They Are Families Too!

The "holy" family of Mary, Joseph and Jesus, does seem to be a difficult model to imitate and identify with. After all, Mary is full of grace. Joseph is the righteous man and Jesus, the Son of God.

But a closer look at their situation makes us realize that while they may be described as "holy", they are not "usual" or "normal" in the way we conceive a family... a child made by a husband and wife through their conjugal act. Mary got pregnant prior to their marriage, and not even by her husband Joseph (such a shameful thing to happen to a respectable woman, according to social norms). Joseph learns of the pregnancy only later. He is asked to take Mary and her child as his own (according to cultural norms for males, such a stupid thing to do; why get a "package deal" when you can get a certified virgin and make a child of your own with her). And the child, born in untimely of circumstances (while they had to travel to Bethlehem) and in the most unfavorable location, devoid of hygiene and sanitation. The child provoked conflict from the start, getting a threat from the King, and prophesied by Simeon to cause more conflicts and contradiction later on.

So what about families formed by women who get pregnant out of wedlock, ending up as single mothers, of men getting the jeers for having fallen for a woman with a child, of unwanted children, perceived as threats to security and comfort, and sources of problems and conflicts? What about families of single mothers, single fathers, childless couples, separated spouses, orphaned and abandoned children? and all those "unconventional", "un-usual", "ab-normal" families?

Happy Feastday to all families!

Silent Night, Silent God

Indeed, "silent night" is an appropriate description of the night the Son of God was born, because He is the Son of a Quiet God who prefers to act, to work, to labor, in silence.

On that first Christmas night, Bethlehem must have been a noisy, crowded, busy place because of all the natives coming home for the census ordered by Augustus, which was why Mary and Joseph did not find a vacant room to stay. They ended up in a manger, somewhere perhaps at the outskirts of the city, at the backyard of the house, away from the chatter and banter of the people. There in the obscure corner of the kingly city of David, the "Son of David", the Son of God, was born.

God does seem to love the quiet places, the hidden corners, the silent nights... there He is born, there He is to be found... there He is... to find those left out in these hidden places, those lost for having made the wrong turns in the twisted corners of life, those screaming in silence during the dark nights of their souls.

May we find the hidden God this Xmas, or rather, may we, who are hiding, be found by this God this Xmas!

A Blessed Christmas, my friend!

How Can This Be?

The iconography of the Blessed Virgin Mary usually portrays her as a demure, sweet, "Maria Clara" type girl, almost naive to a fault. She is described as a woman who readily submitted herself to the will of God that she be the mother of the Son of God.

But a close reading of the Annunciation narrative shows that she did not immediately, unthinkingly and passively just agreed to what God planned to do with her. She "wondered what this greeting meant". She thoughtfully inquired how God's plan was to be accomplished in her: "How can this be since I do not know man?" She dared to ask, to question, to probe into the ways of God. She was actively involved throughout the exchange with the angel. And all through her life as a mother, she would always be pondering, reflecting, perhaps continually asking, questioning, probing, even at the foot of the Cross. This makes her "fiat" not a blind submission to God's will, but an acceptance offered after an involved and intense 'discernment.'

May the Blessed Mother place us with her Son as we celebrate His birth this Christmas!

God Is Preparing a Place

On this Advent season, we are exhorted to make preparations for the coming of the Messiah: for His second coming at the end of time (or at the end of our time here on earth, meaning our death), as well as for the commemoration of His first coming, on Christmas Day. We are given many suggestions for spiritual preparations, which we are supposed to undertake amidst the material preparations, like putting up Xmas lights and Xmas trees, buying gifts, booking tickets for Xmas break etc.

As we make all these Advent preparations, we celebrate the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, a feast specially celebrated in many parishes and chapels all over the country. The opening prayer for today's Mass says: "Father, you prepared the Virgin Mary to be the worthy mother of your Son. You let her share beforehand in the salvation Christ would bring by his death, and kept her sinless from the first moment of her conception. Help us by her prayers to live in your presence without sin. We ask this..."

This opening prayer reminds us how God Himself prepared the way, the place for the coming of His Son, the Redeemer. It is not the world that prepared itself or a way or a place for Christ. It is God who made the necessary preparations in the person of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that Christ may find a fitting dwelling place when he comes to the earth.

Perhaps God does the same in our hearts. In the end, it is not we who will ultimately prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ, whether this Xmas or at the end of time. It is God who prepares a place... but we have to open our hearts and let Him come in so that He may undertake the cleansing, the healing, the washing, the purifying of our hearts, as He did to Mary.

A God Who Risks

When a woman finally accepts a marriage proposal, especially if it comes from a "less than ideal man", she is usually asked by her friends, "Are you sure of that man? Aren't you committing suicide? Are you that desperate?" But despite all badmouthing and the backbiting of the man, or perhaps, honest concern for the woman, she goes on to tie the knot with the man she believes is her Mr Right.

Perhaps, or for sure, she knows his weaknesses and limitations, and that she could be wrong, and they could be right. But never mind, she accepts him anyway. She gives him a chance. She takes the risk, for the sake of the relationship, for the sake of the man, for her own sake.

In the Gospel, the King probably knew the third servant would do as he did: kept the money, buried it, not even put in the bank so that it could earn interest, never took the risk of investing the money so that it could grow. But still, the King went on gave him a chance, took the risk with Him. In the end, however, the servant was judged appropriately.

Our God, our King... a God, a King who risks, a God who gives us the chance, to grow, to explore, to risk... despite knowing that we could fail, we could sin; but He goes on anyway, for He loves, He is Love. And only those who truly love take the chance, take the risk. And He is that God.

An Angry Christ

Can you imagine an angry Christ? We are told that the Gospel portrait of Jesus is that of a joyful and serene man. He has almost complete possession of Himself, his feelings and passions. But this Sunday's Gospel gives a another image of Jesus. It shows his other side, as it were, Jesus explicitly getting angry and being carried away by his anger that he overthrows the tables and whips the moneychangers and vendors away from the Temple.

Rather than subjecting Him to psycho-analysis, it's more beneficial to ask what triggered the anger of Jesus. The text says that the businessmen has turned the temple into a marketplace. In another Gospel, it says, the temple has been turned into a den of thieves. A Scripture scholar notes that whatr made Jesus terribly angry is that the place where the businessmen set up their tables and displayed their merchandise is the area where the poor may worship, thus depriving them of their place in the temple, a place which is actually already somewhere in the peripheries of the temple.

This connects to the second reading that says: "If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy." An affront, a deprivation, desecration of the poor, who are also temples of God, and therefore holy, will certainly invite the anger, nay, the wrath of God. We hope we don't get driven out by an angry Christ. Let's make space for the poor, not only in our places of worship, but in every area of our life.

Saints with Small S

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us” (Heb 12:1).

It is said that solemnity honors the saints with a small “s”, meaning, those who are not officially recognized or canonized by the Church as saints, but are truly saints because they, too, have lived according to the Beatitudes. They, too, while on earth, were spiritually poor, merciful, pure of heart, peacemakers, agents of justice. Hence, though uncanonized, they are saints, too. We, therefore, believe that they are now fully united with God in the joys of the heavenly Kingdom.

For me, those people who have touched my lives and have been partly responsible for who I am now are also included among the cloud of witnesses who inspire me to run the race with joy and enthusiasm. Among those I remember on this day are:

- Lola Pining, Lolo Isko and Lolo Julian

- Fr Lorenzo delos Santos

- Jesuits Frs Bonoan, Rooney, Sanz, Dolan, Phelan, Gaa

Who are your small saints?

Measuring Love

This Sunday's Gospel gives a tall order: to love God with all of one's heart, soul, mind and strength. We might ask whether this is possible at all when, in fact, we can not even love those around us, even our loved ones, with all our mind, soul, strength etc. Most often, our self-giving in love for them would measure up to 90 or 95% only? Indeed, as St John says, "How can you love God whom you do not see when you do not love your neighbor whom you can see?"

Precisely, that is the point. The second greatest commandment is love of neighbor, which is inseparable from love of God, for the former is the measure of the later. The first reading gives concrete guidelines regarding this: defending the orphan and the widow, lending without interest, not taking advantage of the poor.

Love of God is measurable after all. They, the poor, the needy, the widow and the orphan. They hold the measuring rod. May we not be found wanting when measured.

What More Do You Want?

"What more was there to do for my vineyard that I had not done?" (Is 5:4a) This is also the Lord's question to Israel in Micah 6:3 when He laments: "O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me!"

If there is anything else which the Lord has not done for His people and Israel asks for it, the Lord is willing to do it, if only to strengthen their covenant relationship. But we know the answer, the Lord has done His part. He has chosen Israel, He has freed them from Egypt, brought them to the Promised Land, defended them from their enemies and the list goes on.

The Lord has done everything, while Israel has done... nothing. Instead, they killed the prophets and the rest of God's messengers. Even the Son has not been spared by their envy and greed.

indeed,="">

We Can Be Saints, Too!

This is a tribute to San Lorenzo Ruiz, the Phil's one and only (officially canonized) saint. While Japan, China and other non-Christian countries already have countless of martyrs, the Philippines, the only Xtian country in Asia, has only 1.

San Lorenzo Ruiz was a lay man; he was not a priest or a religious. Hence, he is one like most of many Filipino, a lay man who has a family, but was nevertheless active in Church activities. But while we only 1 officially canonized saint, don’t we have hundreds, perhaps thousands of un-official/ un-canonized saints...like Mothers praying fervently each day for your perseverance, or your lola and/ or lola who wake up much earlier than our 5 AM rising time to walk to the Church amidst the dark and cold early morning to attend Mass! Or of the kaabags and katekistas who serve your parishes gratis, without any pay! And you can multiply the examples…

If only for this, many of our lay people, more than our own selves, qualify to be called saints for they meet Lawrence Cunningham’s definition of a saint “one who is so grasped by a religious vision that it becomes central to his or her life, in a way that radically changes the person and leads others to glimpse the value of that vision.”

Onthis feast of San Lorenzo Ruiz and companion martyrs, this is our call! This is our…challenge!

Is This All There Is For Me?

"Is this all there is for me?" is the question we ask when what we receive is less than what we think we should receive. Perhaps a compliment, or a word of praise, or a pat on the back, or an applause, or a bonus. The frustration is greater and the grumbling louder when we look over the shoulder of our neighbor and discover that this guy next to us who spent less hours and energy and talent (of which we think we have more, hmm, perhaps we do!) received the same, and worse, more praise or appreciation or bonus than we did. In effect, what should have been a happy occasion of receiving from the bounty of the Master becomes a recitation of a litany of complaints and gripings against, not the injustice of the Master, but His generosity.

This is the drama of this Sunday's Parable of the Hired Tenants. The question addressed to those who complained is for us, too, "Are you jealous that I am generous?" May this Sunday be truly the Lord's Day, a day of resting in and counting of (if we can) the blessings of the all-generous Lord, whose ways may be strange, but never unjust.

The Cross is the Cure

The "cross" is usually used as a metaphor for a problem. For example, a wife will say, "My husband is my cross." Or a student, "Physics and Trigo are my crosses." However, the readings for this Sunday, the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross, show us that the Cross is not the problem. On the contrary, it the solution, it is the cure.

In the first reading, the bronze serpent mounted on the pole is the cure for the impatient Israelites who were bitten by the snakes. The serpent on the pole is a type of Jesus who would later be fixed on the Cross. When we look at the cross, we see an ever patient God who bears with all our grumblings and murmurings and complaints, many of them too petty to even mention.

As we gaze on the Cross on the feast of its exaltation, may we realize more deeply its healing power in our lives, especially for our impatience, our pettiness, our lack of faith.

We adore you, O Christ and we bless you, because by your Holy Cross, you have redeemed the world.

The Stinging Ointment of Wholesome Sorrow

Still fresh from the feastday of St. Augustine, our patron saint here in Cagayan de Oro, I quote these 2 passages from the "Confessions" which capture the message of the 1st reading and Gospel of this Sunday.

The first reading speaks of the Lord's Word burning in the heart of Jeremiah, disturbing, distressing, directing Him to speak it out. Augustine also experienced how the Lord had disturbed him "with inward stings."

But you, O Lord, abide forever, yet thou art not forever angry with us, for you have compassion on our dust and ashes (Ps. 103:9-14.) It was pleasing in your sight to reform my deformity, and by inward stings you disturbed me so that I was impatient until you were made clear to my inward sight. By the secret hand of your healing, my swelling was lessened, the disordered and darkened eyesight of my mind was from day to day made whole by the stinging ointment of wholesome sorrow (Bk 7, Ch. 8).

And the Gospel tells how a disciple of Jesus must lose his/her life that s/he might gain it. Augustine relates how he had been freed from the sweetness of trifles that had chained him, and how it brought him joy.

How sweet did it suddenly become to me to be without the sweetness of trifles! And it was now a joy to put away what I formerly feared to lose. For you cast them away from me, O true and highest Sweetness. You cast them away, and in their place you entered in Yourself--sweeter than all pleasure, though not to flesh and blood; brighter than all light, but more veiled than all mystery; more exalted than all honor, though not to them that are exalted in their own eyes. Now was my soul free from the gnawing cares of seeking and getting, of wallowing in the mire and scratching the itch of lust. And I prattled like a child to you, O Lord my God--my light, my riches, and my salvation (Bk 9, Ch 1).

Happy Weekend!

Augustine, Patron of Backsliders

Another excerpt from St Augustine's "Confessions" (Bk 7, Ch 17) which some of us can identify with, and which can give us hope and encouragement as we seek to love the Lord and only Him, but find ourselves being weighed down by our old habits.

And I marveled that I now loved thee, and no phantasm in thy stead, and yet I was not stable enough to enjoy my God steadily. Instead I was transported to thee by thy beauty, and then presently torn away from thee by my own weight, sinking with grief into these lower things. This weight was carnal habit. But thy memory dwelt with me, and I never doubted in the least that there was One for me to cleave to; but I was not yet ready to cleave to thee firmly. For the body which is corrupted presses down the soul, and the earthly dwelling weighs down the mind, which muses upon many things.

... And I saw thy invisibility understood by means of the things that are made. But I was not able to sustain my gaze. My weakness was dashed back, and I lapsed again into my accustomed ways, carrying along with me nothing but a loving memory of my vision, and an appetite for what I had, as it were, smelled the odor of, but was not yet able to eat.

Happy Feast day!

Monica, the Peacemaker

August 27 is the feastday of Santa Monica, the mother of St. Augustine. She is more popularly known for her constant prayers and gift of tears by which she obtained from God the grace of the conversion of her husband as well as of her son, Augustine. But the following excerpt from the Confessions (Bk 9, Ch 9) of her son, Augustine, shows how she can teach how to be peacemakers, especially in the present context of fighting in Mindanao:

This other great gift thou also didst bestow, O my God, my Mercy, upon that good handmaid of thine, in whose womb thou didst create me. It was that whenever she could she acted as a peacemaker between any differing and discordant spirits, and when she heard very bitter things on either side of a controversy--the kind of bloated and undigested discord which often belches forth bitter words, when crude malice is breathed out by sharp tongues to a present friend against an absent enemy--she would disclose nothing about the one to the other except what might serve toward their reconciliation. This might seem a small good to me if I did not know to my sorrow countless persons who, through the horrid and far-spreading infection of sin, not only repeat to enemies mutually enraged things said in passion against each other, but also add some things that were never said at all. It ought not to be enough in a truly humane man merely not to incite or increase the enmities of men by evil-speaking; he ought likewise to endeavor by kind words to extinguish them. Such a one was she--and thou, her most intimate instructor, didst teach her in the school of her heart.

The Stranger

I feature for this weekend's reflection the (unedited) essay of Mark Elloren, a second year theology seminarian here in St John Vianney Theological Seminary. This was submitted as a weekly reflection for our Christology course. This also appears in his own blog/ multiply site. This Sunday's Gospel has Jesus asking the disciples, "Who do you say that I am?"

+ + +

He became stranger to me.

It was like the silence of two best friends who meet each other in the morning after making love for the first time the night before. They became strangers after exploring deeper the realities of themselves and found out that there was something more in their friendship.

It was like the awkward distance of lovers who meet in an unexpected circumstance after breaking up for many years. They became strangers after realizing they still love each other and that silent love created distance.

It was like that. Jesus became stranger to me.

Talking about Him deeply in our Christology class, I came to realize that there is something more about him. I thought he was just my best friend whom I could share my thoughts, my problems, my heartaches, my frustrations and my joy. I thought He was the Jesus who would take care of me in my loneliness, who will fight for me everytime I lose, and who would run for me like the father in the prodigal son after I make mistakes in life.

No, there is something more to him than just being a friend.

I thought my love for him would make me closer. No, my love for him creates space. Yet that space is a consoling space, a healing space and a loving space. I could not understand this thoroughly. But my point is: after loving him, Jesus became stranger to me. Love, then, is a paradox- it is close yet distance.

Is this the experience of the two disciples walking to Emmaus? They thought Jesus would save Israel from slavery. They thought Jesus will fulfill their desire for a Messiah. Jesus became stranger to them. Yet, the hope was that, the stranger made their hearts burning within. (Lk 32:24)

No words attached, with mystery, with unfamiliarity and with longing, the presence of the stranger somehow made my heart burning within.

It was like the moment, being with your beloved for long- no words attached, with mystery, with unfamiliarity, with longing- and realizing that your beloved becomes stranger to you.

Soon, I'll Be There

The Solemnity of Mary's Assumption has always gives a sense of quiet joy... because that is what hope brings... quiet joy. The Assumption of Mary gives us hope that like her, after our earthly pilgrimage, will also be brought to the Kingdom of Heaven, there to be forever with her Son, Jesus. For that is what heaven is, not a place somewhere out there, but full and unending union with Jesus Christ.

Indeed, while we are here on earth, we are beset by forces that hinder us from experiencing full union with Christ: our human weaknesses and limitations, our wayward and deceptive desires, our misdirected passions and attachments. And most of these are experienced in our bodies... this body of ours which is at once an instrument of grace as well as of sin.

For this reason, the Assumption of Mary gives us hope, that our bodies, yes, our entire person will be glorified one day, like that of Mary. Hence, we say to Mary, "We look to you, our model, our forerunner. Soon, I'll be there with you."

The Waves and Winds of our Lives

The sea is a double faced creature. At one time, it can be very calm and peaceful.  Other time, it is like a monster that devours people mercilessly, as was the case during the MV Princess od the Stars tragedy.  Even the best trained sailors and navigators are no match to the raging waters whenever the sea turns mad and murderous.  Not even their skills and experience could keep them calm and confident in such precarious situations.

In the Gospel, even the veteran fisherman that Peter was easily lost his courage when he saw the strong winds shaking the ground (or water) under his feet. And it was already Jesus standing before Him.  Yet He still doubted.

How similar to our experience! With all our catechism and religious education and theology, teaching us who Jesus is, how it is to put our faith in Him, we still easily get discouraged when the waves and winds come smashing our well built convictions and beliefs.  Yet how consoling it is to see the Lord stretching out His hand to catch us just before we fall, as He did to Peter.  Only then did He chide him for his doubts and discouragement.  

May we also see the hand of the Lord stretched out to us in assistance.  May we see and grasp it and rejoice in a God, always there to save us, but also gently rebukes us, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

Stumbling Upon the Treasure

The Gospel for this Sunday says "A man found a treasure hidden in the field... A man found a fine pearl..." The Gospel does not say that they were looking or searching for the treasure or the pearl. {The merchant was in search of fine pearls, but was nonetheless not expecting he would find one such fine pearl}. Hence, it could be that while they were going about their daily routine of ploughing the field, or sowing the seeds, or throwing their nets or rowing their boats, they unexpectedly stumbled upon the treasure or the pearl. Hence, their great joy their valuable find. Had they not gone through their daily tasks patiently, boring or tiring though it might have been, they would not have found the treasure or the pearl.

Great and valuable treasures, therefore, are not to be found in some special times or places other than in the daily, ordinary routine of our lives. Happy weekend!

http://picturepost.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/fishermen.jpg

Wheat among the Weeds

The more popular title of this parable from Matthew 13:24-43 is "Weeds among the Wheat." I wonder whether it is possible to call it instead, "Parable of the Wheat among the Weeds." The former title seem to presuppose that there are more wheat than weeds. Well, because as the parable says, it was what the owner of the vineyard planted.

If we are to grant the explanation that the wheat are the "good" people, and the weeds are the "bad" people whom God has allowed to exist alongside the good people, aren't there times when it seems that there are more bad people than good people. And amidst the growing numbers of bad people, it seems more and more difficult to be good. It's difficult to be a wheat among the weeds, especially if the weeds grow faster than the wheat.

With this feeling, we find the St Paul's very consoling:
"The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we ought,
but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.
And the one who searches hearts
knows what is the intention of the Spirit,
because he intercedes for the holy ones
according to God’s will."

Take courage, then, wheat of God.

Seeds of Prayer and Silence

Sunday, July 13, I am giving a day of recollection to some nuns of the Religious Sisters of Mercy in Camp Philips, Bukidnon. I surfed the internet to get an idea who they are. I found out who their foundress was, Catherine McAuley. And she has some beautiful words worth pondering on. I decided to offer these quotations as recollection points for the sisters. Like the Sunday Gospel, Catherine makes use of the image of planting.

Prayer is a plant the seed of which is sown in the heart of every Christian, but its growth entirely depends on the care we take to nourish it.

Retreat Instructions, p. 90

Thus we go on…flourishing in the very midst of the Cross, more than a common share of which has latterly fallen to my lot, thanks be to God. I humbly trust it is the cross of Christ. I endeavor to make it in some way like his by silence.

Letter to Frances Warde May 15, 1838

Happy Sunday!

Isn't It Heavy?

Don't we sometimes want to ask the Lord, "You said your yoke is easy, and your burden light. But actually, what you are asking me to do, the tasks you are giving me, the challenges you are asking me to face, the cross you are asking me to bear are not at easy or light! Under the weight of all these, I fall to the ground, I hurt my knees, I see sweat and blood on my skin. What made you say it is easy and light?"

But to ask this question is to miss to hear what the Lord says before these words. He says: "Come to me all who labor and are heavily burdened. Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart. Your souls will find rest." Only if we come close to the Lord and learn from Him will our yokes and burden be easier and lighter. And there close to Him, we shall find His hand extended to us in assistance, His shoulder offered to us to lay our heads, His heart open in welcome and acceptance.

May this experience of the Lord's assuring presence inspire to say in response: I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.

Doubters' day

Many Catholics ask whether doubting the existence or the presence of God is a sin. Today's feast of St. Thomas, popularly known as the "Doubting Thomas" should answer that question. In the encounter between the Risen Christ and Thomas, our Lord granted Thomas' request: that he probe the nailprints and put his hands on our Lord's side. Jesus welcomed the doubts of Thomas and helped him through it and invited him to faith. Thomas' doubts, then, became a stepping stone to faith. And we are told that his profession of faith in Jesus as Lord and God the sums up all the other all previous professions of faith of the other characters in John's Gospel.

We are, then, in good company! Happy feastday, doubters!

What Makes a Pillar

Saints Peter and Paul are called the pillars of the Catholic Church. Peter is the "rock upon which the Church is built" (Mt 16:18) and Paul is the "chosen vessel through whom the Gospel is proclaimed to all nations" (Acts 9:15).

We usually think of a pillar as a rock, strong, sturdy, heavy. Are these the reasons why Peter and Paul are called pillars of our faith? Because they are strong, sturdy?

On the surface, it seems they were strong, but we know that their weaknesses got the better of them too. Their being "pillars of the Church" must be for some other reason.

In the post-resurrection encounter between Jesus and Peter, Jesus asks him: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” And Peter confesses his love for Christ, knowing fully well how he failed the Lord.

Paul, for his part, declares: “Though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If any other man thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more:
But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ” (Phil 3:4, 7-8)

Hence, it is their love, their love for Christ that made them pillars of our Church; their strength comes from their love for Christ.

What's the source of your strength?

We pray that like Peter and Paul, we may find in Christ our pillar of strength.

As Certain as the Dawn

The first reading this Sunday answers the question: Why is our Hope In Him Alone?

“Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD; as certain as the dawn is his coming, and his judgment shines forth like the light of day! He will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth.”

In Him alone is our hope because only in God can we find certainty, security. Human hopes, human loves, as we know and have experienced it are ultimately fragile, conditional, transitory. This the prophet Hosea also illustrates by saying:

What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah? Your piety is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that early passes away.

Let us, on this Sunday, reaffirm our hope and trust in the Lord as we sing:

In Him alone is our hope. In Him alone is our strength. In Him alone are we justified. In Him alone are we saved. [refrain of the song "In Him Alone" by MVFrancisco, in the album "The best of Bukaspalad vol. 2]

Through the Fire

A few beautiful lines from Pope Benedict's Spe Salvi, in connection with Pentecost, the coming down of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and Mary as tongues of fire:

47. Some recent theologians are of the opinion that the fire which both burns and saves is Christ himself, the Judge and Saviour. The encounter with him is the decisive act of judgement. Before his gaze all falsehood melts away. This encounter with him, as it burns us, transforms and frees us, allowing us to become truly ourselves. All that we build during our lives can prove to be mere straw, pure bluster, and it collapses. Yet in the pain of this encounter, when the impurity and sickness of our lives become evident to us, there lies salvation. His gaze, the touch of his heart heals us through an undeniably painful transformation “as through fire”. But it is a blessed pain, in which the holy power of his love sears through us like a flame, enabling us to become totally ourselves and thus totally of God.

Let the psalm response in the Mass for Pentecost be our prayer too:

Lord, send forth your spirit, and renew the face of the earth!



(pix from http://home.indy.rr.com/legionofmary/images/HolySpirit2.jpg)

Langit sa Piling Mo

Langit ang buhay
sa tuwing ika'y hahagkan.
Anong ligaya sa tuwing mamasdan,
sa piling mo, ang gabi'y tila araw.
Ikaw ang pangarap, ikaw lamang.

what shall we say about heaven? What is heaven?
If we want a theological treatise on it,
we can consult various theologians and scholars. Can we maybe
summarize their point by saying that heaven is none other than

being with Christ (sa piling mo...)
, with Him is profound joy, (anong ligaya sa tuwing ika'y mamasdan)
for He is all we desire, (ikaw ang pangarap, ikaw lamang)
and with Him, nights are as days. (ang gabi'y tila araw)

May we experience the Risen Lord, the Unconquerable Sun,
transforming our nights into days, thereby allowing us to experience
heaven even while here on earth.

Orphans No More

The Gospel for the 6th Sunday of Easter reminded me of this verse from the song "So the Love of God".

Once we were lost
orphans of night
left but to wander
longing for the light
found by a love
that would not let us go
we are God's children
family forever.

Jesus promises His disciples that He will not leave them orphans.
The Holy Spirit will be their defender (the traditional task of the father of the family) and their teacher (the traditional task of the mother in the family).

At times when we feel orphaned, left alone, literally or figuratively by our biological or surrogate parents, or by those who are supposed to be our defenders and teachers, we can draw strength from the words of Jesus in today's Gospel, and of these lines from this song: "we are God's children, family forever."

pix from: imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/AGF/933...

A Place For Us

SOMEWHERE

There's a place for us,
Somewhere a place for us.
Peace and quiet and open air
Wait for us
Somewhere.

There's a time for us,
Some day a time for us,
Time together with time spare,
Time to learn, time to care,
Some day!

Somewhere.
We'll find a new way of living,
We'll find a way of forgiving
Somewhere . . .

There's a place for us,
A time and place for us.
Hold my hand and we're halfway there.
Hold my hand and I'll take you there
Somehow,
Some day,
Somewhere!

music by Leonard Bernstein; lyrics by Stephen Sondheim


This song just came to my mind as I was reading the Gospel for this Sunday,
the fifth of Easter: Taking the office of consoler, as Ignatius says of the Risen Lord in the 4th week of the Spiritual Exercises, Jesus assures us of a place, not just somewhere or anywhere, but in the house of his Father, who is our Father, too.

May these words of Jesus truly console us, that even if we find no place in this world, or in the hearts of the people of this world, even in those we love, there is always a place for us, especially made and prepared for us, in the house of the Father, in the Heart of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, our only Hope.

Shepherd of Hope

The theme of this Sunday's Gospel (Good Shepherd) continues last Sunday's theme (Walk to Emmaus). Picking up again from Pope Benedict's Spe Salvi, we get to know more deeply the source of our hope, Jesus, our Good Shepherd. And understand why He is our only hope:

“The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want ... Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, because you are with me ...” (Ps 23 [22]:1, 4). The true shepherd is one who knows even the path that passes through the valley of death; one who walks with me even on the path of final solitude, where no one can accompany me, guiding me through: he himself has walked this path, he has descended into the kingdom of death, he has conquered death, and he has returned to accompany us now and to give us the certainty that, together with him, we can find a way through. The realization that there is One who even in death accompanies me, and with his “rod and his staff comforts me”, so that “I fear no evil” (cf. Ps 23 [22]:4)—this was the new “hope” that arose over the life of believers (SS 6).

What comfort and consolation indeed it is for us to realize that the roads we are afraid to tread, the mountains we are scared to climb and the rivers we are reluctant to cross, to all these Jesus Christ our Shepherd had been, and has come back to accompany us as we walk these roads, as we climb these mountains, as we cross these rivers...

"...and to assure us that together with Him, we shall find our way through."

*pix from Von größter Schönheit

"But We Were Hoping..."

"But we were hoping that He would be the one to redeem Israel" (Lk 24:21).

The walk to Emmaus is really a walk of Hope. Two men who had hoped, who seemed to have given up hope, walk away from Jerusalem, the place where their hope had been crushed. Then suddenly, the risen Jesus walks with them to rekindle the flame of hope in their hearts. It is the accompanying presence of Jesus that awakens their hope. Because Christ is with them, they have hope. Pope Benedict makes this point in Spe Salvi, his encyclical on Christian Hope. He quotes from a letter of Paul Le-bhao-tin, a Vietnamese martyr who was imprisoned for the faith:

In the midst of these torments, which usually terrify others, I am, by the grace of God, full of joy and gladness, because I am not alone —Christ is with me ... (SS 37)

May we perceive Christ present in our journeys awakening the flame of hope in our hearts.

graphics from: www.jsmatt.com/custom4.html

The Rays of Divine Mercy

The image of Jesus King of the Divine Mercy shows our Lord pointing to His Heart where rays of light shine forth. Pope Benedict, in Spe Salvi, his encyclical on Christian hope speaks of the transformative power of this rays of light or fire of love:

Some recent theologians are of the opinion that the fire which both burns and saves is Christ himself, the Judge and Saviour. The encounter with him is the decisive act of judgement. Before his gaze all falsehood melts away. This encounter with him, as it burns us, transforms and frees us, allowing us to become truly ourselves. All that we build during our lives can prove to be mere straw, pure bluster, and it collapses. Yet in the pain of this encounter, when the impurity and sickness of our lives become evident to us, there lies salvation. His gaze, the touch of his heart heals us through an undeniably painful transformation “as through fire”. But it is a blessed pain, in which the holy power of his love sears through us like a flame, enabling us to become totally ourselves and thus totally of God (SS no. 47).

May the flame of love and mercy from the heart of Jesus, King of Mercy truly transform us as it did St Thomas, from a doubter to a believer.

Painting by Bernardo Strozzi; Oil on canvas, 89 x 98.2 cm

He Descended Into Hell

On Black Saturday, when we recall the day Christ was in the tomb, we also reflect on the phrase in the Creed, "He descended into the dead." Pope Benedict offers the following reflections from his latest encyclical Spe Salvi:

Christ descended into “Hell” and is therefore close to those cast into it, transforming their darkness into light. Suffering and torment is still terrible and well- nigh unbearable. Yet the star of hope has risen—the anchor of the heart reaches the very throne of God. Instead of evil being unleashed within man, the light shines victorious: suffering—without ceasing to be suffering—becomes, despite everything, a hymn of praise (SS 37).

Pope Benedict spoke of these points when he talked about suffering as setting for learning hope. To illustrate what hell is like, he used the experience of Vietnamese martyr, Paul Le Bao-Tinh, who amidst all the violence and cruelties of the prison, was able to find hope... precisely in his faith in Jesus Christ.

May, we, too, experience Jesus descending into the "hells of our lives" and transforming our darkness into the light of Easter!

Praying these Holy Days

These next three days, the Paschal Triduum, when we remember the great events of our faith, the mysteries of our faith, the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord, we are asked to pray more intensely. Hence we see many Christians, as individuals or in groups, flocking to Catholic Churches to spend time in quiet prayer before the Lord, especially during the Visita Iglesia or Vigil before the Blessed Sacrament Holy Thursday night.

Pope Benedict says something beautiful and worth noting when we pray these next three days and all throughout our life:

"To pray is not to step outside history and withdraw to our own private corner of happiness. When we pray properly we undergo a process of inner purification which opens us up to God and thus to our fellow human beings as well.

We must learn that we cannot pray against others. We must learn that we cannot ask for the superficial and comfortable things that we desire at this moment—that meagre, misplaced hope that leads us away from God. We must learn to purify our desires and our hopes (Spe Salvi 33).

Indeed, may we truly be purified by our prayers these days and be mindful of the needs of others and lift them up to God together with our own.

Eternal Life... What is It?

What kind of life is Jesus offering when he says, "“I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die”?

Pope Benedict helps us reflect on this question with these excerpts from his latest encyclical Spe Salvi:

Obviously there is a contradiction in our attitude, which points to an inner contradiction in our very existence. On the one hand, we do not want to die; above all, those who love us do not want us to die. Yet on the other hand, neither do we want to continue living indefinitely… To continue living for ever —endlessly—appears more like a curse than a gift. Death, admittedly, one would wish to postpone for as long as possible. But to live always, without end—this, all things considered, can only be monotonous and ultimately unbearable (SS 11).

To imagine ourselves outside the temporality that imprisons us and in some way to sense that eternity is not an unending succession of days in the calendar, but something more like the supreme moment of satisfaction, in which totality embraces us and we embrace totality—this we can only attempt. It would be like plunging into the ocean of infinite love, a moment in which time—the before and after—no longer exists. We can only attempt to grasp the idea that such a moment is life in the full sense, a plunging ever anew into the vastness of being, in which we are simply overwhelmed with joy (SS 12).

Each of us has a desire waiting to be fulfilled, a wish waiting to come true, ultimately it is the desire for this eternal life being offered by Jesus Christ. But oftentimes, these are buried deep in our hearts, under our earthly, carnal and fleeting desires which we often mistake to be the lasting and truest desires. Like Lazarus in the grave, this desire for eternal life, for that supreme moment of satisfaction in which totality embraces us and we embrace totality…is waiting to be called by Jesus,. O

n this last week of Lent, as we come closer to Holy Week, let us allow Jesus to visit our graves, and call to life our deepest and truest desires by breathing the Spirit of life into our hearts, for He is our only hope and by this hope in Him, we are saved. Spe Salvi factus sumus.

From our Own Little Corner

Being geographically distant from Manila, it is a real temptation for those of us in
Mindanao not to be bothered by the turn of events in the capital city of the country, and dismiss the mass actions as mere political noise of disgruntled
citizens. But it can not be the case if one takes seriously the Filipino saying
'ang sakit ng kalingkingan ay sakit ng buong katawan' (the ailment of the pinky
finger is the ailment of the entire body) and the Pauline treatise on the Body of Christ, one can not simply remain indifferent to the socio-political situation of the
country, especially when it involves the blatant suppression of truth and shameless
greed and corruption in government.

Hence, it was a consoling and encouraging experience to see Catholics, and perhaps non-catholics also gathering at the Gaston Park, in front of the CDO Cathedral attending the Mass for Truth and the brief program that followed. I hope that this will not be the last of such activities, but simply the beginning of a series of
activities that will involve not just Catholics, but all people of good will and not just during elections, but all throughout the year, monitoring the public officials and demanding from them accountability, honesty and integrity while they are in office.

From our little corner of the archipelago, let the light of truth shine!

What makes you shine?

The transfiguration story presents Jesus' face and clothes shining and dazzlingly white. We are told that this episode is a preview of his resurrection which will occur after his passion and death. So what brought about the Resurrection which raised Jesus to an entirely new life and made him shine and dazzle in all glory. The answer lies in the event following the transfiguration and preceding the resurrection: the passion and death of Jesus. Jesus is proclaimed "SON" by the Father in the transfiguration. But he claims this sonship as his identity as he hangs on the cross and says: "Father, into your hands I entrust my Spirit." On the cross, Jesus proclaims God as His Father, thereby sealing the indissoluble love between the Father and the Son. A love so powerful it overcame death. And so we say, "Dying, you destroyed death. Rising, you restored life. Come again in glory."

What makes you shine?

Temptations...temptations

The Gospel for First Sunday of Lent on Year A is the Temptation of Christ in the desert. It shows Jesus triumphant over the devil who wanted to trip him off into choosing the easy way out, the popular way, the highest way. But Jesus would not let himself be deceived by the devil. He ultimately placed his trust in the Father who will fill his hunger, who will protect him, whom He alone adores. May we learn from Christ to put our trust entirely on the Lord, and not be deceived by the empty promises of the devil.

Bible Sunday 2008

Word of God: Source of Reconciliation, Justice and Peace. This is the theme of this year's celebration of the National Bible Week. I think it has been fittingly chosen especially in the light of the just concluded Year of Social Concerns in the Catholic Church. Our society and our world badly need these three gifts from God: reconciliation, justice and peace. And this theme invites us to consider the treasure and potential of the Word of God to bring about reconciliation justice and peace. By a daily reading of the Bible, may we discover and be inspired by its stories, poems and narratives and become, with God's grace agents of reconciliation, justice and peace!