Eric and Jamjam's Wedding

Eric and Jamjam, after I deliver this homily kindly excuse me for I will be leaving for Manila. In fact, my flight was scheduled last September 15, but I rescheduled it because I really desire to be present here today on your most memorable and important phase of your life.

My dear friends in Christ, back in 2012, I have known Jamjam as one of the lead vocalists of the parish music ministry. She was also the most popular girl in the campus during that time showing her multiple talents in singing and dancing. What I really admire the most about Jamjam is that she is always smiling and is able to deal with things gently. I had no problem in the music ministry back then. The ministry has long been established and the members were well-organized with Joshua as the organist and Jamjam as the choir leader. This was not the case of the altar servers. There were young men assisting the priest at the altar yet the ministry was not formally established and the members lacked some proper trainings. When I asked Fr. Adonis Rimano to form the first batch of the altar servers, one of them caught my attention -Eric. Fr. Adonis associated him with Daniel Padilla, a promising young actor at that time. What I admire about Eric is that he is industrious and very reliable when it comes to work.

In talking about relationships, Jamjam is somewhat reserved, taking her time to process things and does not rush to express her feelings publicly. Eric, on his part, is expressive of what he feels. I jokingly called him -kanta, lakat, dalagan (song-go-run). He is what he feels.

In serving the parish, both are dedicated in their own ways. Jamjam would bring joy to the group while Eric would not only serve at the altar but would even cook our food in the parish rectory.

My dear friends in Christ, I say all these to make you aware that I know Eric and Jamjam and I love them, thereby applying the idiomatic expression, “to know is to love” in this context.

I see Jamjam and Eric are two souls growing up in the parish, never knowing that today they would recite together the couple’s prayer -Grant us, O Lord, to be one heart and one soul. This is the day when these two become one. They were like two seeds planted in a garden, and God, the Gardener planted them to grow adjacent to each other as individual trees, yet grafted together forming like one tree.

Unlike other couples who started as strangers to each other before they fell in love, you Eric and Jamjam have known each other for years; you have seen each other’s weakness and shadows, you have shown yourself at your worst and at your weakest, now you show to the world your best that you can stand still together from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death sets you apart. In short, my dear friends in Christ, Eric knows Jamjam and he loves her. Jamjam also knows Eric and she loves him.

However, Eric and Jamjam, it is not only you who know each other’s truest selves and accept you for being who you are. In the Book of Jeremiah 1:5, it states, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.” Yes, Eric and Jamjam, God knows you and love you more than anybody can love you. God sees you when no one is watching -when your sincerely serve at the parish, when you feel quiet, lonely or sad, when you lose hope or worry about your career or job. God knows what you need in life and thus He sends you for each other.

In God’s love, you two are meant to each other. But your love story does not end here at your wedding. Rather, both of you should learn to offer back to God the love He has given you. You already know how to serve God as an Altar Knight, Eric. You already know how to serve God as a Psalmist or cantor, Jamjam. This time, you have to serve together as a couple and as one family. Raise your children in the same faith you have lived since childhood. You are not only two hearts that become one, but you become one to serve God together for the rest of your lives.

To end, Eric and Jamjam, remember the words of Jesus in John 15: 12-13 when He said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: love each other as I have loved you.” Eric and Jamjam, your love for each other is from God. You can only be happy with your love when both of you love God. Therefore, find happiness in living together, being together and serving God and your parish together. May God bless you and your family. Amen.

Girlie and Jose's Wedding

 
My dear friends in Christ, it is good that you are here today to witness the wedding of the century here at St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish, Banga, Aklan. Though, this is not the kind of the wedding of the century you know, let me explain why this is still fit to be called a wedding of the century.

Most of us, if not all, have attended weddings celebrated twice between two people. Usually, the first was a civil wedding, then followed by the church wedding. There is also an instance that a Catholic was married to a non-Catholic; sometimes they had their first wedding celebrated in the non-Catholic rites, then followed by their wedding in the Catholic Church.

But today, Girlie and Jose are not only celebrating their church wedding in the Catholic Church for the first time. Rather, their first wedding took place at the San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila Parish, Camaligan, Batan, Aklan. Today’s wedding celebration is but the second time. At the very least, this is how we look at this wedding. But to explain further, in the eyes of the Church, this is not a second wedding. Their wedding in Camaligan, Batan, Aklan is binding once and for all. Their marriage bond was already sealed by God in the celebration of the sacrament of Holy Matrimony. The Church teaches that what God has joined together, let no man put asunder (Mark 10:9) -and thus, the “I do” the promise they made before God and before His Church satisfied the requirements for the sacrament of marriage. If this is so, then why do we have this wedding celebration today between Girlie and Jose? It is because, when they celebrated their wedding in Camaligan, Batan, Aklan, it was a sacrament and was solemnly celebrated according to the rites of the Holy Mother, the Church, excluding the compliance of the legal requirement. The failure to comply with the legal requisites did not destroy the grace already bestowed on Girlie and Jose, but it stood as a barrier for the two to fully express the sacramental life together.

Now, as they have complied with both the essential and formal requisites imposed by the State, today’s wedding celebration removes the barrier so that everybody can fully see what has already been there -a valid marriage. In other words, this is not actually a second wedding. This is somewhat a confirmation and even solemnize the very same promise, the “I do” made years ago. The love of Girlie and Jose does not change. Their commitment does not change. The only change that this celebration brings to Girlie and Jose is that the barrier is gone. Girlie and Jose, your marriage can now stand fully and freely, not only as a sacrament blessed by God but also as a legally binding marital union recognized by the State. You can now bring your one, true, lifelong marriage into the light. You can now say your marriage is fully blessed by God. Amen.

Shainie and Wilfredo's Nuptial

One of the great saints, St. Thomas Aquinas defined love as an act of the will and not merely a feeling. For him, love is to will the good of the other.

Shainie and Wilfredo, when we say will, we can easily connect it with the word power. In our ordinary life experience, we say there is power when we talk of gadgets or technologies which work referring to it as “gumagana”. If we check things out that do not work, we say “bakit ayaw gumana or bakit hindi gumagana.”

Will then as a power to love is what it takes to make a relationship works. However, you have to understand that no one can see your will because it is something that is inside you; it is in your “kalooban”. So no one is interested to see your “kalooban” except for those who love you. Yet, everyone is eager to know the secret why a relationship works –“paano gumagana ang isang relasyon”. The answer for this is simple: If there is a will, there is a way.

But love is not just about willpower. It has to set a direction. Why do we charge our cellular phone? Would it be enough to see it fully charged and could turn its power on? The purpose of loving is not about finding oneself feeling happy with the other. Rather, it seeks the good of the other. Ano bang mabuting gawin ko para sa kanya? Paano ko siya mapapabuti? Paano ba siya maging mabuting tao? Lacking in this good intention, any relationship fails to build itself on true love. True love always makes a couple better.  

Now, in the definition of love, the direction is pointing toward the other, and not to oneself. This does not mean that one does not need to love himself/herself. Rather, how one loves himself/herself shall also be how he/she has to love the other. Shainie, love Wilfredo as you love yourself. Wilfredo, love Shainie as you love yourself. However, as you are going to get married today, you have to get an unlimited source of love which you cannot find in yourself. Human as you are, you have limits in loving. Thus, human love cannot be able to handle the demands and challenges of married life. There is a need to look for the source of love which can sustain the both of you. The answer can be found in the Gospel of John 13:34 which states, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

Shainie and Wilfredo, if you want to remain in love as a married couple, you have to call on God. You have to pray together. You pray for your spouse. If you cannot pray together, then what is the use of getting married in this church. The church is a place for you to ask God for his blessings and not a mere venue for a ritual. You are here to pray. You start your married life with a prayer, you can only stay in marriage until death when you pray together.

Shainie and Wilfredo, love is to will the good of the other. There is no greater good than to be blessed by God. Pray for each other. Pray together. Love each other till the end of your time. Amen.

Leenard Mabasa Cristobal's Funeral Homily

 

Death is certain. No one among us can stop it when it comes. Not even our love for Leenard can stop his death. Neither our words of sympathy nor apology can equal what the family and friends have lost. But Leenard’s name should not be treated lightly by anybody. Though anyone can take his place in this world, he is irreplaceable in the hearts of the people who love him.

Leenard for me is like BDO, he finds ways. In many occasions, Leenard would actively look for ways to help others in need. I remember when someone got an accident, he got out of his way to owe some amount needed for the surgery. He swallowed his pride just to raise fund to save someone’s life.

Leenard for me is like a Nike, if he knows he can do the things assigned to him –“just do it” is his attitude. Many people and even some priests thought before that I was the ghost writer of my mother and my brothers in preparing their speeches. Today, I can say that it was actually Leenard. Even my mother who was good in writing, would ask Leenard to encode her speeches and proofread them. There was a time I criticized him for one of the speeches delivered by my brother, he checked his notes and showed me to point out that part of speech I was talking about. Then I said why I could not find it there. He then justified that the speech he prepared for was just a guide. The speaker could choose either to read it or not to read it.  

Leenard for me is like Shell that bears a slogan, “together anything is possible”. Though this is something private and sensitive but it is good that you become aware of it. In a political exercise, I would say Leenard made the impossible possible. There were voters who would never vote for my brothers, for whatever reasons, yet through Leenard’s effort, it turned out that he was able to convince some of them to vote for my siblings. I learned about this from those people themselves whom Leenard approached.

Leenard for me is also like Petron which bears a slogan, “we fuel success”. At his age and wisdom, he reached the height of his career whether in business or in public service. His success did not come by chance. He worked patiently for it. He earned it. Unknowingly, while success can provide happiness, success can be vulnerable to negative influences, such as envy, competition or evil eyes.

One of my friends from Ibajay said, “Sayang yong kaibigan mo pads, bata pa siya para pumanaw at yong iniwan niyang posisyon sa Human Resource, sayang.” Yes, for many, Leenard was successful at his very young age; but at his age, people forgot he was vulnerable. Between the ages of 40 and 60, there is a transition, there is an emotional change, there can also be the feeling of inadequacy that takes place in one’s heart -especially when others can see all the failures, errors and mistakes but none of the efforts to achieve a goal. In short, the longer you hold success, the heavier it becomes. And when others pushed you beyond your limits while holding a heavier load, and in addition, you are at your fragile, delicate and vulnerable age -you will be broken. Once broken, every expectation will bring you frustration. This is the moment when a person becomes vulnerable in the sense that we can say, he is not himself. This is the reason why we have to be kind to everyone because we never know what someone has been through.

Now, I ask, “Why Lord? Why he was taken too soon?” For me, I wish to say to the Lord that Leenard had so much to give, so much to achieve. But this is only “for me” -my own point of view as an imperfect human being. But how about God? How about His point of view?

My dear friends, God does not measure life by years but by love. The Book of Wisdom (4:7,11) explains how God’s love works as it states:

“But the righteous one, though he die early, shall be at rest. The one who pleased God was loved, living among sinners, was transported -Snatched away, lest wickedness pervert his mind or deceit beguile his soul.”

To the family, be thankful to God in sending Leenard back to his Creator. You have shaped his heart well enough to receive his reward in heaven. To his relatives and friends, let us not consider the death of Leenard as the end of his life. Rather, let us see his death as a promotion from the hard works of this world to a final rest in heaven. To all of us, let us know that even death itself cannot make us blind to see the love of God. No title, no salary, no success is more precious than the soul of Leenard. The soul of Leenard is now in the hand of God and no torment will ever touch him. He now finally rests in peace. Amen.

14th Sunday in OT

 

A wealthy merchant decides to sell his goods in a bustling town by the sea. He travels through different routes—some long and treacherous, others short and safe—carrying exquisite items that he believes will attract many buyers. Each day, he takes a different path, hoping to catch the attention of potential customers. On the other hand, a humble fisherman casts his nets into the sea, bringing in fish that he sells at the marketplace. The fisherman’s journey is simple; he goes straight to the shore, catches fish, and returns to sell them without any elaborate routes or strategies. Despite the merchant’s efforts to impress the townsfolk with his varied routes and the quality of his goods, the people are more interested in the fresh fish that the fisherman consistently provides. They are indifferent to how the merchant arrived or the lengths he went to; they only care about what is immediately available and practical for their needs.

Product strategy comes first in marketing. Buyers are not interested in the route-to-market plan of the seller as long as they get the product they want. Buyers do not go to the marketplace to know about the seller’s conditions. Albeit, traveling salesman does not go from one house to another to tell their personal stories. Both the buyers and the sellers talk about the product.

In our Gospel (Luke 10:1-12, 16-20), Jesus was commissioning his seventy -two disciples not to sell a product but to preach that the kingdom of God it at hand. But who will be interested to listen about the kingdom of God? People who do not care about their souls have no time to entertain such disciples visiting their homes. But with the disciples who stood as witnesses to Jesus, the mission was never impossible. They returned to Jesus rejoicing, and said, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” 

On this 14^th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we, Christians are reminded of our mission to preach that the kingdom of God is at hand. But before we can fulfill this mission, we need to ask ourselves if the kingdom of God has been part of our lives (if not the center of our lives). Because the moment we start preaching of the kingdom of God, we have to deal with the reality of rejection. Not all people are willing to listen to us and about God’s kingdom. On this occasion, we somehow consider ourselves failure and may tend to abandon the mission. This only happens when we are not clear of how important the kingdom of God is in our lives. In other words, we cannot give what we do not have. If we cannot treasure the kingdom of God personally, then how can we be able to convince others to treasure it.

SUPERHEROES OF FAITH

 

Superman, Spiderman, Batman, .... They are known as superheroes, men who possess extraordinary strength and character. Even if they are regarded as such, still they are like us. They are also human beings because they behave, think, and live like the way we do. Superman, for instance, works as an office clerk: Spiderman, on the other hand, wants to be great in photography. Each of them was called to carry that special power to be used to defend the oppressed and fight the evil forces aiming to destroy mankind. Some of them were unaware of it and hardly understood why it happened to them. Others showed resistance and felt uncertainties. Though they could have refused and ran away but it seemed inevitable. In the long run, they could do nothing but accept it. Ordinary as they regarded themselves, yet, they embraced with all their might, their calling, their fate, whether it is a curse or a gift. In effect, they opted to live an ordinary life, as ordinary persons but did their work extraordinarily. They encountered more difficulties in revealing their real self than their super self. Indeed, this takes an extraordinary effort to comply and traverse two diverged roads.

Next, they chose to be celibates although they do fall in love. Celibacy is not an escape from married life but a self-dedication in serving others. Anyway, loving someone does not always mean marrying the person. They were never alone. A lot of people love them even without their knowledge. Many admire them for their great deeds. People are longing for their presence. Both the young and the old, man or woman, are excited and amazed to see them. Even if they do not have their beloved with them, still they have these people who love them.

In their context, to have diversity of power is not a reason of having conflict with others who have superpowers too. Neither superiority complex nor inferiority complex is experienced within the group. Did Superman do something to outmaneuver either Spiderman or Batman so that he will be regarded as the greatest? No, he didn't and the others also never did it. They've respected each other's gift and mission. What preoccupied them is their desire to serve and to do their work well. Moreover, they were given different gifts, wherein each has corresponding responsibility. In addition to that, they sprang from different eras and they used their power to support one another and not to compete with each other.

Superheroes last forever. Their immortality relies on the works they have done. I have first known them when I was still a child. They were there in the past, evident in the present, and definitely will be remembered in the future. People from all walks of life and from many generations still have them in their hearts. Their legacy is still cherished and admired, and such makes them immortals. For sure superheroes are not real. In the Philippine setting, we also have the like of Captain Barbel and Darna just to mention a few. They are comic characters. They only exist in the imagination or fictional for that matter. Nevertheless, one thing is certain. They can inspire us to do exemplary things, to do an ordinary work in an extraordinary way.

In the real world, somehow we find superheroes existing in the persona of PRIESTS by these indicators similar to that of Superman and the like. First, priests are ordinary persons but they do their work extraordinarily with the grace of God who calls them to be His ministers despite of being sinners like the rest of mankind.

Priests live a celibate life. Some may have fallen in love but they have sacrificed themselves for the sake of service to others. They are never alone because the whole clergy and Christian community are there. If not so, definitely Christ is with them.

Priesthood is not in conflict with other offices that hold power too. Priests cooperate with other sectors to promote the common good.

Priests last forever. “You will be a priest forever.” To use the words of Karl Rahner in his writing entitled, “A Priest  Forever”, “The priest is a man taken from among men. He is not made from another kind of clay that the rest of us. He continues to share the lot of men after the hand of God has rested on him in the form of the bishop’s hand. As human messengers of the everlasting God, they say, ‘Do not be scandalized at us. We know we carry God’s treasure in vessels of clay; we know that our own shadow keeps darkening God’s light, which we ought to bring to you. Be merciful toward us; don’t judge us; feel sympathy with us weaklings, on whose shoulders God has loaded more grace than what we carry. From it learn that God has no horror of human beings. Blessed will you be then, those of you who have not been scandalized at the priest.” May God bless us all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Catechesis for Solemnity of All Saints

 

 TODOS LOS SANTOS 2024

l Ro mga nahaunang sumueonod ni Kristo Hesus nagpangatubang sa mga paghingabot kanda eabi ku mga makagagahum nga Judeo kamana it Sanhedrin (Acts 8:1). Ro hauna nga nagpangatubang sa mga paghingabot ag ginpili nga mamatay nga may pagtuo hay si St. Stephen (Acts 7: 54-60).

 l Ro mga sumueonod ni KristoHesus nga nag-atubang sa paghingabot ag ginpili nga mamatay nga may pagtuo kaysa sa talikdan ro andang pagtuo hay ginatawag nga “martires” nga ro buot hambaeon “testigo”. Sanda hay ginakabig nga testigo bangud anda nga ginpamatud-an ro andang pagtuo paagi sa pag-uea it andang dugo.  

 l Ro andang kaisog sa pagbaton it kamatayon nga may pagtuo hay nagasandig sa ginturo ni Kristo Hesus (Matthew 5: 11-12)

 “Bulahan kamo kon tungod sa inyo pagsunod sa akon ginayaguta kamo, ginahingabot, kag ginabutang-butangan sang tanan nga kalainan. Amo man ini ang ila ginhimo sang una sa mga propeta. Gani magkalipay gid kamo tungod nga mabaton ninyo ang dako nga balos sa langit.”

 l Dugang sa mga ginapangatubang nga paghingabot ku mga sumueonod ni Kristo Hesus hay ro paghingabot kanda it Roman Empire bangud indi sanda magsimba sa emperador it Roma bilang Dios o bisan dyos-dyosan. Si St. Paul hay nag-atubang sa kamatayon sa alima it mga Romano nga may pagtuo (2 Timoteo 4: 7-8)

 “Gintipigan ko ang akon pagtuo. Kag karon, may ginatigana ang Dios sa akon nga padya sang pagkamatarong nga iya igahatag sa akon sa adlaw nga siya maghukom sa tanan, kag ang iya paghukom matarong. Indi lang ako ang gintigan-an sina nga padya kundi ang tanan man nga nagapaabot sa iya pagbalik.”

 l  Kombinsido nga ro mga martires namatay nga may pagtuo ag nakabaton eon it balos o padya it Dios sa eangit, ro mga nagakabuhi sa kalibutan nga tumueo-o nagapangamuyo kanda nga buligan ag ig-ampo sanda sa Dios nga kaibahan nanda sa eangit.

 l Sa pagtaliwan it paniempo, natapos eon gid man ro mga paghingabot sa mga sumueonod ni Kristo Hesus, pero padayon gihapon ro pagkabuhi it mga sumueonod ni Kristo Hesus nga may pagtuo. Bisan pa nga owa pinatay bangud sa pagtuo hay may mga sumueonod ni Kristo Hesus nga nagkabuhi it matarong sa rayang kalibutan ag namatay nga ginpakita kon mauno magkabuhi ro isaeang sumueonod ni Kristo Hesus suno sa Ana nga mga bilin o sugo. Raya nga mga tawo ginakabig it Simbahan nga mga santos ag santas it Dios.

 l Ngani ro mga martires ag santos ag santas it Dios nga nauna sa eangit hay mabahoe gid nga bulig sa mga tumueo-o nga nagakabuhi pa sa kalibutan nga igaampo sanda sa Dios.

 l Sa Roma may templo nga kato anay ginatawag nga “Pantheon” (pan = tanan + theo = Dios o buot hambaeon hay baeay it tanan nga dios o dyos-dyosan), hay haadto sa pagtina-eapan ku Simbahan ag ginpamaeos idto ro mga dyos-dyosan ag ginpa-eabi nga mangin simbahan nga ginpangaean kay Santa Maria ag sa tanan nga mga santos ag santas. Ginpakamayad gid it Simbahan nga magtukod it adlaw nga pyesta it tanan nga mga santos ag santas it Dios bangud indi tanan nga nabuhi ag namatay para sa Dios hay mapangaeanan it Simbahan ag makata-eana it adlaw nga pyesta kanda.

 l Ro paghiwat it Todos los Santos hay indi eamang pagpadungog sa mga kilaea nga mga santos o santas kamana kanday San Isidro o Santa Maria de la Cabeza nga may anda nga kinaugalingon nga pyesta, kundi sa mga nabuhi ag namatay nga nagapakasantos o santas man ugaling wa eang haabot sa igta-eupangod ku Simbahan.

 l   Ro paghiwat it Todos los Santos hay pagpadumdom sa mga buhi nga sumueonod ni Kristo Hesus sa kalibutan ku anda nga pagaadtunan (John 3:16)

 “Kay ginahigugma gid sang Dios ang mga tawo sa kalibutan, amo gani nga ginhatag niya ang iya bugtong nga Anak, agod nga ang bisan sin-o nga magtuo sa iya indi mawala kundi hatagan sang kabuhi nga wala sing katapusan.”