Thanksgiving of Rev. Fr. Adonis R. Rimano

My dear friends in Christ, we are here today to thank God for His gift of priesthood to our Christian community. As I say this, I would like to emphasize that the gift of ministerial priesthood is God’s gift to the whole Christian community, the Church and not a gift to an individual or individuals. This is in line with the thought of John Paul II manifested in his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia –If the Holy Eucharist as the “source and summit of the Christian life” is Christ’s greatest gift to His Bride, the Church –it is only thanks to His prior gift of the ministerial priesthood that we still have the Holy Eucharist in the Church. Thereof, in this “Thanksgiving Mass”, it is we, the Christian community who give thanks to God and not Fr. Adonis alone because the gift of ministerial priesthood which is strictly linked to the gift of the Holy Eucharist is God’s gift to us all. In other words, as we celebrate this Thanksgiving Mass to affirm God’s gift of priesthood, this celebration is not a family affair although it includes a family affair. This is not also a personal matter to Fr. Adonis although it includes his personal matters. This celebration is about us who are blessed by God with the gift of priesthood. We are gathered here as one Christian community, as a Church, to claim as our own the gift of ministerial priesthood through the person of Rev. Fr. Adonis Rimano. Moreover, this Thanksgiving celebration makes us realize that just as we have our share in this precious gift of God, we too must take our share in the responsibility over this gift. If we have our share in the blessings of the priesthood, we also have our share in the burdens of our priests who serve the Church. (Ro pari sarang makabati sa tawo it palakpak o libak.) Priesthood is God’s gift to you and me, to us, to our Church, we better take good care of such gift. If you and I belong to the same Church, let no one among us casts doubts against the gift of priesthood. (Kon regalo o bugay it Dios katon ro pagkapari, indi ta pag samaron ro pari. Kon ginasamaran ta ro isaea ka pari, ginasamad ta mismo ro Simbahan nga ginapatatap ku Dios sa ginpadaea na nga mga pari). The same burden is also given to us priests, especially to our newly ordained priest, Fr. Adonis. Fr. Adonis you have to take good care of the gift of priesthood not because it is yours now but because above all else, it is God’s gift to His Church. Never think of the gift of priesthood as your personal achievement that you can include in your resume to find an income-earning job. Never think of the gift of priesthood as your personal success as if it is part of your credential. Rather, think of what it means to say that priesthood is God’s gift to His Church. Go back to your experience. Remember, no matter how you wanted to become a priest when you were in the elementary, you were not included in the list of those who were admitted in the seminary. Remember, after a year of waiting, you were finally admitted in the seminary yet your health suffered as you tried to adjust with the seminary life. Remember, when you were advised to take your regency. Remember, your pre-diaconal and diaconal struggles. Remember the question of the people in Camaligan, -why is it that after you finished your seminary training, there is no guarantee of ordination to the priesthood. Well, all these remind you of your unworthiness yet God has chosen you to be His priest. God wants you to realize through your experience that priesthood is a gift. And now that you are a priest, you have received priesthood as a gift from God, so you must serve the Church as a gift to God. This is what I realize in my thirteen years in the ministry: people love us, respect us, and trust us not because of who we are. Rather, they love us because we carry with us the gift of priesthood. There are many good singers in the community, yet they are not loved the way we are loved by people. There are great public speakers, yet they are not trusted the way we are trusted by people. There are many kind teachers, yet they are not respected the way we are respected. This is so because people believe that the gift of priesthood which we bear with us, is God’s gift to them. To go further from this, there are many gays or homosexuals who suffer discrimination in our society just because they are gays or homosexuals. There are hot-tempered persons who are avoided by their neighbours because they create tensions in the community. There are some fathers of the family who gain no respect from their children because they are bad. But look at us priest. No matter how big our sin is, no matter what kind of mistakes we do, people still accept us as they accept God’s gift of priesthood in us. People love us because from among many, we are the ones chosen by God to be His priests. Therefore, Fr. Adonis you must take good care of the gift of priesthood with utmost diligence. When you are troubled, when the gift of your priesthood is endangered, call on Jesus Christ, the one and the only good shepherd. Young as you are, you are full of energy, full of ideology to be a good priest. But it could happen you might commit big mistakes or make some error of judgment. If such times come, never think that God is wrong when He bestowed on you the gift of priesthood. Rather, believe that you will mature in time because God will continue to give His grace that you may be able to preserve the giftedness of the priesthood. Fr. Adonis, we may not always understand you. We may not always like you. We may not always accept you. But one thing is sure God always loves you, He has chosen you as a shepherd after his own heart. God will never regret in choosing you. God is never wrong in choosing you, a priest for His Church. Amen.

Christmas Day 2013

A woman bought a parrot to keep her company. She returned to the pet store the next day with a complaint: "This bird you sold me won't talk."  The pet store manager said, "Does he have a mirror in his cage? Parrots love mirrors. They see their reflection and they start up a conversation." So she bought a mirror and went home. A couple of days later she was back. The bird still wasn't talking. "How about a ladder?" the manager asked. "A ladder will make your parrot happy, and a happy parrot is more likely to talk." She bought the ladder and left. Two days later she returned. The bird still hadn't said anything. The store manager thought for a minute and said, "How about a swing? All parrots need a swing. A swing will loosen him up, and he'll be talking in no time." The woman reluctantly bought the swing and left. She was back the next day, looking forlorn. "My parrot died," she said. "That's terrible," the manager said. "Did he ever say a word?" "Yes," the woman said, "Right before he died he said, 'Don't they sell any parrot food at that pet store?'" My dear friends, today is Christmas day. On this day we celebrate as we remember the birth of JesusChrist. Jesus the Christ was born (Luke 1:1-14) as a gift of God for all His creation. Jesus the Christ is the best gift of God for us in order that we might have eternal life. God knows what to give us to celebrate life. Today, people give gifts or even have an exchange of gifts. But do they give gifts in order to make the recipients celebrate life? Or do they give gifts because they are expected to give? Does the giver think of what gift he is to give or does he ask the recipient what gift he needs? Well, Christmas day is not just about giving of gifts but letting the gifts remind both the giver and the receiver that everything they do should be life-giving and life-promoting. Amen.

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.