2nd Sunday of Advent 2015

Luke 3:1-6

One afternoon at Starbucks in BF Homes, a guy approached me and told me that he recognized me as a priest assigned at their parish in 2005. Then he asked me a question about baptism. He asked me why Catholics allow children to be baptized though they could not yet have faith in God. He immediately mentioned about John the Baptist who baptized adults like Jesus. I just listened to him and never gave any answer to his question. I was at Starbucks to enjoy drinking my coffee while giving myself a break so I did not entertain his question. When he could not elicit any response from me, he politely left me as he returned to his table.

My dear friends, today allow me to go back to the guy’s question as we reflect on today’s gospel. We, Catholics do baptize children because it was Jesus himself who commanded his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit… (Matthew 28: 19) Jesus never said that only adults should be baptized and ignore the children. Therefore, what Jesus did not prohibit, no man should prohibit it.   

If we also read the Gospel of Mark 16:16, it is said, “The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned,” this phrase does not say that a child is not allowed for baptism. If the problem is the faith of the child in order to receive baptism, then the status of the child shall fall into the second sentence which states, “the one who does not believe will be condemned.” Does this sound Godly that a child who cannot yet believe just because he is a child and dies will go to hell because he is not baptized?

Moreover, is it not more problematic for an adult who would just say he believes in Christ as his savior in order to fulfill the condition of his baptism? Is it not more conflicting when we can see those who claim they believe in Christ and were baptized yet they are experts in the art of criticizing us Catholics?  Is it an act of faith to compare their religious belief with the Catholic faith and claim religious superiority? If their faith in Christ has saved them already, why do they act as if they were not yet saved? Their actions speak louder than their words.

Now, many of us trace the origin of our baptism from the baptism of John. This is also what other Christians think that is why they said that baptism is for adults as Jesus received baptism as an adult. Well, sorry to say but this (the baptism of John) is not the origin of our baptism in the Catholic Church. Try to take a look at Luke 3: 1-6. It says, “John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Here it is clear that the objective of the baptism of John is repentance for the forgiveness of sins. It is not the kind of baptism that Christianizes us. Why? If we are baptized with the baptism of John, then we are called followers of John. But we are called Christians! This is because we are baptized with the baptism of Jesus the Christ. There is a difference between the baptism which John conferred and that of Jesus. John himself even acknowledged the difference saying in Matthew 3: 11, “I baptize you with water, for repentance, but the one coming after me is more powerful than I am –I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” Thereof even if John’s baptism are for adults only, his baptism is not the standard of our baptism. One can also look into the details of the difference between the baptism of John and Jesus in John 3:22-30.

What then is the significance of John’s baptism for us Catholics? Well, the baptism of John is important for us Catholics to remind ourselves the need for repentance especially for the forgiveness of sins which we commit after our baptism. We are reminded that in order to meet the Lord with gladness, we are free from any obstacle: mountains and hills shall be made low; make the winding path straight. The mountain and hill as obstacles may be the occasions of sins, the effects of sins or sins themselves. We are called to decide to free ourselves from sins and choose to live in Christ. We have to give up our addictions which blur our vision to see Jesus clearly as to love Him dearly. We have to cleanse ourselves by immersing in the water of repentance. It means that after we have been made clean, we come out of the water leaving behind our sins. No longer shall those sins stop us in meeting Jesus and living with Him. We shall do this daily and not only during Advent Season. The struggle against sin does not happen only during Christmas, so we must see to it before we sleep at night, we have asked forgiveness from God for both big and small sins. Amen.

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2015

Scripture: Mark 10:2-16

2 And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" 3 He answered them, "What did Moses command you?" 4 They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to put her away." 5 But Jesus said to them, "For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, `God made them male and female.' 7 `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder." 10 And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11 And he said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; 12 and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

What did Moses command you? -this question reminds us of two important things in marriage. First that marriage is based on the consent or will of the persons as represented by the pronoun YOU and second, that marriage is based on law which supposedly protect the choice which one made in favor of marriage which here is represented by the word MOSES as he is considered the lawgiver. But even with these two, marriage cannot sustain without its third important element i.e., marriage is something spiritual, a vocation from God. This is why Jesus said that what God has joined together let no man put asunder because He knows that one's will or consent may change from time to time and even law could be amended to suit in the whims of those who live in lust. But with the spiritual nature of marriage, we are all bound to protect it and make it work for the glory of God. Amen.

20th Sunday in 2015

19th Sunday in 2015

18th Sunday in 2015

My dear friends, we heard various stories about people who are actively serving the parish or the church. Some have personally experienced the healing power of God, others have been inspired by their priests or parish workers, some others have their own reasons which only they themselves know, and there are other more reasons why people are in the service of the parish or church. But take note my dear friends, our Gospel which is taken from John 6: 24-35, reduces whatever reasons people have in serving the Church into two. To quote Jesus, He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” These words of Jesus would tell us that people seek Him either for physical or spiritual welfare. So too can we say that in the parish or church, people come either for physical satisfaction/relief or for spiritual growth. Although both could be good reasons to engage in the ministry but for Jesus it is a noble reason for one to serve and seek Jesus in the parish or the church with a motive to grow spiritually, to be like the saints if not like Christ. In furtherance with this principle, though it is nice to have our parish programs and projects reach the people especially the poor, hopefully those people under these programs and projects grow spiritually with their priest/s. The parish or church has the duty to help God’s people especially the poor to alleviate their suffering, but it does not mean that the parish or church loses its track to lead the people grow spiritually. One may justify that in order to sanctify the people especially the poor, they must be first introduced to the parish or church. This can be done by giving them aid or assistance including but not limited to food, shelter, and clothing. But the question is, does this prosper in helping people grow spiritually? Most often, the parish or church has mastered in providing the people with things they need like food, shelter and clothing but it has not reached its primary purpose i.e., to lead people to grow spiritually. When there is a change of administration, when there is also a change in the parish programs and projects, then we ask what will happen to those people under the previous programs and projects? Most of the time, many of us think that we have to cater the needs of the people before we can teach them about God. With this kind of mentality, we produce more priests and ministers doing the works of social workers while neglecting to perform the works of spiritual leaders. Just like Jesus, we have to give importance to the needs of the people physically and spiritually, but we shall put more weight on the spirituality especially of those who are actively serving Jesus in the parish or church. It is good to hear people come to the parish or church because they feel their faith is strengthened, that together with their priest/s they grow spiritually in prayers. To end, I wish to end with the story about St. Alphonsus de Liguori who was born of noble parents. At the early age of sixteen he was made doctor in law, and he threw himself into this career with ardor and success. A mistake, by which he lost an important case, showed him the vanity of human fame, and determined him to labor only for the glory of God. He entered the priesthood, devoting himself to the most neglected souls; and to carry on this work he founded later the missionary Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. This story of Alphonsus reminds us that though he served God’s people as a lawyer yet he could better serve God as a priest whose mission together with his community is to take care of the souls. Thereof, salvation of the soul is still our highest law and we obey this law by giving our utmost attention to the spiritual needs of the people. It is all about how we can better seek and serve God that matters anyway. Amen.     

In Memoriam Blas Perez

Any act of separation usually makes us cry. Take for example a woman who is giving birth to a baby. The act of separating the baby from the womb of the mother may either makes the mother or the baby cries. Observe also when a parent goes to work and he/she has to leave his/her child at home, the child usually cries refusing to let go of his parent. The same thing happens when the child goes to school for the first time and his parent or guardian leaves him in the classroom, the child cries. Let us also consider the case of some married couples, if one of them has to go abroad for a job, both cry notwithstanding the good reason of finding a job abroad. In the same manner, some parents cry when their daughter decides to get married. Such parents do not cry because they do not want their daughter to get married but because they know she has to live her own life and decide for herself. The most crucial act of separation happens when death comes in our midst. We do not cry because we do not expect death to happen. We cry because death comes when we are least prepared to accept it. But even if we are prepared for its coming, still we cry because we know we cannot spend our time with our beloved dead the way we used to do. Of course, no one is expected to be happy for the death of the person he/she loves. If there is a moment of consolation for one not to cry during the death of his/her beloved, it is the moment of letting the person go and accept death because it is more difficult to see the latter suffering from his/her situation. Years after one's beloved died, those who are left behind are expected to go on with their respective lives. Although it cannot be avoided that there are times that they long for the good old days, they have to move on. In our Catholic practice, we usually remember our beloved dead and count the years when death separated us from him. We call it "death anniversaries." We celebrate this so called death anniversary not because we realize that we must be happy about death. No! We celebrate such anniversary because it gives us a reason to be happy despite death tries to spoil our meaningful life. What is this reason? Well, in counting the years from the death of our beloved until today, it shows that death has no power to kill or to put an end to our love for the person eventhough he has gone for a long time. To celebrate one's death anniversary would only mean the victory or triumph of love of the living over death. In your situation, your memories of your father are still vivid and alive. It is a great sign of your love for him. Not only this, you might not notice that his character has been passed on to you, how you live your lives and how you handle your own family. Your children and your children's children also have a share of his character whether they are aware of this or not. With all these, death has no power to totally separate you from your beloved father. Eventhough death made you cry, you can still make the last laugh because death could not take away your father from your memories, from your life and from your love. In celebrating today the death anniversary of your father, it reminds us that death can only separate us physically, but never beyond this. Added to this, we also hope that time will come for us to be reunited with him. This is what actually our Catholic faith tells us too; Jesus commanded His apostles to celebrate the eucharist in memory of Him before His passion and death. To remember Him is an act of love and at the same time it gives the apostles hope. This hope is what we always proclaim during the mass, "When we eat this bread, when we drink this cup, we proclaim your glory until you come again." As we celebrate this mass, we also remember our beloved Blas as we await the time we shall meet him on a the last day. So my dear friends, keep on remembering as an act of love with the hope that one day what death has deprived us God shall provide us. Amen.

17th Sunday in 2015

Our Gospel is taken from John 6: 1-15. In this Gospel, we can notice that it was very difficult for the disciples to volunteer themselves in providing people some bread to eat.  But in this same Gospel, it was very easy for them to suggest, appoint or pinpoint someone to do it for themselves. Look at also the words they used: Philip said, “It would take MORE than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread…” Andrew said, “…how far will they go among so MANY.” The words they used somehow reveal to us that when one is asked to give something, either that something is a money or goods, he/she considers not only the amount that comes out from his/her pocket but also the numbers of the recipient. The mere thought of the words MORE and MANY hinder one to give and find his/her justification that one cannot do something about the other’s suffering. Yet, in this same Gospel, Jesus solved what seemed to be a BIG problem by using what the disciples considered SMALL. In the Gospel there is this boy –a small person compared to an adult with 5 SMALL barley loaves and 2 SMALL fish. Jesus took all these and gave thanks before distributing them. Jesus did not focus on the BIG problem, rather He thanked God for what they had though how small these seemed to be. In thanking God for the seemingly SMALL gifts, problems could not grow bigger without any solution. This Gospel reminds us that we should not ignore the small things we have, rather we thank God for them as a sign of His goodness.

Let me end with a sharing of my personal experience in the parish. In our parish at Ca-Ma-Ca, it was very difficult to ask from people some financial assistance for the repair and maintenance of the parish due to their economic situation. I understand that they already have budgeted their money long before they receive it for their family as well as for the education of their children. If ever they could contribute for the parish, I could tell who could give more as well as those who could not give even a centavo. Thanks to the Parish Youth Council then when its members tried to make rounds from one house to another house during Christmas and on the Feast of Christ the King. As they visited our parishioners from one house after the other to say some prayers for them, the home-owners would give them snacks or a maximum sum of 20 pesos. They eventually earned much from these activities that they spent their money not only for the repair and maintenance of the parish but also for its improvements. This is a concrete experience on how small good things can solve big problems. This experience leads me to thank God for both small and great things He has showered upon our parish. Amen.