In Memoriam: Ditas Dayan Salido

We are here tonight to pray for the soul of Ditas Dayan Salido as we celebrate this mass. I know that many priests have already offered their mass and prayers for her. I know you have listened too to their reflections and homilies. So let me just make a short reflection tonight by focusing on the nature of a woman particularly that of a mother.

If we might observe the birth month of Aunty Ditas, it is October; it is a month for Mama Mary as we are called to pray the Holy Rosary. If we might also observe the death month of Aunty Ditas, it is May; it is also a month for Mama Mary as children are called to offer flowers to her. Why do we pray the Holy Rosary and offer flowers to Mama Mary during these months? Well, it is because she is the mother of Jesus. If we might be allowed to say this then, from the moment of her birth until her death, the mission of Aunty Ditas is to be a mother to her children. Being a mother, it is in her nature to take care of her children. It is in her nature to bring forth life. It is in her nature to comfort her children when they cry. But tonight, here we have Aunty Ditas, a mother who used to take care of her children, has been taken care of by her children when she got ill. She who was once a bearer of life is now lifeless. She who was once comforting her crying children is now the cause of their crying. Her death marks the end of her mission to be a mother to her children. Yet, her death also makes way for her children to realize how they love their mother. Now, that Aunty Ditas is no longer with them, I believe her children shall surely miss her. But I remind you, her children, that the best way to show how you appreciate her as a mother is not how you cry tonight. It is neither through your speech nor through eulogy that you can prove you love your mother. It is on how you live your life that you can truly show the world the worth of your mother. She gave you life by risking her own life during your birth, so what shall you do with that life she gave you? As I have said, I will just make a short reflection so I end my reflection with this question. I hope her children will live a good life so that their mother, Aunty Ditas may rest in peace. Amen.

A Not So Touching Story on a Mother's Day

there was a mother

whose husband was afar

who gave her all to their only son

but the latter never bothered

whatever good she did

as long as she would give

the money he needed

to buy what he desired…

this said mother

was longing for her son’s love and respect

but to no avail

coz her son never cared

about how his mother cared…

so the mother tried to express her motherly affection

to her nephews and nieces

with the hope that one day

her son would realize

to love her his mother…

then came the Mother’s Day

she never expected to hear anything good from her son

so she just went to Church and prayed

that her son would one day be at least nice to her…

when she returned home,

she saw her son sleeping

as he was already drunk that early evening

with all these, she could do nothing…

but one thing caught her attention

she saw a card on their table

in front of which was a greeting

a greeting of a Happy Mother’s Day

so she opened the said card

and she cried when she read its dedication

it was all a message of love for a mother like her

it was all a message of appreciation and affirmation for all the good she did

and at its end it was signed…

…. by her nephews and nieces

who remembered her on that day

unlike her only son who never cared about her…

Ode on Mother's Day

She would bear a child,

She is called a mother.

A mom like her,

is a child’s best lover.

But my mom

is never a super woman.

She would take care of us kids

like any other moms did.

When I was small,

she was never with me at school

Yet, I wondered why she knew everything,

that I spilled my milk and was then crying.

She neither asked me to succeed

nor give me dreams to achieve

She just told me what good it is

when one becomes a priest.

A priest, she said, can save the whole family

and so she prayed that priesthood becomes my destiny.

I never saw her proud for whatever I received as a reward

But when I was down and sick,

she would heal me so I stood up quick.

But as I grew up I just wanted to be free from her embrace

I hurt her, with my words and actions, straight to her face.

I thought my life is better without a mother at my side

But when the entire world left me, she alone was there to stand by my side.

Years passed, I grew old and I saw my mother grew older.

Late have I realized, I never have been her better child.

How I wish to turn back the times, to make her feel happy,

Because her remaining years are not enough for me even to say sorry

Though I said it’s too late, I dared to finish what she wanted for herself if at the age of 16 she were not only married

A lawyer, a teacher, an educator and everything she started, all these I would become because I love my mom.

Nonetheless, she told me, only priesthood is adequate to make her happy

For her soul and that of the other members of the family are assured of a happy life for all eternity.

Now, I can still say, my mom is never a super woman

But the truth is I cannot live without her.

Call me a mama’s boy or whatever

But I rather go first to the grave than to live all my life without a mother.

To my mom, you made me all that I am and gave me all that I have.

To God, bless my mom with long life as I give up to You all that I am and all that I have.

The Choice

One night, when I was alone,

I asked the Lord on a crucifix,

“Lord, what is Your plan for me?

I am nothing but a worthless person.”

I was astonished when He replied,

“Man, do you know why I died on this cross?

It is because of you,

you who are precious to me.

My lips were dried, and I need your lips to speak and preach.

My body was scourged, and I need your body to offer a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins.

They nailed my hands, and I need your hands to bless and heal.

They nailed my feet too, and I need your feet to walk with Me to Calvary.

But most, I need your heart, to love and care my sheep.”

“Yes, Lord, not my will but Your will,”

But I wondered when I looked at the crucifix again and again;

I saw only a cross.

So once more, I asked Him, “Lord, what does this mean?”

He then answered, “Take up this CROSS and follow Me.”

Just A Priest

A man with intelligence who could be a great lawyer, the best doctor or the finest educator, yet he chooses to be a priest.

A man with a heart who could be a good husband to his wife, a good parent to his children, a good father of his family, yet he chooses none of them and becomes a priest.

A man with all his best to serve God and His people, the worst still stands against him.

A man with all his strength to fulfil his promise of obedience, poverty and celibacy, yet his weakness remains in him.

His life as a priest is not just all about prayer and sacraments;

He needs to eat not only during fiestas but every day in order to live.

He needs electricity and water in the parish at least for a decent living.

He needs somone to talk to, to laugh with, to cry with.

With all the splendour of the priesthood, he is still human who needs to be understood so as to better understand him.

He needs a community to listen to his frustrations, anger and resentment and most of all, how he struggle to stay in the ministry.

What most Catholics forget, the priest deals with people not for popularity or to please everybody but always for the good of the Church, for the salvation of the souls.

What some Catholics do not see, lawyers may choose to practice as public or private lawyers, doctors may be a public or private physician, teachers may teach in public or private schools, but a priest is always with the Church and for the Church.

What few Catholics never know, when the priest gets sick, when he retires, when he is dying, though he needs the sacrament of last anointing, he needs medicine.

When he dies, he dies no hero, not even declared as saint.

His family carries all the burden and debts he left.

Yes, a good priest’s life is full of sacrifice and even in his death there is greater suffering but he chooses to live and die a priest.

Only in heaven that all shall know, it is not him who chooses to be a priest first, but it is God.

Only heaven can proclaim, from his birth until death, he is chosen to be a priest, a priest forever. 

First Friday Mass with IBP Aklan

When I was in my first year in the College of Law, Fiscal Ryan Cawaling taught us in his subject Statutory Construction that if the statute is clear, plain and free from ambiguity, it must be given its literal meaning and applied without interpretation. This is known as the “plain meaning rule” or verba legis (non est recedendum) which is translated in English as “From the words of a statute there should be no departure”.

This “plain meaning rule” can actually be of help to make us understand the Gospel (John 6: 52-59) for today. In the Gospel, it is narrated that Jesus said to His listeners, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you; he who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

What did Jesus mean when He said all these? Well, let us try to use the “plain meaning rule”. By applying the “plain meaning rule”, we affirm that the words Jesus used in His speech correctly expressed His intention and we must therefore avoid making other interpretations aside from what He really meant with His words. When Jesus said “he who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life”, He carefully used those words to properly express His intention, to convey a clear message that in order to have eternal life, one has to eat His body and drink His blood. Of course, His listeners were shocked upon hearing all these. We too can get an impression from this Gospel that Jesus was promoting cannibalism. Yet Jesus did not retract or change the tone of what He had said. He even reiterated His words to them and emphasized that His flesh is real food and His blood is real drink. In this instance, we can say that the words of Jesus here should not be taken as a simile or a metaphor.  His words should not be regarded simply as a figurative language. “From the words of Jesus there should be no departure”. Jesus knew what He was saying and He meant what He said. His message is clear that those who eat His flesh and drink His blood are guaranteed eternal life.

Now, in using the “plain meaning rule” to understand the words of Jesus, those who heard Him, including His disciples, found His message “hard”. It must be noted that in this particular Gospel passage, the word used for “hard” is the Greek word “skleros” which means “it is not hard to understand but it is hard to accept”. As I said earlier, His listeners were shocked upon hearing His discourse and we too can get an impression from this Gospel that Jesus was promoting cannibalism. Nevertheless, it was in this circumstance that the listeners of Jesus showed their true colours. In John 6: 66-71, it is narrated that some turned their back from Jesus. They just proved they were only fair-weather friends of Jesus. They followed Jesus to get something from Him. Yet there were others who stayed with Jesus. They remained following Jesus because as they looked at how they journeyed together, after all what they had been through, they believed there could be no one else to go to. They chose to accept the words of Jesus even if it seemed they too were puzzled. In reality, there was this love between Jesus and His disciples that they would willingly and voluntarily choose to stay for each other.

My dear friends, this scenario in the Gospel reminds us that in maintaining a relationship, particularly where one can choose to get in and can also choose to get out, there is this great risk of experiencing rejection. This was experienced by Jesus when He told His followers the truth about Himself as the Bread of Life. He was rejected by many and only few stayed with Him. As Christians, we must expect too to experience something similar to this, that we shall lose some people and only few shall always be there for us to love as for who we are. There is no need to blame when many shall reject us and only few stay with us. It is nobody’s fault. We have to accept that it is just how Christian life is. It happened to Jesus and it would also happen to us somehow.

To end, let me share to you an experience. In 2004, a radio announcer lambasted me with all his intriguing commentaries after I hurt his ego. Some people took advantage of this by spreading false news against me to protect their political interests. It was also during those times that even personalities inside the church would enjoy spreading rumors against me. Year 2004 seemed to be a bad year for me except when I learned a touching comment from a good friend when someone told him some bad things about me. My friend said to the person who tried to report to him how bad I am as a person, “I know Jude, and I love him.”  To my mind and heart, what my friend was saying, even if he cannot understand me, he accepts me for being who I am. Because of this, I felt comforted and at peace. I realize there is no need to blame when many shall reject us and only one stay with us. It is nobody’s fault. We have to accept that it is just how Christian life is. It happened to Jesus and it might also happen to us somehow.