30 September 2005

TRANSLATE THE BIBLE


Memorial of St. Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church

2 Tim 3:14-17

While the Old Testament was first written in Hebrew, the New Testament was in Greek. Today these two Testaments of the Bible are available in different, and almost all, languages. Thanks to St. Jerome who gave us the Vulgate, the official Latin translation of the Bible.

Jerome was born in Dalmacia, Yugoslavia in the year 340 A.D. He was baptized in Rome where he also had his education. Embracing the monastic life, he went to Syria and was ordained priest. Going back to Rome, he became the secretary of Pope Damasus. Commissioned by Pope Damasus to revise the then existing Latin text of the Bible, Jerome lived as a hermit in Bethlehem. He completed his work in 405 A.D. His Latin translation of the Bible remains up until today as the Church’s official translation from the original Hebrew and Greek. Jerome wrote still other more works, mostly are commentaries on the books of the Bible that continue to be sources of enlightenment in the study of Sacred Scripture today.

Jerome passed away in 420 A.D.

It is therefore fitting that we celebrate the blessed memory of Jerome today. As we remember him, the official translator of the Bible, let us do three things more faithfully beginning today.

First, let us thank God for speaking to us through the Sacred Scripture. The sure sign of our gratitude to God for His eternal, living and life-giving, creative, saving and holy Word is our daily reading of the Bible. As lovers cherish the correspondences they exchange with each other, so should we treasure the Bible. As we keep on reading and re-reading letters sent to us by people we value, so should we keep on reading and reflecting on the Bible which is God’s love letter to us.

Second, let us also translate the Bible. No, I do not mean that we translate the Bible in any particular language. Let us translate the Word of God in our lives by using it. Let us use it in our lives before and more than in others’ lives. Living daily by the Word of God is the most important translation that the Bible needs today and always.

Third, let us share the Word of God. Sharing the Word of God is not preaching. Let us leave preaching to the ordained ministers as they have been ordained for that specific ministry. We share the Word of God by talking about it at every opportunity we have. We talk about the Word of God both through words and deeds. Let the deeds come before the words though. As always, “actions speak louder than words”.

Jesus is the Word of God. He is the Word of God made flesh. Let us treasure Jesus, let us live the life of Jesus, let us share Jesus with others.

St. Jerome’s translation is the Church’s official Latin text of the Bible. But what good is the Church’s official Latin translation of the Bible if it is not translated in our lives? St. Jerome’s work redounds to nothing unless we make it work.

ANGELS OR SAINTS -- WHICH IS BETTER?


Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael

Jn 1:47-51

Though their names are introduced with the title “Saints”, we do not celebrate today the feast of three saints. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael are not human beings. Only human beings can become saints. Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael are angels. They are archangels, meaning they are angels each entrusted by God with a special mission. Angels are generally “messengers”. The word “angelos” is the Greek word for “messenger”.

Michael, whose name means “Who is like God?”, leads the host of angels who chose to serve God. His opponent is Lucifer, whose name comes for the Latin “lux”, meaning “light”, said to be the most beautiful of all the angels but turned into the Prince of Darkness because he refused to serve God, leads the legion of devils who were once angels but rejected serving God. We can read the battle between Michael and his angels versus Lucifer and his devils in the Book of Revelation. Michael’s name reminds us that God is one and like no other.

Gabriel’s name means “Strength of God”. We remember his two visits in the New Testament: one to Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist, and the other to Mary, the maiden from Nazareth, who became the mother of the Lord. True to his name, his first visit opened the dry womb of the barren woman, Elizabeth, who gave birth to John the Baptist in her old age. His second visit revealed the strength of God in making a virgin conceive His Only Begotten Son. We also recall that the strength of God made Zachariah unable to speak because of his unbelief in what Gabriel announced to him in his first visit. These visits are recorded in the Gospel of Luke.

Raphael, meaning “God’s medicine”, is the archangel who assisted Tobias in his journey. He likewise healed Tobit, Tobias’ blind father, and gave Tobias a wife whose name was Sarah. We can read this in the Book of Tobit in the Old Testament.

Tradition has it that there are other archangels, but only these three are mentioned in the Bible in relation to the special task given to them by God or their special roles in the history of salvation.

Again, we call them “saints” but they are not “saints” in the strict sense of the word because only human beings can become saints. Yes, only you and I can become saints. Neither the angels nor the archangels can become saints because they are spirits. In fact, referring to them with the masculine pronoun is not totally accurate, too. Angels and archangels are neither male nor female. They are spirits.

Once during a retreat I attended, our spiritual director mentioned that there are three sins of the fallen angels. The first is their rejection to serve God. The second is their refusal to worship the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, in His incarnated form. The third is their envy of us, human beings, who are loved by God so much so that He gave us even His only Son who in turn took upon Himself our human nature.

We are not angels and archangels. But we are loved by God more than we know. He gave us His only Son who became one like us, NOT LIKE THE ANGLES, in all things but sin so that in becoming like us we may become like Him. What a priceless gift that not even to angels God has given! What have we done to this inestimable gift?

Yes, we are not called to become angels. We are destined to become like Jesus. We are not angels. We are saints. Which do you think is better? What do you aspire to become?

28 September 2005

A THOUSAND DEATHS


Memorial of Sts. Lorenzo Ruiz and Companions, Martyrs
Mt 10:28-33


The question: “If we grant you life, will you renounce your faith?”

The answer: “That I will never do because I am a Christian, and I shall die for God, and for Him I will give many thousands of lives if I had them. And so, do with me as you please.”

The man: Lorenzo Ruiz, son of a Chinese father and a Filipina mother, born in Binondo, Manila between the years 1600 and 1610.

Today we celebrate the blessed memory of his martyrdom together with sixteen others, Asians and Europeans, who spread the Faith in the Philippines, Formosa and Japan.

Documents at the Congregation for the Causes of Saints cite that the parents of Lorenzo Ruiz were devout Catholics. He was baptized at the Binondo church which still stands until today and keeps the baptismal font where Lorenzo was baptized. While he was christened "Lorenzo" after a 3rd century Christian martyr, his surname "Ruiz" was taken from the last name of his godfather.

As a young boy, Lorenzo served as a sacristan at the convent of the Binondo church. Because he lived at the convent together with Dominican priests, Lorenzo learned from them not just Spanish but also catechism.

After several years, Lorenzo Ruiz earned the title of "escribano" or notary. He worked as a parish secretary and was an active member of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary, an organization devoted to the Blessed Virgin that was organized in the Philippines in 1587.

Although documents do not record the name of his wife, Lorenzo confessed before he was convicted that he was a family man with three kids, two boys and a girl. He would have lived the ordinary life of a husband and father until his life took an abrupt turn in 1636.

In 1636, a grave crime was committed in Manila. Authorities conducted a manhunt for Lorenzo because they believed he knew something about it or was himself involved in it. Documents are silent except with the statement of two Dominicans that Lorenzo was sought by the authorities because of a homicide to which he was present or which was attributed to him.

Meanwhile three Dominican priests, Antonio Gonzalez, Guillermo Courtet and Miguel de Aozaraza, together with a Japanese priest, Vicente Shiwozuka de la Cruz, and a layman named Lazaro, a leper, were about to sail to Japan in spite of a violent persecution there. Lorenzo learned about the journey these missionaries were about to undertake. But he did not know that the missionaries were bound for Japan. Nonetheless, Lorenzo begged that he be allowed to join them. His request was granted. We can only imagine today the tearful farewell between Lorenzo and his wife and children as, with the missionaries, Lorenzo sailed the seas, safe from fear of being implicated in a crime, safe but separated from his family.

Only at sea did Lorenzo learn that their ship was bound for Japan. Though he was informed that he could disembark at Formosa, Lorenzo opted to remain with the missionaries because he feared that the Spaniards would arrest and hang him there. After several months at sea, they landed at Okinawa.

In Japan, Lorenzo assisted the missionaries in their ministry. But soon enough the Japanese authorities found them out and arrested them. The missionaries, together with Lorenzo Ruiz, were taken to Nagasaki. Records show that widescale persecution in Japan during that time resulted to not less than 50,000 Catholics dispersed and persecuted in Nagasaki alone. While those who renounced their Christian Faith were spared, thousands upon thousands of Christians remained steadfast and suffered martyrdom.

As it was with the other Christian martyrs of Japan, Lorenzo Ruiz and companions were subjected to unspeakable kinds of torture. “Water Torture” was the first. After huge quantities of water were forced down their throats, they were made to lie down. Long boards were then placed on their stomachs and guards stepped on the ends of the boards, forcing the water to spurt violently from mouth, nose, ears, and practically all body-openings.

Chronicles of the martyrdom of Lorenzo Ruiz and companions say that the superior of the mission, Fr. Antonio Gonzalez, died after some days. Both the Japanese priest, Vicente Shiwozuka de la Cruz, and Lazaro, the leper layman, broke under torture, which included the insertion of bamboo needles under their fingernails. But, according to documents, both were brought back to courage by their companions and also died as martyrs.

Lorenzo himself was tempted to apostatize. In his moment of crisis, he asked the interpreter, "I would like to know if, by apostatizing, they will spare my life." The interpreter was noncommittal, but Lorenzo, in the ensuing hours, felt his faith grow strong.

The Japanese Governors, called “shogun” asked Lorenzo: "If we grant you life, will you renounce your faith?"

Lorenzo stood up for his Christian Faith and proclaimed: "That I will never do, because I am a Christian, and I shall die for God, and for him I will give many thousands of lives if I had them. And so, do with me as you please."

On September 23, 1637, together with three Dominican priests and Lazaro, his fellow layman, Lorenzo was finally put to death by being hanged upside down in a pit. A board fitted with semicircular holes was secured around his waist, with stones placed on top of it to increase the pressure. He was tightly bound to slow blood circulation and prevent a speedy death, but a cut was made on his forehead so that blood would trickle down. Lorenzo and his companions were allowed to hang for three days. On the third day, Lorenzo and Lazaro were already found dead while the three Dominican priests were still alive and thus beheaded. Their bodies were burnt and the ashes were thrown into the sea.

Lorenzo Ruiz and companion martyrs were beatified by Pope John Paul II in February 1982 at Luneta Park, Manila. They were canonized by the same Holy Father on October 18, 1987 at the Vatican City. Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila was declared “Patron of the Laity”.

Let us take to heart three lessons from the life of St. Lorenzo Ruiz, who was not only our brother in the Faith but also our fellow Filipino.

First, we, Filipinos, are not only “worth dying for”. We are also capable of dying for a godly cause and for God Himself. We are not always found at the receiving end. Many of us are not only willing but are also actually giving. Many are dying a thousand deaths each day for their families, for their country, and, most importantly, for God. Yes, graft and corruption, regionalism, mediocrity, and a host of other social menaces continue to be our curse, but voluntarism, generosity, and godliness are also just a few of our intrinsic goodness. Heroism is innate in us. Let us focus on our positive values that make the heroes and heroines in us shine brightly. Let us use every opportunity to bring out the heroic qualities in each of us. Let us be heroes, not celebrities.

Second, having a lay person – with a wife and three children – as the first Filipino canonized saint puts across the clear message that holiness is not the exclusive domain of priests and religious. We are all called to holiness. Holiness is our common vocation, whether we are priests, people in consecrated life, or lay. Our dignity is not in the titles that come before or after our names. Those who are addressed to as “Cardinal”, “Bishop”, “Monsignor”, “Father”, “Sister”, and “Brother”, or given salutations such as “Your Eminence”, “Your Excellency”, and “Your Reverence” are not first class citizens in the Church. Titles attached to names such as “Doctor of Divinity”, “Doctor of Sacred Theology”, “Doctor of Canon Law”, and “Licensed in Sacred Theology” do not guarantee personal holiness which is the only fulfillment of our ultimate calling. The greatest among us is the one who serves the least. We do not need titles and salutations to serve the least. He or she who loves in the pattern of Jesus Christ who laid down His life for others is the truly holy man or woman, for holiness is the perfection of charity.

Just as the heroic quality is inherent in us, Filipinos, the virtue of holiness is likewise not found wanting in us. We have many holy, even saintly, Filipinos in our midst. They are those who serve with utmost charity without fanfare. Hidden from the lenses of cameras, but not from our clear sight, many of them are simple lay people. We must admit that many of them are the ones who serve us, rather the ones we serve. Like Lorenzo Ruiz, they make us examine the veracity of our claim, perhaps not vocal but nonetheless actual, to holiness.
We are capable of holiness not because of our ecclesiastical titles and positions. We can be holy, and many of us are indeed holy, because that is what we are called to be. Filipinos – whether priests or laypersons – can be saints. Canonized by the Church or simply known to God alone, we are a saintly people. Let us be saints together.

Third, heroes and saints are not produced overnight. Lorenzo Ruiz was steadfast in his faith because throughout his life he was attached to the Church, to God and to the Blessed Mother. He was able to give his life for the Church because he was always at the service of the Church. As a young boy, he was a sacristan. As a young man, he was an “escribano”, a parish secretary. And though he went with the missionaries not primarily to do mission, he answered the need of the situation when he was actually with them. He assisted the missionaries when they were in Japan to spread the Gospel of Christ. In the same way, we become heroes and saints only if we keep our selves attached to what is heroic and saintly. Service to others through the Church is heroic. Love of Jesus and His Blessed Mother is saintly.

In this regard, the home and the school are two important training grounds of heroes and saints. Let our homes be homes of saints. Let our schools be schools of heroes. Keep our families attached to Jesus and His Blessed Mother. Make our schools always remind the young of our heroes and train them well so as to be able to respond when the ultimate sacrifice is demanded of them.

Lorenzo Ruiz said, “I shall die for God, and for Him I will give many thousands of lives if I had them.” He died once for God, for one life was all that he had. We die our thousand deaths for God each day, for martyrdom begins with living for God, not dying for him. To die for the Faith is a gift to some, but to live for it is a call for all. That gift may never become ours. But that call is always certainly ours.

Have you died for God today?

...one thousand, one thousand and one, one thousand and two, one thousand and three, one thousand and four deaths for God…and still counting....

27 September 2005

THE PERFECTION OF CHARITY


Memorial of St. Vincent de Paul, Priest

Mt 9:35-38


We remember today the blessed memory of St. Vincent de Paul. The Gospel on which this reflection is based is taken from the Mass of St. Vincent de Paul.

St. Vincent de Paul was born in Gascony, France in 1581. He began his adult life as an opportunist. He entered the seminary, and when he completed his priestly studies, his first parish assignment was in Paris. As a newly ordained priest, however, Vincent was captured by Turkish pirates and was sold to an alchemist who traded him to a plantation owner who was a former priest with three wives. Vincent converted the ex-priest and went with him to Avignon, Rome and back to Paris where they gained some friends. As he spent a year caring for the poor in Chatillons, Vincent was changed. He gathered volunteers to provide food and clothing for the poor he was serving. Many also came to actually serve the poor with him. He spent the next forty years of his life serving the poor. He founded the Congregation of the Mission (commonly known today as the “Vincentians”) to form priests and to support the poor. Later on, with the help of St. Louise de Marillac, he founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity. After serving the poor for more than forty years of his life, Vincent de Paul passed away at Paris in 1660.

Holiness is the perfection of charity. The more loving we are the holier we are. Holiness is not developed simply by spending the whole day before the Blessed Sacrament inside a church. Holiness is loving Jesus in the tabernacle of the hearts of the people inside and outside the church, most especially the poor. Holiness is charity-in-action, a contemplation of the face of God in the distressing disguise of the poor. St. Vincent was the Bl. Teresa of Calcutta in his time while Bl. Teresa of Calcutta was St. Vincent in her time. Yet both Vincent and Teresa were another Jesus to the poor of their times.

Jesus, the holiest man who ever walked the earth, was often found absorbed in prayer. But He was also always found touring all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and sickness. His heart belonged to God but the same heart was deeply moved with pity at the sight of the crowds that looked like sheep without a shepherd. When He asked His disciples to pray that the Lord of the harvest to send more laborers to His harvest, He did so not with a grand vacation for Him in mind. He wanted more co-workers in His own vineyard. He needed more men and women who would labor with Him for God’s Kingdom. This need persisted in the age of St. Vincent de Paul and Bl. Teresa of Calcutta. It remains a need in our age as well. Will we stand idle, praying for holiness inside a church only?

Let us work in the harvest of the Lord. Let us labor with Him in His vineyard. Let us be hearts for Jesus. But let us not forget to be the heart of Jesus today.

26 September 2005

MAKE GOD'S DREAM COME TRUE


Monday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time
Lk 9:46-50


It is not bad to dream big. It is not immoral to aim high. It is not a sin to want to become great. God’s dream for us is big, high, and great. God wants us to inherit His Kingdom. Let us aim high and dream big. Let us become great saints for God!

The disciples in the Gospel today are arguing about which of them is the greatest. They are arguing in whispers because Jesus just started telling them about the horrible fate awaiting Him in Jerusalem. What a shame: the Master is giving a lecture on His death while the disciples are debating on greatness! How can they be so indifferent, callous, and uncaring? That is exactly what happens when we do not dream with God, when we do not dream God’s dream. We dream to be greater than others, to be even the greatest among everyone. Worse, we even dream of becoming at par with God. Worst, we even dream of becoming greater than God.

But God dreams that we all become great in His Kingdom, and so Jesus reveals the secret for us to achieve this dream. In the upside-down Kingdom of Heaven, the way down is the only way up: the least is the great. A good Leader that He is, who teaches by example, Jesus humbled Himself and became the least among us so that He may lead us to that Kingdom that God dreams for us to own.

In all things we do, let us strive to be humble. Let us lift others up instead of stepping on their shoulders. Let us serve rather than be served. When we do so, we do not only ask God to make our dream come true. We make God’s dream come true instead.

Dream big, aim high, and become great by choosing to serve the smallest, doing the lowliest task, and becoming the least among others. And let us nurture our dream of greatness with this prayer:

The Litany of Humility
Prayer of His Eminence Merry Cardinal del Val

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, deliver me, Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I,
- Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

That others may be esteemed more than I,
- Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That in the opinion of the world others may increase and I may decrease,
- Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
- Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
- Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
- Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,
- Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart,
- make our hearts like unto Thine. Amen.

Let us make God happy. Let us make His dream come true!

24 September 2005

ONCE AFRAID, NOW NO MORE



Saturday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time

Lk 9:43-45

Are you afraid of death? No matter how it comes, no matter when it comes, are you afraid of death?

The disciples did not understand exactly what Jesus meant with “The Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men”, but they certainly smelled blood in those words put together. Thus, as the Gospel today says, the disciples were afraid to ask Him about what He had just said. Who would not be?

The Gospel begins with a happy note: “…everyone was full of admiration for all He did….” But gradually the tune turns from joyful to sorrowful, even fearful. Jesus seemed to have dashed cold water on His disciples who were excited about His popularity.

Though they did not understand what Jesus told them, not one of them dared ask Jesus for an explanation. The Gospel simply described their silence as fear.

What were the disciples afraid of death?

Because they could not yet see the death of Jesus in the light of His resurrection and without the gift of Pentecost, the disciples saw the death of Jesus as the end of their own glory. We can understand this better two days from now because the Gospel on Monday, which comes from the verses immediately following today’s Gospel, has the disciples arguing who among them is the greatest. What?! The Lord is beginning to tell them about His impending death and His disciples are quarrelling about who among them is the greatest? What a shame! Why, are we any better?

When fear of death overwhelms us, let us ask why. And before the Lord, let us be honest with our answer. We have nothing to fear about being honest with our fears.

Be not afraid, the love of the Lord is stronger than death, stronger even than hell. This is something we know that the disciples knew not…or at least were afraid to know because it puts an end to all earthly glory.

But we do not glory in earthly things, do we? The disciples did not, for they eventually had to ask about their own death for the Lord and faced it without fear.

Once afraid, now no more. “O death, where is your sting?”

23 September 2005

WHO DO PEOPLE SAY WE ARE?


Memorial of St. Pio De Pietrelcina, Priest and Stigmatist


Lk 9:18-22

Born on 25 May 1887, Francesco Forgione was born to a family of hardworking farmers in Pietrelcina, Italy. Even in his childhood, he already revealed a great love for God, always praying rather than playing. As young as 15 years old, he joined the Capuchin Friars and took the name “Pio”.

Though frail of health, Fray Pio was able to complete his priestly studies with the help of God’s grace and was ordained in 1910. He was known for his priestly zeal and holiness, spending long hours in prayer and in hearing the confession of countless penitents. On 20 September 1918, the five wounds of Jesus appeared on Padre Pio’s body, making him the first stigmatist priest.

Even during his lifetime, many miracles and conversions are attributed to Padre Pio. The sick came to him in droves and great numbers of penitents sought him for absolution and spiritual direction. Among those who had the privilege of confessing to him was the young Karol Wotyla who later became Pope John Paul II. Pope John Paul II beatified and canonized him in 1999 and 2002, respectively.

Padre Pio also had the gift of bilocation and reading the hearts of people. It was said that if you come to him for confession and you intentionally omit mentioning a sin you committed, Padre Pio would tell you!

With the wounds of Jesus in his body, Padre Pio endured a lot of physical and spiritual pain. The gift of the stigmata, which he bore in his body for more than half a century, is a manifestation of his immensely deep communion with the Lord. Padre Pio was a lover of the Holy Eucharist, of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of souls.

Padre Pio passed away on 23 September 1968 at the age of 81.

I was one and a half years old when Padre Pio passed away. His life was the first biography of a saint I read. As a young boy, his life inspired me to be devoted to the Holy Eucharist, to love the Blessed Mother, and to offer my life to Jesus for souls. He was one of my inspirations to enter the seminary and become a priest someday. Already a priest, I pray to him before I hear anyone’s confession and before I make my own confession too.

Padre Pio mirrored the love of Jesus to sinners. He gave them Jesus’ forgiveness and love. He was an instrument of hope for hopeless sinners. He was like another Jesus to them, spending his life reconciling countless souls with God.

Recently I received a letter thanking me for mediating between a woman and a senior priest who had a long standing conflict. The letter sender said that she was greatly affected even by the mere knowledge of the unsettled misunderstanding between the priest and the woman. I mediated between my brother priest and the woman. They dialogued and patched things up. Reconciled with each other, both the priest and the woman are now more at peace not only with each other but also with themselves. Without them knowing it perhaps, they made more people happy, including my letter sender and my self.

But the credit goes to Jesus, not to me. I am only His servant, a sign of hope, an instrument of peace. He is the Christ.

When the question “Who do people say that I am?” is raised concerning our identity, what answer will it yield? In the life of Padre Pio, the answer was already very clear even during his lifetime. Is the same true with us?

Who do people say that we are? Peacemakers or peace-breakers? Hope-giver or hope-stealer? Lovers of Jesus or lovers of the world? Christ’s disciples or Christ’s detractors? There is only one way to tell.
Our lifestyle not only has the answer. It is the answer in itself.

22 September 2005

CURIOSITY IS NOT REMEMBERING


Thursday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time

Hg 1:1-8/Lk 9:7-9


Pardon me if I sound like an echo of the First Reading. The Prophet Haggai spoke thus the word of Yahweh, “The Lord of Host says this, ‘This people says: The time has not yet come to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. Is this a time for you to live in your paneled houses, when this House lies in ruins? So now, the Lord of hosts says this: Reflect carefully how things have gone for you. You have sown much and harvested little; you eat but never have enough, drink but never have your fill, put on clothes but do not feel warm. The wage earner gets his wages only to put them in a purse riddled with holes. Reflect carefully how things have gone for you. So go to the hill country, fetch wood, and rebuild the House. I shall then take pleasure in it, and be glorified there.’”

I echo the word of God through the Prophet Haggai so that we may remember taking care of the affairs of God even as we attend to our own needs.

When the Israelites returned from exile, life was immensely difficult. Thus, delaying the restoration of the Temple of Yahweh, they rebuilt their city first. The temporary delay, however, threatened to become a permanent neglect. And the more the people forgot building the House of Yahweh, the more they felt discontented even when as their lives have already been rebuilt. The Prophet Haggai rebuked the people: they have forgotten Yahweh.

While the Israelites, in the First Reading, forgot Yahweh, Herod, in the Gospel, could not forget Jesus. Jesus dogged Herod’s days. Jesus disturbed his sleep. Jesus invaded his dreams. Herod was anxious to see Jesus. But Herod could not forget Jesus because he was curious about Him. And, knowing the Passion narrative, Jesus did not satisfy Herod’s curiosity.

Whatever happens, let us not forget God. Let us never take Him for granted. Is it alright with us to have a house while God is homeless in our midst? Can we stand before Him face-to-face after neglecting Him and His affairs?

Whatever happens, however, let us not allow curiosity to be the reason for us to search for Jesus. Let it only be love for Him. The first time a king was anxious to see Him, the king did nothing to save Him from the bloodthirsty mob.

God certainly must always be in our minds. But He deserves more than our curiosity.

21 September 2005

FOLLOW ME


Feast of St. Matthew, Apostle

Mt 9:9-13


Follow me.

Go where I go. Come with me. Stay with me. Be with me. Remain in me. This is the first meaning of “Follow me”.

Do what I tell you. Obey me. Accomplish the task I give you. Fulfill the mission I entrust you with. This is the second meaning of “Follow me”.

Imitate me. Copy me. Do what I do. Do not only go where I go; become like me. Do not only obey me; be another me. This is the third meaning of “Follow me”.

Jesus’ “Follow me” for Matthew was not only an invitation. It was a command. The very person of Jesus captured the heart of Matthew so much so that Matthew left everything behind and followed Jesus. He went where Jesus went. He did what Jesus said. He became an alter Christus. Matthew followed the Lord all the way: when he left his tax collector’s post, he never returned to it again. And when finally Matthew was martyred, as all the apostles were, except John and Judas, he could say with Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20).

Jesus tells us today what He told Matthew then, “Follow me.” Likewise, it is not a mere invitation to us. It is a command. It is our mandate. It is our life.

Let us be where Jesus is. Let us do what Jesus says. Let us become like Jesus. May we be the feet for Jesus. May we be His hands. May our hearts be made like unto His. Go with Jesus. Work for Jesus. Love like Jesus.

Not worthy? Who is?

20 September 2005

THE ASIAN MANDATE


Memorial of Sts. Andrew Kim Taegon, Priest, Paul Chong Hasang, and Companion, Martyrs

Lk 9:23-26


What comes to our minds when we hear the word “Korea”?

Perhaps, the first thing we ask is “Is it North or South Korea?” Everybody knows that there are two Koreas. Division may be the first thing that comes to our minds when we hear the name of this Asian country. When we have determined which of the two Koreas is being referred to we associate it with the form of government, for one is under communist rule while the other enjoys democratic governance. Then we may also say which between the two has nuclear armaments and which has none.

The second thing that comes to our minds is Kimchi. Kimchi is Korea’s staple food. Whether you come from North Korea or from the South, you never set the table without a kimchi served. I will spend a week in Naju, South Korea next month and I am preparing my self for a daily kimchi meal.

For Filipinos, there are three other things they remember about Korea.

First, the Japanese occupation. The elderly recall that Korean combatants collaborated with the Japanese soldiers in attacking the Philippines. My departed father told us stories about his childhood during the Japanese occupation. He said that the Korean soldiers were more violent and brutal than the Japanese combatants in treating Filipinos during the Second World War. Many Filipinos who experience the horror of the Japanese occupation in the Philippines attest to this claim.

Second, Sandara Parks. Sandara was the second placer in the first “Star Circle Quest” of ABS-CBN Channel 2, a local version of the “American Idol”. Sandara is a Korean. She easily found a soft spot in the hearts of many young Filipinos. Who would not when you see a foreigner making her trademark hand-wave, saying, “Mahal ko kayo” (“I love you”)? She was not the Star Circle Grand Questor, but Sandara certainly was an instant star in the Philippines which also made her famous in her own Korea.

Third, the telenovelas. Telenovelas are famous soap operas in Philippine television. First there were the Mexican telenovelas (with “Marimar” leading in the surveys), then the Chinese (“Meteor Garden” was already reran several times and still is rerunning), then the Korean. The Philippine television is flooded with Korean telenovelas. I confess I used to keep abreast with the developments of one of the Korean telenovelas just to know what the masses were talking about. It can, however, be addictive to watch Noreen, Kevin, Sir Dominic, and the cast of the “Attic Cat”.

But Korea should also remind us of our Christian Faith. Our liturgy today leads us to remember our Asian brethren from Korea who offered their lives for Jesus. Korea is not only about the division between North and South, kimchi, World War II, Sandara Parks and telenovelas. Korea also has martyrs. They are many!

Korea was evangelized not by missionary priests and religious. The Christian Faith was brought to Korea during the 17th century by laypersons, crossing the sea from mainland China. For many years, Christian communities continued to multiply in Korea without the benefit of priests and religious. Strong and vibrant Christian communities flourished under lay leadership.

It was only in 1836 when members of the Paris Foreign Mission Society secretly arrived in Korea. Persecution was never absent in the history of the Church in Korea. Making a headcount of Korean martyrs in the persecutions of 1839, 1846, 1866, and 1867, the total is one hundred and three. Among these martyrs were Andrew Kim Taegon, the first Korean priest, and Paul Chong Hasang, a layman. While there were Korean bishops and priests among the martyrs, laypersons outnumbered them. Korean soil was drenched with the blood of martyrs who were mostly laymen and laywomen, married and unmarried, children, young people, and the elderly. They all suffered greatly for the Faith and consecrated the beginnings of the Church in Korea with their blood.

My professor in Missiology, the Rev. Fr. James Kroeger, M.M., said that today every diocese in Korea has a shrine for its native martyrs. Fresh from a meeting of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences held in Korea, Fr. Kroeger reported in our class that in those shrines are to be found the various instruments used to torture and kill the Korean martyrs. Those instruments of death are living testimonies of the heroic and holy witnessing to the Faith of our brethren from Korea. One important reason why I accepted the invitation to be chaplain to a group of pilgrims going to Korea next month is to venerate the Korean martyrs in the shrines of the dioceses we are going to. I am convinced I should thank them and ask their intercession.

The Korean martyrs are not only our brethren in the Faith. They are also our Asian brethren. We share ethnicity with them just as we are in communion with them by virtue of a common baptism. They are our pride even as they are sources of our inspiration in bearing witness to Christ even unto death. While to die for the Faith is a gift to some, to live it is a call for all. The Korean martyrs will certainly not fail us if we ask them to pray for us, their brethren in the Faith who come from the same race as theirs, as we give witness to Jesus.

By the way, in case we have forgotten, let us remember that Jesus is Asian too.

Retrieve the Asian face of Christ. Show the world the Asian face of Jesus. Not a mere invitation, this is a mandate for the Church in Asia. For Filipinos, coming from the only Christian nation in the Far East, this a double mandate.

19 September 2005

GOD'S LITTLE LAMP



Monday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time

Lk 8:16-18


When we light a lamp and cover it with a bowl, the lamp is put out. It lacks oxygen. Oxygen is needed for fire.

When we light a lamp and put it under a bed, we set the bed on fire. Eventually, the room where the bed is and the house where the room is catch fire too. A single, burning lamp under a bed spells catastrophe.

But who lights a lamp to cover it with a bowl or to place it under a bed? Only a fool does.

A lamp is lighted to give light. It is, therefore, meant to be exposed. A lamp is burnt not to burn. Care is, therefore, taken to keep its flame at a considerable distance away from anything. Exposed but at a distance – the lamp.

Our good deeds are like the light of a lamp. They must be exposed and those who see them or benefit from them give the glory to God. So that they give the glory to God and not to our selves, we have to be at a certain distance from our good deeds. If we keep on attaching our selves to our good deeds, our good deeds lose their light under the shadow of self-glorification. No longer giving light, our good deeds can make people blind. He who does good deeds and flaunts it is a fool. But he who refuses others to see or benefit from his good deeds lest God be glorified is a greater fool.

A lamp covered with a bowl is useless. A lamp under a bed is misplaced. Let us make our good deeds useful by putting them at the right place. Put them at God’s disposal. Use them to glorify God not the self.

If the motive for our good deeds is other than the greater glory of God, it will show. There is nothing hidden that will not be made clear and nothing secret that will not be made known, the Gospel warns us. We better be honest with our motive for every good deed we do.

Now this reflection really made me think before sending it to you. May my motive be, always and only, ad majorem Dei gloriam (“for the greater glory of God”). If it is not, forget me. Remember God. He is the light, not me. He is the one that keeps me burning. All I want is to be God’s little lamp.

18 September 2005

UNFAIR



25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mt 20: 1-16

My parents did not spoil me when I was growing up, but I am sure that I was pampered a bit. When they gave me new clothes to wear, those clothes were really new. When I wore new shoes to school, they were really new not only newly polished. When my parents buy me toys, I was certain that those toys were really intended for me and not for any of my siblings. The reason was so simple. Those clothes, those shoes, and those toys were clothes, shoes, and toys for boys. And all my siblings are girls. I am an only son. There were no hand-me-downs for me.

While sometimes they did compare me with my other siblings, my parents could not compare me with a bigger brother or a smaller one. I was the only brother my sisters had and still have. They had no choice. They had no comparison to make. I was and still am the first and last son of my parents. My sisters never complained though. They never said, “Unfair!”

But we know that life is often not fair. Even children know that. There are many inequalities and injustice around us. Those who have more continue to have more, even often at the expense of those who have less. Those who have less continue to have less until they are left with nothing. This gives us the reason to hope that in heaven things will be even out, that God is the Great Equalizer. If taken to the extreme though, this also gives reason to what some people say that religion is the opium of the poor.

Today’s Gospel seems to destroy our over-romanticizing of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus is clearly presented to be taking sides with the landowner, saying that this is how things are in the Kingdom of God. In His Kingdom, the first are last while the last are first, and those who labor more are not necessarily paid more while those who labor less are not necessarily paid less.

The parable today teaches us three things about what the Kingdom of God is like.

The Kingdom of God is offered to all. Through no fault of their own, even latecomers are welcome. Those who were hired last in the parable were not to be blamed for not working. They stood idle all day were unemployed until the eleventh hour not because they did not like to work, but because no one gave them work. They wanted to work that was why they were out there waiting for someone to employ them. And if no one wanted to hire them, there was the landowner to employ them. God has something for everyone to do because even if the rest of humanity finds an individual not worthy of any task, God makes that individual worthy and sends him to work in His vineyard. If the Kingdom of God were a body, it has its arms wide open, not closed. It is a welcoming Kingdom even for the most unwelcomed in this world. But while it welcomes everyone, each must welcome the Kingdom as those who were hired last in the parable today accepted the landowner’s offer and went to work in his vineyard.

The Kingdom of God is an upside-down kingdom. It reverses our present world. What this world values, the Kingdom of God very often shuns. What this world rewards is not necessarily rewarded in heaven. Those who were hired first in the parable today thought they would be given more because they worked more than the last employed. But they were wrong. They judge as this world judges. Did we not say that God is the Great Equalizer? There He is! He equalizes the last with the first making it appear in the eyes of the world that the first are made last while the last are made first. But for God, it is just the way it is because He loves both the first and the last with the same kind and amount of love. One secret in the Kingdom of God: expect the unexpected in this world.

Because it is a kingdom where all of us are loved more than we know, the Kingdom of God has no place for envy. Envy destroys families, communities, nations and the envious person himself. It cannot exist in God’s Kingdom. Heaven is not a haven for the envious. In the parable today, the landowner was not unfair to those who were hired first. The hired first, rather, were envious of those who were hired last. They who labored in the vineyard first and most agreed with the landowner for one denarius as their full day’s wage. And one denarius they received at the end of the day. Is there any injustice in that? But when they who were employed first and were given one denarius for their work saw that the same wage was given to those who were employed last, they complained. They complained because they were envious. The landowner was right; he could do what he pleased with his money. He decided to give the same wage to all – first and last – and that was his right. The landowner was not only just; he was also generous. God is generous even as He is also just. The envious always finds fault in the generous.

It was unfortunate that those who were hired first went home grumbling. They could have gone home contented and happy instead. They wanted work and they were given work. They wanted to bring home a day’s wage for their families and a day’s wage they got. But they envied the latecomers. Thus, they went home not only tired but also resentful. They could have tasted heaven but they drank bitterness. Envy is very bitter. Heaven is very sweet.

The Kingdom of God is offered to all, is an upside-down kingdom, and is off limits to envy. Take it or leave it? Take it.

Unlike my parents, God has more than one Son. We are all His children. He has only One Begotten Son though. And it was Him who was handed down to be crucified for the sake of His brothers and sisters. And no one complained at Calvary, “Unfair!”

17 September 2005

WISE, HUMBLE, AND HOLY


Memorial of St. Robert Belarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Wis 7:7-10, 15-16

The liturgical calendar tells us that today is the memorial of St. Robert Belarmine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. It is, however, an optional memorial. It means that we may or we may not remember him today. I often wonder why there should be optional memorials in the hierarchy of liturgical feasts. Should we not just remember each saint so as to learn from their examples and celebrate their memorials so as to thank God for them?

But St. Robert Belarmine, according to a very limited research I did when I was yet an SVD novice, is the only saint who is my namesake. I was christened “Roberto”. I believe, though, that there must be other “Roberts” or “Robertos” in heaven. Nonetheless, let me propose the First Reading indicated for St. Robert Belarmine’s Mass today. It is from the book of Wisdom.

The Reading begins with the words “I prayed for wisdom”. Immediately I wonder how many times I pray for the same gift. To my shame, I realize that I seldom pray for wisdom. And even more regretful, I often ask the Lord to make me know but I seldom beg to make me understand. This is the cause of most of the blunders in my life and in my ministry. Both knowledge and wisdom are certainly God’s gifts but understanding comes with the grace of wisdom not knowledge. Many things I know I do not necessarily understand. Wisdom alone sheds light to knowledge. When the writer of the First Reading prayed for wisdom, understanding was given him.

St. Robert Belarmine was a very holy servant of God. His holiness was seen in his humility despite serving kings and queens, despite being a bishop and cardinal of the Church, and despite having had one of the most brilliant minds the Church ever produced. His holiness likewise shone forth from his defense of the teachings of the Church. He was one of the brightest theologians and staunch defenders of the Church during the Reformation.

Humility reveals the wisdom of a holy man. He does not only know but also understands that, as the First Reading says, “We are indeed in His hand, we ourselves and our words, with all our understanding, too, and technical knowledge.”

Knowledge is necessarily a hindrance to humility if knowledge does not come with wisdom and is not used for holiness. Let us always pray for wisdom. Let strive to be humble always. Let us be holy. St. Robert Belarmine showed us it is possible.

16 September 2005

HOW DO WE LOOK LIKE?


Friday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time

1 Tim 6:2-12/Lk 8:1-3

Money is not the root of all evils. The love of money is! We cannot read in Scripture any teaching from the prophets or from the apostles or from Jesus Himself that says that money is evil. But today we hear St. Paul warning us about love of money. The love of money is the root of all evils.

In Tagalog, we have the derogatory remark “mukhang pera”. Literally it means “looks like money”. One who always thinks of gaining money from almost anything and anyone is called a “mukhang pera”. There is more than a kernel of truth in the deprecating comment because we do become what or who we worship. When we worship money, we eventually look like money. We may not look like a peso or a dollar bill but when people see us the first thing that comes to their minds is money. When they do not see us but remember us, they recall money. They associate money with us because we identify our selves with profit.

Be very careful that we do not identify our selves with profit. Beware of the love of money. Choose: worship the Lord and become like the Lord or worship money and look like money. Remember: we become what and who we worship.

Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna are the three women mentioned in the Gospel today. They provided Jesus and His disciples out of their own resources. They associated themselves with Jesus. Thus, when we remember them it is not money that flashes in our minds but the image of Jesus. We are reminded of Jesus when we remember these women.

When people see us, what or who do they see? When people remember us, who or what do they recall?

When you read this reflection, please remember Jesus not me.

SORROWS BECOME JOYS


Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

Jn 19:25-27
I am my mother’s joy. Or, at least, I want to believe I really am. But I am certain that I am the cause of my mother’s sorrows too. If I have the power I would give her only joys, no sorrows. But whether I cause her joys or sorrows, her love for me remains unconditional. Her maternal love gives her the capacity to accept sufferings as well as welcome consolations on my account.
The Blessed Virgin Mary had her sorrows too on account of her Son. Jesus did not cause her affliction though. Her inexhaustible love for her Son, Jesus, made her participate in His sufferings. Our sins crucified the Lord; thus, piercing her heart. The Gospel today tells us where the Blessed Mother was when her Son accomplished the final act of our redemption: at the foot of the cross. She who was saved even before being conceived (Immaculate Conception) participates in our salvation (Co-Redemptrix) by suffering with our Savior. At the Annunciation she became the mother of the Redeemer while on Good Friday she became the mother of the redeemed.
It almost sounds sacrilegious to say that we celebrate today the sorrows of the Blessed Mother. But there are three reasons why we celebrate.
First, we celebrate the sorrows of the Blessed Mother to thank the Lord for giving her to us. Despite His foreknowledge that we would cause His mother even more sorrows because of our sins, Jesus still entrusted her to us by through St. John the Beloved.
Second, we celebrate the sorrows of the Blessed Mother to thank her for loving Jesus so much so that her love for Him overflows to us. Because she inexhaustibly loves Jesus, she has the capacity to love each of us unconditionally. Her love for Jesus became a treasury of grace for us.
Third, we celebrate the sorrows of the Blessed Mother to remember that we are always called to unite our selves with the Lord. There are many reasons for our sorrows but only those that we suffer on account of our love for Jesus are worth enduring. Only those, when united with the sufferings of the Lord, are truly redemptive. Those sorrows likewise give us the capacity to suffer for the others whom the Lord loves. This is an essential element of Christian discipleship
We not called to suffer only. We are called to suffer ONLY WITH Jesus. Through Him, with Him and in Him, even sorrows become joys.

14 September 2005

GOLDEN HARVEST


Memorial of St. John Chrysostom,
Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Mk 4:1-10.13-20

St. John Chrysostom was born in Antioch in the year 349 A.D. and died in exile in the year 407 A.D. He entered the monastic life, became a priest, and later consecrated as Archbishop of Constantinople. He is remembered for his powerful eloquence in defending the Catholic Faith in both his preaching and writings. He was a great genius in his lifetime and still is one of the brightest minds the Church has ever produced. “Chrysostom” was not his surname. It was a title given him because of his great giftedness in preaching and the soundness of his teachings. “Chrysostom” literally means “golden-mouthed” in Greek. “Ginintuang bibig” in Tagalog. “Ginintuang bibig” is something unheard of in Tagalog though. Rather, in the vernacular, we have, “ginintuang puso” (literally meaning, “golden-heart”, but more precisely understood as “kindhearted”). How many of us have both? We cannot be “golden-mouthed” if we are not kindhearted. We are not kindhearted if we are not “golden-mouthed”. We speak from the wealth of our hearts. As the Gospel today on the memorial of St. John Chrysostom echoes to us the Parable of the Good Seed, let us remember that the soil on which the Good Seed – the Word of God – falls is our heart. Yes, the seed that God sows is always good but the harvest is greatly determined by the kind of hearts we have. May our hearts always be a good soil for the good seed of God. Let there be a golden harvest for the Lord!

13 September 2005

WHEN POWERS MEET



Monday of the 24th Week in Ordinary Time
Lk7:1-10

What happens when two powers meet? Today two powers meet. One is Jesus. The other is a centurion. Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. That is infinite power! A centurion has a hundred soldiers under his command. That is awesome power! Today, Jesus and a centurion meet. A servant makes them meet today. The favorite servant of a centurion is sick and near death. The centurion sent emissaries to Jesus to request Him to heal and save his servant from death. A particular need makes the two powers meet. When two powers meet because of a genuine call to service, the two powers do not collide. They heal and save life. More than just a lesson on faith, exemplified by the centurion’s belief in Jesus, the same Gospel is a lesson of humility. As faith is so is humility a virtue for everyone, whether powerful or not. But when those who are powerful are not only faith-filled, but humble as well, greater things are bound to happen. In our country today, powers do meet. But they do not heal and save life. They put the country down and stifle the life of all Filipinos. We have a president who struggles to remain in power but whose mandate will always be doubtful. She who promised for a strong republic has become the first cause of its weakening. We have an opposition block that brings the power-struggle to the streets. But the nation is already suffering from a “people’s power” fatigue. As these two powers meet, the already sick nation gets even more sick and sick and sick. Will the nation die? But what makes them meet in the first place? Let us heed the advice of Paul to Timothy today (1 Tim 2:1-8). We, too, are in power. Let us meet all powers with prayer.

12 September 2005

THERE IS NO ZERO AT GROUND ZERO


24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mt 18:21-35

I remember the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York City as I write this reflection. Today is September 11. It was a dream-come-true for me to have been at Ground Zero last May. Twice I traveled from my residence at Whiteplains County by the metro train to the former spot of the World Trade Center. For a newcomer, it was not very easy to travel alone in the Big City. The first time I went to Ground Zero, I was so confused what train to take when I arrived at the Grand Central Station. The second time, I got home at 1:00 in the morning because I was lost in the subway station rushing to catch the last train from Grand Central to Whiteplains. And it can be very frightening to be in New York subway late at night. But I would have considered my visit to the United States of America a failure were I not able to do two things: to see “The Phantom of the Opera” and “The Fiddler” on the Roof at Broadway; and, more importantly, to pray right at Ground Zero. I was able to accomplish both. My visit was truly memorable. It was certainly worth the trouble. The Twin Towers that once dominated the Manhattan skyline are no longer there, but the emotion that emanate from the ground where they once stood is far from being zero. When I was there, the temperature was around 9*C but the memory of that fateful day in September continues to burn like coal up until today. When I got at Ground Zero the first time, I came up from the subway right at the sidewalk where the Towers once stood. On top of the staircase I stood motionless and teary eyed as I beheld right in front of me the proof of man’s inhumanity to man. Slowly I went closer to the iron fence that surrounded Ground Zero and could not find any word to say even in prayer. The sight and the memory were truly and tremendously overpowering. It took me a very long while to be able to utter these words to the Lord, “Have mercy on us and give us Your peace.” Then I started walking around the block as I prayed the rosary for the victims and for world peace. I felt that my first visit was not enough. A day before I flew from New York to San Francisco, I decided to return to Ground Zero. I devoted my whole day there in prayer and reflection again. Throughout the day of that second visit, I spent hours inside the St. Paul Ecumenical Chapel across Ground Zero and still many hours either walking around the block where the World Trade Center once was or sitting at the park across the Century Mall absorbed in prayer. I was so absorbed in prayer that I did not notice how late it already was in the evening. Because I had a flight to catch early morning the following day, I had to drag my feet away from Ground Zero. But there was certainly something at Ground Zero. There were many things at Ground Zero except zero. There were memories, emotions, tears, cries, prayers, pilgrims, and, yes, deafening silence, too. But something over and above these things caught my attention during my two visits there. There was a cross. When the Towers collapsed several beams of the former buildings remained. One of those beams was fashioned into a cross that was left standing at the center of the spot we now qualify as “zero”. It is not Ground Zero after all. There is a cross that rises from the ground. The cross is not a zero. The cross is a plus. The cross is the whole meaning of our life as followers of Jesus. I do not know how the bereaved families of the victims of 9/11 can forgive those that hurt them so deeply and irrevocably. I do not know if any of those wives or husbands who lost their spouses, if any of those children who lost their parents, if any of those parents who lost their children, if any of those who lost their friend, fiancée, fellowmen in that terrorist attack already found peace, much more forgiveness, in their hearts. I do not know if the loss caused by the 9/11 tragedy have already been restored. I do not know if the lives ruined were already rebuilt. I do not know if and when man’s inhumanity to man will end. I do not know how an evil deed can be shamelessly claimed by religious fanatics as a deed done for the glory of the Supreme Being they adore and believe in. I do not know. But I know I saw a cross at Ground Zero. It is always difficult to forgive. But the cross will help us. It is always easy to forget to forgive. But the cross will make us remember. It is always an act of dying to one’ self to forgive. And He who hangs on the cross shows us that. Today, we pray that the cross may help us to forgive. May we remember and see. May the Lord have mercy on us and give us peace. May we give mercy and make peace. May the cross that now stands at the center of Ground Zero remain even when the Monument for Freedom that is proposed to rise there already exist. May the cross always pierce our hearts and never let them be another Ground Zero.

11 September 2005

BUILD YOUR LIFE ON THE ROCK


Saturday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time
Lk 6:43-49

When I was growing up in the years 1974 through 1980, our family lived in a house that was built in 1953. It was my grandmother’s house in Quezon City. When grandma (lola) died, my aunts and uncles requested us to move in so that the old house may be taken cared of. I remember lola’s house very well until today. The wooden gate opened to a little front yard that looked like a mini-forest. Three steps led to a small porch where “1953” was engraved right before you turn left for the front door of the house. The door was made of a very thick kind of wood that had three locks of which the main had an old fashion key to unlock it. A staircase that led to the second floor welcomed anyone who entered through the main door while turning left the living room was available to all. All the windows were made of Capiz shells. It was a traditional Filipino house, mostly made of wood but very strong. It weathered all kinds of storms and swayed steadily with all the earthquakes that rocked the city. The secret: a formidable foundation. I had a teacher in high school who used to tell us, her students, “If you want to build high, dig deep.” She was right. She still is. Height should be directly proportional to depth. People who succeed in life are also people whose foundation in life is deep and strong. On which is our life founded? The strong foundation for life is the Word of God. Dig on it deeply! If our life is constantly and steadily anchored on God’s Word, no calamity can devastate us and no anxiety can overcome us. The Word of God is our firm foundation. The Word of God is our refuge. The Word of God is Jesus. Rock with Jesus! He is our Rock. R – Read and Reflect on the Word of God O – Open our hearts to Jesus completely C – Close all doors to sin K – Keep on loving like Jesus Build your life on the ROCK!

10 September 2005

TIME CHECK


Friday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time
Lk 6:39-42

“When I was a little boy” is now a long time ago. I still remember though something about “time”. During my childhood days, there were four ways for us to know what time of the day it was. The church bells tolled every six in the morning, twelve noon, and six in the evening. When they tolled at hours other than these three, we conclude that someone must have died and his remains were being blessed in the parish church. The siren would also sound every twelve noon. Radio programs would also tell us what time of the day it was. Aside from memorizing the regular schedules of radio dramas and other broadcasts, news on radio was every thirty minutes. And RPN 9 was the only television channel that flashed a digital clock concurrent with its broadcast hours. When the elders wanted to set their watches to the right time, they would ask us to check with channel 9. But before the radio and the television were invented, there already was the telephone. I read that people that time would call the telephone operator to know the exact time of the day. The Rev. Mark Link, S. J. once wrote this funny story to read but an important lesson to learn: “Before the era of radio and television, a telephone operator used to get a daily call requesting the exact time. She was always able to give it authoritatively. This was because she checked her watch daily when the town’s factory sounded its whistle at the end of each work day. “One day, however, her watch stopped and she told her mystery caller that she was waiting for the factory whistle. “She explained that she used it each day to check or set her watch. “There was silence. Then the caller said, ‘This is the factory. We always use your time to decide when to sound our whistle each day.’” When I was a little boy, there were instances when the church bells tolled slightly ahead of or late than the exact time of the day. The same happened with the siren. And the time from the radio and the television could also have been slow or fast. But who then could know? Everybody checked or set his watch using “their” time. Check your time. Check whom you follow. The blind following another blind is fatal. Jesus alone is worth following yesterday, today, and forever.

09 September 2005

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMY !


Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Mt 1:1-16, 18-23

Before I became a priest, my mother’s birthday was a simple family gathering. We either attend a Mass together or, when hearing Mass together was not possible, we offer a Mass for her. Sometimes we had a family dinner in a special restaurant. Sometimes we watched a movie together. Sometimes we just stroll together. But always, the affair was simple and very private. Now that I am a priest, commemorating mommy’s birthday is somehow different. The former simple and very private family affair is now “upgraded” and a concern of more people. Most of those people are people who love me too. They met mommy because they met me. They came to know her more because they came to know me better. They developed a special affection for her because I, her son, am a priest. When her birthday comes, she has more gifts than before. More people are excited about April 30 and not a few greet mommy, “Happy Birthday”. The otherwise exclusively family celebration has become a community affair. Mommy’s birthday is remembered because she gave birth to son-priest. The same is true with the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We celebrate her birth in a very special way because she gave birth to the Son of God. The Blessed Virgin Mary’s significance to us is always seen in the light of her son, Jesus. Her birth signals the end of the period of promise and expectation of the Old Testament and the beginning of the time of grace, the kairos, of the New Testament. Because she was born, the birth of the Blessed Savior was near. Salvation was at hand more than before. The Blessed Virgin Mary is karithomene, full of grace, because it IN her, then THROUGH her, that karis, (“grace”) first appeared. Jesus is Grace in person. And she was not only the first to have been saved, the Blessed Virgin Mary is always the vessel of Salvation who is Jesus Christ Himself. But unlike my mother’s birth, the Blessed Mother’s birth was ordained by the birth of her Son, Jesus. Mary was predestined to be the mother of the Lord. This is also the reason why she was immaculately conceived, that she was conceived without original sin, that even before the actual events of the Lord’s Paschal Mystery she was already saved. This must be the reason why on her birthday, the Gospel enumerates not her genealogy but that of her Son’s. The Gospel is not about her birth but the birth of the Lord. Many people, though they are not my siblings, call my mother, “mommy”. They met her, they knew her, and they continue to love her. The Blessed Virgin Mary is our mommy too because of Jesus. We celebrate her birthday in a special way because of Jesus. May people rejoice and thank God for our birthdays because of Jesus too.

Happy Birthday, Mommy! (No, it is not my mom’s birthday today. But, yes, it is mommy’s

08 September 2005

BEWARE OF THIS TREASURE


Wednesday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time
Col 3:1-11

A working man was invited to an antique where he admired a work of art that cost his half-a-year salary. He worked so hard for six months, even going on over time work, stopped his vices, and made a dramatic change in his lifestyle so as to save the amount of money he needed to buy the genuine artifact. When he had saved enough, he went back to the shop and found that the expensive antique, he bought it and went home. In his home, the man placed his new treasure on a special spot. Each time a guest came for a visit, the costly antique easily caught attention and was greatly admired. But his house was rather unkempt and as the days passed, the obra maestra became more and more like a sore thumb inside his disheveled abode. The beautiful antique made him see how ugly his dwelling place was. The following happened: Day One: General House Cleaning Day Two: House Repainting Day Three: Furniture Repair Works Day Four: Floor Polishing Day Five: Installation of Curtain Rods and Putting Curtains Day Six: Other Interior Renovation Day Seven: House Re-warming His house became a place worthy of the great treasure. The man is you. The man is me. The house is our hearts. The Priceless Treasure is Jesus. St. Paul reminds us, as he reminded the Colossian through his letter read today, to make our hearts worthy of the Lord. The truth of our welcoming Jesus in our hearts is proven by the changing of our life according to His own. Genuine discipleship cannot leave us to the old lifestyle we had before we met, loved, and followed the Lord. If our discipleship is true, we will see whatever is dirty in our hearts and we will clean it, we will recognize what is ugly in our life and we will change it with what is worthy of Jesus, our Lord and Master. Beware: Jesus changes us; we do not change Him. Think twice before you bring Him home. Your home will never be the same again. But you cannot be any richer! You will have in your life the Source of every good gift.

07 September 2005

ARE YOU CIRCUMCISED?



Tuesday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time
Col 2:6-15

Why is there so much fuss about circumcision among the Jews? In Gen 17:10-14, we read: “This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner--those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant." Circumcision is the physical proof of belonging to the covenant of the Old Testament. To be uncircumcised is to be a gentile among the Jews. From the time of Abraham, our father in faith, God wrote His alliance with man not on a tablet of stone but on a skin made of human flesh. Thus, the great emphasis given by the Jews on circumcision. I remember my childhood days when we teased and laughed at peers who were yet uncircumcised. But we did not view circumcision from a religious perspective as the Jews do. For us, we simply took circumcision as a rite of passage from boyhood to manhood. Sometimes we even regarded it as a test of masculinity. Males who refused to be circumcised we called names like “sissy” and a “chicken”. Because circumcision has great religious significance for the Jews, the Jewish Christians in the early Church had an issue against the gentile converts who were uncircumcised. (It does not mean, however, that all gentiles are uncircumcised, as Jer 9:25 attests to). The truth is that the very first council convoked by the Church was in Jerusalem and, as the Acts of the Apostles narrates to us, is occasioned by the circumcision issue. Today, St. Paul writes the Colossians to remind them of the lesson they learned from that council. In the light of the new alliance between God and man in Christ, that is, the New Testament Covenant, circumcision of the heart is more important than circumcision of the flesh. This means that circumcision is not removing the foreskin as it is cleansing the heart from sin and living the life of Jesus. This consequently means that circumcision now applies not only to the male gender but even to the feminine. Circumcision now becomes for all – man and woman, slave or freeman, gentile or Jew – as long as he or she welcomes Jesus in his or her life and consecrates his or her heart to God. In the New Testament, God entered into a covenant not only with the Jews. In and through His Son, God established a new, definitive, and final alliance with all who belong to the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is the Church. Pardon me, but just a reminder: Have you been circumcised yet?

05 September 2005

OUR NEMESIS


Monday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time

Lk 6:6-11

The scribes and the Pharisees are watching Jesus to see if he will cure the man with a withered hand on the Sabbath. There they go again! They seem to have gone crazy about finding something to use against Jesus. How can they see the Law so clearly and yet be blind to the immediate need of the handicapped right before their eyes?

The scribes and the Pharisees know that it is not unlawful to do good and save life even on a Sabbath. They are not against the doing good and the saving of life on Sabbath. They are simply against Jesus. His mere presence confronts them with their own hypocrisy. Even without any word for them from Jesus, they are deeply disturbed by the convicting message of His own lifestyle. He is their nemesis.

What happens to the scribes and the Pharisees may happen to us too. Or perhaps it is already happening to us. When someone makes us see our own self righteousness, we can invest all our energies in finding fault in him. No matter what good he does, we can always have something to criticize in him. For every convicting message he tells us, we can have a rebuttal. Our hatred for him eats us up.

Please, let us not allow hatred to eat us up. Let us not permit anger, envy, jealousy, and prejudice destroy us. When we harbor grudges against someone, we suffer, not him. When we envy and are jealous, we look foolish like the scribes and Pharisees. When we hate, we die. We were not created to hate, to be angry, to envy, to be jealous, or to be prejudice against someone. We were created to love.

Jesus is not our nemesis. The devil is.

04 September 2005

CORRECT THE WRONG CORRECTION



23rd Week in Ordinary Time

Mt 18:15-20

The problem with many of our fraternal correction sessions is that many of them are not fraternal at all. Quite often, there is little, if any, brotherly in the way we correct one another. Thus, fraternal correction ends up in fraternal destruction, like a demolition project, a collapse of relationships where doors are not only closed but bridges are also burnt.

Fraternal corrections must bear three things.

First, genuine love should be the only motive for correcting the erring. It must be love between brothers; that is why it is qualified as “fraternal”. Just as genuine love is its sole motive its only goal must be authentic love as well. Genuine love means giving priority to the good of the other.

Second, fraternal correction is not judgment day. It should not be regarded as the long awaited day to judge the character of the one being corrected. Judging the other does not correct; it condemns. Judging does not fix anything; it separates the accuser from the accused. Judging closes the ears, hardens the heart and clenches the fist. Avoid judging when correcting. Say how the other’s negative behavior affects you instead. Judging says, “You are a liar!” Fraternal correction says, “I am terribly hurt when you lie to me because I trust you and believe in you always.”

Third, every fraternal correction should be a “win-win” situation. We correct not to put the other down. We correct to raise the other up. We correct not to prove that we are certainly right while the other is undoubtedly wrong. We correct to have a better life together. We correct not to triumph over the other. We correct to build up one another. When the fraternal correction is over, every party should feel a winner. Fraternal correction is not for losers.

When we do fraternal correction, let us make sure that we gather in the name of Jesus. When we do so, Jesus promises two things in the Gospel today, our prayers will be granted and Jesus shall be in our midst.

Let us agree on three things: (1.) meet together in the name of the Lord; (2.) pray together for unity; (3.) where correction is needed do so together as brothers and sisters.

By the way, this reflection is open to corrections. But please make it fraternal.

Thank you!

BE FOOLISH AND GET STARVED


Saturday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time
Lk 6:1-5

Normally our meals are regularly scheduled. There are, however, some days when we take our meals out of the ordinary schedule. Sometimes we also need an extra meal. But meals do not just suddenly appear before us. We work for the money to buy a meal or we have to cook it ourselves. The terms “instant meal” is a misnomer. There are no instant meals. Even that which comes to us through a tetra pack is not instant in the truest sense of the word. Today the Lord and His disciples are walking through the cornfields. They must be very hungry because they started picking ears of corn. As they are trying to satisfy their hunger some of the Pharisees remind them that it is Sabbath day. Of course, they may eat on the Sabbath. But they may not pick ears of corn. A question begs for an answer from the Pharisees: How then should the disciples have a meal if they are not to pick ears of corn on the Sabbath. Ah, perhaps they should starve until the next day when it is no longer the Sabbath! Foolish! This is what happens when a law that is supposed to free us enslaves us instead. We become fools. This is how the Pharisees appear as they meticulously observe every detail of the Sabbath law even at the expense of the greater good. This is not the first time they appear foolish. Remember whenever Jesus heals even during the Sabbath? The Pharisees will always be there to remind Jesus that it is not the schedule for healing. Today, a Sabbath day, too, as far as the Pharisees are concerned, is not a schedule for scavenging for something to ease the pangs of hunger of the disciples of Jesus. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. The Pharisees are the slaves of the Sabbath. But the Sabbath is not mean to enslave us. It is to set us free. Yes, free for God. And when we cringe because of hunger, how can we be free to serve God? Foolish Pharisees. But are we any different from them? No, we are not until we learn that the spirit of the law is love. No, we are not until we live by the spirit, not the letter, of the law. Today is Saturday. It is Sabbath day. If there is nothing for us to cook for our meals today, will we not go to the market and buy what we need? Should the farmer not harvest his crop today for his family’s meal? Should the fisherman not fish today for his children’s nourishment? Let the law starve us to death if we wish, but let us not kill others with the law.

02 September 2005

WITHOUT THE BRIDEGROOM, ONLY WITH A HANGOVER


Friday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time

Lk 5:33-39

Our Gospel today is about fasting. The scribes and the Pharisees approached Jesus and said, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and the disciples of the Pharisees do he same; but Yours eat and drink.” Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” Jesus is the bridegroom and we are the wedding guests. We fast when the Jesus is taken away from us.

But when is Jesus taken away from us?

Jesus is taken away from us when we choose to stay away from Him. Sin alienates us from Jesus. When we sin, we should fast. The more grievous the sin, the greater fasting we should do. But we fast not to please a capricious, sadistic, and masochistic god. God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is not capricious, sadistic, and masochistic. He is our loving Father. Fasting is not bribing God to forgive us from our sins. Forgiveness is His ever ready and ever gratuitous gift to us.

But why then should we really fast when we sin?

There are three reasons why we should fast when we sin.

Fasting is a form of discipline. It tames our basic instincts. It teaches us the value of denying our selves which in turn strengthens our will for the greater good and forms our character. Fasting shows us that we are not only what we receive but what we also give.

It is not enough that we repent from sins we commit. If we are truly contrite, we should learn and grow in holiness and grace. No one grows in holiness and grace without fasting. If our fasting does not help us become better persons, more holy, and filled with grace, our fasting is none sense.

Fasting is a form of penance. It is a sign of our desire to set aright what has been rendered wrong by our sins, to rise from our weaknesses, and to be freed from that which enslaves us. It shakes us from our complacency to the ways of the world and deeply disturbs us from our selfishness. It wakes us up from our dream of being the center of everything and everyone. Fasting gives us a sense of the evil of sin and an awareness of what sin redounds to.

When we sin, we hurt God and His People. No matter how private our sins are, they affect everyone and everything in the world. Fasting is an expression of our sorrow because we hurt God and others by our sins. Because we see our sins for what they really are – which is essentially self-centeredness – we fast so as to dislodge our selves from the center of everything and everyone for Jesus. The Seven Capital Sins – gluttony, anger, sloth, envy, greed, lust, and avarice – are manifestations of self-centeredness. Fasting inverts this situation of sin.

Fasting is a form of sacrifice. It is an offering of the self. When we fast, we should not forget to fast in union with the suffering Jesus. Jesus suffered a lot on account of our sins. As Scripture says, “He who does not sin was made sin for us so that He may redeem us and reconcile us with God.” Jesus sacrificed Himself for us. He sacrificed His own life. Realizing that we are sinners, we unite our selves with Jesus – the Sacrificial Lamb for our sins – and through our fasting we sacrifice with Him. Patterned according to His manner of self-oblation, the offering we bring to God is our very selves in communion with Jesus, nothing less and nothing else.

Fasting is a discipline, a penance, and a self-oblation in union with Jesus because on account of our sins Jesus is taken away from us. The wedding guests fast when the bridegroom is taken away from them. It is unfortunate though that in some wedding feasts the guests remain even while the bridegroom is no longer with them and they continue their merry making until they fall down drunk. A wedding feast can be intoxicating too. There are people who do not realize this. And they wake up the following day without the bridegroom, only with a hangover

01 September 2005

HIS HANDS REMAIN


Thursday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time

Lk 5:1-11

The Gospel today was the Gospel on my ordination day. I was only twenty-eight years old when I heard it that day. I could barely empathize with Simon Peter then when he seemed to have complained to the Lord, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing.” I was just about to start “working” then for the Lord.

Ten years later, I know very well not only what Simon Peter meant but also how he felt when he said those words to Jesus. I have had my nights of wrestling with doubts, saying, “Is it worth it?”. I have had my days of asking my self, “Will this work out?” I had moments when I do not only failed but felt that I my self was a failure. But ten years are not enough for me to forget that Simon Peter nonetheless trusted the Lord and obeyed Him. “…but at Your command I will lower the nets,” Simon Peter also said. What followed – the miraculous catch of fish – likewise I keep in my heart.

When Simon Peter and his friends went fishing all by themselves, they caught nothing. Though seasoned fishermen that they were, they pulled ashore with empty nets. But when they went fishing with Jesus, they had a catch that was more than what their nets could hold. I know the difference not because I am a keen reader of the Gospel but because I catch nothing, too, when I venture without Jesus.

After the great catch, Simon Peter pleaded that Jesus leave him. Should he not all the more beg Jesus to stay with him and go out with him to the sea each time he would fish? Should he not propose to Jesus to be his business associate? Simon Peter realized that Jesus did more than just a miraculous catch of fish. Jesus caught him instead.

Simon Peter must have felt that he was but a tadpole in a possible school of fish. To his estimation, he should not belong to the company that Jesus ought to keep. He was too tainted, marred, blemished, dirty, stained, and sinful to be too close to the Lord and be counted among His chosen ones. But while fairytales are fiction, Jesus’ kiss alone can truly turn a frog into a prince. He made Simon Peter the Prince of the Apostles. Jesus’ love transformed the fisherman into a fisher of men. Having been caught himself Simon Peter was called and chosen to catch others for Jesus.

After ten years, the same love of the Lord for me abides. When my bishop ordained me, he placed his hands on my head and then, after a very short while, he withdrew them. But the hands of Jesus remain.