16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the movie Doctor Strange, a doctor met an accident which made his hands useless. He tried to look for healing yet he failed. It was only when he met the Ancient One in an enclave that he hoped to find his healing. While trying to heal himself in the enclave, he learned that he was with some extraordinary people at the frontline of a battle against unseen dark forces bent on destroying reality. He had to make a choice then whether to return to his great life as a doctor or to leave it all behind to defend the world. He decided to defend the world. At the end, the good triumphs over evil. But if the viewers waited for the final ending of the movie, it ended with Mordo, Doctor Strange’s friend siding with evil. It actually suggests that evil triumphs so often in this world. This seems realistic as we look at what is happening in our world or society these days. Evil is happening everywhere every day. In a Catholic mind like me, a question arises, “Why does God allow evil to triumph in this world? The Gospel of Matthew 13: 24-43 can help us reflect on the answer to this question. Jesus, in His first parable, said something about a man who sowed good seed in his field but his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat in the field. Evil seems to prosper at first. But Jesus finally revealed the triumph of evil is short-lived by saying  these: “Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

To end, we have to accept the fact that as we live here on earth, we can experience the battle between evil and good. Even in each one of us, we sometimes experience difficulty in making choices, to do good and avoid evil. Jesus told us to be steadfast so as not to succumb to evil. We have to fix our eyes on the everlasting reward in heaven for being good and for doing good. Our world is like the field in the parable that as we grow together, good people and evil doers, we must remain good while waiting for the harvest time when good and evil are separated. For those who have done wicked deeds, hell. For those who have good deeds, eternal life in heaven. Amen.

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the book, The Paradox of Choice by Barry Scwartz, it has been mentioned that “Autonomy and Freedom of choice are critical to our well being, and choice is critical to freedom and autonomy.” This quote gives us an idea that there is a causal connection between choice and well being. This idea is relevant in explaining the Gospel we have today.

The Gospel of Matthew 13: 1-23 is a very familiar Gospel passage as it talks about the Parable of the Sower. But if we take a closer look at the explanation of Jesus regarding the Parable of the Sower, we realize that it tells us about four different choices on what to do with the Word of God.

First among the four choices, one hears the Word but chooses not to understand It. Then there is the one who hears the Word and immediately chooses to receive It with joy; yet he has no root in himself. Third, there is one who hears the Word but he chooses the delight of riches and the pleasure of the world instead. The last one, he hears the Word, understands It and chooses to bear fruit.

Going back to the idea that there is a causal connection between choice and well being, the result of the four different choices to one’s well being are the following: for the first one, evil snatches away what is sown in his heart. It means he is spiritually poor in his well being as there is no standard of goodness for him to keep. Then for the one who immediately chooses the Word yet he has no root in himself, he is spiritually healthy only during good times, but sick during bad times. For the one who chooses riches and the pleasure of the world, he may be well at the sight of the world but his well being is detached from any form of spirituality. It was only the last one who made a good choice as it brings good result to his well being. This is indicated by being productive in the community.

In saying all these, we now ask ourselves to choose among the four where we wish to commit ourselves. We may have too many choices to make yet we have to decide what is really important for our total well being. It is easy for us to say that we must choose the fourth one yet we know honestly we are far from it in reality. In my personal journey as a parish priest for 5 years, I know I have been in the first three choices and never in the fourth one. My mind says I must choose the fourth one but I often modify my choices along the way. It is indeed difficult to commit to a choice when freedom and autonomy are also at work in us. Hopefully, with the help of God, someday I can say I give up my will, my mind, my memory, my freedom and autonomy and stick only to the choice I have made. Amen.

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Gospel of Matthew 11: 25-30 tells us that Jesus gave this invitation: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Why did Jesus make such invitation?  Well, we know for a fact that many people even those who believe in God keep complaining and whining when big problems come their way. Some become restless and so they withdraw themselves from God. They think that God must make a decision to answer their prayers or else they would stop believing in Him. In doing so, they do not know that they become more restless and cause restlessness on others. They refuse to understand the meaning of Jesus’ invitation.

When Jesus said “come to me,” these words must be interpreted as an invitation to surrender oneself or to abandon oneself to Him (Jesus). Whatever the content is of our prayer, we have to stop insisting first to Jesus by saying “Lord, it is now all up to You”. When Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me,” He was in fact telling us to look at our problems the way He would look at them. We have to seek the will of God just like what Jesus did when He prayed at the Garden of Gethsemane. If it seems that our prayer is not granted, it is time for us to submit ourselves before God. We may not be able to understand why bad things happen to us, let us continue to believe that only God knows the reason why it must happen to us. God will reveal His wisdom to us in His time. In the process, we shall experience pain, anger, disappointment, etc. because we do not get what we want from God. But if we give up everything to God, if we let God decide for us, we act to change our life for the better. Though we can feel the pain of losing the thing or person we are praying for, we decide to move on. We become open to the will of God for us. If then we cannot change the will of God through our prayers, we change ourselves by surrendering everything to His will. 

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.

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.