The Voice Within

It's a common sight in the trains- people, mostly youngsters and young professionals, with all sorts of gadgets strung around their necks, iphones, MP4, headsets etc. It can indeed be worthwhile to listen to music while travelling for an hour or two, especially after a long day at work or in school. We busy ourselves by listening to all sorts of sounds, music and voices.

After Jesus was baptized by John, he heard a voice from heaven, "You are my son; in you I am well pleased." The Lucan text says Jesus was at prayer when the heavens were open, when the Holy Spirit hovered upon him as a dove, when the Father's voice was heard. So, it is in prayer that we can hear what can be the sweetest music to our ears, "You are my child; in you I am well-pleased."

Engrafting to Life

As 2010 begins, we all wish that this New Year will usher in blessings of peace and prosperity to the world, especially to the poorer countries. For the Philippines, 2010 is another critical year because of the May elections. We pray that our people will really be prepared for this democratic exercise, so that the country's chance to begin anew will not be squandered. May we truly experience being engrafted into the life of God as we begin 2010.

Happy New Year!

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ENGRAFTING TO LIFE

And you, High eternal Trinity

Acted as if you were drunk with love,

Infatuated with your creature.

When you see that this tree could bear no fruit

But the fruit of death,

Because it was cut off from you who were life,

You came to its rescue

With the same love with which you had created it;

You engrafted your divinity into the dead tree

Of our humanity.

O sweet tender grafting!

You, sweetness itself, stooped to join yourself

With our bitterness.

You, splendor, joined yourself with darkness;

You, wisdom, with foolishness;

You, life, with death;

You, the infinite, with us, who are finite.

What drove you to this

To give back life to this creature of yours

That had insulted you?

Only love, as I have said,

And so, by this engrafting, death is destroyed.

-Catherine of Siena (1347-1380)

Welcoming God's Visitation

When we pray the rosary, we simply say, "the second joyful mystery is the visitation." We usually think only of Mary and Elizabeth. But they are not the only characters in this event. The babies they are carrying are also involved in the story: Jesus and John. The simple act of Mary visiting her cousin has brought joy not only to Elizabeth, but also to the infant in her womb, John, who left for joy when his mother heard Mary's greetings. Such is the joy brought by someone who carries Jesus... it is felt not only by one person, but even of those around (in Elizabeth's case, within) them.

On this season of giving and exchanging gifts, may we give and bring to people the greatest gift of all: Jesus Himself, and then we shall see more people, ourselves included experiencing the joy of Christmas.

A Blessed Christmas!

Through you, we touch God...

Pope Benedict on the Immaculate Conception:

"This privilege given to Mary, which sets her apart from our common condition, does not distance her from us, but on the contrary, it brings her closer. While sin divides, separating us from one another, Mary's purity makes her infinitely close to our hearts, attentive to each of us and desirous of our true good. You see it here in Lourdes, as in all Marian shrines; immense crowds come thronging to Mary's feet to entrust to her their most intimate thoughts, their most heartfelt wishes. That which many, either because of embarrassment or modesty, do not confide to their nearest and dearest, they confide to her who is all pure, to her Immaculate Heart: with simplicity, without frills, in truth. Before Mary, by virtue of her very purity, man does not hesitate to reveal his weakness, to express his questions and his doubts, to formulate his most secret hopes and desires. The Virgin Mary's maternal love disarms all pride; it renders man capable of seeing himself as he is, and it inspires in him the desire to be converted so as to give glory to God. Thus, Mary shows us the right way to come to the Lord. She teaches us to approach him in truth and simplicity. Thanks to her, we discover that the Christian faith is not a burden: it is like a wing which enables us to fly higher, so as to take refuge in God's embrace."

Happy Feastday!

Stand Erect and Look Up!

Isn't it a strange instruction: while all the catastrophic disaster are happening, the sun and moon falling, the earth shaking, perhaps with buildings crumbling, something like what happens in the film 2012, one is to stand erect and look up to the sky. The important details, however, should not be missed: the Son of Man coming in great power, bringing liberation to his people, to those who believe in him.

Amidst the turmoils in the world today, perhaps not (as yet) in the scale of cataclysms and catastophes, we are told by Christ to stand firm and raise our eyes to him, who is our hope and our strength. So that no matter what happens around us: volcanoes erupting, rivers overflowing, global warming, we do not lose faith because our eyes are fixed on the Lord.

We are reminded of Peter who started sinking when we paid attention, not to the Lord who was calling him, but to the waves surrounding him. May we begin this Advent season, this new liturgical year with an affirmation of our trust in the Lord, as we say in the psalm response; To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul!

Reexamining our Loyalties

It's interesting to note how the arrival of Pacquiao, the "King of the Ring" comes right before the Catholic Church celebrates the solemnity of Christ the King. The picture is a study of contrasts between someone who is acclaimed king after defeating a line-up of world renowned boxers and a King who renounces worldly force and power and pointing to a Kingdom not of this world.

While the fans and followers of Pacquiao shower him with praises and adulation and getting ahead of each other to get a glimpse or a photo of their idol, Christ has no one to come to his rescue to defend him from the plots to kill him. He is left alone, to defend himself, and the only tool he has is the 'truth'; the only witness He has is the Father, whom He could only trust in utmost surrender and faith.

This solemnity invites us to reexamine our loyalties and to what extent we concretely express this by the way we spend our time, our money, our energy. Let this day be an opportunity to express our allegiance to Christ the King... of the universe, of our life.

What is at The End?

This Sunday's readings speak of the "end of the world." Maybe we can safely say that we might not live long enough to witness the "end of the world," if we are to believe what science tells us: that the evolution of the universe is only at the 11:00 AM moment, which means that it has not even reached half its course. What we are sure of is the "end of OUR, MY world," and that is when I die, when my physical-biological existence comes to an end. It is as scary as listening to the scenarios described by the Gospel.

We can draw consolation and strength, however, from Karl Rahner's words: Accept the moment. See to it that you do what one can call, without any folderol, your duty. All the same, be ready again and again to realize once more, that the ineffable mystery we call God not only lives and reigns, but had the unlikely idea to approach you personally in love; turn your eyes to Jesus, the crucified one; come what may, you will be able to accept your life from Him when all is said and done. .. You go on as long as daylight lasts. In the end, you leave with empty hands, that I know; and it is well. At that moment, you look at the Crucified one and go. What comes is the everlasting mystery of God (Karl Rahner in Dialogue, pp. 275).

Giving Till Enough

'For a Christian, his Xtian existence is ultimately the totality of his existence. This totality opens out into the dark abyss of the wilderness which we call God. When one undertakes something like this, he stands before the great thinkers, the saints and finally Jesus Christ. The abyss of existence opens up in front of him. He knows that he has not thought enough, has not loved enough, has not suffered enough (Karl Rahner, Foundations of Christian Faith, p.2)"

This excerpt from Karl Rahner bridges the commemmoration of All Souls' Day and this Sunday's Gospel on the Widow's Mite. Like the widow, we are encouraged/ challenged to give not just our of our surplus, but from the substance of our life, our self. Many times, though, we think we have given enough, we have thought enough, love and suffered enough. But faced with death, with the real possibility of entering into the dark abyss, indeed we realize we could have given, thought, loved, suffered more.

We pray that day won't find us full of regrets; but rather ready to leave all, for have have given all... to our God who has given His all.

Happy Sunday!

Our Companions in the Journey

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb. 12:1-2).

For me, this is the message of All Saints' Day. The saints are witnesses: they testify to the enduring and eternal value of following Jesus. They cheer for us as we run the race towards the true life. They encourage us when we are tempted to drop out of

the race, when we feel as if we are running alone, when we uselessly compare ourselves with other runners. With the saints, we fix our eyes on Christ who is at the head of the race, leading us as the pioneer, but also the goal of the race, as the perfecter of our faith.

The saints, then, not only pray for us, but also accompany us in our journey towards Christ. Thank God for the saints, thank God for our companions.

That I May See

Bartimaeus rightly calls Jesus "Rabboni", meaning "Teacher" because that was what Jesus had been doing just before they met. And this we have heard the previous Sundays. Jesus had been teaching his disciples fidelity (when he rejects divorce in favor of God's will for man and woman to be in an indissoluble marital bond), simplicity (when he told the rich young man to sell his belongings and follow him), humility (when he explained to his disciples, especially to James and John that greatness and primacy lies in being a servant and the least of all). But these are difficult teachings to understand. The disciples, and we, can not understand because we do not see the logic; we could not see how we can be secure without money; we could not see how we can be great by being the last.

The blindness of Bartimaeus is a metaphor for the blindness of the disciples to the teachings of Jesus. Perhaps our blindness, too.

"What is it that you want me to do for you?", Jesus asks. With Bartimaeus, we reply with all earnestness, "Rabboni, I want to see!"

What's it all about, Alfie?

One way of appreciating the Gospel message of this Sunday is to read it as a continuation of the "discipleship" theme that Mark develops in his gospel, a theme that started with the gospel of two Sundays ago, on Divorce and last Sunday, on the Rich Young Man. In fact, the Gospel for next Sunday, Blind Bartimeaus, should also be read in the context of this theme.

All these three Gospel episodes show the radical, therefore difficult, demands of discipleship, of following Christ. They also show us how different the way of Christ is from the ways of the world. While the world says, "when the relationship is getting sours, dispatch the woman (or man)," Christ says, "What God has put together, let no human being put assunder.' While the world says, "To have riches, thick wallets, several credit cards, multiple bank accounts is the most secure way to go," Christ says, "Go and sell your belongings and give the money to poor." And while the world says, "Make sure to get promotion as quickly as possible or do your best to keep the top position, no matter what," Jesus says, "the best place is the lowest; the biggest man is the smallest." A totally different standard, a totally odd worldview, a totally difficult way of proceeding.

Why follow Him? The first reading hints at a possible answer:

"Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days;

through his suffering, my servant shall justify many..."

What is your life about, Alfie? For you or for others. By your answer, you will know which way to go.

Little Things with Great Love

The appeal of the Little Flower, St Therese of the Child Jesus, lies precisely in her "littleness". During her day, she must have been an unknown cloistered nun. To her family, she was a child easily given to tantrums. Later on, however, as a nun, she fulfilled her duties with much dedication and love. Every little thing that she did, she performed with much love and with great trust that God pleased with what she was doing, and that He was accepting her offering of these daily tasks for the mission. Hence, hers was not just great love, but wide vision, piercing through the thick convent walls to see and be one with the missionaries in far flung countries.

St Therese is indeed a saint for us, small people, trying to do our daily, routinary tasks with great love and wide vision.

And I feel very blessed that on my first month here in London, I will have the chance of praying before the relics of St Therese which is being brought here for veneration is some selected churches.

At the Foot of the Cross

Mondays and Tuesdays are low days in the Bilibid prisons because no visitors are allowed on these days. The prison camps come back to life starting Wednesdays up until Sundays when visitors are again given permission to enter the camps, the cells and the holes of the prisoners. Amidst the hardships and diffculties of life in prison, the presence of the visitors, especially of the inmates' wives and mothers, is the source of consolation and strength of the prisoners.

Mary at the foot of the cross certainly provided Jesus with the strength and courage which he badly needed during the hours of his ordeal on the cross. A mother's presence, even without words being uttered or lullabies being sung, is enough to make a son sturdy as steel and brave as a beast to endure the terrible sufferings he has to go through.

May we, too, be encouraged by the Blessed Mother's constant and consoling presence at the foot of our respective crosses.

The Way God Thinks

The Gospel contrasts God's way of thinking with (wo)man's way of thinking. What is the difference between the two? At issue in this Sunday's Gospel passage is the value of suffering. While for humans, suffering is a dead-end, in which there is no way out, for God, suffering is an opening that leads to something greater, something bigger. But since that "something" is not readily experienced, it is difficult to believe in it. Here is where "faith that does good works" is necessary, as the second reading emphasizes.

My 3 months experience in prison ministry (National Bilibid Prisons, Muntinlupa City) has taught me to believe in this promise. The prison is a place of suffering: physical, psychological, spiritual, for the inmates, and for us who minister to them, who journey with them. But our daily celebration of the Eucharist, most often with utmost fervor and devotion, and the real felt need for God's mercy and hope, awakens in us the conviction that beyond, and even in the midst of the suffering they are going through, an opening towards a new life is showing forth. And this new life can begin not only after they have served their sentence, but and even during the time they are in prison.

Hence, our church volunteers: sacristans, readers, eucharistic lay ministers, and others, are all inmates. Many of them have seen that "opening' and have entered through it. Some are still stumbling along the way in search of the way to it. You and I may think they won't find the way. But God thinks otherwise, and that makes the big difference.

The Gateway

For Manila and Quezon City dwellers, the word "Gateway" refers to the mall in Araneta Center in Cubao that links the Cubao stations of the 2 train systems in Metro Manila, the MRT3 Edsa Line and the LRT2A. Gateway, therefore, serves not just as a mall where people do shopping or watch movies, but also a bridge through which passengers can cross from one train system to the another.

Gateway comes to mind because today, birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our parish celebrates this feast under her title, Nuestra Senora de la Porteria, Our Lady of the Gate. Mary, indeed, is the Gate, since it was through her that Jesus our Savior, Word made flesh by the power of the Holy Spirit, entered our world. And it is through her, again, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that we enter the Kingdom of her Son. Mary is Christ's Gate, and ours, too.

Dear Mother Mary, we thank you for allowing your Son Jesus to pass through you that he may come to us. May you let pass us through you to your Son Jesus, our Lord, our Heaven, for you truly are the Gate of Heaven. Amen.

in AND out

What the best way to worship God? Today's readings answers this question. The first readings simply says, "Obey the commandments of God." The Pharisees of Jesus' time did follow the commandments. And this they did to the smallest detail, but they seemed to have confined themselves to the externals: the rituals and customs of religion. In the mind of Jesus, however, this is not enough. They have to take notice, too, of the internal requirements of purity. This means avoiding the acts enumerated in the Gospel: fornication, adultery, greed etc.

But for a more complete picture, we have to turn to the second reading and the psalm: it is not just a matter of performing rituals and customs scrupulously, not or not doing this or that act of impurity. Rather, it is acting on the Word, proactively doing something, especially, for the poor, such as the widows and orphans. The psalm response summarizes the message: "He who DOES JUSTICE will live in the presence of the Lord."

To whom have we gone?

At the end of the Bread of Life Discourse in John 6, many of the Jews abandoned Jesus because they could not believe in what he was saying: that He is the Bread from Heaven, that His flesh is real food and his blood real drink unto life eternal. It was just too much for them to accept. Turning to his disciples, he asks, "Are you also leaving?" Peter replies,"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life!"

But perhaps, if we were to be the ones to reply to Jesus, ours would be,"Lord, to whom have we gone? Even if we knew that you have the words of everlasting life, still we chose to listen to the words of other people, many of them, words of discouragement, words of darkness and despair. Sometimes the voices are coming from within ourselves, our inner shadows, and have drowned the still small voice deeper within calling us to hope, to love, to faith.

Draw us back to you, O Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

LISTEN TO YOUR HEART, BUT USE YOUR HEAD!

A former Jesuit is known to have said, "Huh! Feelings-feelings ka diyan, magtrabaho ka!" That was the time when the Jesuits under formation were being taught to be aware and appreciate the role of feelings in humna and spiritual development. For him, feelings are not important. What should be done is to work and work because that is how we give greater glory to God. That is magis. That Jesuit had to eat his words when he was supposedly overcame by his feelings for a woman and eventually left the Society.

But for St. Ignatius, feelings/ emotions play a very important role in finding the will of God. While he was recuperating, he listened to what he was feeling and he gave them a deep thought. When he was thinking of his former life, he would feel happy, but it would die out soon after that. He would be left sad. But when he thought of Christ and the saints, he would feel excited, and this would last with him for some time. To name his feelings, he used the words consolation and desolation. Indeed, Ignatius listened to his heart, but he used his head.

May we who are sometimes afraid of our feelings learn to befriend them and listen to them and use our reason to think about what God may be saying to us through them.

AT HOME WITH CHRIST

Martha, Mary and Lazarus are considered the closest friends of Jesus. In his journey to Jerusalem, when he passed by Bethany, He dropped by the their house perhaps to relax a bit before he continued with his journey. The episode in which Jesus seems to have reprimanded Martha for being busy about so many things is sometimes taken to be a lack of appreciation on Jesus' part of Martha's anxiety over details.

But some people have noted that the exchange between Jesus and Martha shows that it is not Jesus alone who is "at home" in Martha's house. Martha, too, is "at home" with Jesus. She is comfortable and familiar with Him that she can speak to Him that way ("Are you not bothered...?" , and Jesus answer her that way ("Martha, Martha...". It is an exchange between two close friends who can speak out frankly their minds and hearts.

How we wish we can also be as comfortable and familiar with Christ as Martha was! And whether we believe it or not, Jesus allows us to do so. Let us then open our hearts and pour out our anxieties and worries to Him. And let us allow Him to give us a friendly reprimand,

too =)

Loving Unto Death and Beyond

The phrase "till death do us part" is usually associated with weddings because it concludes the prayer of the married couple after they have pronounced their vows. But this phrase can very well be uttered by friends to each other, because true friendship is one that lasts until death. In the case of Mary Magdalene and Jesus, their friendship is unto death and beyond... into the risen life.

The story of St. Mary Magdalene is a very inspiring one in many ways because it shows one woman's capacity to be loyal to someone whom she considers her friend, someone who must have given meaning to her otherwise wayward existence, someone whom she must have wanted to keep for herself, but could not. Yet she remained on his side until his death on the cross.

The appearance of the Risen Christ to Mary Magdalene shows Our Lord returning the love and loyalty of Mary Magdalene. She who was (among) the last to leave his side was given the privilege to be (among) the first to encounter Him in His Risen Life. The death and resurrection of Our Lord, which we take to be one single event/ mystery shows both Jesus and Mary as friends whose friendship has remained warm and tender despite death's attempt to break and bury it cold and numb in its grave.

Indeed, for friends, the last word is not "goodbye" but "hello".