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.