9th Day of Simbang Gabi 2013

There is a Chinese story of a farmer who used an old horse to till his fields. One day, the horse escaped into the hills and when the farmer's neighbors sympathized with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?" A week later, the horse returned with a herd of horses from the hills and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, "Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?" Then, when the farmer's son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?" Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer's son with his broken leg, they let him off. Now was that good luck or bad luck? Who knows? My dear friends, for those who do not believe in God, they depend on luck. But for those who do not believe in luck, they have to surrender themselves before God. In our Gospel, Luke 1:67-79, the birth of John the Baptist was recognized by Zechariah that it was brought by a divine intervention and not by luck.  With the eyes of faith, he exclaimed, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; for he has come to his people and set them free. He has raised up for us a mighty Savior, born of the house of his servant David." His words reveal his total dependence on God. If ever there is what we call "luck" in life, it happens most probably in accordance to the will of God. Good luck or bad luck? Just pray because God knows best. Amen.

8th Day of Simbang Gabi 2013

Oedipus was born to King Laius and Queen Jocasta. In the most well-known version of the myth, Laius wished to thwart a prophecy saying that his child would grow up to murder his father and marry his mother. Thus, he fastened the infant's feet together with a large pin and left him to die on a mountainside. The baby was found on Kithairon by shepherds and raised by King Polybus and Queen Merope in the city of Corinth. Oedipus learned from the oracle at Delphi of the prophecy, but believing he was fated to murder Polybus and marry Merope, he left Corinth. Heading to Thebes, Oedipus met an older man in a chariot coming the other way on a narrow road. The two quarreled over who should give way, which resulted in Oedipus killing the stranger and continuing on to Thebes. He found that the king of the city (Laius) had been recently killed and that the city was at the mercy of the Sphinx. Oedipus answered the monster's riddle correctly, defeating it and winning the throne of the dead king and the hand in marriage of the king's widow, his mother, Jocasta. Oedipus and Jocasta had two sons (Eteocles and Polynices) and two daughters (Antigone and Ismene). In his search to determine who killed Laius (and thus end a plague on Thebes), Oedipus discovered it was he who had killed the late king: his father. Jocasta also soon realized that she had married her own son and Laius's murderer, and she hanged herself. Oedipus seized two pins from her dress and blinded himself with them. Oedipus was driven into exile, accompanied by Antigone and Ismene. After years of wandering, he arrived in Athens, where he found refuge in a grove of trees called Colonus. By this time, warring factions in Thebes wished him to return to that city, believing that his body would bring it luck. However, Oedipus died at Colonus, and the presence of his grave there was said to bring good fortune to Athens. My dear friends, every child carries with him/her all possibilities of becoming. Their parents have to face their crucial role in their children's formation years. Some parents would name their children "junior" so that the latter would follow the former's footsteps. In our Gospel, Luke 1:57-66, we are taught how to deal with children to forego a better path. In the words used by Luke -“What, then, will this child be? For surely the hand of the Lord was with him," we can find the wisdom of instilling to a child the fear of the Lord. If the child is God-fearing, then he would always seek what is good before God's eyes. His/her parents are blessed because they surely grow old but their children will be their worthy companions. Hopefully, people would learn that the best parenting technique is to let the children live in the holy fear of the Lord. Amen.

7th Day of Simbang Gabi 2013

There was a blind girl who hated herself just because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She said that if she could only see the world, she would marry her boyfriend. One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her and then she could see everything, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend asked her, “now that you can see the world, will you marry me?” The girl was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend was blind too, and refused to marry him. Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and later wrote a letter to her saying: “Just take care of my eyes dear.” My dear friends, it is sometimes true to say that love is blind. When one is blind, he can't see who the person is physically. He cannot have an exact knowledge of the other's physical perfection and imperfection. And when one's love is blind, he is not concerned of the other's perfection or imperfection but instead he just loves the other no matter what. He just loves and lets his love make things perfect for his beloved. In our Gospel, Joseph learned about Mary's pregnancy. With his human eyes, he saw this event imperfect for him as a trying-to-be perfect guy. Since he was a righteous man, he could had exposed Mary to shame. But his love for Mary prevailed. He decided to divorce her quietly instead of exposing her to shame (Matthew 1:18-24). At this time, God's angel appeared to him and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home." These words suggest that God encouraged Joseph to listen to his love for Mary for more. With the angels words, Joseph's love was made blind. He did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no if's or but's. As his love went blind, he knew God is his eyes.

5th Day of Simbang Gabi 2013

Thomas A. Edison was working on a crazy contraption called a “light bulb” and it took a whole team of men 24 straight hours to put just one together. The story goes that when Edison was finished with one light bulb, he gave it to a young boy helper, who nervously carried it up the stairs. Step by step he cautiously watched his hands, obviously frightened of dropping such a priceless piece of work. You’ve probably guessed what happened by now; the poor young fellow dropped the bulb at the top of the stairs. It took the entire team of men twenty-four more hours to make another bulb. Finally, tired and ready for a break, Edison was ready to have his bulb carried up the stairs. He gave it to the same young boy who dropped the first one. This story gives us a clear idea of what it means to trust. Edison knew that the young boy is fallible yet he offered his trust to him. He wanted to convey to the boy that human as he is, he is entitled to commit mistakes. Those mistakes are not the reasons in offering his trust. Rather, it is because of his continued trust to the boy despite his mistakes gives the latter a reason to avoid making the same and similar mistakes in the future. My dear friends, in talking about trust, our Gospel has something to say about it too. In Luke 1:26-38, the Bible reveals that God trusts a human being in the person of Mama Mary. God is never afraid that Mama Mary, though human as she is, becomes the mother of God's only son, Jesus. This means that despite the reality of human weakness, God believes that a human being can follow His will. Mama Mary accepted the trust bestowed on her by God saying, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Hopefully, we too receive positively what God has entrusted to us. Amen.

4th Day of Simbang Gabi 2013

One old man was sitting with his 25 years old son in the train….  Train is about to leave the station. All passengers are settling down their seat. As train started young man was filled with lot of joy and curiosity. He was sitting on the window side. He went out one hand and feeling the passing air. He shouted, “Papa see all trees are going behind”. Old man smile and admired son feelings. Beside the young man one couple was sitting and listing all the conversion between father and son. They were little awkward with the attitude of 25 years old man behaving like a small child. Suddenly young man again shouted, “Papa see the pond and animals. Clouds are moving with train”. Couple was watching the young man embarrassingly. Now its start raining and some of water drops touches the young man’s hand. He filled with joy and he closed the eyes. He shouted again,” Papa it’s raining, water is touching me, see papa”. Couple couldn’t help themselves and ask the old man. “Why don’t you visit the Doctor and get treatment for your son.” Old man said, ” Yes, We came from the hospital as today only my son got his eye sight for the first time in his life. I am happy to see my son happy." My dear friends, children are blessings from God. On one hand, there are many couples who have been married for some long years, but they do not have any children even if they wish to have at least one. On the other hand, there are some couples who refuse to have children and yet they get many. Can't this be a proof that God is in action in the life of the couples? In our Gospel, the message that children are blessings from God is clear. Zechariah had experienced this when an angel declared to him: "Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son,and you shall name him John. And you will have joy and gladness,and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord" (Lk 1:5-25). Children are not only blessings from God but also bearer of joy to the family and the community. The problem however happens as the children grow, some become disobedient to their parents. Others become unruly. They become the opposite of blessings to their family. They are ungrateful to the kindness their parents showered them. If only those children realize why they came to life, that they should bring blessings to their family, the world would be filled with happy families. My dear friends, we are all children of our parents. Above all, we are God's children. Let us recognize why we are here on earth i.e., to be a blessing from God to one another. Amen.

3rd Day of Simbang Gabi 2013

A man told his story: When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, “I’ve got something to tell you. I want a divorce.” I raised the topic calmly. She didn’t seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, “Why?” I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, “You are not a man!” That night, we didn’t talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; I had lost my heart to a lovely girl called Dew, a woman at my work that I had developed feelings for. I didn’t love my wife anymore. I only pitied her! The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn’t have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Dew. When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again. In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn’t want anything from me, but needed a month’s notice before the divorce. She requested that for that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month’s time and she didn’t want to disrupt him with our broken marriage. This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into our bridal room on our wedding day. She requested that every day for the month’s duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door each morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request. I told Dew about my wife’s divorce conditions. She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. ”No matter what tricks she tries, she has to face the divorce,” she said scornfully. My wife and I hadn’t had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, saying, “Papa is holding Mama in his arms!” His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; “Don’t tell our son about the divorce.” I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office. On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest.. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn’t looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her. On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me. On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn’t tell Dew about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, “I hadn’t noticed that our life lacked intimacy.” I drove to the office and jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind… I walked upstairs. Dew opened the door and I said to her, “Sorry, Dew, I do not want the divorce anymore.” She looked at me, astonished. Then touched my forehead. “Do you have a fever?” She said. I moved her hand off my head. “Sorry, Dew,” I said, “I won’t divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn’t value the details of our lives, not because we didn’t love each other any more. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death does us apart.” Dew seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away. At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote: “I’ll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.” My dear friends, marriage is a sacrament. Its sacred nature cannot be changed although the circumstances of the couple change. Even if there is a good reason to legalize divorce, still the validity and efficacy of marriage should not be left to the will of the couple. Rather, the couple should adhere to the will of God. In our Gospel, (Matthew 1:18-25) Joseph was acknowledged as the husband of Mary. It means they were already married. According to their custom however, there are two phases in a marriage. The first phase is the wedding ceremony and the second phase is the taking of the wife to her husband's home. In Joseph and Mary's case, they were about to enter into the second phase when Joseph was deeply troubled by learning that Mary was pregnant. So the Bible says, "Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly." Here, Joseph had a valid reason to ask for a divorce! Yet the Bible says, "Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home." This event reminds us that the nature and consequences of marriage should not be left to the will of any spouse. Rather, they should submit their own will to the will of God. Joseph should ratify their marriage by taking Mary into his home. They have to live as husband and wife with all its possibilities. Marriage is from God. It is sacred. Let us keep it that way. Amen.

2nd Day of Simbang Gabi 2013

Once a man was polishing his new car, his 4 year old son picked one stone and scratched lines on one side of car. In anger, the man took the child’s hand and hit him many times, not realizing he was using a rock. At the hospital, the child lost all his fingers due to multiple fractures. When the child saw his father with painful eyes he asked “Dad, when will my fingers grow back?” The man was so hurt and speechless that he went back to his car and kicked it many times. Sitting in front of the car, he looked at the scratch that was made by his son. After a  closer look  he saw what was actually written there, “LOVE YOU DAD”. A tear trickled down his cheeks. He felt very bad about his action . He has already damaged his son’s fingers forever . My dear friends, a father has a big role in the family and particularly in the life of his children. A father is not just a sperm donor that after impregnating his woman, he has no more obligation to fulfill. It is deemed unreasonable to carry the surname of a father who has not contributed anything good to his children. A father is an important figure being the head of the family. In Matthew 1: 1-17, the genealogy of Jesus is traced back with reference to the fathers of the said family of families. Their names are mentioned with the implication that the birth of the child is not only the work of the woman but of a man too. (Ordinarily, a woman alone cannot conceived a child without carnal knowledge with a man.) When the woman then gives birth to a child she becomes a mother, and her man becomes a father. As a father, he is called to be the head of his family. Together with his wife, their parental roles begin there and then until their death. This means that a father of a family should not leave the responsibility to raise his children to his wife. Now, how many Catholic fathers do we have in the parish who diligently take care of their families? How many of them set good examples to their children? Being a father of a family is not just a figurehead or an honorific title. A father should serve as an inspiration of his children to live good Christian lives.

1st Day of Simbang Gabi 2013

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out a way to get him out. Finally he decided it was probably impossible and the animal was old and the well was dry anyway, so it just wasn’t worth it to try and retrieve the donkey. So the farmer asked his neighbors to come over and help him cover up the well. They all grabbed shovels and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, when the donkey realized what was happening he cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down and let out some happy brays. A few shovel loads later, the farmer looked down the well to see what was happening and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was shaking it off and taking a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he continued to shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, to everyone’s amazement, the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off! My dear friends, in life, there are people who try to shovel dirt on us. We somehow experienced being maligned or being accused of evil things which we did not even do. Just like the donkey in the story we have to shake the dirt off and try to step up. Yet we cannot deny that we feel exhausted sometimes of proving our innocence. We think of giving up. We think we better cover ourselves with dirt so that people can't see us anymore except dirt. But let us not succumb to such temptation. We have to remember that God is not concerned with our dirt or the dirt which people shovel on us. Rather, God is concerned of seeing His image and likeness in us. This is why on our first day of Simbang Gabi, our Gospel makes us realize this plan of God who cleanses us with the water of baptism. God even sent John the Baptist to make us clean. In our Gospel (Luke 7:27), it is clearly stated why He sent John: "This is the one about whom it is written, 'Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'" My dear friends, no matter what people say about us is not as important as what God says to us. We are meant to reflect His image and likeness. Amen.

1st Sunday of Advent

The wild boar was standing beside a tree, sharpening his tusks. The fox asked him why he was sharpening his tusks now, when there was no immediate need for him to do so. The wild boar replied, 'I have my reasons! This way, when danger threatens, I won't have to take time to whet my tusks but will instead have them ready for use.' My dear friends, we know that there are events in life which are certain to come though we do not know when shall they come such as death. Death is not just a reality for old people but also for the young ones. Aside from death, our Gospel passage which is taken from Matthew 24:37-44 reminds us that the second coming of Jesus is certain though we do not know that very day of his coming. We are therefore reminded to prepare ourselves, to be ready, to be in our best position to meet him. We can best prepare ourselves by praying and by living good Christian life. Today, we examine ourselves if indeed we are well-prepared or at least ready for whatever will happen next in our life.

2nd Sunday of Advent

Leonardo, the noted Italian artist painted the Last Supper. It took seven years for him to complete it. The figures representing the twelve Apostles and Christ himself were painted from living persons. The life-model for the painting of the figure of Jesus was chosen first.  When it was decided that Leonardo would paint this great picture, hundreds and hundreds of young men were carefully viewed in an endeavor to find a face and personality exhibiting innocence and beauty, free from the scars and signs of dissipation caused by sin.  Finally, after weeks of laborious search, a young man nineteen years of age was selected as a model for the portrayal of Christ. For six months Leonardo worked on the production of this leading character of his famous painting. During the next six years Leonardo continued his labors on this sublime work of art. One by one fitting persons were chosen to represent each of the eleven Apostles -- with space being left for the painting of the figure representing Judas Iscariot as the final task of this masterpiece.  This was the Apostle, you remember, who betrayed his Lord for thirty pieces of silver. For weeks Leonardo searched for a man with a hard, callous face, with a countenance marked by scars of avarice, deceit, hypocrisy, and crime. A face that would delineate a character who would betray his best friend.  After many discouraging experiences in searching for the type of person required to represent Judas, word came to Leonardo that a man whose appearance fully met his requirements had been found in a dungeon in Rome, sentenced to die for a life of crime and murder. Leonardo made the trip to Rome at once, and this man was brought out from his imprisonment in the dungeon and led out into the light of the sun. There Leonardo saw before him a dark, swarthy man his long shaggy and unkempt hair sprawled over his face, which betrayed a character of viciousness and complete ruin. At last the famous painter had found the person he wanted to represent the character of Judas in his painting. By special permission from the king, this prisoner was carried to Milan where the picture was being painted. For months he sat before Leonardo at appointed hours each day as the gifted artist diligently continued his task of transmitting, to his painting, this base character representing the traitor and betrayer of our Savior.  As he finished his last stroke, he turned to the guards and said, I have finished. You may take the prisoner away. As the guards were leading their prisoner away, he suddenly broke loose from their control and rushed up to Leonardo, crying as he did so, "Leonardo, look at me. Do you not know who I am?" Leonardo, with the trained eyes of a great character student, carefully scrutinized the man upon whose face he had constantly gazed for six months and replied, "No, I have never seen you in my life until you were brought before me out of the dungeon in Rome."  Then, lifting his eyes toward heaven, the prisoner said, "Oh God, have I fallen so low?" Then turning his face to the painter he cried, "Leonardo, look at me again for I am the same man you painted just seven years ago as the figure of Christ." My dear friends, all of us are created by God who is good and here it follows that we are all His good creation. However, all of us fall into sin. We become bad then by our own choice. We set aside our goodness as we cling to our sinfulness. But God reminds us that we are not meant to be bad or remain in sin. We are called to claim the good which is ours even before the fall of man. In our Scripture passage for today which is taken from Matthew 3: 8, we hear John the Baptizer saying, "Bear fruit that befits repentance!" He means to say, we have to claim what we have lost -the goodness which God instilled in us. Today, we shall remember, if some good people became bad by choice; bad people can become good by choice through repentance.

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Life on earth is too short; so we must live it well. It is not how long we live here on earth that matters most but how well we live our lives. Why life here on earth is too short? Well, we are not meant to stay here on earth forever though we are meant to live forever. Our life here on earth is a gift of God for us. As a gift from God, our life attains its perfection when we see Him the Giver of life which will happen in a life hereafter. Jesus said in the Gospel of Luke 20: 34-36, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are accounted worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die any more, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. Clearly there is a life hereafter. There is eternal life after we die. But Jesus also implicitly stated that while we live here on earth, we have to live our life well and do not just waste it just because we are assured of a life hereafter. No! What we can do for today in order to have a better life we have to do it and be happy doing it. In the life hereafter, life is surely far different as Jesus said it so. And because we are not there yet in what we call eternal life, let us prepare ourselves for it by living a good life here and now. The best way to prepare for the life to come is to live well the life we have at this time.

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Human as we are, we want to belong to someone or to a group or community. We want to be recognized that we too exist in this world. In a world like ours, a world of competition, there are those who strive hard to win the approval of many so that they can satisfy their need for belongingness. In our Gospel (Lk 19:1-10),  Zacchaeus is a figurehead of a person who seeks another person or community to belong to. When he climbed a sycamore tree, he wanted to show to the world that he could be greater than anyone else. And when Jesus saw him and asked him to come down quickly, Zacchaeus thought he did it his way to satisfy his need for belongingness by showing Jesus that he could do great. What he never realized, it was Jesus who initiated everything to make him feel accepted and to satisfy his need for belongingness. Jesus clearly stated, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” It means then that Zacchaeus did not have to do anything in order to belong to Jesus. He could simply show himself before Jesus and everything would be fine. This is the same lesson we need to learn as a Catholic. We do not have to do great works in the parish so as to feel that we belong to God. If a parishioner works hard just to impress his/her parish priest, he/she could not do the same before God. Whether he/she does something big or small in the parish, it does not matter because God loves him/her as who he/she is and not because of what he/she can do best.

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

It is nice to see good people praying in the church. It is nice to hear good news from people who are doing good for the church. But good people should be aware that in doing good, they should never put down those who have failed to do good. Rather, they have to pray for them and encourage them to take the first step of choosing what is good. In our Gospel (Lk 18:9-14), the Pharisee failed to do good as well as to be good to the tax collector. Instead of praying for the poor man's soul, the Pharisee criticized him. The litany of his goodness is now placed in nowhere. If the Pharisee was indeed a good person, he would never act in such manner. In short, the Pharisee was just faking his goodness. Jesus then reminds us through this Gospel passage that we have to be good in the real sense of the word and not just too good to be true.

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

There is no risk in praying. When one is facing some difficulties in life, he may choose to pray or not. But when he prays, he risks nothing. Why? If his prayers are answered then he would learn to believe in God. And if ever nothing has changed despite his effort to pray, well he would just stay where he is by then (No more, no less). An example for this is a man who is dying due to cancer. If he prays and regains his health, he learns to love God more. If he prays but still his condition does not improve, well what else can one expect from having a cancer. However, this is not the case when he chooses not to pray. When he does not pray, his circumstances may improve or not but surely he misses the most important fact of life, i.e. our help is in the name of the Lord. Our Gospel conveys this message to Jesus' followers when "Jesus told them a parable to show them they should always pray and not lose heart." (Luke 18:1). The said Gospel passage reminds us that prayer is the weakness of God and the strength of man. So we must not stop praying. Anyway, God will still be God even if man does not pray. But man is never a man when he knows not the necessity of prayer.

To a mother and her son

My dear friends in Christ, I know this is a very difficult time for the family to face the death of their beloved. Even I myself find it difficult to say something to ease the pain which the tragic death of Emily and John Carlo brought to the living members of the family. The family home which is used to be the most peaceful place for the family to build their dreams is desecrated. How can we say now "there is no place like home" when the tragic death happened at home just like any crime happening out there in the street? What is the excitement now in going home when there is no one to welcome anybody there? Every time Arnold or during the time when John Earl left home to work at sea, I believe Emily, as a wife and as a mother would not only bid farewell but also wish Arnold and her son to take care or to be careful. Usually, we tell those  people we love who are in a journey to take care of themselves until they get back home. But Emily and John Carlo's case makes us realize that we have to take care of ourselves even at home. The family home cannot always be safe nowadays. Does this not bring fear to some of us if not all? Although this seems to be an isolated case, it can still happen to anyone of us as it happened to one of us. Worse, it is not only the tranquility of the home that is desecrated, but the desecration itself is being justified. Being in poverty becomes an excuse to desecrate a home. Being a person with physically disability is an excuse to desecrate a home. Being at the height of one's passion because of an insult becomes an excuse to desecrate a home. Well, if one can make this as an excuse to desecrate a home, then we allow a criminal act to be exhorted. We allow to make public sympathy and not the justice system solve crimes! My dear friends, we should not forget that "the end does not justify the means." There is no excuse in a crime where lives are taken. There is no higher right than the right to life! A prisoner can take back his liberty after sometime, but never can we bring back Emily and John Carlo to life. In a case like this, I remember the late Cardinal Sin who said, "Justice without mercy is unchristian; but mercy without justice is kalokohan." My dear friends, I do not say we have to condemn the person who desecrated the family home of Emily. Rather, we have to hate the sin but not the sinner. Let us allow the court of Justice to weigh everything and decide for the sake of justice. Arnold and John Earl, after the burial of Emily and John Carlo today, you may extremely feel the pain of losing them. But never lose your hope to live as you still have each other. You may be tempted to nurture anger in your heart, think of revenge or feel bad about everything, but you can choose never to allow such one man destroy your goodness. I myself could testify how good Emily was as a person and people who know you could testify how good you are. You do not have to prove it to the world because our mere presence here can prove your goodness. To the family of Emily, do not let your love for Emily and John Carlo be overwhelmed by hatred caused by one man. Be united in love because it is during this troubled time that you need each other as a family. Let not this tragic event divide you but unite you. To all of us here to offer our prayers for Emily and John Carlo, we include in our prayers the living members of Emily and John Carlo's family. May they have the courage to face the loss of their loved ones. To Emily and John Carlo, I believe your souls are still in our midst. I know you have unfinished business here on earth. I know you have broken dreams due to your untimely demise. But we cannot turn back the time human as we are. Emily and John Carlo be at peace with God. Go now because it is only God who can give you peace which we could not give this time. Listen to Jesus who said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28).  Eternal rest unto them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine on them. May they rest in peace. amen.

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gratitude is a graced attitude. It is "graced attitude" because we cannot expect people nowadays to thank us whenever we do something good or favorable for them. Sometimes, we are even betrayed by them. After doing good on them, there are those who  would hurt us by ignoring or insulting the good deeds we extend to them. Only people who have a graced attitude who can be able to appreciate the goodness shared to them. No matter how small or big a good deed to them, they give thanks because they have a graced attitude, an attitude which appreciates every goodness happening to them. In the Gospel of Luke 17:11-19 Jesus was seeking this kind of attitude from those he healed as he asked, "Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" It is thereof relevant to know from the words of Jesus that he/she who knows how to give thanks, praises God. In other words, a grateful person or a person with a graced attitude is a Godly person. But one who is ungrateful knows not God. Today, we shall know how Godly we are if we know how to give thanks in good times as well as in bad times. Amen.

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

When one plans to buy fish from a fish vendor, the former does not ask how the latter caught them but how much does he sell them. The vendee does not bother whether the vendor had a hard time or easy time in catching fish. All he needs to know is their price.  Today in our Gospel, Luke 17:5-10,  we are reminded not to count how many good deeds we made, what sacrifices we did, or how many times we prayed in a day. We have to do good during better times as well as during our worse times. We cannot be confident that we have done enough. We cannot say that with all we have been through in life, we can take some timeout in doing good. What we have to say at the end of the day, "I am but a servant doing what I supposed to do." It is never enough but always lacking. It is not how many good things that matters but the price you get from the fruits of your labor. In heaven, we don't boast on the numbers of good deeds rather we say, "We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty."

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall; Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses  And all the king's men Could not put Humpty dumpty together again! This nursery rhyme reminds us that most often in life,  there are things which we cannot undo especially the evil effects of what we have decided to do. In the case of Humpty Dumpty, he knew he was an egg yet he put himself in danger when he sat on the wall. It was his decision. And when he had his great fall, of course as an egg, his life was over. He could not turn the clock back to decide otherwise.This rhyme has a similar lesson when we read today's Gospel,  Luke 16:19-31. A rich man could not undo the evil effects of the decision he made when he was living on earth. This is clear in the Scripture quoting Abraham as the one who said this to the rich man, "Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he  is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us." The rich man was indifferent though he could be compassionate to Lazarus. It was a matter of making a good decision to do good to Lazarus. But the rich man decided otherwise, he remained indifferent. This bad decision brought him to hades where he found himself in anguish. He could not undo such evil effects of his decision. My dear friends, today we are reminded to reflect first before we make some decisions in life. We reflect not because we wish our decision becomes favorable to us here and now but above all it is favorable for our life hereafter. To go to heaven or hell is a matter of decision at present. We need to ask God's guidance then so that whatever decision we make here and now will all be for His glory and our salvation. Amen.

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

If you were brought to court and accused of being a Catholic, what evidence would they have?  Well, it seems too easy to prove that one is a Catholic. If he/she was baptized, received the sacrament of confirmation, went to a priest for his/her confession, received Holy Communion, etc. then there is no doubt that such person is a Catholic. But this is not all! Being a Catholic means to proclaim and spread the Good News to all; that God loves us all and so we must love one another as He loves us. Being a Catholic means to be a visible sign of God's love to others. In this case, many among us Catholics fail to live as Catholics. There is not enough evidence to convict us as a Catholic beyond reasonable doubt. We have many excuses when we fail to show love to others like avoiding the person we dislike rather than looking for a way to befriend him/her. It is easy to keep grudges than to forgive. We also experience difficulty in showing signs that we love God. How many of us Catholics do not go to the church to hear mass because it is raining?  And how many of us are persistent in buying a load for our cellphone despite the rain that makes us wet? We are Catholics in name but never in action. It is not therefore surprising that the Philippines is a Catholic country, yet corruption is rampant. Progress in spiritual life is so slow while scams and scandals spread too fast. Jesus is right when he said in Luke 16:8 "For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light." Yes, even I myself notice this in me. If there is a Sick Call, it seems difficult for me to move as if I want to say I am sick too. But if there is a birthday party, I am on time to bless the food. Really, it is very difficult to live as a Catholic especially if there is no intention to really live as one.

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The lyrics of the song  "Just Give Me a Reason" by p!nk convey a strong message with regard to love. As part of the lyrics goes: " Just give me a reason just a little bit's enough Just a second we're not broken just bent And we can learn to love again It's in the stars, it's been written in the scars on our hearts We're not broken just bent  And we can learn to love again" Such words remind us how difficult to unlearn love once one has learned  what love is. Though how one gets hurt because of love, he/she cannot easily resist or stop loving. Sometimes, some people think that love makes one a fool. It makes one feel crazy. But as for me, it is better to love than to analyze what love is. To love is to have a share of the nature of God which is Unconditional Love. In the Gospel of Luke 15: 10, Jesus said, "Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents." These words of Jesus remind us that God is love. He does not set aside his love for us whenever we sinned against him. He does not bring curse to our home whenever we turn our back on him. Rather, he wants us to learn to love him again. No matter how big our sin is, the great love of God is greater than our greatest sin. It is now up to us to catch again his love for us. Amen.

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

I once heard this story: There was a small village where a widow and her young son lived. The son who's name was Peter,grew up and turned into a young man . He felled in love and got married .He loved his wife very very much! His wife was very possessive and mean young woman. She always wanted him to prove his love to her. " Bring me that beautiful scarf your mother have!". Peter went to his mother and asked for the scarf. Even so it was the memory from her dear late husband the mother said" Of cause my dear son , take it to your wife!". After she got the scarf the young woman summoned her husband and said: "I want that beautiful ring that your mother wearing!". Peter went to his mother and asked for the ring . His mother did not want to part with the ring , it was her wedding ring but... she loved her son too much and she gave him the ring . The young man brought the ring to his beautiful wife . She grabbed the ring and said:" Now , if you really love me go to your mother and bring me her beating heart!". Peter was terrified! But he loved his wife too much to refuse. So when the night time came he went to his mother house quitely and when his mother fall a sleep, cut her heart out and carried it ,still beating, to his wife.  This story reminds us that saying I love you is one thing, but to prove it is another thing. In our Gospel (Luke 14:25-33), those who love Jesus were asked to prove their love for him.  He said, "If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." Jesus did not say these words so that we have to abandon our family, relatives and even friends. Rather, Jesus would instruct us that he should be our priority if we love him. If we really love him, we can sacrifice or leave everything behind just to be with him. If a parent, a spouse,a child or a friend would hinder us to come closer to Jesus, then we have to make a stand. If we love Jesus, he must be our number one choice. Amen.

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

One of the famous fables of Aesop is about Andocles. A slave named Androcles once escaped from his master and fled to the forest.  As he was wandering about there he came upon a Lion lying down moaning and groaning.  At first he turned to flee, but finding that the Lion did not pursue him, he turned back and went up to him.  As he came near, the Lion put out his paw, which was all swollen and bleeding, and Androcles found that a huge thorn had got into it, and was causing all the pain.  He pulled out the thorn and bound up the paw of the Lion, who was soon able to rise and lick the hand of Androcles like a dog.  Then the Lion took Androcles to his cave, and every day used to bring him meat from which to live.  But shortly afterwards both Androcles and the Lion were captured, and the slave was sentenced to be thrown to the Lion, after the latter had been kept without food for several days.  The Emperor and all his Court came to see the spectacle, and Androcles was led out into the middle of the arena.  Soon the Lion was let loose from his den, and rushed bounding and roaring towards his victim.  But as soon as he came near to Androcles he recognised his friend, and fawned upon him, and licked his hands like a friendly dog.  The Emperor, surprised at this, summoned Androcles to him, who told him the whole story.  Whereupon the slave was pardoned and freed, and the Lion let loose to his native forest. This fable reminds us of our collective consciousness why we do good to others. Whether we are aware of this or not, we do good because we can get something in return by doing so. There is nothing wrong with this actually. Even Jesus himself understood this kind of motivation. In our Gospel, (Luke 14: 1,7-14) after he gave his disciples some lessons about acts of goodness, he ended with these words, "You will be repaid at the resurrection of the just." His words expressly convey to us that there is something we get in return on the day of resurrection for doing good here and now. His words contain a promise which becomes our reasons why we do good things now as we look forward or anticipate God's reward on the day of our resurrection. This is not selfishness. A selfish person apparently does good to another but later it is unveiled that his act does more harm than good to the other.  As a priest, it seems to be part of our job description to be good and to do good to others. But selfishness seems to beset us. I for myself do good to others because I want everybody as my friend. Sometimes, doing good things to others makes me popular. But if things do not go well, especially if I heard someone does not like me despite my effort of doing good, I am disappointed and I do not want to do good again for that person. Yet I realize that I have to do good and be good even if nobody notices me because it is my vocation as a disciple of Jesus. By doing good, a disciple's reward is not found here on earth but in heaven. No matter what the people say about me then is not that important compared with what God is going to say to me on the resurrection day. To end, I would like to say to God today what Thomas Merton used to say: "My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone."

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

A friend went Abroad for vacation. He rented a room to stay there for a week. But on his first night, while he was sleeping, he was disturbed by some persons who were trying to unlock the door of his room. He rose up and asked the identity of those persons. They said they were the owner of the room. My friend quickly understood that they were malefactors. He refused to open the door despite the threat imposed by those persons.  My dear friends, we cannot allow strangers to come into our house when we have already closed the door at night. Of course our compassion for any stranger is there but the security of our home has the paramount importance. The stranger might say he is our friend, he might use the names of those we know, to be able to enter into our home, but we cannot sacrifice the peace of our home with his presence. If he is indeed a friend in need, then there is no doubt about him. (But then there are friends who also rob the house of their hospitable friends! ) In short,we allow to open our door if we have the knowledge of the person's identity.  This is also what Jesus was telling to his disciples. The door of heaven is open to all the friends of God. But God does not open the door for strangers. Jesus emphasized, "Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, then you will stand outside and start to knock on the door and beg him, 'Lord, let us in!' But he will answer you, 'I don't know where you come from.'" (Luke 13:25) God's friends are those who have faith in Him and do the works of faith. But strangers are those who do not believe in Him or even if they do believe in Him, they do not do any work of faith. This does not mean that God is not compassionate by refusing to open the door for the strangers. It is not a question about God's compassion but it is a question of one's identity before God. The only way a stranger can enter into God's kingdom is to make himself/herself a friend of God. He/she only needs to have faith in God and do the works of faith. Being a Catholic or a priest is not a guarantee to enter into heaven. There must be faith  in us and such faith is made manifest in our words, works and life. Amen.

For Students of Law

A young man stood before a judge to be sentenced for the felonies he committed. "Young man," said the judge sternly, "do you remember your father, that father whom you have disgraced?" " I remember him perfectly," the young man answered quietly. "Whenever I went to him for advice, whenever I went to him for companionship, he would always say, "Go away, boy. Be off with you. I'm reviewing for the Bar exam. I'm busy." "My father passed the Bar, he became the best lawyer in town... And here I am before you, a habitual delinquent." My dear friends, in life, in order to get one thing which we like, we usually have to give up another thing we like. This is what we call -tradeoff. We become aware of this whenever the circumstances of our life require trading off one goal against another.   Consider a first year law student who must decide how to allocate her time. She can spend all of her time studying "PerFam"; she can spend all her time  studying "Criminal Law"; or she can divide her time between the two subjects. For every 30 minutes she studies one subject, she gives up 30 minutes she could have used studying the other. And for every 30 minutes she spends studying any law subject, she gives up 30 minutes that she could have spent dating with her boyfriend, rearing her child if she is married, watching TV, or working at a part-time job for some extra income. This is what we call -tradeoff. And because we face tradeoffs in the College of Law from time to time, we have to compare the costs and benefits of our possible actions. We know the benefit is a better job opportunity as a lawyer when we pass the Bar. But what is the cost? The cost is not just the money we paid for our tuition but everything that we give up to spend four years in Law School. Our family time, our bonding with our friends, etc. are all included in the cost.  In many cases, the cost of studying Law for four years is not obvious. We believe that the benefit of being a lawyer is worth the cost. We were taught as we have learned from Atty. Paul Gomez that Legal profession is a noble profession. We who will become lawyers then may become members of the noble class in our society, members of the Bar. No matter what the cost is, becoming a lawyer brings great benefits. My dear friends, this is the attitude mostly shared by students in any College of Law. They are willing to tradeoff for the sake of the Legal profession. To use a religious term in rephrasing this statement, they are willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of the Legal profession. This attitude works actually! We have heard the stories of our alumni who are now lawyers how they isolated themselves and devoted their time for studies just to pass the Bar. There seems to be no wrong with this kind of attitude. But let us not forget that even inculcating this kind of attitude, we face tradeoff. The more we become focused to achieve our goal, the less we appreciate other good things around us in the process. How many of us realize that in every student of Law who tries to think how a lawyer thinks, there are lawyers who wish to take a vacation at least for a day, to be away  from the burden of lawyering? In every student of Law who has enough resources to pursue his/her legal studies, there are many children who have not gone to any school because they do not have the resources. In every student of Law who cannot memorize the Bill of Rights before Atty. Plaridel Morania, there are those who do not know that there rights are abused. In every student of Law who has to stand before Atty. Taal to recite Articles 1-18 of the Civil Code, there are some people who were born crippled, who could neither walk nor stand. In every student of Law who worries about taking the Bar, there are many who worry where to get their food to satisfy their hunger. In every student of Law who is concerned about purchasing his/her reading materials and books, there are students of law who need our sympathy and concern. We do not know what our classmates have been through why they are absent or why they quit from class. In every student of Law who spends time with a friend exchanging legal perspectives showing the contents of his/her mind, there are many of us fail to show to each other the contents of our hearts. My dear friends, benefit does not limit to being a lawyer alone. We do not have to wait to pass the Bar to appreciate the years we have spent in studying law. Rather, we have to take every minute in the College of Law to find what is beneficial in everything. In tradeoff, we can minimize the cost by finding benefits in all things. I myself would not go back to enroll this year to pursue the study of law if everything I do here would be useless. In fact, what benefit I receive in this Law School for having Mr. Felix Igual as my classmate. I have learned to understand Muslims and their doctrines from him. In the College of Law, I have learned that I can still appreciate beauty by merely looking at Rizel and Omega. I appreciate that I am old when Beverly would address me and Mr. Alan Pelayo as "manong." Yet I am happy to know that I am still young every time I looked at Mr. Rene Reyes and Grandma (Mrs. Sarabia) during our class. I thank God too for having Mr. Dan Tejada as a classmate. Because of him I learned to love watching volleyball games but most of all it is good to watch some volleyball players (joke only). I love the stories of Atty. Plaridel Morania, the jokes of Judge Virgilio Paman, the snacks during the class of Fiscal Inventado. These and more others are but great benefits as a student of Law. My dear friends, whether we become lawyers or not is a reality of the future. It is a great benefit which we may or may not have. But let us not take for granted the benefits we can get from the present moment. Now is the real time to live and we should not let the day pass without appreciating the many events in our life. The benefit of being in the Law School does not limit to being a lawyer alone. We should not only focus on the benefits of being a lawyer but also on how to minimize the cost by simply appreciating why we are in the Law School. This is the very reason why we have this Acquaintance party. This occasion is a jumpstart to consider the benefit we have in the Law School is the camaraderie we share with one another. Let us thank God then for this grace He has bestowed on us. Amen.

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Last Thursday, August 15, 2013, after our vesper mass in honor of San Roque at sitio Agsam, Camaligan, Batan, Aklan, three Altar Knights went to "binaylehan". They danced there together with their peers. At 2:00 A.M. of August 16, they went home to sleep. I thought they could not serve during the mass on that day as they were exhausted dancing the whole time they were in "binaylehan". Surprisingly, they were there actively assisting me in the mass while their peers were all sleeping. The values of these three Altar Knights are far different from their peers'. After giving them seminars for months what an Altar Knight should be, they learned to inculcate Christian values which are in conflict with their former values. They used to smoke and drink liquor excessively. They did not even go to church during Sundays. They were unruly. Actually it was not easy to introduce to them the values which they were not familiar with and unpopular at their age. There were some who quit attending the seminars. They laughed at those who became Altar Knights. They teased them that it is unmanly for a teenager who does not smoke or drink liquor. They also called them cowards as Altar Knights refused to engage in a fistfight. I myself witnessed how difficult to live with Christian values in a place with unchristian values. As a parish priest, I have to smile even when irreligious people insult me. I have to be patient with parishioners who spend their money for liquor and cigars while they do not contribute for the parish. I have to keep my temper even I know I have the right to be mad. With these experiences, I begin to understand why Jesus said in the Gospel of Luke 12:49-53, "Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?" Jesus simply reminds us that Christian life is not a comfortable life. We are not called to be hypocrites, acting as if we are good though we are not. Rather, we are called to adhere to the values of Christ even if others do not like it. We are called to be Christlike to those who hate Christ. Through these, we become a living witness that Christianity is not just a noble ideal but a way of life. Amen.

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Let me begin with a story which I read from the Inquirer last November 24, 2011. It was about a wife, Aurelia Matias who was searching for her husband Luis who had been missing for weeks in the streets of Manila. She waited for him but she did not just sit down and did nothing as she waited. Rather she looked for her husband placing a sheet of bond paper pinned in front and the back of her dress with the picture of her husband. She said, "I don't want to just see him again, but I want to serve him. I want to serve him still." Her waiting reveals her patience but above all the quality of her love for her husband. My dear friends, in the Gospel of Luke 12:32-48, Jesus said, "You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." These words of Jesus indicate that we are called to wait actively for Jesus. But why should we wait for Him? What is our reason for waiting? We know that Jesus is the Son of God. We believe that He came to save us from eternal damnation. We hope that He comes again to judge the living and the dead. He will come again to judge us all whether we go to hell or to heaven. Are these the reasons then why we should wait for Him? These actually sound boring. Well, if these are so, then we can wait passively for Him. We just continue doing what we are doing at present and if He comes, let Him do what He must do. But the second coming of Jesus is not just about the judgment day; the day He comes to tell us either we go to heaven or to hell. Rather, it is the day when Jesus who gave up His life  because of His love for us returns as He has promised. He returns for us because He loves us. He wants to share His love for us in all eternity.  In short, He comes as our lover. And if we also love Him, then we can wait for Him not passively but actively. We wait actively by practicing love to one another. And when He comes again, He will make perfect the love that is found in us. In other words, while we wait for Jesus, it is but proper to make ourselves busy in love. So that when He comes He cannot find bitterness, anger, jealousy, lust, etc. in our hearts but love. As a young priest, I need to double my time in doing this. Most often, I would think of my heartaches, failures, resentments, etc. which make me forget that I am called to love and for love. Many distractions come into my system that my prayers and pastoral services become mechanical rather than a labor or fruit of love. I know I do not have enough love while waiting for Jesus at this point of time. I am thereof afraid that I run out of love before Jesus comes again. There is a need to prepare myself. A lot of preparation is needed. I must learn to love unconditionally and the timer starts now. If there is then the best reason why we have to wait for Jesus even for a long time, (Aurelia has also taught us this), we must have that  love which makes the waiting worthwhile. Using the words of Aurelia, we can also say to others while waiting for Jesus,  "I don't want to just see him, but I want to serve him. I want to serve him still." Amen.

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

William Barclay once told a story. His story goes like this: one day a man met a beggar and said, "God give you a good day, my friend."  The beggar said, "I thank God I've never had a bad one."  "Then may God give you a happy life," said the man.  "Thank God, I am never unhappy."  The man asked, "What do you mean?"  "Well," said the beggar, "when it is fine, I thank God. When it rains, I thank God. When I have plenty, I thank God. When I am hungry, I thank God. And since what God wills is what I want, how can I say that I am unhappy when I am not?"  The man looked at him in astonishment and asked, "Who are you?"  "I am a king," said the beggar." And where is your kingdom? "  The beggar answered quietly, "Here in my heart." The man concluded, "A really religious person does not worry. Worry is basically irreligious." My dear friends, our religion does not teach us to hate money, property, inheritance, bank accounts, or anything like these. In fact, we need money to build churches, chapels, parsonages, etc. Why do some parishes make a second collection if our priests are allergic to money? Why do we accept the money given to us after we bless a vehicle or a bicycle if we do not need it? Well, we all need money or at least properties which we can exchange for money. And what our religion requires is for us to be prudent enough in dealing with these things. We are called to realize that we have to depend on God and consider those things including money as his gifts to us. We have to avoid depending too much on our money and property to the extent that we exclude God in our life. In our Gospel according to Luke 12:13-2, Jesus clearly said, "a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." This reminds us today that we should not be confident enough that we have money, properties, insurance benefits, etc. to ensure a better life especially established for our future. Rather, we should treasure God who treasures us. This is what it means to be religious -to allow God to be the God of our life. With God, we can do in one year what our money can do in one day or what our money can do in one year, God can do it for us in one day. If God is with us, there are still troubles along our way. But we do not worry that much because he will make a way for us. We are God's treasure and he will always show to us that he takes care of everything. He will always provide us what we need in due time. To end, allow me to share my experience of God's divine providence. I remember when I arrived in this poor parish of CaMaCa last June 19, 2012, I first saw there are many things to be done especially for the repair and maintenance of the church and the convent. With 15 Altar Knights and with Reverend Adonis, I lived according to our means. We had noodles for breakfast, sardines for our lunch and miswa for our dinner. We had over 1000 peso for our electric bill and another over 1000 peso for our water bill. We only had a total of 700 pesos collection for our three masses on Sundays. No collections or stipends for the daily masses.  My personal savings ran out. A sack of rice which I brought with me was not sufficient for two months. If I were not the parish priest, I could have abandoned the parish. Despite all my worries, God has revealed himself that he takes care of everything. I never asked my friends yet in Aklan or in BF Homes to help me, because God has already been there to provide. All my bills were paid in no way I could explain. Rice was and is never a problem as each student from elementary schools would  offer a handful of it to me during my monthly mass in their schools. Believe me you, we could fill up our empty container with rice good for ten people and for our one month consumption. Our church and convent facilities were almost all repaired except for some areas left for a major repair. Our grotto was completely finished with one overseas worker financed the project because his prayers were answered through the intercession of our patron saint. At present, our Parish Finance Council always has to report to us our financial deficit, yet we never have debts enough to suffocate us. We only have 50 peso budget for our food per day, yet five to ten people who eat with me never go hungry. The most amazing fact I wish to share happened when I needed  to change the tires of my car. I decided to abandon my car because I did not have money to purchase its tires. Then a stranger called me up to seek for my advice. She never told me her name or address. She only told me her problems. Then she asked for my address after I counseled her. The next day I was surprised to receive 20 thousand pesos from her as her sign of gratitude. I was able to buy the tires I needed then. I never heard of her since then but God made her an instrument to restore my peace of mind. If God does not provide, how can I or we survive? I share my story not to boast myself but to boast God who has done great things to me. I am weak and sometimes have doubts, yet God has always the way to strengthen me to get rid of doubts. Truly, a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possession but in God's divine providence. Amen.

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This is the story about the burning hut.  The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forth coming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut was in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky! The worst had happened; everything was lost! He was stunned with grief and anger. "God, how could You do this to me?" he cried. Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied. My dear friends, it seems at times that God is unfair in answering our prayers. We can hear from others that their prayer-requests are often answered while for some of us, we hardly get what we have prayed for. There are Catholics who transfer to other religion because they thought our God is sleeping or hiding from them that nothing is happening with their prayers. There are also those people bartering or begging before God just to have what they are asking from him. They pray for the recovery of their health, they pray to win in a case against those who implicate them despite their innocence, they ask for justice, etc. They have a justifiable cause or even the noblest intention in requesting God for his positive response. They even think that because they are good people, so they deserve the positive answer of God. They go to mass and pray for their personal intentions expecting that God will never fail them. Yet in the long run they never get what they believe they truly deserve from God. Why? What is the reason for this? In like manner, we also ask: Are all the prayers of a parish priest answered by God because as a priest he is a chosen man of God? Obviously, not all the prayers of the priest are granted by God! Then why or why not? For a philosopher, he can philosophize about it. He can tell us that there are two kinds of responses -positive and negative. If God does not grant you your request, then he has given you a negative answer. If we ask why in a negative, then the philosopher will tell us that the reason depends on God. Though this is a good answer, it can lead one to think that our God is sometimes indifferent to those who are unjustly suffering. Thanks to Jesus! In Luke 11:1-13, Jesus revealed to us that God listens to all our prayers. But Jesus also wanted us to understand that when God answers our prayers, he does it according to how he sees our soul needs it. Whether we receive the particular thing we ask from him or not, we have to understand that God grants us what is good for our soul. Besides, Jesus did not say God will grant us all we ask of him. He rather said, "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" This means whether we receive  what we ask from God or not, he gives the Holy Spirit to make us realize later, if not now, the reason why or why not. What we only need to believe when we pray is that God knows best. He answers our prayer not according to our plan but according to our divine purpose here on earth. Though how hard it is for us to accept that not all particular things we ask from him   will be given to us; we have to find comfort in realizing that God knows what is best for us and such thing he will give us in due time. Amen.

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

A lawyer's wife arranged a dinner for three to celebrate her mother-in-law's birthday at her favorite restaurant. However, her husband told her that he was busy with his works and he had no time to party. So the wife told him that she would still go out to dine with her mother-in-law  during the latter's birthday so as not to spoil the day. Before the evening arrived, the wife called up and informed her husband that she was not feeling well. The husband advised her to cancel the dinner with his mother. But the wife persuaded him to meet his mother instead of canceling the arranged dinner. She said his mother was already there at her favorite restaurant alone. So the husband was forced to dine with his mother. While dinning, he began to notice how aging affected his mother. She spoke softly, moved slowly and ate a little. They did not talk together that much because after they finished eating, the lawyer was in a hurry to go back to his office. But before they parted ways, the mother whispered to him how happy she was to see him on her birthday. She asked him to visit her whenever he would be available. The lawyer just nodded to her. After a month, the lawyer was informed his mother died.  My dear friends, there are many reasons to be busy nowadays. The cost of living is too high that we need to work double the time. We work hard for our family. We work hard to build our home. For us in the ministry, we work hard to build the church. We even bring our work to bed. We have been busy for so many years believing we do the right thing. Of course, there is nothing wrong with this. But in today's Gospel, we are being reminded that there is something better than this. In Luke 10:38-42, Jesus said to the busy woman, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her." There is nothing wrong with what Martha was doing. But she could do something better than what she was doing i.e., to stop for a moment to give time for their guest -Jesus. She could have listened to his story. On our part, we have been busy that we have not stopped to listen to each other's story. We work for our family, we work for our church, but we miss the opportunity to establish an intimate and meaningful relationship with one another because all we think of is work and never have time to enter into a dialogue. In the parish, we think of the ministry but we forget to listen to our ministers. We push our catechists to educate children but we do not have the time to listen to their problems. We think of our parish programs and projects, but we forget to listen to the stories of our parish workers, carpenters, etc. We send solicitation letters to our rich parishioners, yet we never know their spiritual needs. We think we already give everything, but in reality we never give ourselves. It is only when we stop for a while and try to give time for one another to share each other's story that we really give ourselves. This is the better part. Anyway, when we die, no matter how many projects we have materialized, it is still the people who have shared their stories with us will be the ones to pray before our graves. Amen.

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Once upon a time, there was a long period of drought in the animal kingdom. As a result, almost every day the animals went in search of water. One day when Ant woke up, he realised that he did not have enough water in his barrel so he went in search of some. Fortunately, after walking a while, he came across a river and just as he was about to scoop some of it, he slipped and fell into it. He struggled to come out but to no avail. His continuous shouts for help did not help because of the obscure nature of the location of the river. Ant did his best to come out but anytime he tried he slipped into the river again. Soon, he got tired and stopped to rest. Minutes later, he heard Bird chirping from one of the trees. Ant realised that it was his last hope so with the little strength left in him he called out Bird's name. Bird heard his distress call and was able to trace it to the river. However, she did not know who had called for her help so she got closer to the river. 'Who is there?' Bird shouted. 'It's me,' Ant replied. Ant then begged Bird to rescue him and he would repay her later. Bird laughed over that statement because she considered Ant too little an animal to offer any assistance to her. Nevertheless, she agreed to help him. She threw a leaf into the river and shouted to Ant to climb onto it. The leaf then floated to the side of the river and with that Ant was rescued. Ant thanked Bird and reassured her that he would help her one day. Again, Bird laughed over that and flew away. 'How can small Ant help me?' she said to herself. Many months after that incident, a hunter went to the forest in search of an animal to kill for food. Luckily, he saw Bird making her nest. 'Ah,' thought the hunter, 'I will kill and eat this bird.' By that time the hunter had removed his gun which hung by his side and was getting it ready to kill Bird. Ant, who was close by, noticed that the hunter wanted to shoot Bird and thought that would be the appropriate period to repay Bird for her good deed to him. Ant climbed onto the hunter's leg. He ran through his back, then to his shoulders before landing on the arm that held the gun and bit it as hard as it could. The hunter jumped and fired his gun into the air. Bird was startled by the shot and flew away to safety. Bird moved to a safer place and when she looked down, she realised it was Ant that had saved her life. Later when they met, she thanked him. 'We will always be friends,' she said, and Ant answered, 'Remember, one good turn deserves another.' My dear friends, there are many reasons why we do good to others. Politicians do good to others so that they can get votes from them. Actors and actresses need to do good to please their fans. Priests do good because that is what they do. In our Gospel which is taken from Luke 10:25-37, we are reminded not only to do good to others but the reason why we have to do good. Jesus in this gospel pericope, announced the two greatest laws which are loving God and loving one's neighbor. With this  pronouncement, Jesus simply told his listeners that this is the main reason for doing good -love (of God). Then he told a story mentioning a priest and a levite    who ignored a victim of robbery. Notably in this story, priest was expected to do good to the victim because it is part of his job description, yet he did not. Then a levite was also expected to do good because it is within their bloodline to be good, yet he did not. But a Samaritan, who had a bad reputation and who was not expected to do good, was the one who did good to the victim. This story tells us that doing good to others is not made by virtue of one's office or lineage but by one's personal loving relationship with God. The keywords that the good Samaritan was a God-loving person though he had a bad reputation were found from the answer of the scholar to Jesus, “The one who treated him with mercy.” The samaritan, despite his bad reputation before the public, revealed his inner disposition (being merciful) by doing good to the victim. His  good inner disposition -merciful (in other translation, it is compassion) is only possible when his heart is full of love. (It is difficult for a person, full of hatred to be merciful.) And the fullness of love is possible only when one has established personal relationship with the source of love -who is God. This is who the good samaritan is. At this time, we are made aware through our Gospel that we have to do good not because of anything else except we love God who first loves us. In order to be called Christians, we do good to others for the love of God. Amen.

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

A story of an old priest who was sent to a hostile country is unknown to most of us Catholics. He was put in prison because he was caught celebrating mass in its territory. While in prison, he was asked to destroy the crucifix in exchange for his release. Instead of destroying it, he embraced the crucifix and kissed it. It was then and there that he was beaten up to death. The old priest chose to live and die as a Catholic. This untold story reminds us Catholics that though here in the Philippines we are free to move or act for our faith, there are those Catholics who are suffering for the sake of our faith. If ever we are given the same opportunity like them who suffer for our faith, can we still choose to be a Catholic? Being a Catholic, our focus is on our final destination i.e., heaven. No matter what is happening here and now, we do not want to lose sight of this final destination, our ultimate goal. That is why our Gospel (Luke 10: 20)  reminds us that our joy comes when our names are written in heaven.Nevertheless, we do not need to be in a hostile place and die as a martyr to be a Catholic. Here in our country, even if we are not persecuted because of our faith, we can be true Catholics. We can choose to be a Catholic when we go to mass, avail the sacraments, lead others to love God, and make our home a small Catholic church where every one lives in love. However, this is difficult to expect from all Catholics. There are many Catholics who were baptized but not Christianized. They are Catholics in names but never in action. There is even indifference towards Catholicism. They do not see that everything we do in the church leads to our final goal i.e. heaven. They never think of heaven. That is why the sacraments are there yet many do not see them as means of their salvation. Baptism, marriage and even burials become opportunities for social gathering without religious significance. Priesthood or marriage is not even seen as a vocation from God. There are many of us Catholics who become materialistic and love what the world offers us to the extent that we have forgotten what we aim for -heaven. There are many of us Catholics who live comfortably in this world that we have forgotten what heaven is. There are many of us Catholics who refuse or escape suffering and even forget we are Catholics and choose to live in sin. Well, it is now up for us to know where we are heading at. But if we choose to be a Catholic, whether today we suffer or not, let us aim high, aim heaven. Only in heaven that we can have endless happiness. Amen.

For Andrew

My dear friends in Christ, you no longer see your beloved Andrew since last year. And yet in celebrating his birthday today,  you allow us to see who Andrew is for you. You made us see what you see in him. We see how you his family loves him. We see that though Andrew is out of your sight, he is never out of your mind. He is still in your memories, and from your memories, he has been making his way into the depths of your hearts, and from your hearts, he enters, ever so quietly and gently, into your every day life. At this point, it reminds me of the first letter of Peter1:8 which states: You have not seen him, but you love him. You do not see him now but you believe in him, and so you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy. This bible passage reminds us of the power of love. It is love that makes you see Andrew whom the world couldn't see. It is love that makes you believe that he is in your midst though the world could not feel his presence. It is love that makes you hope to see him again and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy. It is love that keeps you waiting for him. I remember last year, during the first few weeks when Andrew was missing, the family hoped to see him coming home. In fact, the family has never been tired of waiting for him. As days went by, the family never realized that it takes too long to wait just as the proverbs say, A WATCHED POT NEVER BOILS. It seems it takes forever to wait for Andrew. The time seems to be too fast for this world yet in searching and finding Andrew everything seems so slow. Though waiting itself might give anybody an uncomfortable feeling, the family has never bothered the discomfort while waiting for Andrew because their love for Andrew is beyond contestation.It is love that keeps you waiting for him. Today, one year has already passed and still the family hopes to see Andrew again. They are not tired of waiting. They are not tired of loving him. Some people would say it is useless to wait for Andrew. Others also say it is now time to make a closure in the family and accept that Andrew is gone. Well, they may be right. But who can stop the power of love? Though the intellect takes the matter of waiting for Andrew as impossible, it is love that makes Andrew worth waiting for.  If one has to understand why the family keeps hoping to see Andrew, he must know how to love first. Jesus once said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed them to the childlike. -Matthew 11:25 As of now, we do not know where Andrew is and how is he. The only truth we have about him is that we have not seen him. And by not seeing him, we can only speculate and give our presumptions. Yet let us be comforted by the Scripture which we have taken from the first letter of Peter1: 8. You will rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy. It means you will see Andrew again and be filled with joy. This will all take place in God's way and in God's time. Watch out! Stay alert! For you do not know when the time will come. -Mark 13:33. Amen.

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the history of the Church, the first Christians were persecuted by hanging them on the cross, burning them at stake, fed them to wild beasts and were even decapitated. But before they faced the final execution, they were put first in prison. There they prayed to God, keeping their faith alive. Yet there were some who denied their faith in exchange for their freedom. They valued their life, liberty and property more than their faith in God. It was in this kind of situation therefore that those Christians who were about to face death, needed more graces from God to keep their faith alive. It was in this kind of event that Tarcisius, a thirteen year old boy was sent to those Christians in jail to give them the Body of Christ. But on his way to jail, some unbelievers saw him and tried to take away the sacred host, the Body of Christ from him. But Tarcisius never allowed them to get hold of the sacred host. So the unbelievers threw stones on him until some  Christians arrived to help the little boy, Tarcisius.  Before he died, he made it sure that the sacred host, the Body of Christ was on a safe hand of a bishop.   My dear friends in Christ, this story of Tarcisius, the patron saint of altar servers reminds us of the meaning of Christianity. What it means to be a Christian? We know that to be a Christian is to be a follower of Jesus Christ. And in being a follower, early Christians would mean it literally as they were not afraid to face death for the sake of their faith in Christ. But in our time, how do we follow Christ? Well, we are lucky enough that in our time, we do not face death because of our faith. We are never persecuted because we follow Christ. So how do we follow Jesus Christ now? In our Gospel according to Luke 9:58, it is implied that Jesus would tell us that in following him, we have to realize that he did not promise us a comfortable life. From time to time, we face problems of life. Can we still believe in Him when life becomes difficult?  In Luke 9:59, it is also implied that Jesus did not promise us he would erase death. Can we still believe that there is God when death visits our beloved ones? In Luke 9:60, it is implied that Jesus did not promise us that there is no distraction in life. Man needs to exert more efforts to focus on following Christ. All these mean that it is not easy being a Christian even today in our easy world. We need God's grace. We need grace in order to sustain and maintain the faith we have in Christ. If we receive God's grace, then we can be able to follow Christ and be like Christ. We will not just sit down and do nothing for our faith. Like Christ, we have to preach the message of God. Like Christ, we have to become God's channel of his love. With Christ, our faith should always be seen in action. We cannot allow ourselves to be indifferent if we are true followers of Christ. If we want to follow him, then we have to follow him all the way. Amen.

Tay Olen and Ma'am Edna's 40th wedding anniversary

Today, we celebrate the 15th wedding anniversary of Joanna and Ronald and equally important the 40th wedding anniversary of Tay Olen and Ma'am Edna.  Number 40 is significant and symbolic for us Christians. In the Bible, 40 represents "change". The Great Flood lasted for 40 days and 40 nights (Genesis 6: 1-19) which destroyed all the wicked and changed them with the generations of the righteous. The Israelites stayed 40 years in the desert (Numbers 14: 34) to change the wicked who died in the desert with the righteous generation. Moses was on Mount Sinai for 40 days  (Exodus 24:18) and Elijah walked 40 days to the mountain of God,  Horeb (1 Kings 19:8) and their lives changed after those days. Even Jesus himself fasted for 40 days and his hidden life was changed into something  public. In everything I just mentioned, the Bible seems to convey that life does not only begin at 40 but at 40, a change to be better must begin.   I do not say that there is something wrong with your relationship Tay Olen and Ma'am Edna that you need to change something in your marital set-up. I do not also say that you have to force each other to change the way you look at each other. Rather, I ask you Tay Olen and Ma'am Edna to think of change as a call of God to level-up, to upgrade, to make your good marriage a better marriage. In a better marriage, your wedding anniversary is not just seen as a social occasion but a holy encounter. As you see each other, you also see yourselves. As you love each other, you will love yourselves. For in you Tay Olen, you will find yourself, Ma'am Edna; for in you Ma'am Edna, you will find yourself Tay Olen. As you demonstrate your love towards each other, you learn that you are both love-able and you experience how to love  more deeply. As you learn to love each other more deeply, you experience to be one in a very special way. This oneness is like the oneness of the Father and his son Jesus; when you love the Father, you love the son too. In other words, to love one is to love the other. In your case, to love Tay Olen is to love Ma'am Edna and vice-versa. The children prove this oneness to be true. If we ask Fiscal Chris, Jhoanna, Loanie and Insoy to choose between their Tatay and Nanay, they choose both. One is not above the other. They love both as one.  Moreover, your wedding anniversary is  a holy encounter because your relationship exists to journey together to God. You discover from your relationship who God is. A line in a song from the play Les Miserables says, "To love another person is to see the face of God." The face of God is the LOVE behind the masks that everybody wears. Ma'am Edna, you did not marry Tay Olen because he is a lawyer. Tay Olen, you did not marry Ma'am Edna because she is a doctor of education. Being a lawyer or being a doctor is your mask and it is not the basis of your marriage. The basis of your marriage is the love you found from each other. Finding love in each other is an experience of God. In fact it is our divine calling. It is the happiness we all seek -to love one another with the love of God. You can sustain your experience of God when both of you surrender yourselves to the holy spirit. You allow him to be in charge of your marriage. The Bible says, "And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Romans 5:5).The holy spirit inspires you to accept each other as who you are. The Holy spirit assists you to seek out each other's innocence and not your faults or failures. The Holy spirit sees you as beautiful creation of God. And so for you Tay Olen and Ma'am Edna, you  see each other as who you really are -a beautiful creation of God. You love what you see in each other. You do not stop loving what you see from each other. This you already have proven to the world today as you celebrate your 40th wedding anniversary. For you, love is eternal. If love is not eternal, it is not love. You are now a living testament, a witness, a sign and not just a symbol of love that is of God. On your 40th wedding anniversary, may you therefore make your good marriage a better marriage. Amen.

April 21, 2013 4th Sunday of Easter John 10:27-30

Jesus said:    “My sheep hear my voice;    I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,    and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” Jesus shows how good he is as a shepherd. He KNOWS his sheep. He gives them ETERNAL LIFE. He has assured them that NO ONE CAN TAKE THEM OUT of the Father 's hand. Jesus is concerned more on the safe condition of his sheep. He never mentions anything about his benefits as a shepherd. He never thinks of  what he can get from his sheep. He never sees his shepherding as a form of investment with an expectation that there is a return of investment or profits. He is really a good shepherd because he does everything for the good of his sheep. He does it because of love.  Today's Gospel reminds me of the gift of priesthood. Being a priest is not about being powerful. It is neither all about social status nor social symbol. It is about shepherding God's flock with love as Jesus loves them. But human as I am, selfishness tends to disrupt my vocation to shepherd God's people with love. Sometimes, I ask myself, if I take care of God's people then who will take care of me? Insecurity begins to upset me. Some people would think that just because a priest is financially stable, everything will be ok with him in his old age; But what can he do with his money if nobody takes care of him? Some people would think that just because a priest has his nephews, nieces, relatives and friends, everything will be taken cared of; Well this remains to be seen. Moreover, physical incapacity can at times prevent a priest to shepherd God's people even if he is young. Who will replace him in the parish? What can he do as a disabled priest? Who will accept him as a shepherd? What is his use for? Today, the Gospel reminds me that there is only one good shepherd for all -he is Jesus Christ. In fact, I am just one among his sheep who tries to hear his voice so that I can follow him. As a sheep, I invite others to find comfort in him alone. He is the only one who can give love to everybody without any selfishness. He is the only good shepherd whom even a priest should rely upon. Whatever will happen in the near future,  I just close my eyes and let the  good shepherd leads me.