12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The song “Fallin” by Leah Salonga started with these lyrics:

I’m afraid to fly

And I don’t know why

I’m jealous of the people who are not afraid to die.

The word “afraid” immediately appears twice in this phrase. In the first instance, the word “afraid” points out to one’s phobia particularly of flying (aviophobia). This fear is often accompanied or even caused by other types of phobia such as one’s fear of heights, fear of being over water, fear that something may go wrong while flying, etc. Unlikely, however, in this song “Fallin,” what triggers one’s fear is the broken or unfulfilled promise made by another to her. This is expressed in this next phrase,

It’s just that I recall

Back when I was small

Someone promised that they’d catch me

And then they let me fall…

In the second instance, the word “afraid” is connected to a fear of what life or death may bring. It is more on a fear of the unknown.

In both instances, whether what triggers one fear is real or imagined, fear can hold one back to live in the past, thus she cannot live her life fully in the present moment or to face her future. Handling one’s fear then seems a determining factor of one’s greatness or failure in life or in love. When there is fear, one cannot live her life fully. When there is fear, one cannot love to the fullest.

In my experience as I grow older, I become afraid of almost everything. There is this fear of my future, fear to grow old and become sick, fear of dying, fear of sleeping and never wake up anymore, fear of waking up to know that a loved one is lost, fear to have no fear at all and become reckless, etc. Because of this fear, I cannot give my life fully in the ministry. Because of this fear, I cannot love our parish to the fullest. There is a need to have an outlet of this fear, and thanks that though I am not a basketball player, I played basketball to release my fear. Yet this is not enough though it is helpful. Fear comes back to strike again.

Today’s Gospel (Matthew 10: 26-33) talks about handling one’s fear which could cripple us to live and love fully as human. Jesus said, “Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”  With these words, Jesus is telling us that to overcome our greatest fear, we have to seek comfort in the great love of God for us. It is when we know, believe and feel that God loves us then we know, believe and feel that He takes care of everything as everything is under His control. Instead of allowing our fear to paralyze us, we are called to speak about Jesus, speak of Jesus, speak to Jesus to show the world that we can live and love fully because of Him. Jesus added, “So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven.” In understanding these words, one who lives and loves fully cannot but acknowledge Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. He therefore who has no fear, praises Jesus the Lord. Him alone he fears and no other. Psalm 34: 4 has this to say, “I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.” In short, only in God’s love we can be at rest, to live and love without fear, to live and love fully in this world.  

Feast of Corpus Christi

In going to Robinson at Roxas City by riding a private vehicle, one could notice the statue of a man and a mule as his vehicle would pass around where it stands. Allow me today to tell you what the statue is all about.  

There was a man in Rimini who refused to believe the doctrine of the Real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. St. Anthony could not convince the man by his words alone. The man made this deal with St. Anthony that he would believe if his mule would. The unbelieving man would starve his mule for three days, he would bring then his mule to the town square, Anthony, would bring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. If the hungry animal would come to Jesus in the monstrance rather than the bucket of food, then the man would accept the Church’s teachings and believe that Jesus was truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.

On the third day, the man came into the town square with his very hungry mule. St. Anthony approached from the other side of the square with the Sacred Host. Many people, both believers and unbelievers alike watched to see what would happen. A large bucket of oats and a bundle of fragrant hay were placed before the hungry animal. But all this was ignored by the mule. Instead, the mule approached our Saint and fell on her knees before the Blessed Sacrament to adore Jesus. True to his word, the man made a profession of faith in the Real Presence because his mule had believed first.

My dear friends, the story of St. Anthony and the mule is relevant to today’s feast of Corpus Christi. This feast reminds us about the doctrine of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. The oldest testimony written in the Bible which the Catholic Church finds her basis regarding the doctrine of the Real Presence is 1 Corinthians 11: 24, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” These words of Jesus could also be found in the Gospels of Matthew 26: 26, Mark 14: 22 and Luke 22:19. The words “This is my body” are clear and unequivocal. Those words do not express a simile or analogy as Jesus did not say “This is like my body.” Those words should not also be interpreted as figurative or symbolical because Jesus did not say “This is the symbol of my body.” Therefore we have to take these words of Jesus according to His intention. If we follow the literal interpretation, then we cannot but must believe that in every consecrated host, there is Jesus. If Jesus is there in the consecrated host, His presence is real, for neither it is a simile nor an analogy, nor symbolical, not even figurative. Now, why should we believe that in every celebration of the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, there is the Real Presence of Jesus? Well, Jesus Himself commanded His disciples saying, “Do this in remembrance of me.” This means that every time we DO repeat the breaking of bread, Jesus gives us His Body and Blood. He is really present in the Blessed Sacrament. To deny this truth is to accuse Jesus of deceiving us. But we know Jesus neither deceives nor can be deceived. He even said in John 6:54-55, “The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.”

My dear friends, in celebrating the feast of Corpus Christi, I remind you of the great value of receiving Jesus during communion. Let us make our conscience clear and our hearts clean first before we let Jesus enters our body. Jesus is real. Jesus is real in every host we receive during communion. In receiving Jesus unworthily, being unprepared in heart and mind is tantamount to a denial of the truth of the Real Presence of Jesus. So let us then celebrate this feast by receiving Jesus in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist worthily. Amen.

Feast of the Most Holy Trinity

The Philippines is an archipelagic State. It is divided into three island groups: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Though there are three island groups, we look at the Philippines in a map as one single unit.

In recognizing the Philippines as an archipelagic State, its archipelago and the waters enclosed by its baseline is considered as one cohesive entity and thus prevents the treatment of its islands as separate islands under UNCLOS III. With this principle, when President Duterte declared Martial Law in the whole of Mindanao due to Marawi crisis, other Nations, States, or countries made a travel advisory to their nationals unfavourable to the Philippines as a whole. They do not say be careful in going to Marawi or Mindanao, but to the Philippines. This means that even other Nations, States or countries view the Philippines as a whole and not as three separated groups of islands.

In today’s feast of the Most Holy Trinity, though we cannot fully explain this mystery of One God in three Divine Persons, let me apply the principle used earlier in explaining the principle governing the Philippines as an archipelagic State to grasp the truth about the said mystery.

First of all, the Bible mentions especially in the New Testament, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In Matthew 3: 16-17, Mark 1:10-11 and Luke 3:22, it is said that after Jesus was baptized, there was the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming on Him while a voice from heaven said, “This is my one dear Son; in Him I take great delight.” All these passages reveal to us that indeed there is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. But the doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity is not just about the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is all about one God in three Divine Persons. Here lies the difficulty in explaining then. How come there is one God in three Divine Persons? How come there is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, yet we do not have three gods but one God? As I have said earlier, let me apply the same principle used in explaining the principle governing the Philippines as an archipelagic State to grasp the truth about the said mystery. Though this falls short in explaining exactly the mystery of the Triune God, just like in recognizing the Philippines as an archipelagic State, its archipelago and the waters enclosed by its baseline is considered as one cohesive entity and thus prevents the treatment of its islands as separate islands, we Catholics believe that there is only one God and thus we believe that the three Divine Persons must not be treated as separate gods but one. We enclosed (or as a manner of speaking, put inside a circle) the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit by His essence and thus we see the whole of God and not just the three distinct Divine Persons. We have our Biblical support on this when we read Matthew 28:19, Jesus said “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” In mentioning the three Divine Persons next to each other or side by side, it signifies equality or shall I say equally God. In using the word “name”, it indicates singularity or singleness. It is just like bearing in mind “Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao” as one Nation, one State or one country of the Filipinos and for the Filipinos.

Finally, in explaining as much as I could the doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity, is there a word “trinity” in the Bible? It is true that the Bible does not mention the word “trinity” either in the Old Testament or New Testament. But it is also true that the Bible never DENIES the truth about the “trinity” either in the Old Testament or New Testament. Therefore, what the Bible does not mention does not mean it is not true anymore. When the Bible does not mention the word “trinity”, it does not mean the “trinity” is not true. If we are rigorous to follow the opposite conclusion, then we say there is no truth unless the Bible mentions it. So how can we deny the existence of dinosaurs on our planet just because the Bible never mentions anything about dinosaurs? Can we say there is no Philippines just because Philippines is never mentioned in the Bible?

My dear friends, what matters for us as Catholics is the truth which the doctrine conveys to us and that is to live our lives according to the will of God. In giving assent to the doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity, we are called to live in unity, in oneness with all the believers of Christ. We are also made aware that our unity, our oneness is not about uniformity but despite our diversities, having different talents and abilities, we can live together and love one another and be worthily called Christians.