Today's readings are easy to remember. The first reading is from Solomon's experience with God Who asked him what he wanted. Solomon, realizing the weight of David's legacy on his youth (David being the greatest King Israel ever knew), as well as the fact that his mother was Bathsheba whose husband Uriah David had ordered killed, must have found himself in utter helplessness. Not asking to be born into this situation, yet he must rule amidst any controversy for the good of Israel, Solomon asked for an understanding heart. God thus bestowed on him the wisdom none has ever had and may ever have. Note that God was particularly struck that Solomon did not ask for riches or power or even the life of his enemies. Solomon really seemed in search for that which can truly make him happy. And God granted him way beyond what he could ever ask for.
The second reading quotes St. Paul's "Everything works for the good of those who love Him." This message of St. Paul becomes an overarching principle in God's generosity.
The Gospel has three parables about the Kingdom of God. The first is about a man who found a hidden treasure which he buried again and bought back after selling everything he owned. He must have realized that such a treasure was of such a value that it was worth everything he owned, hence his investment to own that piece of land where the treasure was. The second parable is on the Pearl of Great Price which the man found and also bought with everything that he had. These two parables alone speaks about the value of the Kingdom - that it is that essential such that nothing can compare with it. Everything else counts as nothing before these treasures. The third parable is about the net that was thrown into the sea catching as much as it could, and at the shore, the fishermen collected the ones that were good and threw away those that were useless. This last parable has an eschatological dimension in it. There will be on the last period of all life a judgment such that those who do evil shall be thrown away while those who've done good shall be collected into eternal life.
Fr. Munachi's homily today mentions that of the summum bonum or the highest good to which all other goods gel together like the hen that can gather all chicks together. I am always reminded of the figures 1 and 0 every time these two parables of the Kingdom are mentioned. 0 stands for all that perishes and vanishes, and 1 for God. If we choose only the material, only those that vanish in death, we choose 0; no matter how many zeroes we choose ahead of God will lead us with nothing at the end. However, if we choose God first, all the zeroes that come after Him will only make us richer.
Indeed, God seems to be asking each and every one of us what is it that we would like to have? Like the question he asked Solomon, He also breaks for us this question: what shall make us happy? What is our highest good? What is it that our hearts seek for? If our hearts love God first, then everything else we so choose or seek for will only make us even better. Seek first the Kingdom of heaven, and all the rest will fall in line, as the song goes.
Reversing the Parable
It just dawned on me: has God made humanity created in His image and likeness something like the Pear or the Hidden Treasure? When I look at the Crucifix and the sacrifice He made if only to gather us back unto Himself, I realize the meaning of these parables of the Kingdom. We must have been so important, our salvation so imperative that He had to sacrifice even His divinity if only to own us back. Think about it.
God bless
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
June 25, 2008 Reflection
The date for this reflection is a day faster than the one this blog site uses - apparently American, hence I entitle this sharing with the date I actually wrote it since it is so here in the Philippines. The readings are taken from the 12th week in Ordinary Time Year 2.
1st Rdg - 2 Kgs 22: 8-13. 23: 1-3
Gospel - Mt 7: 15-20
In the Gospel, Jesus warns us about "false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them...Every good tree bears good fruit, and rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit... By their fruits you will know them."
The Israelites in the first reading have heard again the Word of God, the Torah which was found in the Temple. The king asked the priersts and his servants to consult the Lord for him "about the stipulations of this book that was found" for he realized that "our fathers did not obey the stipulations of this book, nor fulfill our written obligations." The king together with all the Israelites, they made a covenant with the Lord to "follow HIm and observe HIs ordinances, statutes and decrees with their whole hearts and souls,..."
Much like their experience in the first reading, one feels humiliated and challenged to ask oneself: "What fruits do/did I bear?" No one wants to be a false prophet and thus bear bad fruit. And yet this Word today challenges us to do something - remove the bad fruit and try our best to bear good fruit, lest we risk being cut and thrown away into the fire.
Going on deeper, it dawned on me that God must have wanted to show us that His fruits are good fruits. Look at His creation - all the filth that we see nowadays seemingly much similar to those at the time of Noah - and all the acts the Old Testament have shown us - remember Moses and Yahweh when the Yahweh wanted Moses to wipe them away, angry at their idolatry in the desert while Moses was in the mountain receiving the Decalogue? Can we then say that since we may not have been good fruits, then He must be a bad Tree?
Indeed, God must have been challenged by Christ's word, and showed us the Resurrection - His fruit is LIFE, and if we follow Christ, we can be this good fruit too - our own Resurrection - even on a daily basis, from our deaths and evil.
Today, He challenges us to start bearing good fruit if we are to really participate in the prophet-hood of Christ. For as baptized, we share in the kingly, priestly, and prophetic roles and identities of Christ, our Saviour.
God bless
1st Rdg - 2 Kgs 22: 8-13. 23: 1-3
Gospel - Mt 7: 15-20
In the Gospel, Jesus warns us about "false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them...Every good tree bears good fruit, and rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit... By their fruits you will know them."
The Israelites in the first reading have heard again the Word of God, the Torah which was found in the Temple. The king asked the priersts and his servants to consult the Lord for him "about the stipulations of this book that was found" for he realized that "our fathers did not obey the stipulations of this book, nor fulfill our written obligations." The king together with all the Israelites, they made a covenant with the Lord to "follow HIm and observe HIs ordinances, statutes and decrees with their whole hearts and souls,..."
Much like their experience in the first reading, one feels humiliated and challenged to ask oneself: "What fruits do/did I bear?" No one wants to be a false prophet and thus bear bad fruit. And yet this Word today challenges us to do something - remove the bad fruit and try our best to bear good fruit, lest we risk being cut and thrown away into the fire.
Going on deeper, it dawned on me that God must have wanted to show us that His fruits are good fruits. Look at His creation - all the filth that we see nowadays seemingly much similar to those at the time of Noah - and all the acts the Old Testament have shown us - remember Moses and Yahweh when the Yahweh wanted Moses to wipe them away, angry at their idolatry in the desert while Moses was in the mountain receiving the Decalogue? Can we then say that since we may not have been good fruits, then He must be a bad Tree?
Indeed, God must have been challenged by Christ's word, and showed us the Resurrection - His fruit is LIFE, and if we follow Christ, we can be this good fruit too - our own Resurrection - even on a daily basis, from our deaths and evil.
Today, He challenges us to start bearing good fruit if we are to really participate in the prophet-hood of Christ. For as baptized, we share in the kingly, priestly, and prophetic roles and identities of Christ, our Saviour.
God bless
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Christianity & Religious Behavior
This is a rephrasing of my first reflection which I thought was erased after publishing and losing it. Am thankful that it was saved in the previous post. Anyway, for comparative purposes let me have it published here so we can document this computer glitch today.
June 18, 2008
2 Kgs 2, 1.6-14 / Mt 6, 1-6.16-18
The Gospel speaks of three behaviors in religion: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. Jesus practiced these Himself. Didn't we hear Him tell Judas, when Mary (Lazarus' and Martha's sister) at Bethany a few days before He was crucified "The poor you will always have but me you will not" (Jn 12, 8). The Gospel of Mark even adds "...and you can be kind to them whenever you wish" (14,7). We have read that Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and even shared them (and us too) His own prayer - the Our Father. He fasted too, didn't he? 40 days after His baptism at Jordan!
When the words in today's Gospel Matthew attributes to Jesus hint at is the pride and false belief these three religious behaviors can give us. The legalese in these pious behaviors can make us so self-righteous before God and deride others before the divine Presence. Didn't Jesus tell us to beware of the Pharisaical attitude: "I thank you Lord for I am... not like this tax collector..." It can make us think that our prayer can make God work for us. Our fasting can make God have mercy on us.
What Jesus came to tell us what the fact that God Has His will, and a plan which He Himself came to fulfill, respecting Him in its disposition - didn't He tell the apostles that "sitting at my right is not for me to give for it is reserved by my heavenly Father...," that the restoration of Israel is not up for me to decide but it is the Father's (see Acts, in Luke's account of the Ascencion). No amount of our piety can ever manipulate God to act. Our bargaining - I do this if you do that - therefore is something we may really need to rethink and reconsider.
What is then left for us to do is this: when we pray, we are called to be sensitive and docile to His will, making ourselves as ready and willing as Christ to live out that will for us. Our fasting is to make us master ourselves so that we live not as we like but as God likes. And our fasting is to make us remember that whatever we have is not for ourselves alone but for those whom He gives us to share "whenever we wish."
Indeed, Christ came to bring us the freedom of the Kingdom, for in Him we have all become beneficiaries of His generous mercy and love.
"May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace, and may the Heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all. Amen."
- St. Arnold Janssen
June 18, 2008
2 Kgs 2, 1.6-14 / Mt 6, 1-6.16-18
The Gospel speaks of three behaviors in religion: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. Jesus practiced these Himself. Didn't we hear Him tell Judas, when Mary (Lazarus' and Martha's sister) at Bethany a few days before He was crucified "The poor you will always have but me you will not" (Jn 12, 8). The Gospel of Mark even adds "...and you can be kind to them whenever you wish" (14,7). We have read that Jesus went out to the mountain to pray, and even shared them (and us too) His own prayer - the Our Father. He fasted too, didn't he? 40 days after His baptism at Jordan!
When the words in today's Gospel Matthew attributes to Jesus hint at is the pride and false belief these three religious behaviors can give us. The legalese in these pious behaviors can make us so self-righteous before God and deride others before the divine Presence. Didn't Jesus tell us to beware of the Pharisaical attitude: "I thank you Lord for I am... not like this tax collector..." It can make us think that our prayer can make God work for us. Our fasting can make God have mercy on us.
What Jesus came to tell us what the fact that God Has His will, and a plan which He Himself came to fulfill, respecting Him in its disposition - didn't He tell the apostles that "sitting at my right is not for me to give for it is reserved by my heavenly Father...," that the restoration of Israel is not up for me to decide but it is the Father's (see Acts, in Luke's account of the Ascencion). No amount of our piety can ever manipulate God to act. Our bargaining - I do this if you do that - therefore is something we may really need to rethink and reconsider.
What is then left for us to do is this: when we pray, we are called to be sensitive and docile to His will, making ourselves as ready and willing as Christ to live out that will for us. Our fasting is to make us master ourselves so that we live not as we like but as God likes. And our fasting is to make us remember that whatever we have is not for ourselves alone but for those whom He gives us to share "whenever we wish."
Indeed, Christ came to bring us the freedom of the Kingdom, for in Him we have all become beneficiaries of His generous mercy and love.
"May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace, and may the Heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all. Amen."
- St. Arnold Janssen
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Christianity & Religion
June 18, 2008 Reflection
2 Kgs 2, 1. 6-14; Mt 6, 1-6, 16-18
The Gospel mentions three things religion is usually associated with: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. Jesus learned these things himself. Didn't he say "The poor you will always have, but me you will not always have" (Jn 12, 8). This was when Mary (Lazarus' and Martha's sister) annointed her with expensive aromatic nard and Judas wished it were sold and given to the poor. We read of Jesus' going alone to the mountain to pray; and most especially, the 40 days he fasted after his baptism prior to his active ministry. In a way we can say that Jesus was every inch trained and lived a religious and pious life.
As he lived out these three things though, he saw how these became the leverage in one's relationship with God. Didn't he tell us how the Pharisee made it an object of pride before God and a reason to deride others - "...I thank you Lord for I am unlike this tax collector; I fast twice a week, pay tithes on all I get..." (Lk 18, 11-13). The legalese in religious behavior seems to make one so self-righteous as to forget that God cannot be manipulated by our religiosity. God remains to be God, simply an Other Whose acts are not effects of our acts. Yes, He hears our prayers and grants them when it is His will. What we do then in prayer is to seek for His will, giving time and space in our lives so that we become familiar and docile to His plans for us. Fasting then becomes sorrow for our sins, for the loss of the Savior in our lives. And almsgiving is not so that others may have some good impression of us, but that we may remember that whatever we have is not only for us.
The faith Christ came to sow in us then is one that makes us know Who God is and respect and fear Him and His ways. It calls us to master ourselves, and most of all reach out to those He gives us in our lives. In this way our religiosity becomes God Himself in our midst - generous, loving and forgiving.
"May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace and may the Heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all. Amen."
St. Arnold Janssen
2 Kgs 2, 1. 6-14; Mt 6, 1-6, 16-18
The Gospel mentions three things religion is usually associated with: almsgiving, prayer, and fasting. Jesus learned these things himself. Didn't he say "The poor you will always have, but me you will not always have" (Jn 12, 8). This was when Mary (Lazarus' and Martha's sister) annointed her with expensive aromatic nard and Judas wished it were sold and given to the poor. We read of Jesus' going alone to the mountain to pray; and most especially, the 40 days he fasted after his baptism prior to his active ministry. In a way we can say that Jesus was every inch trained and lived a religious and pious life.
As he lived out these three things though, he saw how these became the leverage in one's relationship with God. Didn't he tell us how the Pharisee made it an object of pride before God and a reason to deride others - "...I thank you Lord for I am unlike this tax collector; I fast twice a week, pay tithes on all I get..." (Lk 18, 11-13). The legalese in religious behavior seems to make one so self-righteous as to forget that God cannot be manipulated by our religiosity. God remains to be God, simply an Other Whose acts are not effects of our acts. Yes, He hears our prayers and grants them when it is His will. What we do then in prayer is to seek for His will, giving time and space in our lives so that we become familiar and docile to His plans for us. Fasting then becomes sorrow for our sins, for the loss of the Savior in our lives. And almsgiving is not so that others may have some good impression of us, but that we may remember that whatever we have is not only for us.
The faith Christ came to sow in us then is one that makes us know Who God is and respect and fear Him and His ways. It calls us to master ourselves, and most of all reach out to those He gives us in our lives. In this way our religiosity becomes God Himself in our midst - generous, loving and forgiving.
"May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace and may the Heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all. Amen."
St. Arnold Janssen
Monday, April 21, 2008
Sufferings & Peace: April 22, 2008
There are two lines in today's readings that particularly struck me. From the readings taken from Acts 14:19-28, St. Paul's exhortation to the early Christians sounds very encouraging indeed: "It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God." He had just had a traumatic experience after "Jews from Antioch and Iconium...stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city supposing (him to be) dead." Had it not been for his fellow disciples who gathered around him, he could not have risen back. Did he remember what he did to the Christians when he was still the Saul breathing with a murderous heart? In this case, he must have thought, "what happened is not even enough to pay for all their lives." But knowing that he has been forgiven in Christ may have given him the realization that suffering indeed is inevitable if he was to be a faithful follower of the Master, Jesus Who suffered death on the cross. This experience of Paul has made him one, in solidarity with the other Christians who constantly live in suffering, constantly under the threat of death.
The second line is quite consoling. "Shalom" or peace Christ gives His followers, "not as the world gives" (Jn 14: 27-31a). It is a peace that wells from the heart of Someone Whose love cannot be taken away from us, that will never give up, that will "call back to life" the dead who live in suffering. Hence, Jesus could tell His disciples "Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid."
Indeed, as we follow the Lord faithfully, we may not be spared of sufferings, either in payment for our sins, but mostly because if we have to be really followers of Christ, we are not to be spared of sufferings. So, I have to brace myself up for sufferings to come. If it is God's will, then peace will be with me. Peace will be with the Church as each one of us takes up our crosses, our sufferings, "suffering for the Name" as the early Christians valued. If we are to enter the Kingdom of heaven, we better be realistic. The way there is narrow, hence, we have to be ready for suffering, even if these are not what we want but He may want for our salvation, and growth in His love.
God bless
The second line is quite consoling. "Shalom" or peace Christ gives His followers, "not as the world gives" (Jn 14: 27-31a). It is a peace that wells from the heart of Someone Whose love cannot be taken away from us, that will never give up, that will "call back to life" the dead who live in suffering. Hence, Jesus could tell His disciples "Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid."
Indeed, as we follow the Lord faithfully, we may not be spared of sufferings, either in payment for our sins, but mostly because if we have to be really followers of Christ, we are not to be spared of sufferings. So, I have to brace myself up for sufferings to come. If it is God's will, then peace will be with me. Peace will be with the Church as each one of us takes up our crosses, our sufferings, "suffering for the Name" as the early Christians valued. If we are to enter the Kingdom of heaven, we better be realistic. The way there is narrow, hence, we have to be ready for suffering, even if these are not what we want but He may want for our salvation, and growth in His love.
God bless
Sunday, April 20, 2008
April 20, 2008 Easter 5th Sunday Cycle A Homily
Every time I celebrate a funeral Mass, I particularly love to proclaim the Gospel we heard in today's liturgy: "Do not be troubled, you have faith in God, have faith also in me." Death can be so disconcerting an experience, to say the least. It was one question that haunted the husband of a friend in Taiwan, making him wonder what will happen after his last breath, and what about his father and uncles and grandparents, and constantly finding in Christ some little consolation. And since death is something that basically scares each one of us, the words Jesus says can give a calming effect. In fact, if I am not mistaken, the line He spoke connotes the same meaning which is 365 times used in Scriptures: "Do not be afraid." Faith thus becomes our courage in the face of such a powerful enemy as death, and fear that ensues with it.
This brings us to the fact that in Jesus, human nature has nothing to hide before God. For those among us who are more sceptical, the evidence that God truly understands us is this: In Jesus, He has truly taken a human body; hence His speaking about not becoming troubled before He would be crucified was to show us this basic nature in us - that we can be troubled when someone close to us goes away in death, or in any separation for that matter. I remember my first day in school way back 1970. While seated where I was assigned, I would now and then look back to see my sister who sat at the back. The moment I missed her because she had to go for her classes, I cried. Hence, for parents who would be bringing their kids to school the first time, talk to them about it weeks before so they can ready themselves for this must-happen situation, and begin to know that he needs to stand on his own and find himself and his security as he faces the world. We will be there for him, that's for sure, just as Jesus assured His disciples that He goes ahead to prepare a place for us and will come back to take us with Him wherever He is.
The same logic goes for those among us who are thinking of going abroad to earn more. I remember Paul, one of our guys involved in caring for our old and sick confreres, who once approached me years ago if I could lend his wife some capital so she could go to Taiwan. Before addressing his immediate concern, I asked him: have you talked about it? As a couple, they had. But to their children, they haven't. This may be one of the key factors that make children feel even more isolated nowadays because parents don't consider the reactions they have with their absence, particularly for years, and the effect on them of growing without their parents there when they so need their mom or dad. Let's not look at children only from the monetary or material angle. Let's keep this tip from Jesus Who's shown us something about ourselves, and let's talk about it so we are prepared. Come to think of this: even after He had told them about His imminent departure and death, the apostles ended up scatted in fear when He was crucified. But as shown by Peter, it was not difficult for him to acknowledge where he failed because he knew ahead of time what was going to happen. Remember how Jesus told him that he would three times deny knowing the Lord before the cock crows? This is in the same line as "Do not be troubled." Assure each other then of your empathic stance for the other so that fear need not permanently destabilize us.
Indeed, what Christ did for us, was to raise our dignity back to its original state: that of a beloved. He created each one of us in His own image. Thus, in Christ Jesus, the human person, particularly the believer, the follower of Christ is something sacred, precious. In the words of Peter in the second reading, "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation." We have been ransomed by His blood. Therefore, let's live within this dignity and not allow ourselves to stay enslaved to whatever keeps us from living the life of a beloved, someone special and very important for God.
Now in Christ, the other is really entitled to our respect. None of us is then given the right to hurt the other. Or as in the experience of the early Christian community, we have no more right to simply neglect the others. The more we know what's inside of us, what's taking place in our emotional life in particular, the more free we become because we need not act out our anger, our rage at the other. Once we know what's inside of us, we can make a choice as we search for better ways to solve problems than create new ones because of the carelessness we do when disrespecting the other by our shouting or cursing at or belittling the other. If only we can learn from the lessons of history, of the ruins that lay announcing the destruction of our careless disrespect for the rights and dignity of the other. Followers of Christ are really rational people, those are more calm than the rest, those who know better what other alternatives to choose to protect the human right of the other, one which we will ourselves appreciate when guaranteed by the other. The more we do this, the more peace we have as we await our ultimate and complete salvation in Christ.
God bless and take care
This brings us to the fact that in Jesus, human nature has nothing to hide before God. For those among us who are more sceptical, the evidence that God truly understands us is this: In Jesus, He has truly taken a human body; hence His speaking about not becoming troubled before He would be crucified was to show us this basic nature in us - that we can be troubled when someone close to us goes away in death, or in any separation for that matter. I remember my first day in school way back 1970. While seated where I was assigned, I would now and then look back to see my sister who sat at the back. The moment I missed her because she had to go for her classes, I cried. Hence, for parents who would be bringing their kids to school the first time, talk to them about it weeks before so they can ready themselves for this must-happen situation, and begin to know that he needs to stand on his own and find himself and his security as he faces the world. We will be there for him, that's for sure, just as Jesus assured His disciples that He goes ahead to prepare a place for us and will come back to take us with Him wherever He is.
The same logic goes for those among us who are thinking of going abroad to earn more. I remember Paul, one of our guys involved in caring for our old and sick confreres, who once approached me years ago if I could lend his wife some capital so she could go to Taiwan. Before addressing his immediate concern, I asked him: have you talked about it? As a couple, they had. But to their children, they haven't. This may be one of the key factors that make children feel even more isolated nowadays because parents don't consider the reactions they have with their absence, particularly for years, and the effect on them of growing without their parents there when they so need their mom or dad. Let's not look at children only from the monetary or material angle. Let's keep this tip from Jesus Who's shown us something about ourselves, and let's talk about it so we are prepared. Come to think of this: even after He had told them about His imminent departure and death, the apostles ended up scatted in fear when He was crucified. But as shown by Peter, it was not difficult for him to acknowledge where he failed because he knew ahead of time what was going to happen. Remember how Jesus told him that he would three times deny knowing the Lord before the cock crows? This is in the same line as "Do not be troubled." Assure each other then of your empathic stance for the other so that fear need not permanently destabilize us.
Indeed, what Christ did for us, was to raise our dignity back to its original state: that of a beloved. He created each one of us in His own image. Thus, in Christ Jesus, the human person, particularly the believer, the follower of Christ is something sacred, precious. In the words of Peter in the second reading, "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation." We have been ransomed by His blood. Therefore, let's live within this dignity and not allow ourselves to stay enslaved to whatever keeps us from living the life of a beloved, someone special and very important for God.
Now in Christ, the other is really entitled to our respect. None of us is then given the right to hurt the other. Or as in the experience of the early Christian community, we have no more right to simply neglect the others. The more we know what's inside of us, what's taking place in our emotional life in particular, the more free we become because we need not act out our anger, our rage at the other. Once we know what's inside of us, we can make a choice as we search for better ways to solve problems than create new ones because of the carelessness we do when disrespecting the other by our shouting or cursing at or belittling the other. If only we can learn from the lessons of history, of the ruins that lay announcing the destruction of our careless disrespect for the rights and dignity of the other. Followers of Christ are really rational people, those are more calm than the rest, those who know better what other alternatives to choose to protect the human right of the other, one which we will ourselves appreciate when guaranteed by the other. The more we do this, the more peace we have as we await our ultimate and complete salvation in Christ.
God bless and take care
Thursday, April 17, 2008
April 18, 2008 Reflection
St. Paul speaks today at the synagogue, telling his listeners (including us today) that despite all that Jesus did for the people, these same people were the ones who had Him crucified, took him down from the cross, had him buried, but God raised Him back to life. And those who followed Him now proclaim Him as God's appointed One for our salvation.
I am amazed with this magnanimity of God in Christ. Imagine, if Jesus was only human, like anyone among us, it would have been normal for him to just stay away from those who killed him, feeling so unsafe and living in fear. But no, the divinity in Him gave Him life, a new one, which shows what the Resurrection can do for us: it can wash away the pain, take away the hurts, and restore us back to life sans the revenge and the hatred.
Maybe there was still pain like most healing usually gives that sensation, but with the proclamation of Him for our salvation, the revenge is out of the picture. The hatred is gone too. What remained was love, for all even the ones who nailed Him to the tree. If this is not love, then what is it?
This is another scriptural evidence of the love of God in Whom we find our healing, our strength and our courage. Without His love, we will just be "normal" in our fears, in our anger, and in our bitterness. May today's Word of God give us life.
This is what the Church does - START OVER - in the Eucharist. As Jesus says in the Gospel, have faith in Him too if we have faith in God. He has prepared for each one of us a room in His Father's place. And mind you, only He has guaranted us this promise which He will definitely fulfill.
May we live our lives starting today always thinking that in Christ we are destined for heaven. We are not hated by God and He doesn't intend to avenge His Son's death. All He wants since He created us is that we live our lives to the full. "I came that they might have life to the full." (John 10:10)
God bless and take care
I am amazed with this magnanimity of God in Christ. Imagine, if Jesus was only human, like anyone among us, it would have been normal for him to just stay away from those who killed him, feeling so unsafe and living in fear. But no, the divinity in Him gave Him life, a new one, which shows what the Resurrection can do for us: it can wash away the pain, take away the hurts, and restore us back to life sans the revenge and the hatred.
Maybe there was still pain like most healing usually gives that sensation, but with the proclamation of Him for our salvation, the revenge is out of the picture. The hatred is gone too. What remained was love, for all even the ones who nailed Him to the tree. If this is not love, then what is it?
This is another scriptural evidence of the love of God in Whom we find our healing, our strength and our courage. Without His love, we will just be "normal" in our fears, in our anger, and in our bitterness. May today's Word of God give us life.
This is what the Church does - START OVER - in the Eucharist. As Jesus says in the Gospel, have faith in Him too if we have faith in God. He has prepared for each one of us a room in His Father's place. And mind you, only He has guaranted us this promise which He will definitely fulfill.
May we live our lives starting today always thinking that in Christ we are destined for heaven. We are not hated by God and He doesn't intend to avenge His Son's death. All He wants since He created us is that we live our lives to the full. "I came that they might have life to the full." (John 10:10)
God bless and take care
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE: The Call to Faith
It's April 9, and this day's Gospel shows us Jesus telling His listeners that He is the Bread of Life. People were looking for him after He had just fed 5,000 men with the five loaves and 2 fish, and He noticed that they wanted to make Him King. So He kept distance from them, but they searched for Him. In their dialogue, Jesus tells them to do the work God wants: Believe in the One He sent them. They say that Moses gave them bread, the manna in the desert, so what sign has Jesus got for them? Jesus tells them that it wasn't Moses who gave them bread, it was God the Father Himself. He thus says: "I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me willnever thirst...Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day..."
This dialogue reminds me of television commercials or advertisements showing a mother worried about her child who doesn't eat but only loves to play. One particular ad says "When Sabina was this age, she only loved to eat hotdog, hotdog, hotdog. If not, she wouldn't eat. It's good I shifted to ...(the milk brand)." This ad seems to carry with it a message which by analogy we can use in the Father's giving us His Son as Bread of Life. Like a mother, God has always searched for and done ways so that we His creatures would live. Since we are all His creatures and He created us in His image and likeness, hence we can see some of our own actions and values contain in them the divine intention and plan. His giving us His Son as Bread of Life is really to ensure that all who go to Him in faith has life. This thus reminds me the Church's constant running back to the table of the Eucharist from which it gets its life. Now I understand why the Church has such a long life. May we live faithfully our faith in Jesus.
God bless
This dialogue reminds me of television commercials or advertisements showing a mother worried about her child who doesn't eat but only loves to play. One particular ad says "When Sabina was this age, she only loved to eat hotdog, hotdog, hotdog. If not, she wouldn't eat. It's good I shifted to ...(the milk brand)." This ad seems to carry with it a message which by analogy we can use in the Father's giving us His Son as Bread of Life. Like a mother, God has always searched for and done ways so that we His creatures would live. Since we are all His creatures and He created us in His image and likeness, hence we can see some of our own actions and values contain in them the divine intention and plan. His giving us His Son as Bread of Life is really to ensure that all who go to Him in faith has life. This thus reminds me the Church's constant running back to the table of the Eucharist from which it gets its life. Now I understand why the Church has such a long life. May we live faithfully our faith in Jesus.
God bless
Friday, April 04, 2008
Fears, Worries & Conflicts
FWC - fears, worries & conflicts - these are three experiences which none of us is spared from. They can debilitate us, paralyze and in the end destroy us unless we take a second look at our helpless, devastated selves. When we're into these three, we lose sight of what we have and feel so small and unable to cope. We make the problem bigger than it really is. This makes me remember one text message I received quite a few times: "When you have a problem, don't say 'God I have a big problem;' rather say 'Problem, I have a big God.'
The apostles in the boat today were scared at seeing someone on the water approaching them. In a parallel text from the Synoptics, this seems like the experience of Peter who asked the Lord, "Lord, if it is really you, tell me to cross the water." Walking on the water then signifies being able to weather through all fears, worries and conflicts. The words of Christ, and Scriptures for that matter since "Fear not" is mentioned in there 365 times - once a day it seems said for us! When in the midst of FWC, keep the thought back.
The Early Christian community experienced conflict wrought by the folly of human weakness. But when the apostles came together and talked about it, they found a solution which we are still using up to now! Imagine what a long-lasting solution the Lord gives!
The message seems clear: The Lord has truly Risen! He triumphed over death! What other lesser power can conquer Him? He has shared us that new life, so what is there for us to really be afraid? As we entrust our lives to the Lord, so we trust in His mercy. "Lord, let your mercy be on us as we place our trust in You," says the Responsorial Psalm.
God bless
The apostles in the boat today were scared at seeing someone on the water approaching them. In a parallel text from the Synoptics, this seems like the experience of Peter who asked the Lord, "Lord, if it is really you, tell me to cross the water." Walking on the water then signifies being able to weather through all fears, worries and conflicts. The words of Christ, and Scriptures for that matter since "Fear not" is mentioned in there 365 times - once a day it seems said for us! When in the midst of FWC, keep the thought back.
The Early Christian community experienced conflict wrought by the folly of human weakness. But when the apostles came together and talked about it, they found a solution which we are still using up to now! Imagine what a long-lasting solution the Lord gives!
The message seems clear: The Lord has truly Risen! He triumphed over death! What other lesser power can conquer Him? He has shared us that new life, so what is there for us to really be afraid? As we entrust our lives to the Lord, so we trust in His mercy. "Lord, let your mercy be on us as we place our trust in You," says the Responsorial Psalm.
God bless
Monday, March 31, 2008
"To Be Born From Above" & Fr. Francis Maddhu, SVD
On this day, April 1, one year ago, which was a Palm Sunday (why is it Tuesday today and not Monday? - it's because 2008 is a leap year!), Fr. Francis Maddhu, SVD was shot at close range shortly before he was to celebrate the Palm Sunday Mass in a mission station in Barrio Mabongtot, about 4 hours walk from his parish in Lubuagan, Kalinga. He arrived in the Philippines exactly a year, if the liturgy were the basis of this chronological account. He arrived in the Philippines in 2006 also on a Palm Sunday! The killing was senseless as there seemed no apparent reason for shooting him. His dying seemed senseless as well. Until this time, the case has not been solved. The last time I read about his case mentioned that the suspect ran scot free after a few days ofbeing arrested.
From the human point of view, vengeance is the immediate feeling upon realizing this current situation. Justice remains to be served for him. But as it is, a year after his death, justice for his death remains an illusive dream! It is good that he was a priest; hence the thought that Someone knows what has happened can give some consolation. Wasn't Christ likewise killed almost senselessly? But today he speaks about being "born from above."
To be born from above is to be born of the Spirit. It is to live, knowing that our life is not simply our own. Someone owns us, Someone knows us. Hence, to remember that by virtue of our baptism this being "born from above" has indeed taken place, that God has taken us unto Himself through His Son, Jesus, is to realize that living now our lives is living for Christ, for God. Hence, whatever way we die, if it be as God allows, doesn't really matter. What matters is how we live this life of "being born from above." I'd like to believe that Fr. Maddhu was born from above because he lived his life as a priest, and died a priest as well.
To be born from above is to be begotten by the One Who has recreated us anew. Hence, the human person being an image of the Creator, undergoes an identity and reality that surpasses all we can ever imagine about ourselves, that is worthy of respect and valuing. Indeed, if I can say it here, the human person can be higher than the priest simply because the person born from above is the image of God Himself, even today in our midst. Whoever fails to see this reality fails to live his life of being born from above.
To be born from above is also to live as Christ lived. The Crucifix appears to be the best way to show what it is to be born from above. He who hung on the Cross is above all. Hence, it is from this perspective that life has meaning, has direction and has worth. The film "The Passion of the Christ" showed Jesus really hanging from on high on the Cross. Living our being born from above from this angle can really show us lots of insights and meaning. The experience of being abandoned, in pain, thus gains some vicarious benefit. Sometimes the pain and the abandonment can defocus us from this fact and make us forget that we are "above" already with Christ. May our knowing that while "above" in our pains and sufferings we have Christ, may we be strengthened to do the will of the One Who has sent us as He Himself was sent to show us how it is to be "from above."
God bless
From the human point of view, vengeance is the immediate feeling upon realizing this current situation. Justice remains to be served for him. But as it is, a year after his death, justice for his death remains an illusive dream! It is good that he was a priest; hence the thought that Someone knows what has happened can give some consolation. Wasn't Christ likewise killed almost senselessly? But today he speaks about being "born from above."
To be born from above is to be born of the Spirit. It is to live, knowing that our life is not simply our own. Someone owns us, Someone knows us. Hence, to remember that by virtue of our baptism this being "born from above" has indeed taken place, that God has taken us unto Himself through His Son, Jesus, is to realize that living now our lives is living for Christ, for God. Hence, whatever way we die, if it be as God allows, doesn't really matter. What matters is how we live this life of "being born from above." I'd like to believe that Fr. Maddhu was born from above because he lived his life as a priest, and died a priest as well.
To be born from above is to be begotten by the One Who has recreated us anew. Hence, the human person being an image of the Creator, undergoes an identity and reality that surpasses all we can ever imagine about ourselves, that is worthy of respect and valuing. Indeed, if I can say it here, the human person can be higher than the priest simply because the person born from above is the image of God Himself, even today in our midst. Whoever fails to see this reality fails to live his life of being born from above.
To be born from above is also to live as Christ lived. The Crucifix appears to be the best way to show what it is to be born from above. He who hung on the Cross is above all. Hence, it is from this perspective that life has meaning, has direction and has worth. The film "The Passion of the Christ" showed Jesus really hanging from on high on the Cross. Living our being born from above from this angle can really show us lots of insights and meaning. The experience of being abandoned, in pain, thus gains some vicarious benefit. Sometimes the pain and the abandonment can defocus us from this fact and make us forget that we are "above" already with Christ. May our knowing that while "above" in our pains and sufferings we have Christ, may we be strengthened to do the will of the One Who has sent us as He Himself was sent to show us how it is to be "from above."
God bless
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Why We Need To Forgive
The Gospel of the 2nd Sunday of Easter always brings us that scene in the Upper Room where for fear of the Jews the Apostles stayed locked and in the dark. I've been in that room myself when I had the chance to visit the Holy Land way back year 2000. Jesus comes and greets them "Peace be with you" three times. On the second time, he breathed on them and gave the Holy Spirit. "As the Father has sent me, so I send you. Whose sins you forgive shall be forgiven, whose sins you hold bound, they are held bound."
Why must we forgive?
Before I answer that question, I'd like to share what I read lately. Last month I underwent a personal crisis, and in the process of healing myself, I chanced upon in the internet a journal article entitled "Interpersonal Forgiving in Close Relationships: II. Theoretical Elaboration and Measurement" by Michael E. McCullough, et al. (1998) in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology vol. 75, 6, 1586-1603. If I may summarize here what particularly struck me, it was the dynamics of the experience of being hurt. According to the study which asked people about their experience of being hurt, avoidance of the person who had hurt them, or withdrawal from contacts with them was a common experience. (Now I understand that keeping distance has a self-healing end. Thus, it is a challenge for me to understand the other when he starts to keep away from me when I shall hurt that person.) While alone, the rumination of thought took place. Revenge was a common experience as well among those who've been hurt.
But asked if those who've experienced hurt had forgiven those who hurt them, asking apology by the "hurter" was a common factor in forgiveness. This seemed to be a common denominator for forgiveness to be truly given. And those who forgave tended to have had close relationships with the "hurter."
Come to think of this: how come it is those who are close to us who dare to hurt us? What makes anyone among us think we have the right to hurt those we love? Is there really love when we hurt the other? Accepting the apology of the "hurter" seems to convey the following victim's message: "Ok, I accept your forgiveness, and hope you don't do it again. Because we've had some good times together, and for the sake of those times, we can start again. I am here to help you understand yourself in your process of learning how to control yourself."
Indeed, to forgive is to give the other another chance to grow and become better. Hence, the Resurrection becomes that great opportunity to really extend our patience at the other who's hurt us, and also a challenge for us to stop the hurting of others as well.
But why forgive?
In the many times I've been hurt myself, whenever the hurt was done in public, there was in me the need to be vindicated also in public. I remember one classmate who had hurt me in the presence of my other classmates. Even now, after I told that classmate to apologive in public, no public apology had come. Indeed, there seems to be too much self-enhancement in the person that may have kept that other from apologizing in public! But I remembered one scene, so poignant it sent shivers down my spine. That scene was when Pope JPII went to the jail cell of his assassin, Ali Agca Memet. Pope JPII had been hurt in public, but he forgave his "hurter" in public. I bet the Crucifixion experience of Christ that public forgiving God has given us. The Crucifixion is a public declaration of God that He has forgiven us in the many times we have hurt Him. Having been forgiven, having been sown the seed of forgiveness by the Lord Himself, we are then taught and challenged to make that seed of forgiveness bear fruit in forgiving the other. This is believe is the reason for forgiving.
Dr. Schlesinger of Australia, a forensic psychologist once in 1996(?) came to the Philippines. He brought with him the Spiral Test he himself had invented in order to identify those who are truly suffering from whiplash injuries from those who are simply malingering. I remember very vividly the directions he gave me since I volunteered to take the Test myself. The Spiral Test went this way: In front of me was a plate-size round object on which was printed the Spiral. The moment he put it on, I watched as it rolled clockwise. After some moments, he announced to me that he had stopped it. From that time, he started counting the time until I pushed a button to signify it had stopped. To my surprise, when he announced that he had put off the Spiral, the spiral in my head continued to move, but this time counterclockwise. I pressed the button after this movement stopped.
This experience helped me understand the nature of the rumination process. Like the epxerience of those who've gone through trauma, the coming back of thoughts and memories about the incidence seems to be a natural part of the brain's reaction to the experience. I remembered the spring of the notebooks we have. Once freed from being twisted, it recoils back until it has gone back to its former form. The rumination process seems to be that recoiling process of the brain in order to achieve a state of equilibrium and stability.
Sometimes, the rumination seems not just a physiological process, but a psychological process as well. For how do we account those who don't seem to have forgotten even after some time? For me, when we shall have gone through the insight of why something happened to us, the lessons shall have become the receptacle which ensures the "forgetting" of the experience.
Thanks be to God Who started this forgiving process, or else what a life to live without being forgiven! Truly, the Lord is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia.
Why must we forgive?
Before I answer that question, I'd like to share what I read lately. Last month I underwent a personal crisis, and in the process of healing myself, I chanced upon in the internet a journal article entitled "Interpersonal Forgiving in Close Relationships: II. Theoretical Elaboration and Measurement" by Michael E. McCullough, et al. (1998) in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology vol. 75, 6, 1586-1603. If I may summarize here what particularly struck me, it was the dynamics of the experience of being hurt. According to the study which asked people about their experience of being hurt, avoidance of the person who had hurt them, or withdrawal from contacts with them was a common experience. (Now I understand that keeping distance has a self-healing end. Thus, it is a challenge for me to understand the other when he starts to keep away from me when I shall hurt that person.) While alone, the rumination of thought took place. Revenge was a common experience as well among those who've been hurt.
But asked if those who've experienced hurt had forgiven those who hurt them, asking apology by the "hurter" was a common factor in forgiveness. This seemed to be a common denominator for forgiveness to be truly given. And those who forgave tended to have had close relationships with the "hurter."
Come to think of this: how come it is those who are close to us who dare to hurt us? What makes anyone among us think we have the right to hurt those we love? Is there really love when we hurt the other? Accepting the apology of the "hurter" seems to convey the following victim's message: "Ok, I accept your forgiveness, and hope you don't do it again. Because we've had some good times together, and for the sake of those times, we can start again. I am here to help you understand yourself in your process of learning how to control yourself."
Indeed, to forgive is to give the other another chance to grow and become better. Hence, the Resurrection becomes that great opportunity to really extend our patience at the other who's hurt us, and also a challenge for us to stop the hurting of others as well.
But why forgive?
In the many times I've been hurt myself, whenever the hurt was done in public, there was in me the need to be vindicated also in public. I remember one classmate who had hurt me in the presence of my other classmates. Even now, after I told that classmate to apologive in public, no public apology had come. Indeed, there seems to be too much self-enhancement in the person that may have kept that other from apologizing in public! But I remembered one scene, so poignant it sent shivers down my spine. That scene was when Pope JPII went to the jail cell of his assassin, Ali Agca Memet. Pope JPII had been hurt in public, but he forgave his "hurter" in public. I bet the Crucifixion experience of Christ that public forgiving God has given us. The Crucifixion is a public declaration of God that He has forgiven us in the many times we have hurt Him. Having been forgiven, having been sown the seed of forgiveness by the Lord Himself, we are then taught and challenged to make that seed of forgiveness bear fruit in forgiving the other. This is believe is the reason for forgiving.
Dr. Schlesinger of Australia, a forensic psychologist once in 1996(?) came to the Philippines. He brought with him the Spiral Test he himself had invented in order to identify those who are truly suffering from whiplash injuries from those who are simply malingering. I remember very vividly the directions he gave me since I volunteered to take the Test myself. The Spiral Test went this way: In front of me was a plate-size round object on which was printed the Spiral. The moment he put it on, I watched as it rolled clockwise. After some moments, he announced to me that he had stopped it. From that time, he started counting the time until I pushed a button to signify it had stopped. To my surprise, when he announced that he had put off the Spiral, the spiral in my head continued to move, but this time counterclockwise. I pressed the button after this movement stopped.
This experience helped me understand the nature of the rumination process. Like the epxerience of those who've gone through trauma, the coming back of thoughts and memories about the incidence seems to be a natural part of the brain's reaction to the experience. I remembered the spring of the notebooks we have. Once freed from being twisted, it recoils back until it has gone back to its former form. The rumination process seems to be that recoiling process of the brain in order to achieve a state of equilibrium and stability.
Sometimes, the rumination seems not just a physiological process, but a psychological process as well. For how do we account those who don't seem to have forgotten even after some time? For me, when we shall have gone through the insight of why something happened to us, the lessons shall have become the receptacle which ensures the "forgetting" of the experience.
Thanks be to God Who started this forgiving process, or else what a life to live without being forgiven! Truly, the Lord is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Reflection for March 28, 2008 Duc In Altum
The Gospel for today March 28 speaks about Jesus' 3rd apparition after He rose from the dead. St. John starts the text by showing us Peter telling his 6 other companions that he intends to go fishing. These six others decide to join him. However, they caught nothing for the night. While they were getting near the shore, Jesus asked them if they caught anything. They did not recognize Jesus yet and replied in the negative. Jesus told them to throw the net into the starboard side, after which they caught a haul-full! It was the beloved John who recognized Jesus, and told Peter, "It is the Lord."
In the Scriptures, the Synoptics mention this account before Jesus rose from the dead. The apostles' experience of Jesus' telling them to throw the net again ["Duc in altum"] was particularly striking for Peter, because he seemed to not have given Jesus the adulation He deserved when the latter told him to fish again. Didn't Peter tell the Lord that they had gone out to fish the night before and got nothing? But after they got a big catch, didn't Peter kneel down and tell Jesus, "I am a sinner." This catching fish then, being his way of life in the first place, has become for Peter something altogether personally significant because here he encountered Jesus so concretely and personally. This could have been one of the foundational experiences for Peter's later confession after being asked by the Lord "Who do you say I am?" "You are the Messiah, the Son of God."
In the Gospel of John, this catching fish episode is mentioned after Jesus rose from the dead. Note too that Peter had just denied Jesus three times as the latter predicted during the Last Supper.
In both instances, Peter showed the Lord the worst of himself - his tired self in the Synoptic accounts, and his denial of knowing Him to those who asked if he was in His company. And yet, here the Lord approaches him, again, and telling him to catch "men" from then on. It is indeed a poignant scene, one that sends shivers down the spine. The Lord has truly Risen, He who doesn't mark out our offenses but sees the many possibilities in us if only we are open to aligning our wills with God's, like He definitely did.
In the Scriptures, the Synoptics mention this account before Jesus rose from the dead. The apostles' experience of Jesus' telling them to throw the net again ["Duc in altum"] was particularly striking for Peter, because he seemed to not have given Jesus the adulation He deserved when the latter told him to fish again. Didn't Peter tell the Lord that they had gone out to fish the night before and got nothing? But after they got a big catch, didn't Peter kneel down and tell Jesus, "I am a sinner." This catching fish then, being his way of life in the first place, has become for Peter something altogether personally significant because here he encountered Jesus so concretely and personally. This could have been one of the foundational experiences for Peter's later confession after being asked by the Lord "Who do you say I am?" "You are the Messiah, the Son of God."
In the Gospel of John, this catching fish episode is mentioned after Jesus rose from the dead. Note too that Peter had just denied Jesus three times as the latter predicted during the Last Supper.
In both instances, Peter showed the Lord the worst of himself - his tired self in the Synoptic accounts, and his denial of knowing Him to those who asked if he was in His company. And yet, here the Lord approaches him, again, and telling him to catch "men" from then on. It is indeed a poignant scene, one that sends shivers down the spine. The Lord has truly Risen, He who doesn't mark out our offenses but sees the many possibilities in us if only we are open to aligning our wills with God's, like He definitely did.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Towards a Morally Rebuilt Nation
Here is the Bishops' Statement for Palm Sunday 2008 here in the Philippines courtesy of Frt. Felmar Castrodes, SVD who had this posted in his blosite at http://fielsvd.blogspot.com/2008/03/towards-morally-rebuilt-nation.html yesterday Saturday March 15, 2008. Happy reading!
Today we are experiencing a social and political mess. This however goes beyond the question of truth to the search for probity. Probity is about the integrity of all, the accuser and the accused. We are unhappy and we feel betrayed. And yet as Pope Benedict XVI reminds us “in spite of our great disappointment our great hope can only be God who has loved us and who continues to love us to the end, until all is accomplished”, (Spe Salvi, 27). We also know that together we have the capacity to correct and purify the nation by starting with ourselves.
The Model for Change is the Desert.
The history of salvation teaches us that the long road to freedom inevitably passes through the desert of purification and conversion. Having escaped from Pharaoh, via the miraculous crossing through the Sea of Reeds, the Israelites considered themselves liberated. But they were not yet free, because they wanted to go back to their old ways in Egypt. “Should we not do better go back to Egypt?” (Numbers 14: 2-3).
The chosen people hesitated at the shores of the Sea and remained enslaved. So Moses led Israel away from the Sea of Reeds, and they entered the desert of Shur. (Exodus 15: 22). Believing that Pharaoh was the idolater refusing them the worship of the true God, it was in the wilderness where the people discovered that they too were guilty worshipers of golden idols. (Exodus 32: 1-29). People were disciplined and converted from their greed (Exodus 16: 17-21); and the desert which the Israelites feared to enter became for them a place of purification, discipline and conversion, before they could enter the promised land of freedom, forty years later. There are yet no proven easy short cuts to conversion and renewal.
Looking back at EDSA I, euphoric and heroic as it was, it appeared that the event became the Filipinos’ day of crossing to freedom; but that was only the first step that hardly anyone knew. The “desert” awaited the people who would be purified and converted, before they become fully liberated. But people preferred the convenient streets as the easier route to an imagined freedom, and feared the “desert experience” that awaited conversion and new beginnings.
Corruption as the cancer of the nation.
We cannot add more to the wrath of God for lies, untruth, injustice and evil. Conscience, as the voice of God within, already tells us of what good there is to pursue and what evil to avoid. Our people are known to be God-fearing and God-loving; sadly, they fight, deceive and kill for money.
Shamefully we have been known to be a nation whose prime industry has been identified as politics simply because politics is the main route to power, which, in turn, is the main route to wealth (1). In this country people use politics to get money, and more politics to protect more money. “Corruption radically distorts the role of representative institutions, because they become an arena for political bartering between clients' requests and governmental services. In this way political choices favor the narrow objectives of those who possess the means to influence these choices and are an obstacle to bringing the common good of all citizens.” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 411).
The subordination of the public good to individual or group interests is what corruption is all about. In whatever form it takes, the practice of corruption is both immoral and unjust. Corruption is worse than lies, because lies are employed only to cover it. Whenever Government money is stolen or whenever suppliers or contractors’ money is offered as bribe to secure projects, to the disadvantage of the Government graft or corruption is committed. Graft is the acquisition of gain by dishonest, unfair and sordid means through the abuse of one's position in politics, business, etc., while corruption is the improper enrichment of politicians or civil servants or those close to them by the misuse of public power entrusted to them. [BIR, Revenue Memo Circular 12-2005]. As an injustice to the Government and people graft and corruption are against the Seventh Commandment and have the added element of betraying one's country.
The Universal and All-time Application of the Seventh Commandment.
The Seventh Commandment, “Thou shall not steal”, applies to all, as individuals or as groups. Thus, if one holds on to money or its equivalent that is not his or hers (or theirs), justice demands restitution of the stolen or bribe money to the owner. (CCC, 1459). If the owner can no longer be located, then the money should be given to the poor, or to a credible institution that will give the money for the poor or give true services for the poor.
Restitution was the constant teaching in relation to the violation of the Seventh Commandment in the Bible. “If anyone steals..., he will pay back”. (Exodus 21: 37).“Look Lord, I am going to give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times the amount”. With this confession, the Lord Jesus blessed Zacchaeus with salvation. (Luke 19: 8-10). The teaching of the Church on stealing is this: No Restitution, no Absolution. In the words of Jesus: with Restitution, there is Salvation. (Luke 19: 9). An authentic conversion demands willingness to restore what has been stolen and the resolve not to steal again.
The penitent should not be so complacent about one's faith as to consider oneself truly absolved before God on account of faith alone, even if one has no contrition... For faith without penance would effect no remission of sins. (Council of Trent).
The mandate of the Seventh Commandment is also addressed to traders and ordinary citizens in all practices of business, commerce and trading. Fraud in business, over pricing, bribery in contracts, cheating in scales, cheating in legitimate taxes and the smuggling of taxable goods, including also the smuggling and trafficking of substances for abuse to damn the innocent and the weak members of society, etc. --- all these are among the many forms of violating the Seventh Commandment.
Our Response: Our desert experience.
The old and the young, from kindergarten through high school on to the tertiary level of education till up to the licensure exams, are all to be formed and guided towards integrity, trained never to cheat in studies and exams. The “discipline of the desert” is to be taught and applied, if anyone is to succeed at any level towards “the fullness of life.”
The Seventh Commandment covers not only the present corruption deals that have been recently exposed, but also all deals, at all levels of government service, of all administrations and governance, no matter what came out of the past or will come out of the present or future inquiries. “Thou shalt not steal” covers also all trading of even ordinary citizens.
We suddenly notice that the widespread corruption we see in others is also the corruption we detect in ourselves.
Corrupt practices and fraud prevailed in the cities, towns and even in small Barangays. In the last two generations there had been tens of thousands of graft-ridden contracts in Government, the biggest single controversial project ever recorded in Philippine history was the Westinghouse’s Bataan Nuclear Plant (2).
True liberation will mean that we enter our desert of repentance and conversion. Change lies only at the heart of every person. Let us begin there. Values for living justly will be preached in parishes, prayed for in the homes, re-taught in schools, discussed in small communities and groups. Support structures will be required for a righteous life and fair dealings. After our personal and communal “desert” conversion, we will, please God, be ushered to the freedom we seek.
God’s Help is always needed.
We need God’s grace, if we are to encourage one another, forgive each other, pay our debts to the justice that we all violated, and start again, not at the banks of “our Sea of Reeds”, but beyond the streets of EDSA. Believers and lovers of God, like true Christians, do not have to hate, destroy each other even if they want to correct the mistakes of the past or the present and of each other. Many are critical of the present governance particularly in the areas of truth and justice. But we can restore truth and justice without resorting to violence and hatred. A nation built on contempt is completely unimaginable. As pastors we cannot tell you less, even if some will resent the way we teach. It is for everybody's good, especially the very poor among our brothers and sisters that we now address this call for communal renewal.
We need the leaders from the highest to the lowest and their families not only to lead us, but also to give us examples of repentance and true humble conversion. We also need people with other ideas but with positive emotions in nation building. Given the example and encouragement, the citizens will be inspired to follow where in the past they hesitated to proceed --- to their “desert” transformation.
Ngayon, diretso na tayo sa hindi natin kaagad gustong puntahan --- sa Disyerto ng ating mga masamang karanasan at kasalanan na dapat nating baguhin! May Pag-asa po ang ating Bayan at ang ating sarili. Basta’t sa pagbabago kay Kristo Hesus tayo ay magsama-sama.
In prayer let us beg Mary and Joseph to lead us back to the Christ that we had lost in the past! God bless us all!
+ Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales
Archbishop of Manila
Bp. Honesto Ongtioco
Bp Jesse Mercado
Bishop of Cubao
Bishop of Paranaque
Bp. Deogracias Iniguez
Bp Francisco San Diego
Bishop of Caloocan
Bishop of Pasig
Bp. Gabriel Reyes
Bp. Antonio Tobias
Bp. of Antipolo
Bishop of Novaliches
Bp. Jose Oliveros
Bp. Leo Drona
Bishop of Malolos
Bishop of San Pablo
Bp. Luis Antonio Tagle
Bp. Pedro Arigo
Bishop of Imus
Vicar Apo.of Puerto Princesa
Bp. Edgardo Juanich
Bp. Leopoldo Tumulak
Vicar Apo. of Taytay
Military Ordinariate
Bp. Francisco de Leon
Bp. Broderick Pabillo
Auxiliary Bishop of Antipolo
Auxiliary Bishop of Manila
Bp. Bernardino Cortez
Auxiliary Bishop of Manila
Palm Sunday, 2008
(1) Samuel Huntington, Political Order in Changing Societies, p. 67.
(2) Ricardo Manapat, Some are Smarter than Others, ($1.9B in 1981 to $2B in 1982), pp. 324328;
Today we are experiencing a social and political mess. This however goes beyond the question of truth to the search for probity. Probity is about the integrity of all, the accuser and the accused. We are unhappy and we feel betrayed. And yet as Pope Benedict XVI reminds us “in spite of our great disappointment our great hope can only be God who has loved us and who continues to love us to the end, until all is accomplished”, (Spe Salvi, 27). We also know that together we have the capacity to correct and purify the nation by starting with ourselves.
The Model for Change is the Desert.
The history of salvation teaches us that the long road to freedom inevitably passes through the desert of purification and conversion. Having escaped from Pharaoh, via the miraculous crossing through the Sea of Reeds, the Israelites considered themselves liberated. But they were not yet free, because they wanted to go back to their old ways in Egypt. “Should we not do better go back to Egypt?” (Numbers 14: 2-3).
The chosen people hesitated at the shores of the Sea and remained enslaved. So Moses led Israel away from the Sea of Reeds, and they entered the desert of Shur. (Exodus 15: 22). Believing that Pharaoh was the idolater refusing them the worship of the true God, it was in the wilderness where the people discovered that they too were guilty worshipers of golden idols. (Exodus 32: 1-29). People were disciplined and converted from their greed (Exodus 16: 17-21); and the desert which the Israelites feared to enter became for them a place of purification, discipline and conversion, before they could enter the promised land of freedom, forty years later. There are yet no proven easy short cuts to conversion and renewal.
Looking back at EDSA I, euphoric and heroic as it was, it appeared that the event became the Filipinos’ day of crossing to freedom; but that was only the first step that hardly anyone knew. The “desert” awaited the people who would be purified and converted, before they become fully liberated. But people preferred the convenient streets as the easier route to an imagined freedom, and feared the “desert experience” that awaited conversion and new beginnings.
Corruption as the cancer of the nation.
We cannot add more to the wrath of God for lies, untruth, injustice and evil. Conscience, as the voice of God within, already tells us of what good there is to pursue and what evil to avoid. Our people are known to be God-fearing and God-loving; sadly, they fight, deceive and kill for money.
Shamefully we have been known to be a nation whose prime industry has been identified as politics simply because politics is the main route to power, which, in turn, is the main route to wealth (1). In this country people use politics to get money, and more politics to protect more money. “Corruption radically distorts the role of representative institutions, because they become an arena for political bartering between clients' requests and governmental services. In this way political choices favor the narrow objectives of those who possess the means to influence these choices and are an obstacle to bringing the common good of all citizens.” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 411).
The subordination of the public good to individual or group interests is what corruption is all about. In whatever form it takes, the practice of corruption is both immoral and unjust. Corruption is worse than lies, because lies are employed only to cover it. Whenever Government money is stolen or whenever suppliers or contractors’ money is offered as bribe to secure projects, to the disadvantage of the Government graft or corruption is committed. Graft is the acquisition of gain by dishonest, unfair and sordid means through the abuse of one's position in politics, business, etc., while corruption is the improper enrichment of politicians or civil servants or those close to them by the misuse of public power entrusted to them. [BIR, Revenue Memo Circular 12-2005]. As an injustice to the Government and people graft and corruption are against the Seventh Commandment and have the added element of betraying one's country.
The Universal and All-time Application of the Seventh Commandment.
The Seventh Commandment, “Thou shall not steal”, applies to all, as individuals or as groups. Thus, if one holds on to money or its equivalent that is not his or hers (or theirs), justice demands restitution of the stolen or bribe money to the owner. (CCC, 1459). If the owner can no longer be located, then the money should be given to the poor, or to a credible institution that will give the money for the poor or give true services for the poor.
Restitution was the constant teaching in relation to the violation of the Seventh Commandment in the Bible. “If anyone steals..., he will pay back”. (Exodus 21: 37).“Look Lord, I am going to give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times the amount”. With this confession, the Lord Jesus blessed Zacchaeus with salvation. (Luke 19: 8-10). The teaching of the Church on stealing is this: No Restitution, no Absolution. In the words of Jesus: with Restitution, there is Salvation. (Luke 19: 9). An authentic conversion demands willingness to restore what has been stolen and the resolve not to steal again.
The penitent should not be so complacent about one's faith as to consider oneself truly absolved before God on account of faith alone, even if one has no contrition... For faith without penance would effect no remission of sins. (Council of Trent).
The mandate of the Seventh Commandment is also addressed to traders and ordinary citizens in all practices of business, commerce and trading. Fraud in business, over pricing, bribery in contracts, cheating in scales, cheating in legitimate taxes and the smuggling of taxable goods, including also the smuggling and trafficking of substances for abuse to damn the innocent and the weak members of society, etc. --- all these are among the many forms of violating the Seventh Commandment.
Our Response: Our desert experience.
The old and the young, from kindergarten through high school on to the tertiary level of education till up to the licensure exams, are all to be formed and guided towards integrity, trained never to cheat in studies and exams. The “discipline of the desert” is to be taught and applied, if anyone is to succeed at any level towards “the fullness of life.”
The Seventh Commandment covers not only the present corruption deals that have been recently exposed, but also all deals, at all levels of government service, of all administrations and governance, no matter what came out of the past or will come out of the present or future inquiries. “Thou shalt not steal” covers also all trading of even ordinary citizens.
We suddenly notice that the widespread corruption we see in others is also the corruption we detect in ourselves.
Corrupt practices and fraud prevailed in the cities, towns and even in small Barangays. In the last two generations there had been tens of thousands of graft-ridden contracts in Government, the biggest single controversial project ever recorded in Philippine history was the Westinghouse’s Bataan Nuclear Plant (2).
True liberation will mean that we enter our desert of repentance and conversion. Change lies only at the heart of every person. Let us begin there. Values for living justly will be preached in parishes, prayed for in the homes, re-taught in schools, discussed in small communities and groups. Support structures will be required for a righteous life and fair dealings. After our personal and communal “desert” conversion, we will, please God, be ushered to the freedom we seek.
God’s Help is always needed.
We need God’s grace, if we are to encourage one another, forgive each other, pay our debts to the justice that we all violated, and start again, not at the banks of “our Sea of Reeds”, but beyond the streets of EDSA. Believers and lovers of God, like true Christians, do not have to hate, destroy each other even if they want to correct the mistakes of the past or the present and of each other. Many are critical of the present governance particularly in the areas of truth and justice. But we can restore truth and justice without resorting to violence and hatred. A nation built on contempt is completely unimaginable. As pastors we cannot tell you less, even if some will resent the way we teach. It is for everybody's good, especially the very poor among our brothers and sisters that we now address this call for communal renewal.
We need the leaders from the highest to the lowest and their families not only to lead us, but also to give us examples of repentance and true humble conversion. We also need people with other ideas but with positive emotions in nation building. Given the example and encouragement, the citizens will be inspired to follow where in the past they hesitated to proceed --- to their “desert” transformation.
Ngayon, diretso na tayo sa hindi natin kaagad gustong puntahan --- sa Disyerto ng ating mga masamang karanasan at kasalanan na dapat nating baguhin! May Pag-asa po ang ating Bayan at ang ating sarili. Basta’t sa pagbabago kay Kristo Hesus tayo ay magsama-sama.
In prayer let us beg Mary and Joseph to lead us back to the Christ that we had lost in the past! God bless us all!
+ Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales
Archbishop of Manila
Bp. Honesto Ongtioco
Bp Jesse Mercado
Bishop of Cubao
Bishop of Paranaque
Bp. Deogracias Iniguez
Bp Francisco San Diego
Bishop of Caloocan
Bishop of Pasig
Bp. Gabriel Reyes
Bp. Antonio Tobias
Bp. of Antipolo
Bishop of Novaliches
Bp. Jose Oliveros
Bp. Leo Drona
Bishop of Malolos
Bishop of San Pablo
Bp. Luis Antonio Tagle
Bp. Pedro Arigo
Bishop of Imus
Vicar Apo.of Puerto Princesa
Bp. Edgardo Juanich
Bp. Leopoldo Tumulak
Vicar Apo. of Taytay
Military Ordinariate
Bp. Francisco de Leon
Bp. Broderick Pabillo
Auxiliary Bishop of Antipolo
Auxiliary Bishop of Manila
Bp. Bernardino Cortez
Auxiliary Bishop of Manila
Palm Sunday, 2008
(1) Samuel Huntington, Political Order in Changing Societies, p. 67.
(2) Ricardo Manapat, Some are Smarter than Others, ($1.9B in 1981 to $2B in 1982), pp. 324328;
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Paranoia, The Word of God & the Christian Faith
Being beloved = having everything that we need to live eternally.
If you went to Mass last Sunday and still remember the Gospel then, (Jesus' healing the Blind Man born blind from birth), one can easily understand today's readings, today being Friday of the 4th week of Lent. The first reading is from the book of Wisdom which mentions the plan of the evil ones against the righteous one. The Gospel shows us Jesus in Jerusalem in view of the Feast of the Tabernacles which every devout Jew is called to celebrate. The Gospel text ends up with the often-used phrase "his hour had not yet come."
As I read the Word of God, it dawned on me that there can be people who have serious difficulty in the area of trust. I thought about those who are classified as PARANOID or those who have PARANOIA. They usually keep in their minds thoughts of others intending to hurt or kill them, hence their very strong and rigid defenses. They can be so isolated because of their fears, and a very strong sense of self-protection is paramount in their minds. They limit their relations and activities and take every precaution in order to maintain their security, their sense of safety. Lacking trust in others, they may have sleepless nights and have a very high stress level which can lower one's self-esteem. However, it can be a lonely life, one that has in mind only limited views and ways. Sooner or later, the paranoid person can break down, trapped in his fantasies and psychosis.
But the Word of God can be very freeing. Jesus Himself, knowing that He was to be killed, something that may have really harrowed him as days of its fulfilment came closer "braved through" it all and fulfilled His mission. Knowing that He was doing things not on His own will but because He was sent for that mission became the rock on which He stood and worked. He must have known that if the time comes, that time would be the time of God: the kairos and not the chronos. Just remember this: when the kairos came, Jesus was given courage to face it all, carry the cross, bear the pain and forgave. The reward? The Resurrection on the third day!!! Kairos can indeed be very liberating!
What the Christian faith gives us is God's call to live the freedom of a beloved. In Christ, the Beloved, we all partake of His Love and mercy. God is calling us during this Lent to learn to trust in Him as He can recreate us anew. Being beloved = having everything that we need to live eternally. Everything in between or along the way to its fulfilment becomes bearable, tolerable, forgiveable. One need not imprison oneself in false thoughts! God's plan in Christ is not to condemn but to save, to love and to give us His life.
Indeed, the Word of God can be very liberating. It can set the Spirit free to live in the freedom of the beloved. It can make us sing with praise and worship. And if you care, the youtube of Sandy Patti's song can help a lot in this: please go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-J2CbJ-fEc&feature=email and enjoy this very uplifting song.
God bless
If you went to Mass last Sunday and still remember the Gospel then, (Jesus' healing the Blind Man born blind from birth), one can easily understand today's readings, today being Friday of the 4th week of Lent. The first reading is from the book of Wisdom which mentions the plan of the evil ones against the righteous one. The Gospel shows us Jesus in Jerusalem in view of the Feast of the Tabernacles which every devout Jew is called to celebrate. The Gospel text ends up with the often-used phrase "his hour had not yet come."
As I read the Word of God, it dawned on me that there can be people who have serious difficulty in the area of trust. I thought about those who are classified as PARANOID or those who have PARANOIA. They usually keep in their minds thoughts of others intending to hurt or kill them, hence their very strong and rigid defenses. They can be so isolated because of their fears, and a very strong sense of self-protection is paramount in their minds. They limit their relations and activities and take every precaution in order to maintain their security, their sense of safety. Lacking trust in others, they may have sleepless nights and have a very high stress level which can lower one's self-esteem. However, it can be a lonely life, one that has in mind only limited views and ways. Sooner or later, the paranoid person can break down, trapped in his fantasies and psychosis.
But the Word of God can be very freeing. Jesus Himself, knowing that He was to be killed, something that may have really harrowed him as days of its fulfilment came closer "braved through" it all and fulfilled His mission. Knowing that He was doing things not on His own will but because He was sent for that mission became the rock on which He stood and worked. He must have known that if the time comes, that time would be the time of God: the kairos and not the chronos. Just remember this: when the kairos came, Jesus was given courage to face it all, carry the cross, bear the pain and forgave. The reward? The Resurrection on the third day!!! Kairos can indeed be very liberating!
What the Christian faith gives us is God's call to live the freedom of a beloved. In Christ, the Beloved, we all partake of His Love and mercy. God is calling us during this Lent to learn to trust in Him as He can recreate us anew. Being beloved = having everything that we need to live eternally. Everything in between or along the way to its fulfilment becomes bearable, tolerable, forgiveable. One need not imprison oneself in false thoughts! God's plan in Christ is not to condemn but to save, to love and to give us His life.
Indeed, the Word of God can be very liberating. It can set the Spirit free to live in the freedom of the beloved. It can make us sing with praise and worship. And if you care, the youtube of Sandy Patti's song can help a lot in this: please go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-J2CbJ-fEc&feature=email and enjoy this very uplifting song.
God bless
Saturday, March 01, 2008
The Beauty of Colors, a pps
It looks like I can't post the powerpoint I received from a friend entitled The Beauty of Colors 3. But if you want, I can send it to you by email as an attachment. Email me at berngu721@gmail.com where I still have the pps attached in an friend's email. Please put in the subject Request for The Beauty of Colors 3. Or else, your email might be placed in the Spam section. I have been duped before, hence I want it not to happen again.
Anyway, after seeing the powerpoint, what came into mind was this: Light doesn't seem to be enough. The first part of every picture is in grey color, or black and white. After a second or two, the color comes and shows the grandeur of His Creative Power. Wahhw! The whole experience has in itself become a contemplation. I call that LOVE, which brings in color, which colors our life. The hues bring in the quality of life we live, the grandeur of all that God continues to do as he has created us and continues to recreate us to become the person or creation He wants us to become. Hence, I'd like to share you the powerpoint so you can contemplate as well. God bless
The Blind Man
Today's Gospel focuses on the blind man. From the Jewish point of view, amalady such as this is a sign of sin. Hence, it was even believed that the blind man was blind from birth due to his parents' sins. This kind of thinking stems from their experience of God Who punishes those who sin, and as can be seen in the Jewish history, the punishments were evident through the signs, such as blindness or leprosy. One who has the sign of punishment logically is imputed as being the bearer of being a sinner, or has been so due to the sins of one's parents.
But for Jesus, the blind man's blindness is not due to his parents' sins, but that through his blindness, God can show His greatness. This is a totally new perspective and thus makes this Sunday really "Laetare" Sunday, a day of rejoicing because for God, sin no longer counts. His mercy counts. He wants to show us His mercy, His greatness He wants to show us if only we were such a blind man who has alllowed God to do things His way .
Focusing on the blind man, he hasn't seen anything since birth, hence, it may not be fair to say he is blind when he hasn't lost anything since he was born. I remember in 1995, when I was new in the Philippines having just come back from Taiwan, I attended lessons in sign language. Among the things we were told was to remember that the deaf are people some of whom may not have heard anything since they were born, hence they shouldn't be imputed something they have never lost - the sense of hearing. Those who've never heard shouldn't be called deaf, hence, since the blind man in the Gospel has never seen anything, then he can't be accounted for what he never had. This thought seems to have some divine quality which wants to work with what is there that is open and ready, if only to show His mercy and Love. This seems the reason for our Laetare today: God is in our midst if only we are ready, and He works for us so that we may believe.
I am right now immersed in darkness. It may have been due to my sins, but the thought that He wants to come into my life, into my darkness, to show me His mercy and goodness, His Love, makes me rejoice. I don't have to choose to stay in the darkness. In fact I am called to believe and live as light the way St. Paul says in the second reading.
But for Jesus, the blind man's blindness is not due to his parents' sins, but that through his blindness, God can show His greatness. This is a totally new perspective and thus makes this Sunday really "Laetare" Sunday, a day of rejoicing because for God, sin no longer counts. His mercy counts. He wants to show us His mercy, His greatness He wants to show us if only we were such a blind man who has alllowed God to do things His way .
Focusing on the blind man, he hasn't seen anything since birth, hence, it may not be fair to say he is blind when he hasn't lost anything since he was born. I remember in 1995, when I was new in the Philippines having just come back from Taiwan, I attended lessons in sign language. Among the things we were told was to remember that the deaf are people some of whom may not have heard anything since they were born, hence they shouldn't be imputed something they have never lost - the sense of hearing. Those who've never heard shouldn't be called deaf, hence, since the blind man in the Gospel has never seen anything, then he can't be accounted for what he never had. This thought seems to have some divine quality which wants to work with what is there that is open and ready, if only to show His mercy and Love. This seems the reason for our Laetare today: God is in our midst if only we are ready, and He works for us so that we may believe.
I am right now immersed in darkness. It may have been due to my sins, but the thought that He wants to come into my life, into my darkness, to show me His mercy and goodness, His Love, makes me rejoice. I don't have to choose to stay in the darkness. In fact I am called to believe and live as light the way St. Paul says in the second reading.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Feast of the Baptism of the Lord 2008
The Christmas season for 2007 ends with today's celebration of the Baptism of the Lord. Ordinary Time begins tomorrow, Monday. The color of the stole of the priest shall then be green, like the plants in all its ordinariness. Today's Sambuhay reflection shares something about odinariness, with the word "ordinary" often connoting common-ness, humdrum and routine, uneventful, the "nothing special season." And yet, come to think of this: even in the ordinariness of time and life, when in Christ, ordinary time is as well God's time, a time when God manifests His works of salvation. Everyday then is a day of salvation. Everyday is a day calling us to conversion, to deeper following of Christ. Fr. James Kroeger, M.M. mentioned Mother Teresa of Calcutta (our Living Saint who is now Blessed) saying "We cannot do great things; we can only do ordinary things with great love."
It is good to remember this thought of ordinariness as we celebrate the Feast of the Lord's Baptism. Like St. John the Baptist, I also asked the Lord in my prayer: "Why do you have to be baptized, cueing like the rest of the Jews asking for John's baptism? You were no sinner like them?" The answer that came into mind was this: "Look, by doing so, God is entering into the human history, into the human reality." Indeed, the human situation has become in Christ something altogether not to be rejected but valued and loved. God in Christ has deemed it worth His life to join and participate.
In fact, by having Himself baptized, Jesus showed how deeply He has entered the life of each one of us. Now we can say that God understands what we may be going on personally, each one of us. Talk of empathy: God in Christ can now be seen as Someone Who very much knows what we are going through because He himself has gone the way we went, except sinning. The mystery of the Incarnation has then become a stupendous fact, a reality we cannot altogether simply brush aside! God has become now in Christ a human person, capable of deep understanding of our plight as humans! Thus, calling on Him, letting Him know what we're at should not be a difficulty if only we are ready and willing to trust Him.
By having Himself baptized like the rest in St. John the Baptist's time, it became easy for Jesus to share with us His own baptism. In fact, as we remember that He was baptized Himself, we remember our own baptism too. He has us baptized into His own life: we have become like Him, a Child of God. Remember when St. Paul, then Saul, was confronted by Jesus on the former's road to Damascus? Jesus asked Saul, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting "me"? He did not say "Why are you persecuting the Christians? (as if they were any different from Him.)"Indeed, by our own baptism, Jesus identifies Himself in each one of us. The person beside you in Church or at the train or in work, when baptized is Jesus Himself! Wow! What a thought! A powerful one at that! We are indeed seeing in each baptized person Jesus Himself, having Jesus Himself right in him/her. The other, baptized as s/he is, is therefore worth our respect and adulation, service, and love. Each of us baptized has Jesus to defend us with His very life!
Herein lies our dignity and calling to mission. Like Christ, we too are called to share in the mission of Christ as mentioned in the First Reading: "...for the vistory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand: I formed you, and set you as covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness." (Is 42: 7)
Herein lies our mission: that doing our best, we may be Christ for today! As He has done His role to save us, so we are also to help in saving others, bringing others out of the darkness of ignorance, poverty, sin, and corruption! We who have been brought into the light are called to bring out into the light many more we know who are in the darkness of their lives.
Let us therefore heed this call, for as long as we live out our Christian life to the best that we can, in whatever situation we may be in, being faithful to Him, we may actually, before we even know it, bringing Christ into this world, God Who is with us everyday in the ordinariness of time.
God bless
It is good to remember this thought of ordinariness as we celebrate the Feast of the Lord's Baptism. Like St. John the Baptist, I also asked the Lord in my prayer: "Why do you have to be baptized, cueing like the rest of the Jews asking for John's baptism? You were no sinner like them?" The answer that came into mind was this: "Look, by doing so, God is entering into the human history, into the human reality." Indeed, the human situation has become in Christ something altogether not to be rejected but valued and loved. God in Christ has deemed it worth His life to join and participate.
In fact, by having Himself baptized, Jesus showed how deeply He has entered the life of each one of us. Now we can say that God understands what we may be going on personally, each one of us. Talk of empathy: God in Christ can now be seen as Someone Who very much knows what we are going through because He himself has gone the way we went, except sinning. The mystery of the Incarnation has then become a stupendous fact, a reality we cannot altogether simply brush aside! God has become now in Christ a human person, capable of deep understanding of our plight as humans! Thus, calling on Him, letting Him know what we're at should not be a difficulty if only we are ready and willing to trust Him.
By having Himself baptized like the rest in St. John the Baptist's time, it became easy for Jesus to share with us His own baptism. In fact, as we remember that He was baptized Himself, we remember our own baptism too. He has us baptized into His own life: we have become like Him, a Child of God. Remember when St. Paul, then Saul, was confronted by Jesus on the former's road to Damascus? Jesus asked Saul, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting "me"? He did not say "Why are you persecuting the Christians? (as if they were any different from Him.)"Indeed, by our own baptism, Jesus identifies Himself in each one of us. The person beside you in Church or at the train or in work, when baptized is Jesus Himself! Wow! What a thought! A powerful one at that! We are indeed seeing in each baptized person Jesus Himself, having Jesus Himself right in him/her. The other, baptized as s/he is, is therefore worth our respect and adulation, service, and love. Each of us baptized has Jesus to defend us with His very life!
Herein lies our dignity and calling to mission. Like Christ, we too are called to share in the mission of Christ as mentioned in the First Reading: "...for the vistory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand: I formed you, and set you as covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness." (Is 42: 7)
Herein lies our mission: that doing our best, we may be Christ for today! As He has done His role to save us, so we are also to help in saving others, bringing others out of the darkness of ignorance, poverty, sin, and corruption! We who have been brought into the light are called to bring out into the light many more we know who are in the darkness of their lives.
Let us therefore heed this call, for as long as we live out our Christian life to the best that we can, in whatever situation we may be in, being faithful to Him, we may actually, before we even know it, bringing Christ into this world, God Who is with us everyday in the ordinariness of time.
God bless
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Give credit where credit is due
I forgot to specify the internet site where I got the GARMIN pics I used in the foregoing entry. Thanks to this site for giving me these pictures. You may go to it yourself for more information. Here it is:
The first pic was downloaded from this site: http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-3-5-Inch-Bluetooth-Portable-Navigator/dp/B000EXS1BS
The second pic was downloaded from here: http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-4-3-Inch-Widescreen-Bluetooth-Navigator/dp/B000H49LXQ
Thanks a lot to Amazon.com God bless
The first pic was downloaded from this site: http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-3-5-Inch-Bluetooth-Portable-Navigator/dp/B000EXS1BS
The second pic was downloaded from here: http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-4-3-Inch-Widescreen-Bluetooth-Navigator/dp/B000H49LXQ
Thanks a lot to Amazon.com God bless
Two Parables of Life
Parable # 1: The GARMIN Parable
While I was in the U.S.A. last December, wherever I went (someone else was usually at the driver's seat), one thing I particularly liked was the GPS by the windshield. It looks like a Palm-V gadget. Here are two models for your view:
The black holder is simply attached to the windshield for the driver to have an easy and convenient look at the Garmin hanging on.
Here is another model which shows how handy this gadget can really be:
While I was in the U.S.A. last December, wherever I went (someone else was usually at the driver's seat), one thing I particularly liked was the GPS by the windshield. It looks like a Palm-V gadget. Here are two models for your view:
The black holder is simply attached to the windshield for the driver to have an easy and convenient look at the Garmin hanging on.Here is another model which shows how handy this gadget can really be:
The words in the upper portion in green color tells you the direction you are to take. The highlighted portion where your see the car shows you the actualy road you're taking. The roads in different colors surround the road you're taking. The number on the lower left (in white background) gives you the estimated time of arrival at the destination, while the number in the lower right (also in white background) gives you the distance you are still to trek ahead to reach the area specified in the upper portion. Shortly before you reach the portion mentioned in the green area on the top, or when there is need for it, a voice over speaks "In .3 miles, keep left and take a left turn." Or in another manner, "In .4 miles, keep left and keep left..." One needs to program it though upon opening, specifying the terminal point we want to reach, and virtually inquiring the gadget to specify for us the way to take to reach our destination. Believe you me, it knows how to reach your chosen destination.
With GARMIN, it is fun driving the complicated highway system of the U.S.A.
However, on the first time I drove from Chicago to Florida, while passing through the highways of Kentucky, I missed the right exit. Suddenly I heard the word "Recalculating." GARMIN usually says this word when one takes the wrong road other than the one specified. The word actually means so, but sans the tension one feels at having done something wrong, or sans the pointing finger that accuses. It's a calm and relaxed voice, as steady as usual, alerting you that it is actually looking for a way to bring you back on track. Just follow what it will say and surely, in no time, you're back on the right track.
I call this "The GARMIN Parable" because it has told me the goodness of God: how He has been "Recalculating" for us everytime we swerve away from Him. If you look at the history of salvation, God has always done the Recalculating all throughout for us. Even when already in Christ, whenever we make the wrong turn, He specifies the right way back (through the sacrament of reconciliation perhaps, or maybe Scriptures, or mabe through a counselor) for us to stay on track.
Stick to Him then, and you won't be ever on the wrong track. For He shall bring us to eternal life, our ultimate destination which we can freely choose by His grace.
Parable # 2: THE PARABLE OF MY CATS SIM & MERLIN
I have two cats, Sim and Merlin, living with me in my room. Sim is the Grand Lady (in her Queen Tricolor), while Merlin is her youngest daughter (predominantly white). Merlin was returned to me after staying with a human family for two weeks. Since Sim would be alone after her last litter, I decided to keep Merlin when she was returned so at least Sim will have company to play with everyday.
Aren't they cute? Merlin is in front, as if to smell you. Sim, the Grand Lady is at Merlin's back, quite secure as she is.
Surprisingly, Merlin still behaves like her young self, sucking her mother's teets every now and then.
Just this morning, both were meowing to me. They usually do this to tell me that they need food. However, when I see their plate, there usually is something left, about 30 more pellets. They wouldn't touch this left-over, and I would usually pour these remaining pellets into another plate outside my room where Boxer's son usually comes and calls for his ration. Then I'd pour in new fresh pellets on their plate from where they eat.
This for me is Sim and Merlin's way of saying, "we have reserved that for the poor relatives outside."
Sim and Merlin may have knowledge that they have food forthcoming, and they always reserve something for the poor.
That's it: for us who have (more than) enough, it's always worth it to reserve something for the poor.
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