. Take for example the people of Israel. Once they were exiled, the Lord promised their return to their homeland. In Isaiah, that promise has been fulfilled. Christianity is basically a religion based on a promise: the covenant of Yahweh and Abraham. Thus the Old Testament are collections of stories of the Lord promising salvation and fulfilling it in the New Testament with the birth and life of Jesus. The Lord keeps his promises. And therefore, the Lord is the only sure one to be trusted with our life.

Our human experiences can teach this truth. When it is life-threatening, we turn to the Lord. When it is crucial, we put all our life on the altar of the Lord. When it is a turning-point, we cry out for mercy.

Take for example many ordinary battles. Usually we neglect to pray. We move on from one class to the other. We go to and fro from home to workplace. Nothing much happens.

But when an exam is announced and we know that the grade will determine our quest for the top or the maintenance of our scholarship, we find ourselves almost automatically on our way to the chapel. Bar examinees who were neglectful of faith life suddenly find themselves attending mass or lighting a candle on the altar of St. Jude or Sta Rita de Cascia who are patrons of the impossible. The cynical and arrogant student is suddenly transformed into piety.

The same thing with me and many others at the brink of illness. Or those waiting for a job abroad or a favorable response to an application for acceptance. It is the same thing when we expect a change in status such as facing an uncertain future. In the duration of waiting, our hearts are restless. And as St. Augustine puts it: it should rest in God.

It is not an accident therefore that the Gospel is about the house built on rock. In the midst of our storms, a strong faith foundation is what saves us. In other words, a great trust in the Lord will keep us grounded. With the Lord, as St. Paul says, who can separate us from Him?

But we have to build our foundations well. Let me end with story.

An excellent carpenter decided to retire. After years of helping out a housing company, he would like to spend the rest of his life with his wife. His children are already settled, and he thought retiring was the best option for all the years of hard work.

His employer was saddened by his decision. So he requested the carpenter to make his last house. The carpenter half-heartedly built the foundations, nailed the beams and put up the walls. His work was not best. After all, it was his last.

When the house was built, his employer came to his house. The employer thank the carpenter for a job well-done. And as a gesture of gratitude, the employer handed him the key to the house he just built!

In today’s mass, let us remember that we build our house everyday. Every nail we hammer, every beam we put up and every wall we build will determine the sturdiness of the house.

Our relationships are built on trust. There is no meaningful relationship without trust. The foundation of our lives determine our capacity not just to survive our storms, but to find meaning and joy in our lives.

Have You Ever Desired the Kiss of Your Beloved?

2010-11-27T22:46:00.004+08:00

28 November 2010. 1st Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 2: 1-5; Psalm 122: Romans 13: 11-14; Matthew 24: 37-44

The bride in the Song of Songs 1, 2-4:

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.
Your love is more delightful than wine;
delicate is the fragrance of your perfume...
Draw me in your footsteps, let us run...
How right it is to love you.

Have you ever ardently desired the kiss of someone you passionately love? If you did, then the Season of Advent will appeal to you. Advent is about ardent yearning. We seek, eventually, our union with the Lord, the kiss of the Beloved. Before the union is attained, our burning desire come first. We can be certain, with the knowledge graced by the Holy Spirit, that God so wishes us to intensely want this oneness. St. Ignatius puts it, we were created “to praise, honor and glorify” the Lord. In other words, the purpose of our creation is the union with Jesus, sharing the life of God.

To love is to desire. Love is never a linear journey from one point to another. It is rather a circular movement that increases the union of two persons. As we love, we desire; as we desire, we love. Every circular movement thus deepens. It has, within itself, all the experiences of presence and absence, of hunger and being fed with giving and receiving, and still, our desire for our beloved is renewed but never the same as before: we either love more intensely, or long and pine for the beloved more ardently than previously. It is, as the quote from Song of songs, like wine: that we who have tasted how sweet the Lord is (Psalm 34:8), become intoxicated by the Lord’s beauty. And then when the next day come, it will bring more desires and new pains to prepare for a new loving union.

In preparing and waiting, our deepest desires and longings intensify. Think: as we wait for our beloved in romantic dates, our hearts beat a little bit faster and we cannot stand one more minute of waiting. Think: when we prepare for a birthday party, our excitement grows for the look of surprise, gratitude and affirmation from the celebrant.

And so what are we preparing for? In a broader sense, we are preparing for His second coming, the Day of Judgment. In a specific sense, we are preparing for the day when we finally meet the Lord in death. And therefore, the whole of our life is a preparation and a waiting; our specific advent. In a personal sense, we prepare our hearts and souls for particular experiences of God’s coming at any given point in our life. These ‘visitations’ from the Lord is unpredictable like inspirations that come to artists at any point in time.

In general, the readings today tell us what we should yearn for. Isaiah shares his dream that one day “all nations shall stream” to the mountain of the Lord. The Responsorial Psalm proclaims, we “go rejoicing to the House of the Lord.” And as we go to the mountain of the Lord, Paul says in his letter to the Romans that we shall “put on the armor of light” and “put on Jesus Christ.” In this journey, Jesus says in the Gospel, “you must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come” to meet us (Matthew 24:44). This is the kiss we yearn for when we meet the Lord; the experience of oneness when our lips lock in our Beloved’s lips.

It is no wonder that one of the metaphors the Lord uses to symbolize our relationship with God is the image of marriage: the Lord is the bridegroom and the Church is His bride. And so we, who are members of the Church, Christ’s bride, pine for the kisses of the Eternal Bridegroom.

In the Spiritual Exercises of the St. Ignatius, the one who makes the retreat is asked to pray the grace of "an intimate knowledge of our Lord, that one may love Him more ardently and follow Him more closely” (Louis J. Puhl SJ). This desire is prayed before the meditation on the Incarnation. It could be asked from the Lord before contemplating on the whole life of Christ. That desire is another way of putting the longing of the bride in the Prologue of the Song of Songs (1, 2-4).

Similarly, the Season of Advent is indeed this time: we are being prepared for the Incarnation which is Christmas. In view of the liturgical year, Advent also prepares us in the year-long contemplation of the life of Christ.

As we begin the liturgical year with the first Sunday of Advent, may we reflect on God who is the lover of humanity, the great philantrophos of the human race. And our longings are also God’s way of bringing us to where we should be. God has planted His desire in us and expresses them several times through the Holy Spirit within us. So that we will truly desire, not the ecstatic feelings we long for, but the total fulfillment of God’s desires for us.

Lord, “How right it is to love You.” (Song of Songs 1: 4)

Are You Tired of Your Life?

2010-11-26T11:06:00.004+08:00

26 November 2010 Friday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time
Rev 20: 1-4, 11 - 21:2; Psalm 84; Luke 21: 29-33

There are times when our life’s journey becomes tiresome. The weariness is often caused by a realization that we are not going anywhere like walking on a treadmill. We think that we are not moving towards our goals; our struggles are still the same; our regular sins continue to be our ‘favorites’ and, despite trying, we find ourselves where we left off.

The Gospel today gives us a tip on how to get out of this muck. The Lord gives us the analogy of the fig tree. When it bears some buds, you know summer is near. In other words, there are telltale signs that we are on our way. We can really assess our growths. All it takes, the Lord said, is to train ourselves to see the ‘shoots’ in our lives. Biology tells us that growth happens when you see tiny little leaves coming out of a stem, but it is very difficult to see the movement of growing happening unless we do a time-lapse on a camera. (see time-lapse video below.)

First, we keep our eyes fixed on the goal. Blessed James Alberione* of the Society of St. Paul said that when our journey tires us, “let us recall that the narrow and arduous road we are walking along leads to heaven.” Revelation, in the first reading, offers this thought. At the end of our lives, our good deeds will not go unnoticed in the final judgment. The Lord will reward us. At the end of days, we will belong to the new heaven and the new earth.

How close we are to our goals helps us assess our growth. For example, if our goal is to get a grade of A (or 1) in a certain class, every excellent quiz is a move towards it. If we want to be patient, every time we have controlled our anger or our penchant to expect others to move rapidly as ourselves, we know that we are nearing the summer of our character-building. Our little successes are important. Thinking life as a process or as a journey is, I believe, realistic. Many things do not happen once and for all; they happen because many factors conspired to produce the effect.

Second, we need the skill to be sensitive to these little growths, these tiny successes, these small steps. Like skills, acquiring them takes time, regularity and practice. You can use the following to become more sensitive. It will require just 15 minutes max of your time. You can do it twice a day: before lunch and before you sleep. Or you can practice it as part of your evening prayer.

1. Take a few minutes to relax; be sensitive to your breathing; remember that you are always in the presence of the Lord.

2. Review the day, or half of the day (if you’re doing this twice). Just go through the day, like a fast rewind.

3. Stop at the most significant moment of the day where you experienced the presence and/or absence of the Lord. It may be a word or quote from what you read, an encouragement from a co-worker, an inspiration, a loss or discouragement, a hurt, a reminder to call a loved one, etc. If you have more, choose only one. It is better that you savor one event than having many without tasting every detail.

4. In the chosen event, see how God has been present to you. What did you feel at that moment. Identify the feelings: gratitude, joy, happiness, sadness, disturbance, etc.

5. Assess: What does it tell you about yourself? What is God telling you? In positive events, it is usually easy. In negative events, it is challenging. But you can see more significant growths in a hurting experience. Were you challenged to do better? Did it draw you to offer your suffering for a loved one? Did you feel as Jesus felt when He was also rejected, when His prayer like that in Gethsemane was not answered, when He was abandoned by friends, etc. Remember the shoots become more prominent if it is growing from an old, dry stump of a tree.

6. End with a prayer of gratitude. You can end with an oral prayer like the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and/or the Glory Be. I usually end with these three. Why? The Our Father reminds me of whom to adore and whose presence I need. The Hail Mary reminds me of whose example I can emulate and whose affection for me is greater than my love for myself. I have a great love and devotion to Our Mother. The Glory Be makes my heart praise the Trinity who is good and merciful to me all the time.

*Today is the Memorial of Blessed James Alberione

** Time Lapse Video of corn seeds. The process of growth is easily seen.

Do you suffer from Doing Good?

2010-11-24T11:58:00.003+08:00

24 November 2010 Memorial of Sts. Andrew Dung-lac and companions
Rev 15: 1-4; Psalm 98; Luke 21: 12-19

Being good is counter-cultural. Consider the following. In a corrupt government system, bribes are acceptable. A family member who needs documents had to wait for months to get it, unless one spares a few bucks for the employee. A friend whose moral values are laudable gets ridiculed when he does not succumb to the system. A student can only be part of a fraternity only after a violent initiation accepted by all as ‘part of tradition.’ In many of these schools, the members are future lawyers meant to protect citizens from death-threatening situations. Finally, you are cool if your life-style revolves not on faith, but the values of commercialism.

The Gospel today is prophetic. The Lord does not sugar-coat what it will demand of us who follow Him. The cross will always be a constant companion. St. Francis of Assisi has accepted the reality of persecution in doing good by calling it, “Sister Death” (Laudes creaturarum).

Family members will not spare us from their harsh words. Often, they encourage us to follow suit, with the usual tempting words, “Anyway, you can always confess it” or “It will just be this moment.” Following one’s vocation especially the religious life entails great resentment from others. Believe me, in many vocation stories I heard, the constant tagline is this: “I went against the will of my family and friends.” Members expect you to help the family; and often, as one gets involve in ministries, helping others becomes a reality than actually lending a hand for one’s kin.

As I continue to blog, there are ‘haters’ who leave nasty comments. Yes, here in this blog. I do not know them. They constantly use the coward “Anonymous” as identity; there is no way to retaliate. I receive some hate words. Sometimes they bent out on me their frustrations and anger towards someone, the Church, and the world. But it is part and parcel of doing this ministry --- and thank God, these remarks when moderated can go directly to the trash where they belong, sparing you from the emotional upheaval you don’t deserve.

The readings today inspire us to continue the good we do. Of course, we do not deny that doing good is also a struggle; realizing that within ourselves lies the capacity to do evil. And that is why, with the culture that affirms way-ward behavior, it is easy to succumb to the dark side.

The readings on the other hand assure us with two things: First, the Gospel tells us that with our perseverance, not a single strand of hair will be destroyed. The Lord will spare us from destruction. It is true: when we succumb to evil, we eventually ruin our lives, our relationships, and the world around us. If we do what is good, we find ourselves whole, our relationships flourish, and the world around us becomes greener and liveable. We also gain more people who care for us. Our goodness attracts the people who are also struggling to be better.

Second, the first reading from Revelations tells us that within our struggles, we are also graced with experiences of God. Like gasoline that fuels our fires. We become more sensitive to the presence of God. We feel Him in our experiences of friendship. We encounter His visitation in inspirations, like artistic ruptures; in the beauty of nature; in forgiveness and childbirth.

Like drugs, doing something that eventually destroys us becomes addictive. The opposite is also true: doing what is good can be intoxicating. There are people who experience wholeness and meaning that everything else becomes trivial. No persecution is too harsh in relation to the love of God.

What do you have that is eternal?

2010-11-23T23:21:00.005+08:00

23 November 2010 Tuesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time
Rev 14: 14-19; Psalm 96; Luke 21: 5-11

The Jews were proud of the Temple in Jerusalem. It stood majestically at the center of the city. It could be seen from afar like a jewel reflecting the sun’s rays. It was not surprising that they were talking about it at the time Jesus was also teaching. The Temple was so majestic and sacred that the Jews thought it would stand forever. They literally called Jerusalem, as we read in Scripture, the Eternal City. Since God, who is Eternal, dwells in the Temple, the whole structure would be forever.

But Jesus said that the Temple would be destroyed. And true enough, the Temple would not make it years after His death. In 70 AD, the Romans sacked Jerusalem. And the building that the Jews believed to be eternal faced mortality. Actually, the Temple that they had had been rebuilt. They called it the 2nd Temple, restored by the Jews after their return from exile.

What then is the point of the Gospel today at the end of the liturgical year? As a culmination, the focus of the readings like Revelation in the first reading is the end of time. The Church suggests that we reflect on what lasts and not what is temporary.

We also have our own “Temples of Jerusalem” --- things we are so proud of that we act as if they will accompany us beyond the grave. What are these? Our wealth, our achievements, and our illustrious name to mention a few.

But we soon realize that we have to exert a lot of effort to maintain their existence. We have to keep the business afloat. We have to continue to strive to fulfill our goals. We have to take care that our name is not tainted. Why? Because deep inside, we know they will not last without our effort.

And true indeed. There will come a time when someone else will sack our lives, and all that we are proud of will be gone.

Jesus said that evangelical poverty is important. Those who live ‘poor in spirit’ will obtain the Kingdom of Heaven. When we experience this dependence on God, when all that we have suddenly disappears in all forms of tragedy and the only thing left is God, we find ourselves faced with what is eternal. What is eternal cannot be destroyed even by the greatest calamity in our lives.

One of our philosophy teachers, Mr. Eduardo Calasanz, said that in life there is but one thing certain: death. And thus, when we say, “I love you” it also includes its destiny. Love’s life is beyond the point of death. Love knows no mortality. It is, as St. Paul says, the greatest thing that remains other than our faith and hope.

It is therefore good to remember that the word Filipinos use to express love is “mahal kita.” Mahal is also used to mean, “expensive” as diamonds are “mahal.” When we say “Mahal Kita” (I love you) we affirm what the readings today mean: our love is the real treasure that cannot be destroyed; it is the real thing that is forever. That is why it is more valuable than life itself (we do give our lives to those we greatly love).

And so to Jesus, it is not the structure of the Temple that is forever. No wonder, years after His death, St. Paul introduced in our faith the belief that the real Temple is Jesus Himself. And since we are members of Christ’s body, God resides in every single person. We are now the Temples of the Holy Spirit. The Eternal City is the Kingdom of God. It is realized when we are all gathered in Christ; when everything is restored in Christ.

Life everlasting is already experienced when we love.

In my work in prison, when everything that the prisoners own before their incarceration is stripped from them, they realize what remains forever: their beloved and their faith in the Lord. When Jesus was hanging on the cross, I believe the criminal who requested paradise was one of the first who entered when the gates were opened.

Do you need to Restore Something in Your Life?

2010-11-22T16:27:00.005+08:00

21 November 2010 Solemnity of Christ the King
2 Sam 5:1-3; Psalm 122; Col 1:12-20; Luke 23:35-43

In the deep recesses of our hearts, we discover a common desire. This desire is the very objective of the celebration of the Solemnity of Christ the King, the end of the liturgical year.

Every human being desires a restoration, expressed in many ways. Healing is a restoration to health. Those who are lost long to find their home, whether they find it in the company of one or in a community. Forgiveness reconciles us to people who have been estranged from us. Reunions gather people who have been separated for a long time. A convention is a meeting of people who have the same concern or interest. Social media connects people from all over the world. Global collaboration encourages people from all walks of life to work together for the common welfare.

This desire brings us to humanity’s ultimate goal to be at peace with one another. On the 11th of December 1925, Pope Pius XI establishes the Solemnity of Christ the King with the objective and meaning, “to restore all things in Christ.” He said that the mission of everyone is building the Kingdom of God. This is meditation of the third of the Luminous Mysteries of the rosary. Jesus proclaims the Kingdom and describes it using different parables. And therefore, the objective of this Sunday’s celebration is already embedded in our hearts and in the practice of the Christian faith. Like all desires, this ultimate aspiration seeks fulfillment.

The idea of a king may sound so archaic because in today’s world, there is no edifying example of an ideal king. Monarchical rule is a thing of the past. But the notion of kingship is not strange to many biblical Christians: kingship is about service in the image of the shepherd. The shepherd is pivotal in the gathering of the sheep; without the shepherd it is difficult for the sheep to be managed into the fold. When Israel requested to have a human king to unite everyone against their enemies, the Lord granted the wish provided that the king lives “in His Spirit.” The human king was to lead the flock in the manner the Lord cares for them. Jesus saw this need when the people were ‘like sheep without a shepherd.’ The king therefore is the center and reason for the gathering; the rallying point of those who are scattered.

The prime example is the Eucharistic celebration. People who attend the mass are of different personalities, backgrounds, and cultures. Those who are in conflict with each other may also be present in the same congregation. But they are there because they all love Christ. It is Christ who makes the gathering possible. Unity becomes a reality “through Him, with Him and in Him in the unity of the Holy Spirit.”

How then do we live out this Solemnity? We are to restore all things in Christ...

In our individual lives. Do we spend time to “recoup our energies” when we are tired or keep our bodies healthy? Do we spend some private moments for prayer, so that we are never away from the wavelength of Christ?

In our community life. Do we help in the healing of wounds in all its forms? Do we bring estranged people together? Do we insist on the value of spending time together as a family or as a group of friends? Do we participate in common activities whether as organizers or members of our own local community?

In our life as citizens of our country. This can take many small forms such as promoting order like following traffic rules and talking to others about the beauty of our culture. (Check Alex Lacson's 12 Little Things We Can Do For Our Country)

And in our global world. Do we participate in our effort to curtail all forms of human degradation? Do we lend our energies to the protection and care for our environment?

In a culture of individualism where Christ is removed from the center to the sidelines of our lives, the Solemnity of Christ the King gains more relevance. It is to remind ourselves to restore and ‘enthrone’ Christ in the center of our lives.

Thus, the basic attitude is not to be divisive, but to be reconciling. At the end of our lives, what matters is how we have contributed to Christ’s mission of gathering everyone He loves in His Kingdom.

Lamentations and Regrets

2010-11-17T21:58:00.005+08:00

18 November 2010 Thursday of the 33rd Week
Rev 1, 1-10; Psalm 149; Luke 19, 41-44

Note: Sorry for the long hiatus. Been overwhelmed by many concerns.

The Gospel today is both a lament and a challenge for us. Jesus weeps as He sees Jerusalem. He knows that Jerusalem will be the place of His suffering. He can see His cross hovering over Him.

He laments because of two things: First, Jerusalem is His rightful home. The Temple is the Father’s house. He weeps because He calls the Eternal City, His home.

Second, He cries because He knows what will happen to Jerusalem if the people will not heed his prophetic warning. If they will continue their life of sinfulness, Jerusalem will eventually be destroyed.

Furthermore, Jesus wishes that Jerusalem will recognize Him and find His visit important. If only they know that Jesus is the Shepherd King who returns to the City of David, they could have followed His voice. But they didn’t.

And just as Jesus predicts, the Temple of Jerusalem will eventually be destroyed by the Romans in AD 70.

The Gospel is also a challenge to all of us. It requires great sensitivity to know the “visit” of Jesus in our lives. We must know when Jesus warns us and when He tells us about the consequences of our actions, if we act on it.

What Jesus has undergone in the Gospel is not an impossibility for many of us. There are many ways to know the future of our acts.

By reason, we know the implications of a decision and the results from such a choice.

Through scientific research, we know what causes certain sicknesses and the symptoms when we contract a disease. Medicine and our practical lives have always lived with the tenet: better prevention than cure.

Through repeated practice, we now have our moral and ethical laws embedded in our culture. For example, we know that it is good to the community if we all heed the law of the country. How? The same as the creation of culture: we know because of repeated practice. When we follow, there is order; if we don’t, we revert to chaos. A civilized society is organized and live-able.

When a community takes the inspiration from a letter of an apostle like Paul by reflecting and living what he wrote, the epistle becomes normative to community living. And when it becomes a measure of Christian living, it becomes a canon. The word “canon” comes from a reed that is used in ancient times as a measuring stick because the distance between the nodes and internodes are almost equal from each other. Thus, a book is chosen to be canonical, when it is used to measure one’s spiritual, community and moral life. If the book is found, through repeated practice, not normative then it is rejected and replaced. It is like choosing a textbook.

And thus there are many ways to know what is good or evil, what is right or wrong, what is correct behavior from what is crass and uncivilized.

And there are numerous sources to inquire from to know, most certain, the consequences of our acts. History is one of them.

But often, our hearts and head are made of stone. We still want to find out, our own way. Part of it is our individualism, arrogance, and lack of trust for our ancestors, our parents and Jesus. Sometimes we think that we can learn everything on our own, having our experiences as the criteria for validity. And then, impose them as normative for others.

Therefore, just as Jesus has wished centuries ago for His people -- and for us: We must trust Him before it’s too late.

They say, regret always comes at the end. If only our ancestors could speak, many of them will tell us in chorus: We told you so.

When Will Our Sufferings End?

2010-11-07T16:30:00.006+08:00

7 November 2010 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
2 Maccabees 7: 1-14; Psalm 17; 2 Thess 2:16 - 3:5; Luke 20:27-38

When November comes, the theme of the readings focuses on eternity. In the liturgical year, the tail-end is about eschatology: the resurrection and the end of days when Christ the King finally rules in triumph. And the Church reminds us that the final say in our lives is not our crosses but our resurrection.

Have you ever wondered when all of our sufferings would end and find meaning? Many of us have suffered for a very long time, and it seems the horizon is not yet at hand. It is like the middle journey of the Israelites: they have left Egypt and the ‘comfort’ of their lives, they are in the middle of the desert, and the Promise Land is still far far away. They even don’t know who will be able to reach it: them, their children or their children’s children.

Remember Albert Camus and his Myth of Sisyphus? Sisyphus, as his punishment from the gods, was made to roll a stone on a steep mountain. But when he reaches the peak, the stone rolls back again to the mountain’s foot and he rolls it up again. Over and over. Again and again. According to Camus, our existence is like that. There seems to be no end; neither does it have meaning. But it is the situation we find ourselves in.

In this angle, Albert Camus is right. Our life is a constant repetition. We find ourselves doing the same routine every single day. We eat and love the same food menu every meal. We struggle with the same issues. We fight with the same enemy in our lives; some of them just changes form, but it is the same banana. Our prayers are repetitive: our petitions to the Lord are the same; our rituals are done every week.

But our faith tells us that in the midst of these repetitions, there is a direction. Often our lives are viewed as a linear struggle, like points in a line: we are here, we want to go there. Not all of life is linear.

Reflect. There are those who have reached the top of their ambitions. They are financially stable. Their names are respected in their own industry. They are in the echelons of power. But they are unhappy. It is not rare to hear them say, “It is lonely on top.”

Don’t get me wrong: those are also important. The linear direction has to be pursued too. We need to survive. However, experience tells us that meaning is not found in that horizon.

The matters of consequence, however, are spiral journeys towards depth. In our constant sufferings for our loved ones, our love intensifies. In our daily practice of our skills and abilities, our passions are fired. In our repeated studies, we discover and hone our knowledge and we grow in wisdom. We repeat to discover what matters. The dive towards depth is a journey towards finding our pearls of great price. The parable has it that the merchant who finds it, will sell everything just to possess it. It is what gives meaning, and all other things are superfluous.

Therefore, every Sunday, we pray and worship as a community to grow in faith. When we fall, commit mistakes, and sin, we are given another chance so that we know what it means to hope. When we care for the people around us, and at the same time, know that the love is also reciprocated, we find ourselves “awake, alive and enthusiastic.” We then discover love.

St. Paul discovered in all of his repeated struggles what matters and what is constant. And what matters and what’s constant are eternal. Our loftiest ideals are found not “up there” but “down there” in the depths of our hearts.

But the pure and stable experience of faith, hope and love, are not experienced in our mortal life. It will be experienced when we are in the company of the eternal God. And thus, death becomes the gateway to eternity. Therefore the commemoration of All Saints Day and All Souls Day almost at the beginning of the theme of eternity in the liturgical year, re-directs our eyes towards forever.

The senseless suffering of the Maccabees’ seven sons and their mother are endured because of the hope that God, in the end, will reward the good and punish the evil. In our lives, the good that we do, even when persecuted, become bearable because of the final judgment.

The belief in our resurrection gives us hope and points to the reality that whenever we find ourselves feeling like Sisyphus, we can always look towards our resurrections. The repeated rolling of our life’s stones becomes meaningful, because it is in view of an end. In the company of God in the afterlife, there will be no stone to roll to the mountain. There is the mountain to enjoy.

Why Do We Commemorate All Saints and Souls?

2010-10-31T16:13:00.005+08:00

1 & 2 November 2010 All Saints and Souls

Nov 1: Rev 7, 2-14; Psalm 24; 1 John 3, 1-3; Mt 5, 1-12

Nov 2: Wis 3, 1-9; Psalm 23; Rom 5, 5-11 or 6, 3-9; John 6, 37-40

Why do we commemorate All Souls Day and All Saints Day? We often visit cemeteries without actually knowing why we remember the dead. Media commercializes these two important practices by putting in the Western season of Halloween: Television shows and various commercial establishments wore Halloween costumes as themes, and many of us associate November 1 & 2 to horror stories of ghosts. I shall therefore embark on an explanation of these two feasts using three perspectives that are easy to memorize.

First, the perspective of hope. When I visit the grave of my father whenever I find the chance to be home, the first thing I encounter is the reality of forever. At the grave, I talk to him about my life believing that he listens to me and he is present. Memories of him flood my mind, and in the remembrance of the times he spent with me and my family, he becomes present to me always.

Death therefore as faith has it is never an end. In the Preface for Christian Burial, it is said that life has not ended, but changed. The same thing with me: whatever challenges I face, I am always reminded not to lose hope, because in the end, there is life forever. And the proof is my father’s presence to me wherever I am, never anymore limited to physical presence. My father is with me always, all the time, wherever I go.

After grief and sorrow, I find myself feeling a deep joy: that I am happy for Daddy, that he is home in the arms of God. In Season 4 of Supernatural, one of the reapers of souls named Thessa, assures Dean that those who die are in a better place.

Oftentimes, our grief is about ourselves who are left behind, but that is a different story. We are also taught that Christians should be happy for someone else’s triumph --- the remedy for our envy and jealousy. And right at the grave, we are asked to go out of our own self-absorption and be happy for those who have gone ahead of us. That their life speaks about forever, about hope, about God.

Second, the perspective of love. Closely connected to the reality of forever, we are reminded that all our love, all our life finds meaning, direction, and goal in the desire to finally come home to the arms of God. It is not surprising therefore that true lovers promise to love each other until the end of time.

This theme one finds in our literature, in our songs, and even in theater. “Hanggang sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan” or West Side Story’s “Somewhere” speaks of a state in one’s life where no one would threaten one’s love. For lovers, the fulfillment of this state is in the afterlife. We have known this reality since time immemorial. At the grave of those we love, we have found the meaning of love. My love for my father thus is beyond the grave: not even death will bring us apart.

Moreover, the grave reminds us of the things that are really important. Often we are swept with trivial things that do not last: temporal things that have become the source of our pride. These are our economic status, our educational background, our achievements, and our titles. If we look more closely, we are in a twisted world.

Scripture teaches us that all of these temporal things are to be used for service, in the love of others. Case in point: when we reach the highest educational attainment, post-graduate studies for example, it is expected that our expertise will make us great educators. But tragically, many of those with PhDs are the most boring and horrifying teachers or astutely proud individuals. Our faith admonishes us that the more we have, the more responsible we must become of others. Great service is remembered forever beyond the grave; while the others end at the grave. Proof: we remember the sacrifice of heroes, and are inspired to continue their legacy.

In addition, those who visit us when we die are the recipients of our love. They are the ones who matter. They are the ones whom we should dedicate all of our lives. This is the direction of all our courses of action, our decisions, and our sacrifices. The grave redirects our lives to the right path.

Furthermore, I find myself connected with my ancestors. At the side walls of the 17th century church of St. John the Baptist in Camalig, Albay are the niches of my ancestors who have contributed to the construction of the church. I was baptized there. I played the Kawai organ there in high school. And my vocation grew there. I would not be a priest without that church built by my great ancestors.

In the cemetery, my mother would give me a tour of all the people there. She would tell me that her mother used to sing at church, and her father used to play the organ at mass. Today, that is precisely what I do. All these ancestors of mine contributed to who I am now. When I visit the cemetery, I find myself connected to generations of familial love and service to the community. My home will always be where my ancestors are. I will always find myself if I return to my roots.

Finally, the perspective of faith. Every Sunday, the creed is recited to remind us of the basic tenets of our faith. In the creed, there is a phrase that is the source of the practice of commemorating the dead: the “communion of saints.” Just as I am connected with my ancestors, we who are pilgrims here on earth are connected with those who are still being purified and those who are already with God. And all those who are with God are holy people: they are saints, whether known or unknown.

And their presences are manifestations of God’s personal love for us. By their lives, we are guided. We are assured that we are never alone. I know my father is a saint: his life has been a good example to me and my family. His being father when I was a child was my first encounter of God’s fatherly love; and it continues to be until now, and in the future.

As we visit the graves of our loved ones, let us make our visit meaningful by keeping them in mind. And at the same time, re-evaluate our lives in the perspectives of hope, love and faith. And maybe ask just one question: what would I like people to remember me by when I die or what could be my contribution to the people who will succeed me. As we commune with them, we pray for them that they too pray for us.

The Conversion of Zacchaeus

2010-10-31T04:12:00.004+08:00

31 October 2010 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Wisdom 11:22 - 12:2; Psalm 145; Thess 1:11 - 2:2; Luke 19:1-10

Jericho’s location is strategic. It made itself very rich and significant. Located at the Jordan valley, people pass through it on their way to Jerusalem. By crossing the river, it also gives access to other places east of the Jordan.

Jericho is called the “City of Palms” because within it is a beautiful palm forest and many of the balsam exported around the world are grown there. The Romans exported the dates and balsam for trade and fame. It also has gardens of roses. Think of a well-scented room of balsam and roses spread far and wide! Josephus, the famous historian, calls it “The Divine Region” and the “fattest in Palestine.”

Because of this, Jericho has become one of the greatest taxation centers of Palestine. And thus makes Zacchaeus one of the wealthiest tax-collectors.

But, as we all know, money cannot buy happiness. Zacchaeus, despite his wealth, is lonely. As a tax collector, he is pro-government. In his time, Rome ruled Palestine. And so he is regarded by many Jews as a traitor and thus, an outcast. He also has cheated many people, as many tax collectors do, and so many people do not like him.

However, Zacchaeus is determined. His height never deters him from seeking what he is looking for or curious about. It is this determination that salvation has come to his life.

When he heard about Jesus, he does not think about his status. He climbs a sycamore or a mulberry-fig tree that grows on the wayside. Its trunk is short and sturdy; its lateral branches spreads in all direction. Thus it is a good tree for wayside shade, like our acacias that gives relief to many travelers. So Zacchaeus, because of his courage, climbs the tree to get a view of the famous Teacher.

When we are desperate, we would do all sorts of things to quell the emptiness. Desperate people muster a lot of courage and nothing will stop them from seeking what is lacking. Often, we find what we are looking for because of this determination.

Second, little acts of kindness and affirmation change lives, no matter how small. Jesus sees Zacchaeus and invites himself to his house! Who has the gall to tell someone, “Today I must stay at your house” but Jesus? But it is perfect for Zacchaeus! He knows that by inviting Himself, He is showing Zacchaeus that He is at home with him, no matter what people say. A great way to offer friendship.

In addition, Jesus calls Zacchaeus by name! When someone ‘famous’ acknowledges you by name, it means that he personally knows you. And we all feel good and important! But in a good way. Don’t we feel this when someone famous adds you as a friend in Facebook or comments on your tweet?

And so conversion happens because of small acts of kindness. Zacchaeus finds his happiness which is worth more than his wealth. He shows this to the community by making a decision. A half of his goods to the poor, and ½ to make restitution for the frauds he has committed. His restitution went far beyond what was legally necessary.

What was legally necessary is this:

a. Robbery with a deliberate and violent act: 4x the amount.
b. Robbery and the original goods were not restorable: 2x the amount.
Robbery with voluntary confession, voluntary restitution: value of the original goods were repaid, plus 1/5.

We pray that those who have bled our country, through systemic corruption, will do what Zacchaeus did.

Should Wives Be Subordinate to Their Husbands?

2010-10-29T14:45:00.004+08:00

26 October 2010 Tuesday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time
Ephesians 5, 21-33; Psalm 128; Luke 13, 18-21

The first reading from the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians is one of the readings suggested for weddings. If a couple chooses this reading, I do not recommend it because you need a lot of explaining to do. So I am explaining the first reading now.

Codes of conduct for the household is found in many books in the New Testament, especially 1 Peter. They were adapted by New Testament authors from Greco-Roman popular philosophy as a moral instruction for Christians. And thus, the passage has two dimensions: the household codes and the Christian qualifiers that were added to it. In other words, the codes where Christianized.

The Greco-Roman code especially here in Ephesians treats relations between husbands and wives, children and parents, and slaves and masters as relationships of subordinates to superiors.

However, in this passage, Christian motivation to follow these imperatives are introduced and thus the whole code has been tweaked. The code still show the Christian household as a hierarchical social unit. So it will look like this:

Wives should be subordinate to their husbands .... as to the Lord.
For the husband is head of his wife ... just as Christ is head of the Church, He Himself the savior of the Body.
So wives should be subordinate to their husband in everything ... Just as the Church is subordinate to Christ.
Husbands, love your wife .... even as Christ loved the Church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her.
So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife, loves himself. For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it... even as Christ does the Church, because we are members of his Body.

For this reason, a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

If one looks closely at the Greco-Roman code, the hierarchical structure is based on power, authority and social status. And thus the code can justify abuse. And it is, in fact, often interpreted this way until today. (Thus the reason why I have to explain this.)

However, if one analyzes the qualifying phrases (italicized), the foundation of the code is not anymore power but selfless love. With Jesus and His love as a model, the hierarchical structure is reversed.

First, the head becomes the servant of all; as Jesus, the Head, serves and sacrifices His life for the members of the Church. The wife who should be ‘subordinate’ to her husband, becomes obedient only when it is of the Lord: thus when it is good, correct and right. She is not morally obliged to obey if it is otherwise.

Second, the husband loves his wife, as Christ loves the Church. When one loves another, the beloved, the “significant other” becomes more important to us than our lives, than our bodies. Thus, the husband’s love for his wife should be greater than his love for himself. It is a selfless love like Jesus’ love for us, for the members of His church.

It is therefore important to know that the Greco-Roman code of conduct has become Christianized. And we, who read and interpret it now, should not turn a blind eye on the qualifying phrases that makes Christian married life more a bond of love and unity, a relationship of equality in dignity and honor, and a regard for our own uniqueness and distinctive roles in a relationship.

No wonder, Christianity teaches that when a man and a woman, who genuinely love each other, are joined in the Sacrament of Marriage, they truly become one.

A Tribute to Richie Fernando SJ

2010-10-17T22:00:00.007+08:00

Note: When Richie Fernando's body was brought to the Philippines, I asked permission from my rector if I could attend the funeral in Manila. I was denied permission; but it was granted to another. Fourteen years passed since Richie died in October 1996, and I was never granted the opportunity to speak about him from my personal experience. I am very honored to be here with you today. Thus, my gratitude to Sch. Matthew Tan SJ, who invited me to preside over the mass on Richie's death anniversary here at the Arrupe International Residence. It is more an honor to have with us Richie's family. This is my personal testimonial incidentally on Mission Sunday. (17 October 2010, Commemoration of Arrupe International Residence's Martyrs: Sch. Richie Fernando SJ in 1996 and Fr. AT Thomas SJ in 1997)

Richie's Defining Moment

Bob Greene once said about celebrities: they are people of talent who work to create something--- something written, something painted, something sculpted, something acted out--- and that something is passed on to audiences. These people of talent become popular and famous because of their bodies of work. From legendary musicians, artists, cooks, civic leaders to philanthropists, celebrities contribute to the world’s culture. But today, there are people who become famous, not because they have worked on something, but because they just be, like celebrities of reality shows such as Survivor or Big Brother. They become famous not for doing something of value to civilization but for being.

I believe Richie Fernando SJ became famous by being someone of value. When he protected his students from a bomb in 1996, this defining moment was not something that Richie imagined to ever happen in his entire life. Protecting his students had become his nature; it was who he had become when he joined the Jesuits.

I first met Richie in 1990 when he entered the novitiate. If you watched the video, “Conversations: Jesuits on Jesuits” which we labored to produce when everything was still analog, or the video on Richie himself after his death titled, “Far Greater Love”, you would see me with Richie. I was his angel and he was my soul. In the novitiate, the second year novices adopted a neophyte. They became their personal guide for at least a few weeks at the beginning of Jesuit formation. The secundus was designated the angel; the primus was the soul. I was Richie’s angel, not because of my immaculate being (I was never immaculate), but because it was a task given to me.

It was easy to be Richie’s angel. Because all you had to do was answer some of his questions about this and that; but generally, he liked discovering things for himself. He didn’t want people to take care of him; he liked taking care of people instead. He was a good friend to a select few. The criteria was simple: his friends were those whom he could share his dreams and desires with. His closest friends were those who were able to be with him in his struggles. To him, the solution to an issue was easy to know, but personally challenging to do. And thus, all he needed was a companion in the journey.

It was in 1990 that he shared the initial missionary seed to his closest friend, Fr. Totet Banaynal SJ, who now lives both his and Richie’s desire to serve in Cambodia. For Fr. Totet, to share one’s deepest desire to serve a people outside of one’s country was something we share not to just anyone, but to one’s closest.

In Sacred Heart Novitiate in Novaliches, Quezon City, Richie began his community life. To him, community was about establishing friendships beginning with a few, until one’s circle explands to include everyone else. As his life in the Society moved to different stages in formation, his inner circle grew bigger until it included the students in Cambodia when he was a regent. And because the students were into that core circle of his being, to protect them from harm was not something he planned to do or acted upon like a role in a stage play in Juniorate. It was primarily an instinct from a heart who loved them. In Fr. Ferriol’s Filipino philosophy, his act was simply his “pagmemeron” -- out of what he was.

After his vows in 1992, Richie transferred to Loyola House for his Juniorate and Philosophy. There I knew that I was in his inner circle. During the long academic haul, I would study longer than him. He was extremely intelligent; taking on the most difficult subject like eating fishballs and barbecue and downing them with a liter of Coke. Literally, that was what we did. We took study breaks. Richie and I would go down to Barangka to buy a liter of Coke from the corner store, spend whatever allowance we had on hawker’s fare: barbecued innards, chicken blood and pork large intestines. Isaw was something Richie enjoyed eating. Sometimes we would bring isaw to Dagani House, our small community, and gorged on them with leftover rice.

Richie was never hesitant. If he liked something, he would tell you. My mother would vividly remember what Richie requested when he came to my hometown and stayed at home. He loved chocolate for breakfast. And he would repeatedly request tablea chocolate until the last day of his stay.

This was what we shared: eating was something we found pleasurable. Eating was not something we had to do; it was what we liked to do. It was, simply put, just us.

Thus, when Richie was alive, it was something we did, not because we were tired, but because we liked eating. Because even if we were not tired, we would still enjoy cheap food from street corners.

My room in Loyola House was three rooms away from his. Then Pierre Uytioco, Ike Tarabi, and I would gather in my room, and Richie would bring food there. We would convert my room into a drinking venue; alcoholic beverages were sneaked out of the Father’s recreation room. At that time, it was forbidden. It was a cheap thrill we all enjoyed---and kept it a secret--- for the sake of friendship. Anyways, we did not disturb anyone: all of us occupied the rooms of the 3rd floor!

When Richie died in 1996 at the young age of 26, I was teaching at Xavier University High School. We were both regents then. I remembered hearing the news about how he died: by a hand grenade released by a student in the Jesuit Refugee Service technical school for the handicapped near Phnom Penh. I was in shock. Tears were not enough to express my deep sadness.

But I tell you this now: after recovering from the experience of loss and tragedy, I remembered what I was and what I was meant to be. I was a Jesuit regent. I was meant to become a priest. And a Jesuit priest should die for the sake of another. What Richie died of, died from and died for was not in vain. The spirit of that dying epitomized what I should be. The Lord said that we had to die to ourselves so that others may live.

Years later in 2003, I became Assistant Secretary of the Provincial. There I personally saw papers from people all over the world requesting to start a movement for his sainthood. One life given for the many, now multiplied. People from all over the world gained inspiration from what he had lived for and died for.

Here is what Richie wrote years before his death:

I wish, when I die, people remember not how great, powerful, or talented I was, but that I served and spoke for the truth, I gave witness to what is right, I was sincere in all my works and actions, in other words, I loved and I followed Christ."

Living the Lord’s tenet is not something that happens once and for all. It is not what Andy Warhol called "15 minutes of fame” like B1 celebrities of the 21st century who became famous simply by being in the right place at the right time. To Richie, it was something he prepared to do from the very beginning. It was a long process of transformation. So that when that one moment came that defined his life, he took it without second thoughts. A bomb will not give you time to think! But because it was what he had become, his instinct is to be himself. To protect the students is to take on Christ. St. Paul puts it like this: when we die, it is Christ who lives!

This is the same with one’s vocation. What you do now will tell you who you will be in the future. A medical student who does not study, will definitely not become an excellent doctor. A musician who does not practice will eventually lose his talent.

We can glean from one’s current behavior what kind of person one will be in the future, unless a change occurs. There are things we can predict. To the Jesuit scholastics here:

Try not to have friends in the community; try not to study; try not to live out one’s vows; try not to pray; I bet when the right time, the right place, and the right hour comes, when a bomb is thrown at your class, the first you’ll do is to get out of there!

And newspaper headlines will shamefully print in bold letters: “32 students killed by a bomb blast; Jesuit teacher survived unharmed!”

Keep Praying!

2010-10-17T02:14:00.001+08:00

17 October 2010 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Exodus 17, 8-13; Psalm 121; Tim 3:14 - 4:2; Luke 18, 1-18

You have two characters in the Parable of the Corrupt Judge and the Widow. The judge is completely unscrupulous. He is neither guided by divine or human law: to him, he is the law. The widow on the other hand is just asking for what she truly deserves as her right. Jewish law from Deuteronomy (24, 17-22) tell us that the widow is one of the special and helpless citizens of their society that has to be given priority.

The judge however refuses to act. He may have several reasons for being so. He may be lazy. He may have looked down on her status and thought that she is not worth his attention.

Finally, he is moved to act on her behalf and do her justice because he is afraid of the consequences of her persistence.

In the Gospel, the point of the parable is a contrast that Jesus makes. If a corrupt and insensitive judge will act after persistent requests, will not God answer our persistent prayers?

This then is the topic of the Gospels and the readings. It is a parable about persistent prayer, like the parable of the man who wakes up his friend in the middle of the night (Luke 11, 5-8). The parable encourages us to pray. It comforts us in our lives when it is easier to give up after waiting for so long for God to answer our prayer. It tells us: keep praying. Don’t lose heart!

The attitude of prayer is that of Moses in the first reading: one who outstretches one’s hands during the battle of the Israelites against the Amalekites. When we pray we stretch out our arms to the Lord.

The gesture of stretching our hands in prayer is a gesture of vulnerability. We become open to the elements: our hearts and our vital organs are exposed. In prayer, we put our lives on the table and allow God to guide us. We say in the Our Father, “Your will be done.” Not my will, but God’s. We are not to twist God in the arm. But we let God do what’s best for us. Whether our request is granted or not, it will be responded to.

When Jesus prayed at the Garden of Gethsemane, hoping that His Father would lift Him from suffering, the answer He got was a “no.” Jesus prayed: “If you will, take this cup away from me.” But the “no” from God was for the best: if He had given in to His Son’s request, we would not have been saved and God’s plan of salvation would have been thwarted.

Think again of the battle scene in Exodus: as Joshua and his men were engaged in battle, Aaron and Hur supported Moses’ hands, one on one side and the other on the other hand, so that the hands remained steady till sunset.

This I think is a good image on a Sunday: all of us come to the Lord with great needs. When we come to Sunday to worship with our community, we can think this way: that we are both Moses who prays for victory and/or Aaron & Hur who supports him as he persists in prayer.

In the bigger picture, the battle scene is life itself. We can find ourselves also in battle every single day. And we also find those who love us, praying on top of the hill for us, every single day until sunset. They are our support systems: to me, that is my mother.

Either we take find ourselves in the situation of Joshua or the place of Moses, we pray again and again and again until forever.

Sometimes I realize the point is not so much the result of prayer: but prayer itself. In prayer, we have God. So whether the outcome of Moses’ prayer was victory or defeat, to be with God is the reward itself.

However, Scripture tells us that Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword! That to me tells me that when we persistently prayer, the result will always be victory.

Woe to the Unthinking!

2010-10-13T23:33:00.003+08:00

14 October 2010 Thursday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time
Ephesians 1, 1-10; Psalm 98; Luke 11, 47-54

The entrance antiphon from Psalm 130 has a far deeper connection with the Lucan Gospel of woes. It says: “If you, O Lord, laid bare our guilt, who could endure it? But you are forgetting, God of Israel.” Let me therefore use these two statements for today’s homily.

Statement 1: “If you, O Lord, laid bare our guilt, who could endure it?”

In the Gospel, Jesus exposes the guilt of the scribes and Pharisees. The result of which, as the Gospel ends, is animosity. The scribes and Pharisees begins to be hostile to Him, plotting to catch Him too in His own words.

First, Jesus unveils pretensions. During the time of Jesus, to erect monuments of great prophets was fashionable. So the scribes and Pharisees put up these marks as if they were avid fans. But in truth, their ancestors were the murderers and persecutors of these religious heroes. A prophet’s job was to become God’s spokesperson. When they pointed out what’s wrong about a system, a leadership or a way of life, they performed the role because they were missioned by the Lord. Many great people in the Old Testament like Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Elijah were hesitant to take on the role, but because they were of the Lord, they obeyed.

In our lives, we usually shun the people who are gadflies in our lives. We do not like them because they disturb our present comfortable zones. They point out what’s wrong with us. They shake us with our truths so that we will stop being complacent. Socrates said that the intellectuals are supposed to work like gadflies in society. Gadflies swirl around a beast; pestering it continuously despite being shooed away by the animal’s tail. One of the Jesuits who trained me was Fr. Alfeo Nudas SJ. He was a prolific writer and professor in literature at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. He said this about writers: To provoke people to think is a great service. We have to make people think! They have stopped using their brains! Scientific studies supports this: only a small percentage of our grey matter is being used.

In biblical times, the scribes and Pharisees were the scholars. They were learned. And yet, they stopped thinking. When they taught their disciples, they quoted previous scholars of the law. They didn’t have their own stand which required thorough study and discernment.

They loved creating little laws, but forgot the essentials and the foundation on which laws are built: example, justice and charity. Take for example the tenet that one cannot work during the Sabbath. So, if a family’s sole source of livelihood, strays, they cannot do anything about it. And so when the disciples have taken food during the Sabbath, He irked the scribes and Pharisees. If the scribes and Pharisees used their brains, they would see how reasonable Jesus was.

Today, having an education does not guarantee critical and informed thinking. They lost the ability to think not just outside of the box, but also within the box. They will hate people who would disturb their comfort zones.

Case in point: how many have turned a blind eye to this commandment of Jesus because it is disturbing: love your enemies? Jesus is radical. He is never complacent. He says to us: woe to you who are lazy to think!

Notice that the point is about thinking. Whatever the result is not our concern in this homily; it is another issue. Some people, in a controversial issue, would rather judge you as having this stand or that stand. Black or white. If you challenge them to discuss, dialogue and discern, they will label you right away as either this or that. By doing so, they prevent people from precisely doing what Jesus wants us to do: think!

Statement 2: “But you are forgetting, God of Israel.”

But God is indeed forgiving. He ‘forgets’ our sins.

So let’s apply statement 1: we have to use our brains. If God is forgetting (meaning: erasing from memory), why does Jesus remind the scribes and Pharisees to remember their guilt? By pointing out their folly, Jesus does not “forget” but brings their sins and stupidity into the fore.

Forgiveness, therefore, means that we will be free from our hurts; that our decisions will not be determined by the pain. The word “forgetting” does not mean how we presently understand the word ‘forget’; in the first place, it is an English translation from Latin. The original will tell us that it does not mean erasing the event from memory.

Case in point: Our short-term memory of oppression has detrimental effects. In our personal lives, the people who abuse us, continue to do so. In our country, the people who have milked our economy stay. By saying, forgive and forget, they say: let this corrupt system continue. We’re used to it.

Why Do We Pray the Rosary?

2010-10-06T01:59:00.004+08:00

7 October 2010. Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary
Galatians 3, 1-5; Luke 1, 69-75; Luke 11, 5-13

As we celebrate the memorial of our Lady of the Rosary, allow me to talk about the rosary personally. If you were to ask me why I pray the rosary, I would probably answer you this way.

1. The rosary is a devotion in Catholic life. The rosary reminds me of the history of my faith. It was like St. Paul in the first reading who narrated the history of his conversion. You see, my family was not the very pious type; with members belonging to one or more religious organizations. My father was not particularly a devotee; it was my mother who convinced him to pray and to attend mass regularly. He was one of those dads you see outside of the church during the homily. My brothers and sisters were members of choirs. But we were not raised up doing long novenas and reciting chants in latin. But if there was one thing I remembered about my family’s love affair with God, it was the daily night rosary led by my mom. Every night, the whole household stopped for prayer. No matter who dozed off (usually it was me and my Dad), it did not matter. The practice continues until today. The rosary was the staple personal prayer of the whole family.

2. The rosary is scriptural. The rosary was the stuff of our grade school and high school faith-life. We remembered the living rosaries we held every October. A large part of the recitation of the rosary was mechanical: repeated Hail Marys and Our Fathers, and the mindless blurting out of the Three Mysteries (it was still the Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious during my adolescent life). But if there were things I learned about the repetitions it was these: I memorized some parts of Scripture. The Hail Mary is taken from Luke 1, 28 from the words of the Angel Gabriel and from Luke 1, 42 from the lips of Elizabeth, the cousin of Mary; the Our Father is in Luke 11 and Matthew 6). Moreover, the Glory Be is a prayer to the Trinity. And more importantly, I memorized the Life of Christ. Memorize all of the Mysteries of the Rosaries, and you basically know the life of Christ. This is not far from history. During the Middle Ages, education was a privilege of the monks. A large number of the populace were uneducated. In order for them to know snippets of the Word of God, the monks taught them the Hail Mary, the Angelus, the Pater Noster (Our Father). The first part of the Hail Mary was preceded by different petitions which eventually led to the 2nd verse of the oral prayer. The rosary was an educational or a catechetical tool.

3. The rosary is a meditation of the life of Jesus. The rosary led me to appreciate the life of Jesus. I prayed the rosary more often during travels. Admittedly, it was a good way to while away time. Often it could get me to sleep. But what I like the most about the rosary was its flexibility. There were many ways of praying it. You could go through all of the mysteries, or you can pray just one decade and meditate on a particular aspect of the life of Christ, or you pray it so that you know that the last thought you had before you sleep was God. It was good to sleep in the embrace of God.

If I were to pattern my life to Christ today, I must meditate on His life repeatedly. There is one thing that we have to make clear: we do not worship Mary --- we worship only the Blessed Trinity. But we give Mary the highest honor. In many of Mary’s icons, each gesture mean something. One of the gestures we see about Mary is that she points to the Child in her arms. She tells us that the proper way of Marian devotions should lead us to love Christ. It is not an accident that we call the rosary, a devotion. Devotions increases our love, loyalty and enthusiasm for a person, an activity or a cause. This time, the devotions should increase our love for Mary’s Son.

4. We repeat to remember; we remember to repeat. If asked why the rosary is a repetition, well it is about real life. There is a pervading culture that loves change. Anything that is repeated is boring. But look again. Many new things comes from repetition. A scientific discovery traces its source of repeated experimentation. An additional idea comes from repetitious studies. An improvement in our skills comes from discipline. A deepening of love comes from consistent repetition of both the words, “I love you” and a various ways of showing it: the everyday meal our mother prepares for us, the daily text messages, the regular dates and celebrations are all repetitions. Change does not happen unless something is repeatedly done. If one would like to love Jesus, then repeat and repeat and repeat His life. You just don’t form a habit, you actually become the habit. Pray the life of Jesus, and eventually you become like Jesus. That’s the rosary to me and my family. And this is why I still pray it until today.