A TRADITION OF LOVE

TWENTY – SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Dt 4: 1-2, 6-8/ Ps 15/ Jas 1:17-18,21b-22,27/ Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

I have stayed in Manila for more than six straight years. However, I have to admit that I was only able to visit the National Museum once. If not because of my visitors from Cebu who insisted to include in their itinerary the said museum, then, I was not able to enter such a huge building. Its hugeness is not only about its structure. When I visited the different galleries of the museum, then, I realized how “huge” our Filipino tradition is. How can those ordinary mountain people build the Rice Terraces in Banaue? I wondered how our ancestors paid their last respects for the dead. Indeed, when we talk about our tradition as a nation then it reveals to us our humanity; how beautiful we are as a people in this part of the globe.

This is also the case of the Israelites in our first reading today. Moses reminded the people not to add or subtract the command of the Lord for them. Rather, they were called to observe such command to love God with all their heart, mind, and soul carefully for by doing so it will make them a “truly wise and intelligent people.” However, what happened in our Gospel today is the exact opposite. The Pharisees who were supposed to be knowledgeable about the Law became so focused to tradition. They forgot the core of their tradition which is faithfulness to the Law of love. No wonder Jesus told them straight that “you disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”

Christianity as a world religion has been part of human tradition. As she journeys through time she becomes exposed to different cultures of the world. Thus, there is a great temptation to deviate from her original mission. Hence, St. Paul in our second reading today reminds us that religion must be “pure and undefiled before God and the Father…to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” Christianity then has to remain true to her essence which is to love especially the marginalized. Benedict XVI in Deus Caritas Est reminds us that to love is not just a responsibility of one but of the whole church. The Pope considers the Church as a Community of Love.

And so, my dear friends, as Christians we are proud because of our rich tradition. However, we must also remember that such tradition is anchored on our real mission on earth which is to follow the law of God, the law of love. As we participate in the many rites and rituals of our faith, we must not forget that all these are founded on love. For what good is the novena to the Santo Niño if parents do not take good care of their children? For what good is the prayer to St. Jude is the student does not study his lessons? We must remember that the summary of Christian tradition is love.

Those displayed inside the galleries of the museum remind us not only of our rich tradition but also what kind of people they were before. How about us? If people of the future will soon revisit our lives, can they truly say that we have a rich tradition? But what kind of tradition? A tradition of oppression? Or a tradition of love? Amen

Photo taken from www.truthortradition.com

"IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT"

MEMORIAL OF ST. AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO

1 Thes. 4: 1-8/ Ps 97/ Mt. 25: 1-13

“It was worth the wait!” Those were the words I heard from those seminarians who after walking several kilometers, braving the vast crowd, and waiting for hours, finally got the chance to either kiss the hands of the Pope or take a selfie with him at the Manila Cathedral. “It was worth the wait.”

Since yesterday until today, our Gospel readings are taken from the 24^th and 25^th chapters of the Gospel of Matthew. And these readings form part of Jesus’s discourse on the end of times. Yesterday, Jesus used the story of the faithful and prudent steward. Today, Jesus tells us the parable of the ten bridesmaids. Despite becoming drowsy and even falling asleep, the five wise bridesmaids can truly say, “It was worth the wait.” It was worth the wait because they were able to join the wedding feast. And they were able to join the feast because they carried with them extra oil for their lamps. It was worth the wait for they persevered.

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, a Father and Doctor of the Church. Well, if St. Monica were alive today, she would for sure say to us here, “It was worth the wait.” Her long hours of prayer and fasting, waiting for her son’s conversion did not end in misery. It bore fruit. It was worth the wait.

The life of Augustine was a life of constant search for that which is true, good, and beautiful. Initially, he found truth in paganism and heresies. Yet, later on, he found those schools of thought wanting. Initially, he found the good and beautiful in the satisfaction of his carnal desires. However, all these proved to be false when one fine day in Milan, he picked the book of Scriptures and read the words of Paul to the Romans: “Not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual excess and lust, not in quarreling and jealousy. Rather, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh (13: 13-14).” His heart became flooded with God’s light. He cannot but make a 360 degree turn from being a notorious sinner to becoming a great saint of the Church. Indeed, after reading the life of St. Augustine, we can all say, “It was worth the wait.”

My dear friends, as we celebrate the feast of St. Augustine, we are challenged to make our waiting worthwhile by carrying in ourselves the extra oil of perseverance. As seminarians, I know that you are all waiting today. You are waiting for my homily to finish. You are waiting for this semester to finish. You are waiting for your thesis to finish. You are waiting for your seminary life to finish so that you too will be ordained. We are all waiting. Let us then carry with us the extra oil of perseverance so that we will not fall out of love. For me, what made Augustine great was not his ante conversio nor his in conversione experience. Rather, it was his post conversionem experience that made him great. Why? After his conversion, he became a holy Bishop, yet he remained deeply in touch with his humanity. He still felt the wounds and weaknesses of his fallen human nature, still prone to temptation. Yet he continued to wait on the Bridegroom who has the power to save him. Augustine did not waver and fall out of love because he carried with him the extra oil of perseverance.

“It was worth the wait.” My dear brothers, we can only re-echo these words if we carry in our lives the extra oil of perseverance so that even if we feel drowsy and sleepy in our chosen vocation, we can still welcome in our lives the coming of Jesus, the Bridegroom.

Augustine once said in his Confessions: “To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement.” Indeed, let us never grow tired of waiting for the Lord through our perseverance in life for it’s truly worth the wait. Amen.

Photo taken from www,thecathedralparish.org 

ETERNAL LIFE: OUR UNION WITH GOD

Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time

JOS 24:1-2A, 15-17, 18B/ PS 34/ EPH 5:21-32/ JN 6:60-69

Last Friday, I experienced an unforgettable trip of my life – the boat ride from Sante Fe Wharf in Bantayan Island to Hanaya Wharf in mainland Cebu. It was unforgettable because it was my first time to cross the sea amidst rough and tossing waves. I hardly moved from where I was seated because I was strongly holding the bench in front of me during the entire trip. My “Hail Marys” in every decade of the Rosary exceeded beyond 10 because of fear. Though others especially those used to “bumpy” travels were busy with their cellphones and chitchats, deep inside of me I was troubled and can surely reecho the words of Peter in our Gospel today: “Master, to whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life!”

We finally end today our reading on the 6^th chapter of John which is about the Bread of Life discourse of Jesus. This Sunday we hear the response of the people. “As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” Many cannot accept his message that he is the bread coming from heaven; that he is sent by the Father. Jesus turned to the Twelve and also asked them. And it was Peter who said, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” They will not leave Jesus because He brings eternal life. What then is the meaning of eternal life?

Our Catechism has this to say: “Living forever with God in the happiness of heaven, entered after death by the souls of those who die in the grace and friendship of God (988, 1020). In preaching the kingdom of heaven, Jesus called all people to eternal life, which is anticipated in the grace of union with Christ.” Those who died in friendship with God gains eternal life. Yet, eternal life is also anticipated even before death. And this happens when we are in union with Christ. Eternal life is achieved when our lives are unified with Christ in grace.

And this is the meaning of the story of Joshua in our first reading today. His household and the rest of the community decided to continue serving the Lord because their lives have been united to God. “For it was the LORD, our God, who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, out of a state of slavery. He performed those great miracles before our very eyes and protected us along our entire journey and among the peoples through whom we passed.” They will not leave the Lord because their story as a nation has told them that the Lord has been with them despite the slavery and enemies surrounding them. They will continue serving the Lord because they have been united with God; they have received eternal life from Him.

Our second reading today gives us a beautiful imagery on eternal life. It is like the union between the husband and wife. Husband and wife leave their families and become one flesh. This is eternal life – when our lives are united and become inseparable from God. Thus, we are challenged this Sunday to also anticipate eternal life here on earth by being strongly united to Christ like the union between a husband and wife. There has to be no compartmentalization in our lives. Compartmentalization happens when our words no longer match our real lives. It happens when we continue calling on God as the only source of eternal life yet our actions do not promote life at all. It happens when we keep on receiving the Bread of Life at Mass every Sunday yet the rest of the week are “sin” days.

While praying the Rosary during the stormy trip, my mind was also focused on possible circumstances like the boat capsizing and myself drowning. I was not focused with my prayer. My heart was divided and not fully united to God.

But eternal life is union with God. Such union is so deep like that of the husband and wife that after marriage they are no longer two but one body. Eternal life is living the life of God day in and day out. Eternal life is focusing to God despite the odds. Therefore, let our lives not be scattered by sin but joined together by grace and so gain eternal life. Amen.

Photo taken from eyeofprophecy.com

THE UNANSWERED QUESTION

My FIRST HOMILY AS AN ORDAINED PRIEST

Delivered during my FIRST MASS for the DEAD...for Mama WILMA

Jgs 6:11-24/ Ps 85/ Mt 19:23-30

“My Lord, if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us?”

Such was the question of Gideon, and such was also my own question when two years ago Mama died unexpectedly. “My Lord, if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Why did you take away someone so dear to us? Why did you allow such tragedy to happen in our small family?” And I have to admit in front of you that such question until now remains unanswered. Maayo pa ang questions sa thesis kaya ra matubag in three years. “Why has all this happened to us?” The silence of God cannot but make me cry, not just once, but a lot of times. And maybe that is precisely what I needed: to cry.

In God’s wonderful design, he ordered that the human eyes should have tears with the purpose of cleansing, disinfecting, and lubricating our eyes. In short, tears, after they have been shed, help us see better. The Blessed Oscar Romero once said that “there are many things that can only be seen through the eyes that have cried.” My tears have allowed me to see things differently and hopefully more clearly.

Just a few weeks ago, I came back to the hospital where my mother spent her last hours on earth. I went to the chapel where I bargained with God. I went to the room where I last talked to her through the phone. I went to the ICU cubicle where I saw her breath her last. When I went back to my room, I cannot but cry. I remember the pain and suffering that all of us went through. However, after crying, I saw God’s love continuously working in my life despite the pain and suffering. How? I remembered those people who visited my Mama. I remembered those priests who anointed her. I remembered you who in one way or the other have consoled us. I may have lost my Mama, but after crying, I experienced more God’s love for me and in me. And so, thank you, my dear friends, for being with us, for making God’s love more real . . . more felt, extra special.

Since her death until now, I only had one dream with my Mama. We were sitting at the rear part of a Cebu Pacific plane; then suddenly just a few minutes before take-off, she led me away from my seat and we left the plane. Instead, we took a Philippine Airlines plane. Then, we were informed that a Cebu Pacific plane crashed after take-off. Because of this dream, I now get goose bumps every time I take a Cebu Pacific plane, especially when I am seated at the rear part of it. However, more than the goose bumps, such dream made me cry. Why? Because I simply miss my Mama. Yet after the crying, I realized that she may be gone, but I would like to believe that she is still with me, even nearer now that she is with God. She was an angel in my dream. She saved me. Indeed, the words in the Preface for Christian Death is true: “for your faithful people, life is changed, not ended.” She is no longer with us physically, yet her death did not end her life but only changed it into another form. And why is this so? Because according to Jesus in our Gospel today, “With God nothing is impossible.” God who is “nearer to us that we are to ourselves” also makes those who are already with him near to us, always accessible to us. And as Mother Teresa once assured her sisters who did not want her to die, “Mother can do more when she is in heaven.” And God who is love binds us more tightly with our loved ones who are now united with him.

After Gideon asked many questions, our Lord said to him only one thing: “I will be with you.” “I will be with you.” During the wake of Mama, one neighbor of ours told me that during their last conversation, she asked my mother where I am currently assigned. My Mama told her that I am still in UST for my masteral studies. Then she added these words, “Basta kon asa siya ma-assign, mokuyog gyud ko niya. I will be with him wherever he will be assigned.” And so, I celebrate my first Mass not just to thank my Mama for the wonderful journey. I celebrate this first Mass to tell her that I am now here in front of you and I am now asking for your promise to be with me wherever I will be assigned. Ma, dia nako, let us begin our journey together. Amen!

WHEN EXPECTATION AND REALITY DO NOT MEET

TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Prv 9:1-6/ Ps 34/ Eph 5: 15-20/ Jn 6: 5-58

When expectations and reality do not meet, we murmur. For example, the whole nation murmured when we all the while thought that Pacquiao would win the fighting match but in reality it was Mayweather who earned the belt. In our family life, we murmur when our dreams for our children became real nightmares. Kahit sa love life, nakakasakit isipin kung naniniwala ka na may forever subalit in reality may forever na siyang iba…Ouch! When expectations and reality do not meet, we murmur.

This is what happened in our Gospel today. The expected Messiah of the Jews did not coincide with the reality of Jesus’ proclamation that he is the “living bread that came down from heaven; and whoever eats this bread will live forever.” Such claim was a blasphemy for the Jews. “How can this man give us flesh to eat?” They knew who Jesus was. They knew his parents and relatives. Their expectation did not match with Jesus’ reality. And so, they murmured, they quarreled among themselves.

What happened to the Jews can also happen to us. We pray a lot of novenas and practice numerous devotions because we are expecting for healing, peace, health, and safety. We never miss our Sunday Masses because we expect for blessings of health and wealth for our families. We are expecting of a 24/7 Generous God. However, sometimes our expectations fail. Despite the number of novenas and Masses, we continue to carry the heavy weight of our problems. The claim of Jesus in our Gospel today, “for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him” is not real for us. Sometimes we ask ourselves, “I have been receiving the Lord in the Eucharist all my life, yet, why cannot I experience him remaining in me? I still have a lot of problems and I feel alone.” When these two do not meet – our hopeful expectation from God and reality, then, we murmur.

However, our responsorial psalm today continues to invite us “to taste and see the goodness of the Lord.” Despite the failed expectations, we are all reminded that God continues to be good. God continues to offer to us the Living Bread that sustains our pilgrimage here on earth. We can only have this perspective in life – the goodness of God over our expectations – if we have the gift of wisdom which is mentioned in our first reading today. We need to have this wisdom because St. Paul in our second reading today tells us that the “days are evil” therefore we must “watch carefully how you0live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity.”

Our Catechism teaches that wisdom which is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit makes “man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit.”

As we celebrate today the 20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, let us ask for wisdom and act as wise men and women. Because only when we have this gift of wisdom can we stop murmuring and be able to taste and see the goodness of God. Yes, our expectations from God and reality will continue to fall short. However, if we have wisdom, then, we remain open to the Holy Spirit. And such open disposition can allow God to teach us more and to love us more even amidst the pain and suffering. All we need to do is to trust in his divine Wisdom.

After 20 yrs. of marriage, the wife asked her husband to describe her. Her husband looked at her slowly and said   “ABCDEFGHIJK.”

Wife: “What does that mean?”

Husband: “Adorable, beautiful, cute, delightful, elegant, fashionable, gorgeous, and hot.”

She smiled happily and then asked

Wife: “Aw, thank you, but what about IJK?”

Husband: “I’m just kidding!”

And the wife left the room with a broken heart.

We all expect of a God who is good, loving, caring, generous, merciful, and compassionate. However, our sad experiences points to a different God who is out there, distant, insensitive, and far. And so we end up brokenhearted. However, let us ask for God’s Wisdom so that despite the difficulty, we can still taste and see the goodness of God.

And so we pray, “Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and WISDOM to know the difference. Amen.”

Photo taken from www.thenew-renaissanceman.com

"AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER"

ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Rev. 11:19a; 12:1–6a, 10ab; Ps.45, 1 Cor. 15:20–27; Luke 1:39–56

“And they lived happily ever after.” These words are the classical ending that we usually hear to end the fairy tales told by our parents or teachers when we were young. However, these words also express our human desire to be victorious in the end; to be able to finish life’s journey not only with flying colors but with inner joy and self-fulfillment. And our readings today invite us to look at victory from another point of view.

In our first reading, John presented us with the image of a woman clothed with the sun, wailing aloud in pain since she was about to give birth, and the dragon standing before the woman waiting to devour her child. Yet the story ended victorious, for after giving birth “the child was caught up to God and his throne. And the woman went to the place prepared for her.”

In our second reading, Paul tells the Corinthians that Christ has been raised from the dead. They must not fear, for Christ will destroy every enemy even death. Thus, every one of us in the end will experience the victory of the Resurrection.

In our Gospel today, Mary sings her Magnificat to the Father. Her poetic outburst echoes the language of victory that she has experienced in her life. “He lifts up the lowly. He fills the hungry with good things. He has remembered his promise of mercy.”

Lumen Gentium, in the chapter on Our Lady, quotes Pope Pius XII’s Apostolic Constitution, Munificentissimus Deus, that proclaimed the Dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, “that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heaven.” Lumen Gentium continues by again quoting  Pope Pius XII that gives us the reason for Mary’s Assumption: “that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death.” She who was “full of grace” from the first moment of her conception, through whom “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us,” who “stood at the foot of the Cross,” now shares in the glory of the Resurrection.

Looking at the three readings and our Solemnity today, we realize that true victory comes when we share in the passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus. Only when we recognize the presence of Christ Crucified and Risen in our lives can we experience the victorious words of Elizabeth to Mary, “Blessed are you among all the other creatures for the Lord is with you!”

Today, it’s no fairy tale to see pictures of headless bodies scattered around the streets of Iraq or to hear the news about the literal “exodus” of Christians walking in the heat of the desert just to seek a safer refuge. From the eyes of the world, it’s never a happy ending. What we can see is pure defeat! However, from the eyes of faith, the suffering of our brothers and sisters in the Middle East right now reminds us that as long as we share in the Passion of Christ and hold on to the victory of His Resurrection “neither persecution, nor death, nor suffering, nor the worries of the present” can prevent us from “fighting a good fight; from finishing the race; from keeping the faith.” After all, real victory happens when at the end of our lives the Lord, the just judge, will award to us the crown of righteousness.

May  our daily “yes” to God and “no” to sin, our day to day living together as joyful stewards of the Gospel—may all these things teach us to live in constant communion with Christ Crucified and Risen and bring us to a victorious end, a victory not borne out of pride and arrogance but out of our humble recognition that God has always been with us in our journey so that we will all live happily ever after. Amen!

Photo taken from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Palma_il_Vecchio_-_Assumption_of_Mary_-_WGA16930.jpg

A HEAVENLY EXPERIENCE

19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

1 Kgs 19:4-8/ Ps 34/ Eph 4:30-5:2/ Jn 6: 4-51

What is heaven for you? For children, heaven is where God dwells together with His angels. For teenagers, heaven is being with someone they like. Sabi pa nila, “langit sa piling mo!” For families, heaven is living within a peaceful home. For couples, well, I don’t know. It’s either the presence or absence of the other – that is probably heaven for you!

We are now on the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. We continue to read and reflect on the sixth chapter of John which is all about the discourse on the Bread of Life. Today, we heard the Jews murmuring about Jesus’ statement, “I am the bread of life that came down from heaven.” They cannot accept such claim for he is one like them. They know his parents. They know where he is coming from. However, Jesus further claims that “not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life.”

Thus, we realize that when Jesus said, “I am the bread of life that came down from heaven,” he is revealing to us the Father. He is telling us what heaven is like. When Jesus invites us to partake of his body, we gain heaven for we receive not just human life but eternal life.

Let us remember then my dear friends, that every time we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we are also experiencing heaven for we gain eternal life. It is our challenge then to truly make every Eucharistic celebration as an experience of heaven. It is our challenge then to make every Mass as the moment of encounter between heaven and earth. This we can do by shunning the vices and practicing the virtues which Paul in our second reading enumerates for us. “All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.” Every time we celebrate the Mass, we don’t carry with us bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling, for these do not dispose us to an encounter. These vices poison our souls. Rather, every time we come for Mass, despite our imperfection, let us try to be kind, compassionate, and forgiving so that we can truly partake of the bread of life that gives us eternal life. Ang Misa usa ka gasa nga magdala nato dili bisan asa kondili sa dapit nga puno sa pag-asa!

Such is the experience of Elijah in our first reading today. He complained. It was better for him to die after all the things he has done. However, when he ate the cake and drank water from the angel, he was strengthened. He experienced heaven! He left the place and went to the mountain of God.

Friends, it is not enough to simply make every Mass as a heavenly experience. Like Elijah, we have to get up. Wake up from sleep lalo na sa mga natutulog na diyan. Late pa, natulog pa. After this Mass, we have to go and meet God in our lives, in our homes, in our neighborhood, in our communities, in our schools, in our workplaces. We do not fear for we have been nourished by the Bread of Life at Mass already.

What is heaven for you? Blessed Oscar Romero was the Archbishop of El Salvador from 1977 to 1980. After witnessing a lot of oppression from his flock, he began to speak against it. He became a voice for the voiceless in society. Such passion in defending the poor led to his assassination while he was celebrating the Mass. Blessed Romero made the Eucharist a heavenly encounter not because he was shot at Mass. But like Elijah, he went out on a journey to meet God in the faces of the last, the least, and the lost.

What is heaven for you? Blessed Romero once said, “Aspire not to have more but to be more.” Every time we celebrate the Mass, let us be more Christlike so that we can truly have an experience of heaven. And every time we go home after the Mass, let us not aspire to have more but rather let us continue to be more like Christ, the Bread of Life. Amen.

Photo taken from http://www.rabbisacks.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/heaven.jpg