The Potter's Jar

Herod's Blunder

2012-01-24T15:51:00.000-05:00

Using their knowledge of the stars, the magi came close to the child Jesus. But it was not near enough because they found themselves in the city of Jerusalem. They knew they were lost. And so they asked for directions. That was when history was kind to them and called them the wise men. Men who stop and ask for directions are wise. Men who are wiser have GPS.

The journey of the wise men tells us that wisdom is not complete without human cooperation and belief. Without seeking the guidance of God and the help of our fellow human being, wisdom is nothing but likened to Buddha’s enlightenment.

Even those who are learned need more than learning in order to find Christ. Even those who are educated need more than education to find God. Even those who are schooled need more than schooling to find Jesus. The example of the wise men reminds us that without faith, reason, logic and intelligence can be useless.

This is what the other king, King Herod, demonstrated. When Herod heard that they were looking for the newborn king of the Jews, he was greatly troubled. He assembled all his advisers and asked the wise men where the Christ was to be born. They said, Bethlehem, which means the house of bread.

Herod was not being wise as a king. He was so wrapped up in himself that nobody else mattered. He could have asked his soldiers to accompany the magi, but he did not. That is the folly of the wise.

It is also the irony we find in Christianity. They thought Jesus to be dead on the Cross, but he had risen from the grave. It is also the lesson from the Beatitudes. The weak will be strengthened. The poor will have their treasures filled. The helpless baby is the real, wise king.

Insecurity filled the inner recesses of Herod’s soul. He no longer thought clearly about his actions. All he saw mirrored and plastered in his royal palace was him alone, a king with a crown, seated on a royal throne. He underestimated the power of a baby, whose altruism he never foresaw, wrapped in swaddling clothes in a borrowed manger.

Had Herod realized later on what Jesus would teach his disciples that we have to invest in treasures that will last for all eternity, he would have discovered an undying and endless security. Not nest eggs that can rot, possessions that can be stolen, money that could slip easily away from our hands, but the treasure only our human hearts can comprehend.

The wisdom of God is far different from our own, because God’s standards are way loving and forgiving than our own. There was a man who approached God and asked Him, "Lord, up in heaven how much time is a million years?" "Well," God said, "a million years is but a second in heaven." "Oh!" said the man, "and up in heaven how much money is a million dollars?" "Well," said God, "a million dollars is only a penny in heaven." "Great!" said the man. "God, can I have one penny?" "All right," said the heavenly Father. "Just wait a second."

God does not measure us according to the limitations of our world. There will always be somebody who has more, does more, and is better than we are. To God, however, even if we do less, even if we have less and even if we are worse than we have ever been, we are loved and forgiven as we are. This is real wisdom.

When the wise men looked at the child Jesus, vulnerable and helpless, they experienced God showing them that He is in control. When we are disappointed and frustrated, when are at a loss and have failed, when we had been disgraced and fallen from God’s grace, God shows himself as a humble, unprotected, defenseless Savior.

It is this message of love that God communicated to the wise men through the child Jesus. Love means accepting the stubbornness and impatience of a people, who longed and grumbled for a Messiah but whose faith was found wanting when the Savior did come. Love means revealing himself to a world that did not even accommodate him in the comfort of an inn, but lent him the coldness of a cave. Love means forgiving even the sins of a King Herod, a Pontius Pilate and a Judas.

When the wise men beheld the child Jesus, they realized that the happiness in living can only be found in loving. Manipulating and controlling people, exercising ruthless power and dominion, having complete authority and being in charge are not reasons for God becoming one of us. Loving is.

This was Herod’s blunder. This was what the three wise men saw. This is God’s daily manifestation. This is God’s constant epiphany.

8 January 2012

Silence of Mary

2012-01-24T15:37:00.000-05:00

Although we celebrated our Parish Golden Jubilee this September, 2011 was not a good year for me. We had a lot of funerals and there has been a lot of natural calamities here and abroad. My father’s brother, my uncle, died last August. My brother-in-law had an emergency brain surgery after a road accident and a first cousin in Singapore is slowly recuperating from a debilitating stroke.

I presume some of you have your own share of problems and anxieties. As we stand at the threshold of another year, the Church bids us to welcome it with the help of the Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary.

She had just delivered her child when the shepherds arrived. They made known to Joseph and Mary the message of the angel. All those who heard it were amazed and Mary was silent. She kept all the things she knew about Jesus in her heart.

The late Pope John Paul II said that “Mary's example enables the Church better to appreciate the value of silence. Mary's silence is not only moderation in speech, but it is especially a wise capacity for remembering and embracing in a single gaze of faith the mystery of the Word made man and the events of his earthly life.”

He further said that “it is this silence as acceptance of the Word, this ability to meditate on the mystery of Christ, that Mary passes on to believers. In a noisy world filled with messages of all kinds, her witness enables us to appreciate a spiritually rich silence and fosters a contemplative spirit.”

God speaks to us in our silence. Noises within and around us distract us from the Word. That we are always busy in attending to our various concerns prevents us from being silent.

Things to do, places to go, people to see. We have an overload of things to do—debts and credit cards, mortgages and loans, utility and phone bills to pay, classes and sports activities, meetings and parties to attend, doctor’s appointments. We have an overload of people to see—children, grandchildren, dentists, doctors, accountants, lawyers, mechanics, and well, sometimes, a priest. We have an overload of places to go—church, school, work, gym, clinic, hospital, nursing home, shopping malls, Shoprite.

How can we find silence in this cacophony of noisy distractions around us? The cartoon character Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes once said, “God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Right now I’m so far behind I’ll never die.”

There is a need for us to be silent, like Mary did. There is a need for us to treasure the Word in our hearts, like Mary did.

How did she do it? Deep down inside she had an abiding faith in a God, who makes good things work together for those who love Him. Deep down inside she cast her worries and anxieties aside. Deep down inside, she beheld the present, the baby Jesus.

Having the child in her heart kept the Blessed Mother reflective, silent and at peace. Jesus was all she ever needed. As we begin the New Year, may the protection and guidance of Mary, the Mother of God, continually remind us that Jesus is all we ever need in this noisy world. He is the only Word that can bring us silence.

1 January 2012

Why the Shepherds

2011-12-25T16:19:00.000-05:00

If Mary and Joseph were to announce the birth of the child Jesus on Facebook or Twitter, I wonder which of the following they would use: Is it “now that the dust has settled we are full of joy, as we announce the arrival of our baby boy,” or “after nine months we’re happy to say, that it’s a boy and he is ready to play.” Is it “someone new to cuddle and kiss, an adorable son we cannot resist,” or “from heaven to us with great joy, we are proud to announce our little cowboy.” Knowing Joseph I don’t think he will use the following announcement, “first comes love then comes marriage then comes Jesus in the baby carriage!”

It was a moment of great joy that day. The most famous Christmas carol of all time captures the essence of his birth: Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright, round yon Virgin Mother and Child, Holy Infant so tender and mild, sleep in heavenly peace. In this endearing atmosphere comes the announcement: silent night, holy night, shepherds quake at the sight, glories stream from heaven afar heavenly hosts sing Alleluia, Christ, the Savior is born!

It was to the shepherds first that the angels sang about Jesus. The fact that God made it this way helps us to understand better the meaning of Christmas. News would have spread faster if the angels went to the officials of the land, the Scribes and the Pharisees perhaps. Or even the Roman governor. But to the shepherds, who were at the opposite end of the political spectrum and social strata, God reveals his promise.

Shepherds had no power or prestige. Their command and authority is limited to the animals they tend. Nobody would expect a shepherd to tell stories about the birth of a Messiah. They would be subject to ridicule with a question based on prejudice alone. What would they know other than tending sheep? Isn’t that what shepherds do?

The Bible has tons of stories about our Lord honoring people that the world often overlooks, ignores and judges unjustly. From Moses, who had a speech impediment and to whom he handed the Ten Commandments to Abraham who became a father in his old age. From Jacob, who was a liar but became the patriarch of the twelve tribes of Israel to the least of these tribes, Judah, where came the Savior of the world.

Humility and acceptance are the constant theme of Christmas and our Christian faith. Some of us have known rejection in our lives. Some of us have been left out and ignored. Some of us were probably given the run around and told that we do not belong, that there was no room for us in the inn.

In announcing the Good News first to the shepherds, God is telling us that no matter how insignificant, worthless, invaluable we may think we are, we are important to Him, we are loved by Him.

Christmas is actually a retelling of God’s unending and unconditional love to a people mired by weakness and stigmatized by sin. From Adam and Eve, who became disobedient, down to every generation, sin disturbed our hearts in its varied forms: murder, lust, theft, war, envy, jealousy, division, hatred.

Not everything is lost, though. Like God’s chosen people and like the shepherds, we began hoping to see the light. Even when we have fallen, grace filters in through our acceptance of guilt and fidelity to God’s promise. The prophets did promise that a light will come to dispel all darkness. A baby will be born to a virgin. He will be called Emmanuel, which means God is present.

The shepherds held on to this promise. They prayed for the Messiah to be in their midst. Some of them must have wondered during those dark nights, “Will the Messiah ever come? Does God listen to our prayers? Does He keep his promise?”

Just like some of us who had become tired and weary with all our challenges and pains in life. Just like some of us who wondered whether it is worthwhile having faith, going to Church, sacrificing, forgiving and loving. Just like some of us who pine and yearn for a Christmas that is endless.

When the angels announced to the shepherds about the birth of Jesus, they knew in their hearts that God listens to every prayer. God keeps his promise. When the shepherds learned about Jesus, they felt in their hearts that God shared His very best so that the least and the lost among us will find our way to a Christmas that will forever last.

25 December 2011

Ang Pamasko ni Aurelia

2011-11-29T15:36:00.000-05:00

Nailathala na ang larawan mo sa Facebook. May isang lalaking nagmagandang loob na nagtanong sa akin kung maari raw na makunan niya akong nakatalikod. Kung iyan ang isa sa mga dahilan para makapiling kang muli, daglian akong pumayag. Nakalakip sa likod ng aking mumurahing daster ang flyer na nagsasabing nawawala ka. Nasaan ka nga ba, Luis?

Alam kong medyo ulyanin ka na. Kung minsan nga nalulungkot akong malamang wala ka ng nakikilala sa titig ng aking mga mata, sa tono ng aking tinig, sa alab ng aking pag-ibig. Nakakapaghinayang na isiping buhay ka nga at nasa tabi ko noong gabing huli kang makasama, ngunit parang wala ka naman sa aking piling.

Tig-isang pandesal lamang tayo noong umagang iyon. May itinira ka pa. Hindi ko malaman kung para sa akin o inilaan mo para sa iyo. Magmula nang mawala ka, itinago at kinupkop ko iyon sa pag-asang may babalikan ka pa, sa paniniwalang pandesal ang makakapag-alala sa iyo ng ating pagsasama.

Araw-araw kong ipinamamahagi ang iyong larawan, nagbabakasakaling may nakakita sa iyo o nakilala ka lamang. Sa mga gabing bumabalik ako sa ating tahanan at wala ka pa rin, tinitingnan ko ang kadiliman ng langit at pilit na hinihila ang panibagong umaga upang hanapin kang muli.

Isinaad ko sa aking sarili na hindi kita iiwan. Hindi ako susuko. Hahanap at hahanap ako ng dahilan at paraan upang ikaw ay makita at muling makasama. Wala sa akin ang hirap at pagod umulan man o umaraw, umambon man o uminit. Kalagayan mo lamang ang iniisip ko. Papaano ka sa biglaang pag-ulan at pag-ambon? Saan ka sisilong sa init ng araw at hikbi ng ulap?

Mahal kita noon pa man. Makailang pagkakataon na rin tayong pinaghiwalay ng masaklap na panahon at makailang beses na rin tayong pinag-away ng makamundong suliranin ngunit nagsumikap pa rin tayong maging matuwid at marangal. Nagisnan natin ang tunay na kayamanan sa ating paghihirap. Ang ating pagmamalasakit at pag-aaruga sa isa’t isa ay nagbunga ng labis pa sa ating angkan.

Hahanapin at hahanapin kita, Luis. Sa parang, paaralan, pamilihan at pantalan. Sa riles ng tren, sa simbahang banal at sa mga pook ng kalakal. Hahanapin kita. Tulad din ng paghanap ng Panginoon sa iyo at sa akin. Magtago man tayo ng sapilitan ay hahanapin pa rin. Sa kailaliman man o sa kataastaasan, sa kadiliman man o sa kaliwanagan, naroon Siya. Hinahanap ang mahal niya. Tulad ng paghanap ko sa iyo.

Gusto kong maalala mo sa iyong paglisan, kung may maalala ka man, na narito lang ako para sa iyo, namamahagi ng larawan mo, naghahanap sa iyo. Hindi mo alam kung paano ako nag-aalala, kung gaanong hirap ang aking dinaanan makita ka lamang. Alam kong kahit hindi mo batid ay hindi mo ako kusang iiwan.

Hindi ako nasaktan dahil alam kong hindi mo ako sasaktan. Hindi ako iiyak dahil alam kong walang dahilan. At hindi rin ako titigil dahil alam kong wala rin ako sa iyong kawalan.

At tulad ng mga panalanging bigla na lamang ipinagkakaloob sa mga sandaling hindi inaasahan, may nakapagsabi sa aking nakita ka raw. Luis, ikaw na ba iyan?

Sa gitna ng mga kamerang nagtatala ng ating muling pagsasama bigla akong nakapagsaad ng Salamat. Salamat sa mga taong tumulong sa paghanap sa iyo. Salamat sa kanila na biyayang bigay ng Panginoon. Salamat sa mga taong muling nagpakita ng kabutihan at kasayahan.

At ano naman ang sabi mo? Wala kang nalalaman. Wala kang alam. Ang namutawi lamang sa labi mo ay Amen. Ulyanin ka na nga. Luis, ikaw ang Pasko ng buhay ko.

Siya nawa.

29 November 2011

Bato

2011-11-02T16:10:00.000-04:00

Batong bato na ako sa pakikinig tungkol sa bato. May mga batong matutulis at may mga batong mapupurol. May mga batong matitigas at may mga batong nalalagas. At may mga bato namang kasingliit ng batobalani at mga batong kasinglaki ng buwan.

Naiiba ang mga batong nakita ko. Kinilala, kinausap at kinaibigan. Hinulma, inukit at inayos. Minahal, nasaktan at nakamit ang kamalayan na hindi inaasahan.

Paano nga ba naman maaayos ang mga nagkalat na bato sa paligid at hihilahin pataas sa mataas na bulubundukin? Paano nga ba naman mauukit ang mga batong matitigas at dahan dahang sasalansanin sa pagawa ng bakod, bahay at bakuran? Paano nga ba naman aayusin ang mga batong palaging hidwa ang lindol, paguho ng lupa at pagsubok ng ulan?

Ngunit ginawa ito ng mga Inca. Sabi ni Edgardo, ang mananalaysay namin sa Machu Picchu. Sa bundok naililok ang isang lupaing bayawak ang hugis sa kalangitan. Sa bundok naiukit ang isang sagisag ng di maiwaksing lipunan. Sa bundok nakaugat ang isang lahing di mawari ang isipan.

Maraming kagamitan ang bato. Bato ang ginamit noon sa pagsindi ng liwanag at paglikha ng apoy. Bago pa dumating ang mga Inca. At bago pa magsalaysay si Edgardo na parang walang katapusan. Bato rin ang ginamit na pamukol sa mga kalaban. At bato ang ginawang panangga at kalasag ng katawan.

Ilang beses ring lumitaw ang bato sa Banal na Kasulatan. Bato ang ipinukol ni David sa higante. Bato ang ipupukol sana ng mga taong tsismosa’t pakialamera sa babaeng nahuling may kasiping na iba. Bato ang ginawang pang-akit ng demonyo sa Panginoong Hesus.

Nang banggitin ni Hesus ang batong tinanggihan ng kanyang mga ninuno ang siyang naging saligan ng lahat, tinukoy Niya ang kanyang sarili. Bato rin ang ginawang batayan ng Panginoon nang unang hinulma ang Banal na Simbahan. Tinawag niya si Simon Pedro sa kaniyang bagong pangalan--Kephas, Bato.

Hanggang sa ngayon, paghahalintulad sa bato ang ginagawang batayan ng Santo Papa at mga Obispo sa tuwinang magpahayag sila ng aral tungkol sa kabutihang-asal at pananampalataya. Sa katunayan, ang salitang katedral ay hango sa salitang ang kahulugan ay bato.

Kaya marahil tama si Edgardo na hanggang ngayon ay salita pa rin ng salita tungkol sa bato. Kung tutuusin nga naman, kahit walang salaysay ng mga Inca, kahit walang tanawin tulad ng Machu Picchu, paano nga ba naman maipapahiwatig ng mas malinaw sa ating buhay at pananampalataya kung wala ang bato?

2 November 2011

The Masks we Wear

2011-10-30T10:39:00.000-04:00

There was once a politician who went to a nursing home seeking for votes from senior citizens. Thinking that he was popular and since he was so full of himself, he said to an old man, "Do you know me?" The fellow said, "No, but if you ask the nurse, she'll tell you."

Who are we? Halloween brings out the different masks we wear. Some are masks we like to be. Others are masks we fear to be. Some are gory. Others are silly. Some can be found in children’s books. Others were chosen just for their looks.

But one thing is certain with the mask we wear. It is not us. It is not the person who is wearing it. It is worn just for Halloween.

This explains the disappointment of Jesus in addressing his disciples. He talked about the scribes and the Pharisees who wore their masks of hypocrisy all the time. They liked to be adored, acknowledged and recognized. They loved places of honor and titles of distinction. But they do not practice what they pray for, what they preach about, who they believe.

Hypocrisy is a disgrace we all have to face. If we cannot be true to who we are, then how can we be true to who we can become? Jesus is reminding us to be true to our faith and our belief. If we cannot remain loyal to what we believe, then how can we express our belief outside of our faith? Jesus wants us be glued to the work of his creation because there is always an element of sin in any hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy is a daughter of pride. Pride brought Lucifer and his minions to their own misery. Pride disturbed the beauty of paradise in the Garden of Eden. Pride brought Judas to betrayal and hopelessness.

Proud people are insecure people. They do not have a healthy appreciation of themselves. They need to be affirmed all the time. Benjamin Franklin wrote that a man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle.

Humility, on the other hand, is a gift of grace. It is knowing our own worth and value. It is appreciating who we are in a world that does not revolve around us. It is believing in one God who created us with no distinction. It is living for a God who is the Father of us all.

Thus, if we want to be great in the kingdom of God, we have to be a servant. Just be humble. No one has ever choked to death from swallowing his own pride. Jesus said it again, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Or as somebody would say, God pickles the proud and preserves the foolish.

There was a story of Alex Haley, author of Roots, who had a picture in his office of a turtle sitting atop a fence post with its legs dangling far to the sides. When asked why he loved that picture, Alex Haley said that it was a reminder for him of a basic important thing: The turtle did not get on top of the fence post without some help. Haley said that every time he starts thinking about what he accomplished in life, the picture reminded him that he did not get where he was without help from people. It was his way of keeping himself humble.

One way of dying to self is to put the gifts that God has given us into a proper perspective. That is essentially why we are created according to our Catechism: to know him, to love him, to serve him in this world and in the next.

All our titles, all our possessions, all our wealth, all our gifts therefore are meant for service to God and to our fellow human being. And need we say, to that perspective alone we commit all the hypocrisy we have, and all the masks we wear.

30 October 2011

Loving Life and Living Love

2011-10-23T13:00:00.000-04:00

A group of experts, children from 4 to 8 years old, was asked the question, “What does love mean?” Here are their answers: “Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.” Elaine - age 5. “I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.” Lauren – age 4. “Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.” Bobby – age 7. “Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross.” Mark – age 6.

Love can be defined, described and expressed in so many ways. In our Christian tradition, we know and believe that God is love. Jesus is the best definition, the greatest description and the finest expression of love. And so, when he responds to the scholar of the law’s question about the greatest commandment, He is actually presenting Himself as the Answer.

Love God above all else. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. We have heard that said and expressed a million times. In following that command, we are like the scholar of the law when we question sometimes the choice whom to love and how to love.

Love shone in a dark cave in Bethlehem. And so we know that loving will always have a rough beginning. Love was manifested through a crucified Savior on Calvary. And so we know that loving will always have a sacrificial meaning. But love rose from a borrowed tomb on Easter day. And so we know that love will always have its reward in life everlasting.

It is quite intangible to show our love for God and so He gave us a neighbor to love. The idea is that when we help a neighbor, we help God. When we love a neighbor, we love God. A poem put it this way, "I sought my soul, and the soul I could not see. I sought my God and God eluded me - I sought my neighbor and found all three.”

This is where the difficulty in loving arises. We cannot just love a stranger, a foreigner or an illegal immigrant. We cannot just love a murderer, terrorist, abortionist or anybody who is against what we believe and profess. We cannot just love our enemies.

That is why unlike the scholar of the law, our question about the greatest commandment is not to test God but to seek his help and strength. Alone we feel helpless. We need one another. We need to be neighbors to each other because we are made according to God’s own image.

The Book of Genesis recounts how God pronounced everything to be good until he saw Adam. He said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” And so, he created Eve to be his partner. We are not designed in seclusion or formed in desolation. Rather, we are called to be part of a family. We are meant to be companions on the journey. We are called to be brothers and sisters under one Father.

It is when we detach ourselves from the needs of our neighbor that goodness itself diminishes its value. How do we respond to the needs of people we love? How do we respond to the needs of our own? What do we share?

The late author Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, “Nothing, I just helped him cry.”

It is when we fail to love that we find ourselves lonely and alone. Loneliness is the first thing that God said was not good. From loneliness come depression, jealousy, envy, hatred and indifference. From loneliness comes sin. Sin is a failure in love. It is turning our backs on God. And when we turn away from Him who is the Light, we face our shadows of pain and isolation.

God loves us because He loves everything and everyone He made. Dennis the Menace wisely said in one of the cartoon strips after his neighbor gave him a candy, "She gives me candy not because I'm nice but because she's nice.” God is not just nice. He is more than that.

Even when we do not feel lovable, even when nobody loves us, even when we are abandoned or neglected, forsaken or ignored, God will continually love us, regardless of whatever wrong, whatever sin or whatever neglect we ever did. God will always love us because He is mindful of the meaning of forever. And God will always love us because of the finest expression, the greatest description and the best definition of love, Jesus the Christ.

23 October 2011

Tanong

2011-09-23T20:10:00.000-04:00

Mausisa ang Pilipino. Mapagtanong. Para bang nais at kinakailangang malaman ang lahat ng tungkol sa iyo at sa buhay mo.

Kung wala ka pang nakikitang kasama at ika'y nasa tamang gulang na, ang tanong na may kahalong pintas ay ganito "Wala bang nagkakagusto sa iyo? Hindi naman masyadong nadaganan ang ilong mo. Nakikita pa ang butas." At kapag lalaki naman ang kaharap ay sasabihing, "Bakla ka ba at wala ka pang kasintahan? Magpari ka na lang kaya."

Diyan nalalaman kung minsan ang tingin natin sa mga dapat maglingkod sa Panginoon. Dahil ilang beses nang nabasted ng iba't ibang nililigawan, magpari na lang. Dahil walang kasintahan, magpari na lang. Dahil parang bakla, magpari na lang. Kaya siguro, kulang na ang bilang ng mga pari. Karamihan na ay may mga kasintahan. Naubos na ang mga bakla.

At kung magkataon mang matagal na kayong nakikitang may kasama, ka-date at kadugtong hininga, ang tanong ay ganito, "O kelan ba kayo magpapakasal? Matagal na kaming hindi nakakahigop ng sabaw ng baka." Sabaw ng baka lang pala ang dahilan ng kanilang pagtatanong. Bulalo lang pala ang hilig, hindi ang kabanalan ng pagpapakasal.

Kapag nakasal na at napapansing wala pang anak, magtatanong kaagad ng ganito, "May sakit ba ang isa sa inyo at wala pa akong nakikitang tsikiting? Baog ka ba? Bagsak na ba ang Bataan?" Iniisip nila marahil na palaging nakasiping sa kama ang mga mag-asawa kapag nakasal na. 24/7. Parang convenience store, bukas sa lahat ng oras at araw. Daig pa ang mga kuneho.

Nabiyayaang mabigyan ng anak, ang susunod na tanong ay, "Kelan ba nyo dadagdagan ng kalaro ang batang ito?" Tingin naman nila laruan lang ang bata. E kung sagutin ko kaya ng ganito, "Ikaw na lang kaya ang magbuntis, mag-alaga at magpalaki ng susunod?”

Hindi pa sila tapos kahit na parang nais mo ng pasakan ang bungangang may dagdag na katanungan. Karamihan sa mga ito'y nagsisimula sa bakit. Bakit ba kayo naghiwalay? Bakit ba kayo nag-away? Bakit ba siya namatay? Mga katanungang wala ang sagot ko at wala ang simula. Wala po. Hindi na po kami nagsisiping at palagi na po kaming hiwalay. Wala po. Hindi ko lang po siya sinasagot kaya po kami nag-away. Hindi ho. Hindi dahil sa kami'y nagaway at naghiwalay kaya siya namatay.

Sasabihin ko pa ba ang mga dahilan at kasagutan sa mga taong wala namang pagmalasakit sa hirap kong dinatnan? Na kami'y nagkahiwalay dahil palagi siyang wala sa aking buhay? Na kami'y nag-away dahil wala akong maisagot sa biglaang paglamig ng aming pagsasama? Na kaya siya namatay ay dahil sa nakausling pako sa dingding na siyang bumaon sa kanyang batok nang bigla siyang tumango at higupin ang sabaw ng balut?

Kung sabagay, mapagtanong rin ang Diyos, na siyang gumawa ng tao, na siyang naglilok ng Pilipino. Hindi lang niya pinili, kundi pinong pinong pinili. Pili na, pino pa. “Nasaan kayo?” tanong Niya kay Eba at Adan. “Nasaan ang kapatid mong si Abel?” tanong Niya kay Cain. “Tatalikuran niyo ba ako?” tanong ni Hesus sa kanyang mga alagad.

“Nahiya kami dahil kami'y hubad,” sagot ni Eba at Adan. “Ako ba ang tagabantay ng aking kapatid?” tanong at sagot ni Cain. “Hindi po,” sabi ng mga alagad. “Hindi ka namin tatalikuran, Panginoon,” sagot nila bago ang badya ng kamatayan.

Ito ang sagot nila at dapat sagot din natin sa naglaan ng buhay. Ito ang sagot nila at dapat sagot din natin sa pangako ng buhay. Ito ang kanilang sagot. Hindi po. Na marahil sa ating panahon at sa ating dako ay isa pa ring tanong.

Hindi po?

23 September 2011

Forgiven

2011-09-11T10:44:00.001-04:00

It is coincidental that on a weekend when we remember our fellow citizens who died on 9/11, the Gospel reading talks about forgiveness. It is providential that ten years after the tragic event, Jesus and the Church reminds us about the pain and the grace of forgiveness.

One of the attractions that I had for priesthood is the sacrament of penance. I am a sinner and I have sinned so many times. And yet, I know and I believe that God is continually extending his forgiving hand. You probably felt it, too. Inside of us is a universal longing and hunger for forgiveness.

Ernest Hemingway writes in one of his stories about a young man who wrongs his father and runs away from home to the city of Madrid. Out of great love for his son, the father takes out an ad in the Madrid newspaper, which says, 'Paco, meet me Hotel Montana, 12 noon Tuesday. All is forgiven. Papa.' Now Paco is a rather common name in Spain, and so when the father gets to the hotel, he finds eight hundred young men waiting for their fathers. Hemingway's story reminds us how desperate all of us are for forgiveness.

It is quite a challenge to forgive. Sometimes we will hear voices that speak words of vengeance and retaliation. Oftentimes we will hear voices that talk about reprisal and retribution. Periodically we will hear voices that ask us to redress the wrong and get even. But Jesus makes it clear always and forever that our belief is based on life and not on death.

If we do not forgive, we kill life. If we do not forgive, we become part of the many desolate individuals whose lives linger on the fringes of death. If we do not forgive, we commit spiritual hara-kiris because forgiveness is the hallmark of our faith. The Cross is the perfect image of what and how it is to be forgiven. It has given us life.

Unfortunately for some of us, life could be burdensome because we have not learned or decided to forgive. Problems and pains, heartaches and bitterness from the past have made life difficult for us. They brought us down that it darkened our present and even defined our future. Some of those pains started from petty grudges and have simmered for decades. My experience with marriage annulments often points out the marital breakups and divorces began from simple arguments like this story.

A couple drove several miles down a country road, not saying a word. An earlier discussion had led to an argument, and neither wanted to concede their position. As they passed a barnyard of mules and pigs, the husband sarcastically asked, "Relatives of yours?" "Yep," the wife replied, "In-laws."

Some of those heartaches were personal offenses and had been carried on for years. And some of those bitterness have turned into silent rage over offenses worth perhaps less than ten dollars.

It is not because life could be burdensome and difficult that we do not forgive. It is because we do not forgive that life could be difficult. If we want the joy of a moment in seeing our enemies and those who have wronged us wallow in misery, then avenge for the injustice we may. But if we want the happiness of a life that is beyond here and now, then we need to forgive.

A sin can never be undone. It can only be forgiven. A grievous mistake can never be unmade. It can only be forgiven. The word forgive always contains the word give. For whoever does not give will always find it difficult to forgive. God forgives because God gives.

We have the responsibility to forgive. It is a power that is shared by God’s design because it is a sacrament of grace. Whenever we forgive, we bring back life in this world. Jesus showed us how and what it is to be forgiven because He is our forgiveness.

11 September 2011

Communicate and Relate

2011-09-03T18:39:00.000-04:00

A young rabbi found a serious problem in his new congregation. During the Friday service, half the congregation stood for the prayers and half remained seated, and each side shouted at the other, insisting that theirs was the true tradition. Nothing the rabbi said or did moved toward solving the impasse. Finally, in desperation, the young rabbi sought out the synagogue's 99-year-old founder. He met the old rabbi in the nursing home and poured out his troubles. "So tell me," he pleaded, "was it the tradition for the congregation to stand during the prayers?" "No," answered the old rabbi." Ah," responded the younger man, "then it was the tradition to sit during the prayers?" "No," answered the old rabbi. "Well," the young rabbi responded, "what we have is complete chaos! Half the people stand and shout, and the other half sit and scream." "Ah," said the old man, "that was the tradition."

The world would be such a wonderful place if only we all live together in harmony. But such is not our tale and story. There will always be division and conflict in us and in every community. There will always be contention and disagreement in us and in every family.

The presence of community does not mean the absence of disunity. Even the most Christian community can be afflicted by conflict. Perfection is not an attribute of a human world.

Jesus advises us what to do when we find ourselves in conflict with just one simple word: communicate and relate. Do not hold grudges. Do not brood over injuries. Do not nurse your resentment while you breathe out in silent fury. How many families have been divided because they held grudges against each other for so many years?

Communicate and relate. Never gossip. That which keeps us from our neighbor, keeps us from God. Or spread rumors. Robert Frost wrote, “Before I build a wall I'd ask to know what I was walling in or walling out and to whom I was like to give offence.” No anonymous notes. Anonymous is already famous. Why still make him notorious? Have the courage to face what needs to be corrected. Have the grace to forgive what needs to be forgotten.

After all we are a community of wounded believers. How different that we pretend to be always right when we know that we can sometimes be wrong. How strange that we hide our wounds when we know we are all broken. How unfortunate that we find ourselves to be strangers when we are supposed to be friends.

Community requires the ability to expose our wounds and weaknesses to our fellow Christians whenever we correct or punish. It also requires the ability to be affected by the wounds of the other person whenever we forgive or admonish. We cannot communicate and relate unless we exonerate and emancipate.

We have our own differences in the color of our skin, the shape and size of our bodies, the way we speak, think and feel. But when we look deeper into our own individual selves, we realize that we are all the same.

We are a community of believers. The prayer that Jesus taught us refers to God as our Father, not my Father. Every move we make affects our community. Every sin we break disturbs our community. Every reconciliation we initiate inspires our community.

Our relationships can never be freed from ugly hurts, painful disagreements and harmful failures. Jesus knew this is bound to happen and so he corrected our mistakes by communicating and relating. He communicated with his words: the two greatest commandments. He related to us in his action: his death on the cross.

If ever we have to correct each other and admonish one another, may it be done in a spirit of love, which is the fulfillment of the law. We can never go wrong. Because with Jesus, love was and is his biggest motivation. Through Jesus, love was and is his challenging invitation. And for Jesus, love was and is his constant tradition.

4 September 2011

Damaso

2011-08-29T15:29:00.001-04:00

Ako si Damaso at inaamin ko.

Malungkot man ang nangyari at daan natin ay nagkaiba at ako ay nagkamali. Masaklap man sabihing tapat ka sa puso mo at tapat rin ako. Mahapdi mang ituring na paniniwala natin ay magkasalungat sa nararapat.

Ako si Damaso at tinatanggap ko.

Hindi tamang ipagyabang ang aking pagkakamali. Ngunit dahil sa ako ay tao, marupok at babasagin, kamalian ay kakambal na ng aking katauhan. Hindi tamang ipagmalaki ang aking kasalanan. Ngunit tao rin akong tulad mo, madaling matukso at masaktan.

Ako si Damaso at ito ang salaysay ko.

Sa murang gulang ay nadama ko na ang kakaibang tawag. Nais kong magpakabanal. Nais kong maglingkod. Nais kong maging kinatawan ng Diyos. Ayaw ng Tatay. Alangan si Nanay. Maraming tumawa't di makapaniwala. Ikaw na payasong kumilos? Ikaw na palabirong manalita? Ikaw na mali mali?

Si Pedro na lang kaya dahil pangit at bansot. Kung magpari man ay hindi darami ang kanyang lahi. Si Santiago na lang kaya dahil matalino. Kung magkataon mang magsermon ng mahaba ay hindi natin tutulugan. Si Juan na lang kaya dahil ubod ng hinhin at binabae. Hindi na niya kinakailangang bumili ng bestida at palamuti.

Ngunit tulad nga ng kasabihan, marami ang tinawag, kakaunti ang pinili. Sa mga tawa, biruan at kamalian, may isang pinili. Sa gitna ng mga tukso't karupukan, may isang pinili. Sa harap ng babasaging kasalanan, may isang napili.

Si Damaso, ako.

At dahil sa kinakailangang ipagtanggol ang aking paniniwala, at dahil sa kinakailangang ipaliwanag ang buod, ugat at bunga ng ating pananampalataya, at dahil sa kinakailangang punuin ang pagkukulang sa tiwala, kailangan kong magsalita.

Napakasimple lang ng sinabi ko. Ang Diyos ang nagbigay ng buhay. Nais niya tayong magkaroon ng buhay na marangal na ayon sa bigay niya. Nais niya tayong makapiling sa walang hanggang buhay. At sa buhay nating ito, malaya tayong sundin o talikuran ang kautusan Niya.

Simple lang naman kung tutuusin. Huwag nating gawin ang hindi nararapat at karapat dapat. May mga bagay na huwad at hindi tunay na nakakahadlang ng malinis at matimyas na pagmamahalan. May mga bagay na salungat sa utos ng Diyos at taliwas sa katotohanan.

Ang pagplano ng pamilya ay marangal at nararapat. Ngunit ang paggamit ng mga bagay na labag at laban sa Diyos ay hindi. Uulitin ko pa ba ang mga bagay na ito na nakakapahina ng pagmamahalan ng mga mag-asawa, mga bagay na nakakasira ng pamilya? Condom at IUD—mali. Pildoras at vasectomy—mali. Sterilization at tubal ligation—mali. Ilan lang ang mga ito sa mga alam nating mali. Bakit pa ba tayo magkukunwari? Bakit pa ba natin tinatakpan ang kamalian? Bakit ipinagmamalaki pa natin ang kasalanan?

May mga nasaktan sa sinabi ko. Katuwang lang daw ang Diyos sa buhay. Karapatan daw nilang piliin at sundin ang kautusang nakasaad. May mga nainis sa sinabi ko. Nasa sa kanilang pamamaraan raw ang daan patungo sa ikalawang buhay. May mga nagalit sa sinabi ko. Huwag daw akong maghimasok sa kanilang buhay at bahay.

Paano nga ba naman ako manghihimasok kung ang pananalita ko ay hindi maikubli ng bawat silid sa bawat tahanan? Paano nga ba naman ako manghihimasok kung katotohanan ang isinisigaw ng tinig ko? Paano nga ba naman ako manghihimasok kung hinahatid ko lamang sa iyo ang karapatan at dahilan na tumugon at sumang-ayon sa tunay na katotohanan?

Ako si Damaso, nagsasaad ng katotohanang hindi batay sa nais ng karamihan. Ako si Damaso, nagsasalaysay ng pananampalatayang batay sa utos ng Katotohanan. Ako si Damaso, umaasang kasama't kagabay ka sa pag-unawang ako'y makasalanan ring tulad mo.

Si Damaso, kapatid mo, ako.

29 August 2011

Pinaka

2011-07-27T14:49:00.000-04:00

Hindi siya magaling kumanta tulad ni Charice. Hindi rin siya magaling sa boksing tulad ni Manny. At hindi rin siya magaling sa mga katangiang likas at bukod sa mga Pilipino. Ngunit pangalan niya’y nakaukit na sa pahina ng mga aklat, anyo niya'y nakita na sa tabing ng telebisyon at internet.

Siya si Junrey Balawing. Pinoy na nagkamit ng parangal maliban sa mga iginagawad ng pamahalaan, sining, paglingkod at pananampalataya. Pinoy na nakilala hindi sa kanyang angking talino, sigla o pananalita. Pinoy na nasaksihan ng karamihan dahil wala nang hihigit pa sa kanya.

Hindi dahil sa siya’y payak at mataba. Hindi dahil sa siya’y napapaiyak at napapaluha sa tuwing makakita ng mga taong katawan ay mahahaba. Kundi dahil sa siya’y pandak at mababa.

Sa mga taong hindi hiyang sa Star Margarine, sa mga taong mga unano marahil ang mga ninuno at sa mga bonsai ipinaglihi, sa mga taong talampakan lamang ang bilang, siya na yata ang pinaka sa mga pinaka.

Wala ng hihigit pa. Wala ng lalampas pa. Sukdulan na.

Ngunit katulad nating lahat, may aral sa kuwento niya, may dahilan sa buhay niya, at may pangako sa kinabukasan niya. Hindi dahil sa mababa siya, wala ng pag-asa. Hindi dahil sa mababa siya, wala ng bukas. At hindi dahil sa mababa siya, wala ng buhay.

Dahil tao pa rin siya tulad natin. Ginawa at nililok ng Panginoon sa kanyang isipan. Minahal at niligtas ng Diyos sa kanyang kahirapan. Inangking banal ng Diyos sa kanyang katauhan.

Ang pagiging pandak ay isang katotohanan na sa maliliit na bagay nagsisimula ang anumang taas na kahihinatnan. Ang pagiging pandak ay isang katunayan na lahat tayong ginawa ng Diyos ay may karapatang hinahawakan. Ang pagiging pandak ay isang kaganapan ng mundong patuloy na hinuhubog at inaalagaan ng Maykapal.

Kaya ito ang ginawang aral ni Santo Tomas upang patunayang mayroong Diyos. Sa mga taong labis ang pag-aalinlangan sa gitna ng kasamaan at kasinungalingan, sa mga taong labis ang pag-aatubili sa gitna ng kahirapan at kadiliman, sa mga taong labis ang pag-aagam-agam sa gitna ng luha’t dalita, sinulat niya na ang mga sumusunod na salita.

Kung may maganda man, mas may maganda sa pinakamaganda pa man. Kung may malakas man, mas may malakas sa pinakamalakas pa man. At kung may mabait, mas may mabait sa pinakamabait pa man.

Wala ng hihigit pa sa Diyos. Sa Kanya ang katapusan. Wala ng lalampas pa sa Diyos. Sa Kanya ang hangganan. Sukdulan na ang Diyos. Sa kanya ang simulain ng lahat ng kabaitan, lakas at kagandahan.

Kahangahanga si Junrey. Dahil sa kanya nalaman nating muli kung paano ang mabuhay na naiiba sa karamihan. Dahil sa kanya nabatid nating muli ang pagkakaiba ng ating mga katangian. Dahil sa kanya naniwala tayong muli na may Panginoon.

Pinakamatangkad sa lahat na mga matangkad. Pinakamababa sa lahat na mga mababa. Ang Panginoon nating lahat.

27 July 2011

Solomon's Prayer

2011-07-24T10:43:00.001-04:00

A married couple in their early 60s was celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in a quiet, romantic little restaurant. Suddenly, a tiny yet beautiful fairy appeared on their table. She said, 'For being such an exemplary married couple and for being loving to each other for all this time, I will grant you each a wish.'

The wife answered, 'Oh, I want to travel around the world with my darling husband. The fairy waved her magic wand and - poof! - two tickets for the cruise ship Queen Victoria appeared in her hands.

The husband thought for a moment: 'Well, this is all very romantic, but an opportunity like this will never come again. I'm sorry my love, but my wish is to have a wife 30 years younger than me.”

The wife and the fairy were deeply disappointed, but a wish is a wish. So the fairy waved her magic wand and poof! The husband became 92 years old.

What do you want from me? When Solomon was asked by God that question, he did not hesitate in his response. Instead of answering from what he wanted or what he needed, he replied from God’s standpoint by saying, “O Lord, my God, you have made me, your servant.”

Therein lies one of the secrets of Christianity: God is always the beginning of our wants and needs because God is always the end of what we want and what we need. Our prayers are answered and our wishes are granted when they begin with and from God. Jesus Himself said so because God knows more than what we know.

Therein also lies one of the secrets of Christian morality. To live rightly and justly means to look from and through the eyes of God. We will always see and find mistakes in others when we judge from our own perspectives. All of us are given the same gift. All of us are guided by the same Spirit. All of us are loved by the same God. There is no reason to compare when there is no excuse to despair.

However, we may have the hindsight, but not the sight. We may have the sight, but not the foresight. We may have the foresight, but not the insight. We overlook what is already there before us. We take for granted what was already given to us. We miss the obvious.

It is obvious that the kingdom of heaven is more precious and more valuable than all our wisdom, treasures and gifts. It is obvious that the kingdom of God is in the here and now. It is obvious that Jesus is inviting us all to His kingdom.

Whenever we question that all of us are called according to his purpose, whenever we doubt that for those of us who love God, all things work for good and whenever we forget that God wants to share with us more than what we desire, then we need to pray for wisdom like Solomon did.

Solomon’s wisdom brought him to pray for a heart of understanding and not want for a long life for himself. Solomon’s wisdom brought him to pray for a heart above and beyond reason and crave not for riches. Solomon’s wisdom brought him to pray for a heart of love nestled like a treasure and wish not for the life of his enemies.

We know how the story of Solomon ended. We also know how the story of Solomon began. But more so, we know that when he made his request, the Lord was pleased. He gave him more than he wanted.

24 July 2011

Meanings

2011-06-27T14:48:00.000-04:00

English is such a strange language. There are some words that are identical, and when pronounced differently, do not have the same meaning. Examples are as follows: They were too close to the door to close it. The insurance was invalid for the invalid. The farm was used to produce produce. Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

Words have the power to amuse us and describe the reality present before us. After the priest consecrates the bread and wine, there are four significant words that could also serve as reasons why we have to go to Mass.

The first reason is in the word: take. There are 126 meanings of the word in the dictionary, depending on whether it is used as a noun, a verb with object, without object, and as an idiom. For idioms, we hear it used as “on the take, take for granted, take it, take it out in, take it out of, take it out on, take upon oneself and the copyrighted Catholic idiom, take up a collection.

What do we take to Mass? What we have, how we do, who we are. The envelope that we take represents some amount of what we have. It is what we give back. The way we take it on at Mass shows our feelings and situations in how we are doing. It is what our children and grandchildren take after us. And, the manner we present ourselves to God manifests who we are. In the Eucharist, we become what we are because we are what we eat.

The second reason why we have to go to Mass is the word: thanks. There are seven meanings of the word in the dictionary, depending on whether it is used as a noun, a verb with object, idiom or interjection. Just the word itself is an interjection. Thanks! It is an informal expression of gratitude, appreciation or acknowledgement.

What do we give thanks at Mass? A lot. We take many things for granted, but there are three essential gifts we can never deny: the gift of life, the gift of love and the gift of faith. Every breath we take is a reason to give thanks. Every person who loves us and whom we love is a reason to give thanks. And every creed we profess is a reason to thank God and his goodness.

The third reason and word is: breaks. There are 115 meaning of the word in the dictionary, 11 less than the word take, which could probably mean that we take more than we break. It can be used as a noun, verb with object, without object, idiom, or verb phrase. For verb phrases, we hear it used as “break away, break back and break down.”

What do we break at Mass? Symbolically we break the bread but in reality, it is ourselves that we need to break. Symbolically, we crushed the grapes and made it into wine, but in reality, it is our selfishness that we need to crush. We can never arrive at the fourth word, which is the reason for the Eucharist, unless we had been broken and unless we had been crushed.

Those who had been wounded and had been scarred by their bitter relationships in life know how it is to be broken. Those who had been down and out in their addictions and miseries feel how it is to be crushed. And those who had been left out, ignored and rejected sense how it is to be fragmented.

However, unless we had been broken like bread, unless we had been crushed and turned like wine, we will never know how it is to really share.

Which is the fourth word and reason. There are only seven meanings of the word in the dictionary, equally the same number as the word thanks. It can be used as a noun and as a verb.

What do we share at Mass? Two words. Ourselves and Jesus, who is the fifth reason why we have to be at Mass. He cannot be classified as a noun, verb phrase, verb with object, without object or idiom. The word is Jesus. Jesus is the Word.

He is not in the take, but is taken. He is in the thanks and in the giving. He is in the breaking and in the sharing.

Jesus is essentially and really present in the Holy Eucharist, where the three meanings of present come together. He is present, not absent. He is really here. He is present, not past. His presence is happening now. He is present as a gift, really given. His gift is offered and never withheld.

A miracle happens in each Mass and in every Catholic Church every day. The priest pronounces the words and with our faith, God dwells and resides in the differences of our hearts, in the strangeness of our language. Such miracle is beyond our power, but not beyond the power of God. Why do we believe this? Because Christ said so. There is eternal life in His Body. There is the fountain of life in His Blood.

At Mass, there is a lot that is to be taken, given, broken and shared. At Mass, in our taking, giving, breaking and sharing with Christ, we find a God who is not a stranger. At Mass, like some of our English words, the bread and wine may look the same as the familiar and usual bread and wine, but when pronounced differently by a priest and in a different context, they take on a different meaning. They become the Body and Blood of Christ.

26 June 2011

Panaghoy

2011-06-01T11:33:00.000-04:00

Parang napakadaling sabihin na nandiyan kayo para sa akin pero mahirap tanggapin na wala na siya. Parang napakasayang pakinggan na hindi ako mag-iisa ngunit malungkot tanggapin na hindi ko na siya makakasama. Parang nakakatuwang pagmasdan na nandiyan kayo sa tabi ko sa aking pighati pero mahapding akuin na ang paglisan niya ang dahilan ng mga luha ko.

Malungkot mawalan ng mahal sa buhay. Masakit tanggapin na walang kinabukasang kasama siya. Mahirap mawalan ng anak.

Parang hindi tama na ako na siyang magulang ang maghatid sa kanya sa hukay. Parang hindi tama na ako na nag-aruga simulang siya ay magkamalay sa libingan niya ako mismo ang mag-alay. Parang hindi tama na akong mas matanda ang siyang maghandog ng isang mapait na gunita.

Sino ba ang magaakalang sa lahat ng kanyang mga tagumpay, kasiyahan at kagalakan ay may nakaambang sakuna, pangitain at pagluksa? Sino ba ang magaaakalang sa kabila ng lahat ng ngiti, tuwa at saya ay may katapat na dalamhati, luha at dalita? Sino ba ang magaakalang sa bawat hakbang niya tungo sa kanyang mga pangarap ay may kapalit na karimlang hiwaga?

Wala.

May mga sandaling narinig ko ang tinig niya. May mga araw na nagisnan ko ang mukha niya. May mga gabing naramdaman ko ang pagmamahal niya.

Sa mga sandaling iyon, ilang ulit akong napailing sa kawalan. Sa mga araw na iyon, ilang ulit akong kumurap sa katotohanan. Sa mga gabing iyon, ilang ulit akong tumingala sa kalangitan.

Bakit? tanong ko. Bakit nangyari sa atin ito? tanong kong muli. Bakit siya pa at hindi na lang ako?

Tulad ng iba't ibang karanasan na mahirap ipaliwanag, ang paglisan niya ay mananatiling tanong sa aking isipan. Tulad ng iba't ibang tanong na mahirap sagutin, ang pagyao niya ay mananatiling puwang sa aking damdamin. At tulad ng iba't ibang puwang na mahirap punuin, ang pagpaalam niya ay mananatiling tanong na parang ikinukubli ng nakapintong hiwaga.

Taon marahil ang lilipas bago ko matanggap na wala na siya sa takipsilim ng buhay ko. Taon marahil ang lilipas bago ko matanto na walang katapusan ang kalungkutang dala nito. Taon marahil ang lilipas bago ko malaman ang mga kasagutan sa mga tanong ko.

Wala na akong maitanong pa. Sa ngayon natagpuan ko ang sagot na nakaugat sa pananampalatayang nalalaman ko.

Ang kasagutan ay nakasalalay pa rin sa Panginoong minsan rin ay lumuha't nagtanong. Ang kasagutan ay isinalaysay na rin ng Panginoong buhay kahit sa kawalan at kadiliman. Ang kasagutan ay nasa Panginoong minahal niya, mahal ko at palagiang mahal tayo.

Palagay ko, ito rin ang sagot sa paglisan niya. Palagay ko, ito rin ang ipinahahatid niya. At palagay ko, ito rin ang nais niya.

17 April 2011

Three Mothers

2011-05-09T14:02:00.000-04:00

A panel of experts was asked to complete some sentences about their moms. What made them experts was the one thing they all had in common: they were all in kindergarten. Here are the sentences and their answers:

My mom is best at "driving," "cleaning," "running," "watering the garden," "making my bed," and "feeding the dog." If I had enough money, I'd buy her: "flowers," "a car," "a necklace," "a kitten," "a diamond ring," "a big pack of bubble gum."

It makes me feel good inside when Mom says: "good job," "dinnertime!" "You look handsome," "I'll buy you something" "I love you." My mom is as pretty as a "butterfly," "ballerina," "mouse," "princess," "goose," "gold ring," "a clean horse."

I would like to share with you about three mothers. The first one never talks back to me. But in my mind, I know that whenever I talk to her, she smiles because she knows about my weaknesses and failures. Her name is Mary, the mother of our Lord. She is a mother to me because of Jesus. It was because of her that I understood what the Beatles sang years ago, “When I found myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, Let it be.”

“Let it be” was the Blessed Mother’s response to the angel Gabriel when she was invited to be part of our salvation. Let it be done to me according to your word, she said. How wonderful our world would be if we only let God be.

The second mother is the Church, which is where we all belong. She is called in Greek ekklesia, which means a gathering or an assembly. I prefer to call her familia, because the Church is like a family to me. Priests, by reason of their ordination and because they represent Christ, becomes wedded to the Church. That may quite change things a little bit whenever we talk about weddings. With marriages come in-laws. And as we all know we, priests in the Diocese of Trenton, had a new father-in-law since last year: Bishop O’Connell. We retired our old father-in-law.

Then, there is my natural mother. The first lady I ever knew had the most beautiful face I had ever seen. Her name is Manuela. She was born a week and a day after Christmas and her name means “God is with us.” Because of her, I came to know about God. She taught me how to pray, how to believe and how to live my life.

Nothing can escape a mother’s eye for moms are always watchful for their children’s wellbeing. Nothing can prevent a mother’s tears if her children are in pain.

If moms are to be faulted, it is because they love their children so much that they could get irrational about it. I remember the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. Calvin approaches his mother and asks, "Can Hobbes and I go play in the rain, Mom? The mother says, "No." Calvin asks, "Why not?" Mom says, "You'll get soaked." Calvin then asked, “What's wrong with that?" And the mother says, "You could catch pneumonia, run up a terrible hospital bill, linger a few months, and die." Calvin, looking out the window at the rain, says, "I always forget. If you ask a mom, you get a worse-case scenario." Hobbes adds, “I had no idea these little showers were so dangerous."

I learned a lot from these three mothers, just as I hope that you also learned a lot from yours. My three mothers are all divine creation. But, they are all human. Except for the Blessed Mother who was assumed into heaven, my Mom and the Church are still anchored in this temporary life. Both of them are still beset by struggles and problems along the way. Both of them can sometimes be misinterpreted and misunderstood. And both of them I know will always be and ever be loved.

The 6 year old said it best. It makes us all feel really good inside when Mom says, “I love you,” because a mother’s love is probably the closest example we have to God’s love.

8 May 2011

Grief and Belief

2011-05-01T10:24:00.003-04:00

A man placed some flowers on the grave of his dearly departed mother and started back toward his car when his attention was diverted to another man kneeling at a grave. The man seemed to be praying with profound intensity and kept repeating, "Why did you have to die? Why did you have to die?"

The first man approached him and said, "Sir, I don't wish to interfere with your private grief, but this demonstration of pain is more than I've ever seen before. For whom do you mourn so deeply? A child? A parent?"

The mourner took a moment to collect himself, then replied, "My wife's first husband."

We know him as the doubting Thomas. I would prefer to talk about him as the grieving Thomas.

One never gets over the pain of losing a beloved. We just have to learn how to live with it. Losing a person we love can be one of the most tragic and traumatic moments in our lives. When we lose somebody we cherished and lived with for years, there is no predicting how we will react.

Each of us deals with loss in our own way. While Peter and the rest of the apostles were huddled up in the Upper Room still shocked with the death of their leader, Thomas chose a different way of grieving. He probably went out of the streets of Jerusalem, putting himself at risk, still questioning himself whether he could have done something to prevent our Savior’s death. Or perhaps he was just waiting for the time and the moment to accept what had just happened. Accepting the death of a beloved is a step too difficult to take.

Sometimes we could be like him. Sometimes we choose to live with nothing clear and nothing settled. Sometimes we want to keep our options open, because we know that once we settle on something or someone, demands will be made. If we remain uncommitted, we can pretend that things will eventually clear up.

So when the apostles told Thomas about the news of Jesus rising from the dead, he suspended his judgment with a condition. Unless he sees with his very eyes the mark of the nails in his hands and puts his finger into the nail marks, then he will believe. Thomas is the IRS auditor of the apostles, second to Matthew, the tax collector. He wants to make sure everything adds up. Before he believes, everything has to be exactly right.

When Jesus came a week later and showed the nail marks to Thomas, he did not dare put his finger on them. He believed. With the nail marks before him, he saw what his own sins had done to Jesus. He saw how God’s perfect work became subject to man’s imperfect deeds. He also saw himself.

Thomas is also called Didymus in Greek, which means the twin. Perhaps she had a twin sister or brother who will forever remain unnamed. But maybe, we are his twin sister. Maybe we are his twin brother.

Are we not like him when we doubted God’s goodness when we were surrounded by sin and evil? Are we not like him when we doubted God’s care and protection when we got rejected, frustrated and disappointed by people close to us? And are we not like him after we doubted God’s love when all we saw were pictures of catastrophes and destructions, all we heard were rumblings of hatred and divisions, all we read were words tainted by inadequacy and imperfections?

Thomas thought he could handle losing Jesus on his own. And just like many of us when we experience loss and grief, when we find ourselves in a bad situation, when we get in trouble, we shut ourselves off and go through our problems alone.

I hope that none of us falls into that situation. But if in case we do, just remember that there is always a reason why God is a community of persons, a trinity of one God. If in case we do, just remember that Jesus appeared after his death to the community of disciples, and not to every individual.

It is only when Thomas returned to the group that he learned about Jesus being alive. It is only when he went back to the Upper Room that he realized what he needed. It is only with Jesus that he saw what he needed to believe.

Before him were nail marks borne not just by our good Lord, but nail marks inflicted on the heart of every apostle. Before him were his fellow apostles who were also imperfect, flawed and doubtful. Before him was the Good News of a love that will never let anyone of us go alone, a hope that will never fade and a life that will never end.

Before Jesus, he no longer grieved. The grieving Thomas became a Thomas who believed.

1 May 2011

What Happened One Easter Morning

2011-04-24T10:09:00.000-04:00

The story of creation in the Book of Genesis reminds me of a story when God created the light under government regulations. When God said, "Let there be light," officials immediately demanded to know how the light would be made. Would there be strip mining? What about thermal pollution? God explained that the light would come from a huge ball of fire. Provisional permission was granted to make light, assuming that no smoke would result from the ball of fire, that he would obtain a building permit, and to conserve energy would have the light out half the time. God agreed and said he would call the light "Day" and the darkness "Night." Officials replied that they were not interested in semantics.

God said, "Let the earth bring forth green herb and such as many seed." The EPA agreed so long as native seed was used. Then God said, "Let waters bring forth creeping creatures having life; and the fowl that may fly over the earth." Officials pointed out this would require approval from the Department of Game coordinated with the Heavenly Wildlife Federation and so on and so forth.

Everything was OK until God said he wanted to complete the project in six days. Officials informed him it would take at least 200 million years to review the application and the environmental impact statement. After that there would be a public hearing. Then there would be 10-12 months before...

At this point hell was created.

What happened at Easter? It was Easter morning when light shone out of the tomb. Light, which is said to be God’s eldest daughter, overpowered darkness.

Some people can be so wrapped up in their own darkness that all they see is a world where there is no answer to suffering, where injustice and hatred seem to prevail and when God was presumed to be dead. It is a world of tears and trials, of pain and sadness, and of loneliness and isolation.

Some of us have experienced it at one point or another. When God is presumed to be dead, either we blame ourselves for his absence or we accuse the person next to us for his non-existence. We know who killed God. We know why Jesus died. And we know why the disciples did not see the risen Christ that morning anymore than we do now.

When it is only the darkness we see, when it is only the despair we recognize, and when it is only the tragedy in life we identify, Christ our Light will never shine. It will always be a Good Friday world.

There was a story about a woman who demanded to see the bank manager one morning. She wanted all the money she deposited. The manager politely asked her why. And she said, “Because your sign outside says, Closed for Good Friday.” Apparently, she thought that the bank will be closed for good on Friday.

Easter is about Jesus. It is also us. Because of Easter, any shadow fades when the light comes from up above. Any shade and any darkness can be conquered by even a tiny speck of light.

What happened at Easter? It was Easter morning when love triumphed over hatred. Love, which is God’s being and becoming, God’s own essence and existence, prevailed over those we hate.

Some people can be so weakened by their own hatred that all they flaunt and criticize is a world where there is no forgiveness and reconciliation, where retaliation and pride seem to prevail and when God was seen to be a prisoner of a dark tomb. It is a world of break-ups and separations, of misery and exclusion, of disagreements and fragmentations.

Some of us perhaps have been in these situations before. When God is seen to be the prisoner of our world, we either pretend to be God or we bow down to other gods. We know why God remained in the tomb for another day. We know why we have to wait and to be patient for another chance, another opportunity, or another blessing. And we know why the disciples did not expect to see the risen Christ that morning anymore than we do now.

When it is only the wrong things we point out that we remember, when being selfish that prevents us from reaching out is all we ever do, and when pride that hinders us from reconciling and forgiving is all we ever have, Christ our Love will never come. It will always be a Black Saturday world.

Easter is not about the past, but about the future. Jesus showed us that love will never be held prisoner by the limitations of the tomb. Prophecies may cease, tongues be silent, and knowledge disappear. But, love will never end. Love always prevails.

What happened at Easter? It was Easter morning when life conquered death. Death has no more sting. Death has no more power. Death is no longer the enemy.

Some people can be so paralyzed by their own hardship and misery, their despair and hopelessness, their heartaches and bitterness that all they experience is a world of neglect and deficiency. Some of us have probably felt what they felt. We lost people we love. Some of them had left us without even saying goodbye. We have our own share of darkness and pain.

Moments like these might have brought us to ask, “Is there an end to all our loneliness and suffering? Is there an end to all our pride and selfishness? Is there an end to all our trials and tears?”

Easter Sunday is God’s response. There is an end to all these because there is a God. Not all the Good Fridays and Black Saturdays of our lives can ever destroy the reality of what Jesus accomplished. He conquered them all.

Because Easter is not about death, it is about life. And these all happened one Easter morning.

24 April 2011

We Know Why He Died

2011-04-21T23:11:00.000-04:00

We are gathered as a family to celebrate a death. It is the death of a person we all love and adore. It is the death of a man we know and remember. It is the death of our brother, Jesus the Christ. It is the death of our God.

We know how many years he stayed with us. For more than thirty years he lived with us. For a little less than three, he taught us. And for more than two thousand years, his spirit remained with us.

We know the people he left behind. When he gave up his last breath, there was his mother Mary with two other women. When he gave up his spirit, the only disciple who stayed behind was John. The rest of those around him were mocking him, deriding him, insulting him, not believing in him.

We know what caused his death. Not exhaustion or crucifixion. Not thirst, hunger, or emptiness. Not the pains he endured while on his way to Calvary, or the sufferings in his heart on his way back to His Father.

We know why he died. He died for you and me. He died that we may be happy. He died so that there will be no more death in our midst. No more pain or suffering. No more emptiness or brokenness. No more conflicts, no more sadness. No more trials and tears.

We know why He died. Jesus died to give us life.

Again.

22 April 2011

Isang Hapong Nawala ang Lahat na Luha

2011-04-21T23:05:00.000-04:00

Tama ba ang ginawa ko? Ang sabihin sa iyong mahal kita sa kabila at paglipas ng panahon, ang magtapat sa iyong ikaw lamang ang minahal at patuloy na hahanapin sa pagsalubong ng bukas, ang mangako sa iyong ikaw lamang ang mamahalin at pananabikan sa buhay na walang hanggan.

Hindi kinakailangang narito ako at nagsusumamo sa iyong kasagutan. Hindi kinakailangang malaman mong narito lang ako kung ako man ay kailangan. Hindi kinakailangang mabatid mong pagkalinga ko ay nasa paligid mo lamang.

Ngunit nararapat.

Dahil ang pagmamahal ko sa iyo ay malawak, mapagbigay at matapat. Dahil ang pagmamalasakit ko sa iyo ay totoo, tama at tunay. Dahil ang pag-ibig ko sa iyo ay matatag, mapagpaubaya at nagbibigay buhay.

Tinawagan kita noon. Tinanong kung ano ang ginagawa mo at gagawin dahil mahal kita at mahalaga ka sa akin. Hindi ka sumagot. Marahil nagtatago ka’t nahihiya. Marahil ayaw mo akong makita o alam mong nagkamali ka. Hanggang marinig ng puso ko ang katanungan mo, “Ako ba ang dapat managot? Ako ba ang dapat kumupko’t kumalinga sa taong mahal mo at kapatid ko?”

Abel ang pangalan ng taong hinahanap ko. Si Abel ang kapatid mo. At sinundan pa siya ng daan-daan at libu-libong Abel pa na itinakwil, tinalikuran at itinabi na lamang sa pagdaloy ng buhangin ng kasaysayan. Marami sa kanila ang mga tagapagsalita ko. Marami sa kanila ang sumunod sa mga habilin ko. At marami sa kanila ang nawalan ng buhay dahil pinakinggan nila ako.

Hanggang ipaubaya ko ang aking kaisa-isang Anak. Walang mangyayari sa Kanya dahil siya’y anak ko. Bibigyan siya ng galang at pag-unawa. Hindi siya maihahalintulad sa mga ipinadala kong pawang nawala. Mamahalin siya nila. At dahil sa Kanya’y mababatid nila ang aking labis na pag-ibig at pagmamahal.

At isang hapong hindi lumitaw ang araw sa takot na masaksihan ang isang malagim na pangyayari, isang araw na umukit sa halaga at kasaysayan ng mundo, isang kahapong nagbigay ng liwanag sa kadiliman ng kasalanan, nagkatotoo ang pinangambahan ng karamihan. Inangkin nila ang buhay ng aking Anak na nagpatunay sa kanila kung ano ang buhay.

Walang kamalian sa nangyari, maliban sa kasalanang naiwasto, nagawa at nawala. Walang kamaliang naganap, maliban sa katotohonang nalaman, sa daang natagpuan at sa buhay na walang kamatayan.

Isang hapong parang nawala ang lahat na luha sa sinapupunan ng lupa, naging tama ang lahat na kamalian.

22 April 2011

Well, well, well

2011-03-26T22:26:00.000-04:00

Everybody knows the story. It is a story of hunger and thirst. It is a story of being broken and being judged. It is a story of redemption and belonging.

It was the longest conversation of Jesus ever recorded. It was longer than his talks to any of his followers, his disciples and his family. In the eyes and ears of the people at that time, it was also wrong.

It was wrong for a Jew to speak to a Samaritan. It was wrong for a Jewish male to converse with a Samaritan woman. And it was wrong for a Jew to drink from a Samaritan’s cup. Wrong race, wrong gender, and wrong religion.

For whatever is wrong, Jesus made it right. If he did not talk to a Samaritan, how would we ever understand that racism is a form of discrimination and hatred? If he did not converse with a woman, how would we ever appreciate that we are complementary in gender. And if he did not offer to drink from the cup of the Samaritan, how would we ever realize that nothing makes us unclean except those that come from within?

The good Lord is not impressed or depressed because of who we are, what we are or what we might have to offer him. He just knows what we need.

Jesus knew what the woman needed. Not cosmetics, but morality and ethics. Not condemnation, but evangelization. Not a face lift, but a faith lift.

She had been wounded by promises left undone, bruised by relationships gone broken and hurt by marriages torn apart. Like this woman, there may be certain realities we cannot merely accept, there may be some skeletons in our closets we cannot simply forget, there may be some ugly scars in our lives we better not remember.

Jesus invites us to confront ourselves for the secrets we face. He shows us who He is by showing us who we are: “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” Who do we see when our hearts see God? If we had been rejected, we see him as rejecting. If we had been wounded by anger, we see him as someone angry. And if we had been loved, we see him as loving.

Somewhere in our past, we had been like the Samaritan woman in expressing our thirst. We expressed our brokenness in forms similar to water: blood, sweat and tears. Tears flowed as water in our joys and fears. Sweat trickled as water in our toils and despairs. Blood was spilled and generated in the life we all share.

No one can fill our brokenness except God who makes us holy. No one can satisfy our thirst except God who gives us the living water. Jesus not only made us look at our pains but beyond it. He continually emphasized that whatever we crave for in life does not really satisfy us even when we think we have it.

The woman was talking about buckets and deep cisterns, but she was still missing the point. Even when we have food, security, money, recognition, we still do not have it. Our hearts will continually be restless until it rests on God, to paraphrase St. Augustine. In leaving behind our false gods, we also leave behind our false selves.

When at last the woman realized what Jesus meant and said, “Give me this water that I may not be thirsty,” Jesus opened up the most sensitive place in her life where she experienced the most failure and shame. He said to her, “Call your husband and come back.”

She had been married five times. She was living in sin with the sixth man. And here she was confronted by the seventh man, Jesus. She made a confession, “I have no husband.”

What will we do when God reveals a wounded place in our heart? Do we change the subject as the woman did? Only the person who truly loves us can know us as we are and not as we pretend to be. Only the one who madly loves us knows our deepest desires. Only the one who deeply loves us can look at our past without batting an eyelash, without blinking, without breaking.

God is relentless and will never stop pursuing. Just as he intentionally passed through the village in search of the Samaritan woman, he is also passing through the village of our hearts and through the wells of our desires intentionally inviting us to renewal, repentance and rebirth.

When at last we depart this life, I wonder whether there will be a well near the gates of heaven. Upon seeing us I suppose St. Peter in his usual impulsive way will blurt out, “Well, well, well…”

Tis well that Jesus will be there. His presence is our comfort. Tis well that he will forgive us. Our encouragement is his assurance that inspite our dark secrets and through our repentance, our lives will be well. Tis well because it is always our hope and prayer that all is well that ends well.

27 March 2011

Kung Bakit Nakayakap Ang Bata sa Elepante

2011-03-15T11:45:00.000-04:00

Kupas na ang dating napakaitim na Chinese shoes na kakulay ng buhok mo. Binili ko pa kay Galarosa. Imported dahil Made in China. Patpat na ang dulo nito taglay ng libu libong oras na nakatiklop habang nananalangin sa harap ng pag-asang hindi ko mawari kung akin. Naghihikahos na ito na parang nabigatan sa sangkaterbang timbang, naging uhugin, sipunin at sakitin. Ngunit wala akong magawa dahil ito lang ang kaya kong arugain at ampunin.

Sa mga panahong ito na ang mga tinig at tunog lamang ni Ate Siony ang napapakingan, sa mga sandaling ito na mga huni at sipol ng mga ibon lamang ang naririnig at sa mga oras na ito na panaghoy at himutok lamang ang nararanasan, hinanap kita. Nasaan ka na ba? Bahagi pa ba ako ng buhay mo? Tayo pa ba?

Naglaho ka na lamang na parang natunaw na halohalo, parang sabong panlaba na sa bula ay kasamang nawala ang mantsa, parang anino na nasinagan ng bagong umaga.

Kung sabagay, paano mo nga naman malalaman na hinahanap kita sa mga panahong iyon? Kahit mga kaibigan mo’y walang kaalam-alam sa nararamdaman ko. Wala rin akong kaalaman kong sa damdamin ay magkaisa tayo.

Tangan ko lang ang katiting na alaalang bigay mo. Hawak ko lang ang bahagyang ngiting buhay sa isipan ko. Taglay ko lang ang mga sandaling naging tayo sa panaginip ko.

Ngunit natagpuan kita sa kadiliman ng gabi. Nahihiyang nagtago noon ang mga bituin at hinayaang magparangya ang mga ulap. Narinig ko ang tinig mo sa dagliang hulog ng ulan, nakikiisa sa daloy ng mga luhang nagpapaligsahan, naglalambing sa bawat patak at tilamsik sa lupang ang larawan mo ang tanging laman.

Hindi ko malaman ang gagawin. Marahil nalito na sa dilim ang isipan ko. Marahil sira na ang tuktok ko. Marahil may eng-eng na ang pagitan ng tenga ko. Pero, totoo ito. Narinig ko pa ang sinabi mo.

Ang sinumang nais umawit ay palaging nakakahanap ng tunog at himig. Ang sinumang nais tumula ay palaging nakakahanap ng titik at salita. Ang sinumang nais sumayaw ay palaging nakakakuha ng kumpas at indak.

Kayakap ko noon ang elepante.

15 March 2011

Satan, be gone!

2011-03-13T10:30:00.000-04:00

One Sunday morning, everyone in one bright, beautiful, tiny town got up early and went to the local church. Before Mass started, the townspeople were sitting in their pews when suddenly Satan appeared. Everyone started screaming and running for the front entrance, trampling each other in a frantic effort to get away from evil incarnate.

Soon everyone was evacuated from the church, except for one elderly gentleman who sat calmly in his pew, not moving, seemingly oblivious to the fact that God's ultimate enemy was in his presence. Now this confused Satan a bit, so he walked up to the man and said, "Don't you know who I am?" The man replied, "Yep, sure do." Satan asked, "Aren't you afraid of me?" "Nope, sure ain't," said the man. Satan was a little perturbed at this and queried, "Why aren't you afraid of me?" The man calmly replied, "Been married to your sister for over 48 years."

There is a devil. The greatest fallacy of our age is denying his existence. The greatest work of the devil is that he has made us believe that he does not exist. Where there is evil, there is the devil.

The devil is our enemy and this is one enemy we should not love. The devil is the best tempter and most sensual seducer. The devil is relentless and will never stop until we have fallen into sin because he wants us to be with him in hell forever. He/She/It will tempt us to consider ourselves as better than God or the chance to play God with every temptation we face.

When Jesus was in the desert for forty days, he was tempted by the devil. We know these temptations ourselves. They are normal desires, familiar yearnings and natural hunger for ordinary things. They come from our hunger for more than what we need, our desire for more appreciation from what we get, and our yearning for more control from what we want.

There is always temptation for people to want more in life than what they need, to turn every stone they have into bread even when they are not hungry. The good Lord knows better. He showed us the way to overcome this through the miracle of the Eucharist. No longer are stones turned into bread, but bread is changed into His Body, which satisfies eternal hunger.

There is always temptation for people to sacrifice their own ideals and beliefs for the sake of recognition, regard and reputation. The good Lord knows better. He overcame the tempting spectacle of popularity by teaching us the virtue of humility. No longer do we need to be thrown off the cliff just to get the approval and recognition of people, but allow ourselves to be thrown to the approval and recognition of our God. The respect of those we respect is more than the applause of the multitude.

There is always temptation for some people to use wicked and easy means for their objectives and ends. The good Lord knows better. There is no easy way to the Cross. There is no shortcut to salvation. He overcame the temptation of controlling the universe through his commanding word, “Get away, Satan!”

Here then is the solution to all the temptations of the delightful odor of money, the exciting appeal of popularity and the sweet taste of power. It lies on the power of prayer. It lies on the Cross. Toss away temptation with the sign of the Cross. Pray.

We will always be tempted for as long as we live. That is why we need to pray and pray hardly for those who try to manipulate and control others and those who find it hard to losing their power and abilities.

Opportunity knocks once, but temptations tirelessly ring the doorbell. That is why we need to pray and pray more for those who find money and property more valuable than their morality and those who find security in popular acclaim and fleeting recognition.

There are those who spread a gospel of greed and selfishness and never of love and trust. There are those who do not see the blessings of their life, the goodness in their attitudes and the truth in their convictions. Pray for them. Pray with them. For we are all human, weak and prone to fail and fall.

It is in times of testing or trial that we are called upon to prove our true identity and character, who we are and whose we are. Whether we are married to the devil’s sister for 48 years or not, we should never be afraid of the devil.

We are still in command. We have the choice. We have the will to say the same thing that Jesus did. Be gone, Satan. Only the Lord shall you worship, only the Lord shall you serve. Satan, be gone!

13 March 2011

Words, words, words

2011-03-06T10:23:00.000-05:00

A group of kindergartners was trying to become accustomed to the first grade. The biggest hurdle they faced was that the teacher insisted on no baby talk "You need to use big people' words," she'd always remind them. She asked Chris what he had done over the weekend. "I went to visit my Nana," he said. "No, you went to visit your GRANDMOTHER. Use big people words!" She then asked Michael what he had done. "I took a ride on a choo-choo," he replied. She said "No, you took a ride on a TRAIN. Use big people words." She then asked Ron what he had done. "I read a book," he replied. "That's WONDERFUL!" the teacher said. "What book did you read?" Ron thought about it, hesitated and said, “It is not a big people word. I am sorry. Something called, "Winnie the POOH."

Words, words, words. They have the power to create, incite, encourage, motivate, inspire, divide, connect, effect, change.

We hear them. We say them. We communicate with them. They are written in the Bible. They are proclaimed in churches. They are shared in homes. Without them, there are no text messaging, Facebook, Twitter and Sunday bulletins.

Words are not enough, however. Jesus says we need to act on them, practice what we preach, and do what we believe.

The proof of the sincerity of our faith lies in the practice of it. Faith without works is dead, according to the apostle James. It is only when we walk the walk and talk the talk that we inherit God’s kingdom. It is only when we help each other in words and deeds that we attain our heavenly promise.

When our actions betray our words, there is no true knowledge of God nor will God know us. When we do not follow through with what we believe in, there is no recognition of God nor will God recognize us. When faith and believing is just confined to church buildings where we worship, then there is ignorance of Christ’s message and example.

A priest and a soap maker went for a walk one day at the park on a warm summer day. The soap maker suddenly turned to the priest and said to him, “Father, what good is religion? Look at all the trouble and misery that exists in the world! There is still such sin and sadness, even after so many years of teaching and preaching about goodness and truth and peace. If religion is good and true, why should this be?”

The priest said nothing. They continued walking until they happened to see a child playing in the dirt. The priest said to the soap maker, “Look at that child. You say that soaps make people clean, but see the dirt on that boy. Of what good is soap? With all the soap in the world, over all these years, the child is still filthy. I wonder how effective soap is after all!”

The soap maker protested and exclaimed to the priest; ‘But Father, soap cannot do anything unless it is used.” With a nod the priest said, “Exactly.”

Jesus is making the same point the priest made to the soap maker, namely that faith requires action. For faith to be relevant and religion to be meaningful in our lives, it has to be used like soap.

There are so many manifestations, revelations and opportunities to do that. Each day God reveals himself to us through the deeds and actions of people around us. Each day God shows himself to us in different ways and means of love. Each day God manifests himself to us that we may build a strong base and foundation in faith, hope and love sustaining us through the storms that will come our way.

Actions speak more than words in faith when we see things that are not visible. Actions speak more than words in hope when we believe in the promise yet to be attained. And actions speak more than words in love when we do the will of God.

Jesus was recorded to have spoken only seven words from the Cross. His sacrifice was more than enough. It was his saving action. It was done according to the will of his Father. It was more than words can tell.

6 March 2011

Worry

2011-02-26T20:13:00.001-05:00

“I have a mountain of credit card debt”, one man told another. “I have lost my job. My car is being repossessed and our house is in foreclosure, but I am not worried about it.” “You’re not worried?” exclaimed his friend. “No, I’ve hired a professional worrier," he said. “He does all my worrying for me, and that way I don’t have to think about it.” “That’s fantastic! How much does your professional worrier charge for his services?” “$50,000 a year,” he replied. “$50,000 a year? Where are you going to get that kind of money?” “I don’t know,” comes the reply. “That’s his worry.”

It is natural for us to worry. It is so common for us to be anxious about those that interest us. It is so ordinary for us to be agitated at times. There could be many things we worry about—our health, our family, our life, our financial situation, and to some even our faith.

Some people worry a lot. J.D. Salinger wrote in Catcher in the Rye the following, “When I really worry about something, I don't just fool around. I even have to go to the bathroom when I worry about something. Only, I don't go. I'm too worried to go. I don't want to interrupt my worrying to go.”

Worry takes us away from our God. When we worry, we are drawn to a different direction. It keeps us from actually doing good. We cannot wring up our hands and roll up our sleeves at the same time.

Jesus knew this would happen. So, he is reminding us about one basic reality. There is a God and we need to trust in Him. Jesus said that God has built into us the means by which we are cared for. If God takes care of the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, could he not take care of us, the image and likeness of his creation?

A group of people once worried exceedingly and greatly. And they had the right to worry. They were in exile. The temple, which was the center of their lives, lay in ruins. They felt their lives so devastated. They were existing as slaves and they worried that God had abandoned them. To these Jewish people the prophet addressed the following: “Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I would never forget you.

If we want to know what is important in our lives, we need only calculate how we spend our money. If we want to know what is essential in our lives, we need only assess how we use our time. And if we want to know what we really and absolutely need, we need only examine how we live our lives.

Worrying comes from serving the wrong God. Worrying comes from obeying a different God. Worrying comes from not realizing where this all ends and changes nothing. A poet once said, “For every evil under the sun, There’s either a cure or there is none. If there be a cure, seek ‘til ye find it, if there be none, then nevermind it!”

Jesus Himself was worried on the night before He died. He sweated blood as he agonized in the garden. Let this cup pass away from me, he prayed. And yet not my will, but your will be done. That is the answer to all our worries.

If we do not believe in a living God, then we should worry. If we do not live our belief in our caring God, then we should worry. And if there is no God, then that could be our biggest fear and worry.

But there is a living God, there is a caring God, there is a God. So, Jesus says, why worry? God is in control of our lives, only if we allow him. God is in command. Trust in Him. And the good Lord knows what we all need. Have faith in Him.

27 February 2011

Im Bi Pi: Hay Naku 3

2011-02-26T13:24:00.001-05:00

Matagal ko nang kabisado. Halos ilang beses ko ng inensayo. Saulado ko na. Tatanungin ko siya ng ganito, “Pulis ba ang tatay mo?” At sasagot siyang hindi. Tapos sasabihin kong “Kasi nabihag mo ang puso ko!” O di kaya’y “Bosing ba kita?” At sasagot siyang hindi. Tapos sasabihin ko namang, “Kasi inaalipin mo ang damdamin ko.” At panghuli, “Masasabi mo bang bobo ako kung ikaw lamang ang laman ng utak ko?”

Marahil hindi na niya sasagutin ito. Mapapasigaw na lang siya at sasabihing, “Ang kurneh mo.” At tatakpan ko ang mukha ko’t baka kalmutin pa. Ililihis ang pisngi ko’t baka sampalin pa. Itatago ang buhok ko’t baka sabunutan pa.

Pero, di bale. Alam ko namang siya ang Im Bi Pi ng buhay ko. Im as in Most. Bi as in Valuable. Pi as in Person.

Ewan ko nga ba kung sino ang nagpauso ng mga initials na ito. Kapag nakatingin ako noon sa Panginoong Hesus sa krus, akala ko ang palayaw niya ay INRI. Sabi ng kalaro ko, pangalan daw ng nagbigay ng imahen. Kapampangan daw na ang pangalan ay Henry. Naniwala naman ako. Hanggang malaman kong ang kahulugan pala ay I as in Iesus, N as in Nazareth, R as in Rex, at I as in Iudaeurum. Hesus na taga Nazaret na Hari ng mga Judio.

Malapit ang bahay namin sa libingan. At kapag Araw ng mga Patay, marami akong nakikitang mga initials sa lapida. SLN, RIP at DOM. Isip ko noon, kapag SLN, marahil pinatay as in SLAIN. Kapag RIP naman, marahil pinamamalitang taga Pilipinas siya, as in RP. At nakakatuwa ang DOM. Akala ko D as in Don’t, O as in Open, M as in Me. Ba’t naman ganoon at ayaw magpabukas ng puntod, tanong ko sa sarili. May itinatago ba ang patay na ito? Nahihiya ba siya at medyo masangsang na ang kanyang amoy kapag binuksan ang kanyang libingan? Kung sabagay kung nakahiga ka nga ng ilang taon na walang paligo at hilamos, talagang mangangamoy ka. Kaya siguro, ayaw magpabukas.

Nalaman ko na lang na Latin pala ang DOM. D as in Deo, O as in Optimo at M as in Maximo. Na ang ibig sabihin ay sa Diyos ang lahat ng marangal, magaling at nararapat. Paalala siguro ng namatay na nais niyang maging ganoon. Ingles naman ang RIP. R as in Rest, I as in In at P as in Peace. Pwede ring Latin. Requiescat in Pace, pero pareho din ang kahulugan. Na panalanging humimlay ang namatay sa kapayapaan. At tagalog naman ang SLN. S as in Suma, L as in Langit at N as in Nawa. Ito ang pinakamadaling tandaan. Kung anong bigkas, siya ring baybay.

Pero balik tayo kay Imbipi. Ilang taon at dekada ko siyang hinanap. Wala pang Google noon. Tanong tanong lang. At iyong mga tinatanong ko naman ay walang kaalaman kung nasaan siya. Nagkaugnay ulit ang aming landas sa pamamagitan ng Pisbuk. Pasalamat ko kay Zuckerberg. Pero, hindi ko na siya masasabihan ng mga sinaulo ko noon. Iba na ang panahon. Nailibing na ang kupas kong itim na Chinese shoes. Iba na ang buhay.

Umaasa akong alam niya ang saloobin ko noon. Ewan ko nga ba kung hinanap niya rin ako. Marahil hindi. Baka inisip na talagang napakacorny ko. As in kasingdilaw ng ititindang mais sa lansangan. As in malagkit pa sa isinahog sa Maja Blanca. As in malutong pa sa popcorn.

Kung nagkataon lang na nakapiling ko siyang muli, marahil aagos ang sangkaterbang mais na naman sa aming pagitan. Sasabihin ko sa kanyang, “Para kang retratista, tuwing nakikita kita, napapangiti ako.” O di kaya’y “Dalawang beses lang naman kita gustong makasama” at kakantahin ko ang Now and Forever ng Air Supply. At saka isa pa, “Di mo pa nga ako binabatao, tinatamaan na ako sa iyo.”

Hay naku! Pangatlong hay naku na yata ito. Habang hawak ko ang konting alaala niya, kapirangot na palatandaang kasama ko siya, katiting na piraso ng pagmamahal ko sa kanya, mananatili siyang mamahaling bahaghari sa ulap ng aking isipan.

Si Imbipi.

26 February 2011

Angelo Tomas

2011-02-14T15:19:00.000-05:00

Hindi mo naman kailangang talikuran ang nakahadlang na suliranin. Hindi mo naman kailangang sabayan ang agos na kayang tapusin ang iyong mithiin. Hindi mo naman kailangang sabuyan ng tubig ang apoy na lumalaganap sa iyong buhay.

Ngunit nagpasya ka.

Ayaw mo nang lumaban. Ayaw mo nang harapin ang katotohanan. Ayaw mo nang patagalin ang buhay.

Pumatak at tumulo ang dugo mong dulot ng sugat. Dugong galling sa puso mo ay pumatak. Sa puntod ng Nanay mong Purificacion ang ngalan. At nang sa huli bago tumigil ang hininga mo, patawad at patawad ang narinig sa iyo.

Tapat ka sa iyong kapangalan. Nag-alinlangan rin ang alagad ng Panginoon noon. Noong sinabi sa kanyang nakita nila si Hesus ang saad niya’y “malibang makita ko ang tanda ng mga pako sa kaniyang mga kamay at mailagay ko ang aking mga daliri roon, at maipasok ko ang aking kamay sa kaniyang tagiliran, kailanman ay hindi ako maniniwala.”

Makalipas ang walong araw, ang mga alagad ay nasa loob muli ng bahay at kasama nila si Tomas. Kahit na nakapinid ang mga pinto dumating si Jesus at tumayo sa gitna nila. At sinabi niya kay Tomas: Ilagay mo ang iyong daliri rito at tingnan mo ang aking mga kamay. Iabot mo ang iyong kamay rito at ipasok sa aking tagiliran. Huwag ka nang mag-alinlangan, kundi sumampalataya ka.

Sumampalataya ka. Hindi nga ba iyan ang palagiang sinasabi Niya? Na manampalataya tayo kahit na at kahit pa. Kahit na naghihirap, naghihikahos, nag-aalinlangan, pananampalataya ang kailangan. At kahit pa pagkain sa hapag ay napakasarap, umuulan ng pera at biyaya’y bumubuhos, at lahat na yata ng ninanais ay nakamtan, pananampalataya pa rin ang kailangan.

Sumagot si Tomas at sinabi: Aking Panginoon at aking Diyos.

Sana nga naman sinabi mo ito habang yinayakap mo ang baril mo. Sana nga naman nasambit mo ito bago mo damhin ang gatilyo. Sana nga naman ito ang naisaysay mo nang marinig mo ang putok at makita ang dugong dumaloy sa pangalang minahal, iginalang at iningatan mo.

At sana nga naman maging tunay at nararapat ka sa iyong patutunguhan. Tomas ka nga at nag-alinlangan. Sana naman ay kasama mo ang mga anghel sa iyong paroroonan, ang mga anghel sa tunay na kaharian.

14 February 2011

Roses are red

2011-02-14T14:39:00.001-05:00

There was a time when girls and boys wrote their own Valentine sentiments on homemade cards. Even with smears of white paste, misspelled words or two, they were able to relay their message. Remember these? Forget me not, forget me never until the sun has set forever. Or first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes sally with a baby carriage. Or the ever popular, roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you. Then, some clown got hold of that and turned it into, “roses are red, violets are blue, monkeys like you, belong in the zoo.”

Love is a mutual relationship of persons. It cannot be mutual if it is selfish. It cannot be called a relationship if there is no communication. It cannot be personal when we do not treat each other well.

God’s love for us is personal. It is a sharing of persons, between a You and an I. This personal aspect of love relates us with each other. We are brothers and sisters in one Father. We become who we are because of who God is for us—our Savior and Friend.

That is why when Jesus continued his Sermon on the Mount, he told his disciples how to live worthily and meaningfully. He emphasized the law of love, instead of love for the law.

We are bound to God because of our baptism. We are bound to each other because of our faith. This relationship creates an intimacy that calls for love. If ever we have to be reconciled with our brother or sister who sinned against us, it is because God loves us. If ever we have to pluck our eyes and throw our vision, if ever we have to cut off our hand and surrender our addiction, and if ever we have to lose ourselves, it is because we love God.

As in all relationships, the goal and objective of love is intimacy. God wants to be intimate with us that He sent Jesus. Jesus wants to be intimate with us that He instituted the Sacraments. The Holy Spirit wants to be intimate with us that sufficient grace is given even with our faults and weaknesses.

It takes a radical transformation to be intimate with God. The greatest freedom He gave, the freedom to choose what we want, is also the greatest challenge and gift He bestowed. As the Book of Sirach says, “before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him.”

How many of us would have better lives if only we listen to Jesus? It is not love when a person looks with lust to a man or a woman. It is not love when anyone of us harbors anger in our hearts. That feeling of anger can only lead to bitterness and pain. And it is not love when anyone of us swears that we become untruthful. That is called bearing false witness and is against God’s commandment.

Not many of us commit grievous sins like murder or adultery. But the warning is there for sins bordering on murder, adultery and false accusations. They are anger, hatred, slander, arrogance and lust. If angry and hateful thoughts could kill, our enemies would be in their graves by now. If lustful thoughts could entertain our senses, movie stars and Hollywood would be out of business.

Jesus is teaching us that our greater value comes from within ourselves. Go beyond the letter of the law, he says. In all things choose what is just, what is good and what is life.

And why? Because roses are red, violets are blue, we love God, God loves you!

13 February 2011

Salt and Light

2011-02-06T10:31:00.000-05:00

There was once a man who walked into a little mom-and-pop grocery store and asked, 'Do you sell salt?' 'Ha!' said Pop the proprietor. 'Do we sell salt? Just look!' And Pop showed the customer one entire wall stocked with nothing but salt. Morton salt, iodized salt, kosher salt, sea salt, rock salt, garlic salt, seasoning salt, Epsom salts, every kind imaginable. 'Wow!' said the customer.

'You think that's something?' said Pop with a wave of his hand. 'That's nothing! Come look.' Pop led the customer to a back room filled with shelves and bins and cartons and barrels and boxes of salt. 'Do we sell salt?' he said. 'Unbelievable!' said the customer.

'You think that's something?' said Pop. 'Come! I'll show you salt!' Pop led the customer down some steps into a huge basement, five times as large as the previous room, filled floor to ceiling, with every imaginable form and size and shape of salt, even huge ten-pound salt licks for the cow pasture. 'Incredible!' said the customer. 'You really do sell salt!'

'No!' said Pop. 'That's just the problem! We never sell salt! But that salt salesman? Hoo-boy! Does he sell salt!'"

Salt has many uses. It can be used as food preserver, flavor enhancer, and in the context of our times, snow melter. During the time of Jesus, salt was a rare and precious commodity. So, in essence, Jesus is telling his followers that there will only be a few who will stay with Him and they were valuable. It is from them that his Church will flow, prosper and magnify. And so he told them how to live their lives, just as he is telling us today.

Be the salt and preserve the faith you have gained and preserve the world from corruption. Be the salt and enhance the Christian values and traditions you have received. Be the salt and melt the ice that afflicts the stony hearts of most people.

In order for us to do that, we have to be in the background. Jesus does not expect us to call attention to ourselves. He did not say, "You are the pepper of the earth.” The salt is not good when it is not visible. It has to melt in order to serve its purpose. It has to dissolve in order to attain its goal.

Whereas the salt has to be in the background, the light, which is the second image Jesus uses, has to be up front.

The Bible uses the image of light from the beginning of Creation until the Book of Revelation. In the Book of Genesis, light conquered the darkness and God said that the light was good. Here lies a fundamental faith question. If something in the world seems dark or shadowy to us, this might be because we cannot understand it for now. If something in our lives seems depraved or destructive, this might be because we are unable to comprehend it for now.

When darkness comes into our lives, there is a great need to understand it. We may have fumbled and stumbled. We may have stabbed our toes or bumped our knees. We may have fallen and found it hard to rise again. When any of these things have happened, pray not for understanding. Instead, pray for strength in faith.

But, if something comes as really evil, it is because someone other than God intervened. There is always the devil in anything that is evil. Sin is darkness, just as it is evil.

God conquered the darkness of the world with his creation of light. Jesus conquered the darkness of the tomb with the light of the Resurrection. The Holy Spirit conquers the darkness of our lives once we put on the armor of light.

We should never be afraid of confronting the dark. Children may have the childish fear of darkness. But grown men who are afraid of the light are in darkness themselves. Thus Jesus says, be the light and share this message we all knew from the moment of Baptism. Be the light and reflect its source. Be the light of faith, because faith sees best in the dark.

There was a mother mouse who decided to teach her children about the world. So she gathered all of her little mice and set out for a walk. Suddenly they found themselves in front of the family cat dozing in the sunlight. The mother mouse was scared. But she did not want to give in to her fright. So she signaled to the children to be very quiet and to follow as she began to tip toe quietly and slowly past the sleeping cat. Just as she was about to get past the cat, the cat's eyes popped open and raised its paw.

The little mice were petrified. What would their mother do? Well, just as the cat's paw started to come down, that mother mouse looked the cat right in the eye and started barking like a dog. And do you know what? The cat was so startled and frightened that it jumped up and ran away! The mother mouse, wiped her brow, shook a little and then turned to her little mice and said, "Children, I hope you learned a valuable lesson. Sometimes it's good to know a second language!"

God has a second language for us. He calls us his salt and his light. When we believe, we know his name. When we live our faith, we speak his language. As the salt of the earth and the light of the world, we are not just called to be his salt. We are also called to be his light, his salt salespersons.

6 February 2011

Hay Naku 2 (ang awit ni Leonardo)

2011-01-24T16:12:00.001-05:00

Ayaw ko nang ipikit ang aking mga mata nang masilayan kita. Ayaw ko nang ilibing sa limot ang mga panahong sana ay ikaw ang kasama. Ayaw ko nang isara at ipinid ng aking kahapon ang mga sandaling ang isinisigaw ay ngayon.

Ngunit bukas man ang mata, panahon at kahapon, masakit pa ring tanggapin na hindi kita kapiling, nakikita at nakakasama.

Sa larawan mong parang nagpapahiwatig ng damdaming di ko mawari, sa larawan mong palaisipan ang ngiting binitiwan, sa larawan mong hatid sa akin ang dagliang sulyap at walang kakurap kurap na titig, buntunghininga lamang ang narinig. Hay naku lamang ang nasambit.

Bakas man ay tama, panahon man may sadya, kahapon man ay laganap, wala pa rin. Wala ka sa tabi ko. Wala ka na kausap ko. Wala ka sa paningin ko.

Sabi na nga ba, hay naku na naman ang maririnig ng tenga ko. Iyon kung may tinig pang lumabas sa bibig na diniligan ng luha ko. Sabi na nga ba, hay naku na naman ang pipiglas sa mga labi ko. Iyon kung may lakas loob pa ang damdamin sa dalamhating kapiling ko.

Paano nagkaganito? Dahil ba minsan ay naging pipi ang madaldalin kong saloobin? Dahil ba minsan ay biglang nabura ang mga salitang matagal nang isinaulo nang bigla mo akong kausapin? Dahil ba minsan ay gumawa tayo ng magkaibang landas na ngayon ay aking pinipilit na dugtungin?

Hay naku! Wala ng kawala ang nagpupumiglas kong panghihinayang. Hay naku! Wala ng tagumpay ang nagbabadyang pagsasama. Hay naku! Wala ng saysay ang naghihikahos kong pagmamahal.

Kung sabagay, sino nga ba naman ako para palamutian ang puso mo? Sino nga ba naman ako para tuparin ang mga pangarap mo? Sino nga ba naman ako para sagutin at pasyahan ang kinabukasan mo?

Isang manlililok na alam ang kahahantungan mo. Isang mangingibig na batid ang kasiyahan mo. Isang katipan na ramdam ang kahihinatnan mo.

Monalisa. Sino ka nga ba?

24 January 2011

Love and Forgiveness

2011-01-10T15:36:00.001-05:00

On New Year's Eve, Daniel was in no shape to drive, so he sensibly left his van in the car park and walked home. As he was wobbling along, a police officer stopped him. 'What are you doing out here at four o'clock in the morning?' asked the police officer. 'I'm on my way to a lecture,' answered Daniel. 'And who on earth, in their right mind, is going to give a lecture at this time on New Year's Eve?' the cop asked. Daniel slurred and said, “My wife.”

No one wants to be alone. Baptism gives us a reason why we should not be alone. When Jesus decided to start his ministry, he began by connecting and relating with us. He asked John to baptize him. By submitting himself to baptism, he gave us two reasons why he came, lived and died for us.

These are the same reasons why His Father sent him, why He agonized over his death and why the Spirit continually purifies us. These are the same reasons why we have Christmas, Good Friday, Easter and Pentecost. These reasons are Love and Forgiveness.

Love gave us life. Forgiveness keeps us living. Love conquers death. Forgiveness keeps us from dying. Love gave us Jesus. Jesus keeps on forgiving.

The opposite of love is not hatred. It is pride. Pride broke down the relationship between God and Adam. Pride brought Eve to blame her husband. Pride slithered in the eyes of the serpent that kneeling before its Creator was not an option.

In order to enter God's kingdom, we have to bow humbly before God. Humility is the mother of all virtues and we have seen that ourselves in the way the baby Jesus manifested himself. Not even in the comfort of an inn, but in the inconvenience of the manger was he born. Not even in the comfort of a room, but in the coldness of a cave did he first breathe human air. And not even in the glorious city of Jerusalem, but in the humble enclaves of Nazareth did he live.

There is a short and narrow door leading to the Church in Bethlehem where Jesus was born. The only way to go through it is to stoop and bow down. There is also a short and narrow way to heaven where Jesus forever reigns. And the only way to go through it is to kneel, submit ourselves and look up to our humble God.

Pride takes us away from being good and from loving God. With pride come jealousy, envy and distrust. Pride leads us to think more of ourselves and less of others. Pride stokes the fire of our selfish Egos. And pride leads us to a place where kindness does not exist, generosity has no place and love is not present. That place is also called Hell.

The opposite of forgiveness is not unforgiveness. It is self-righteousness. The Pharisees were the class of people strongly condemned by Jesus. They think they had the easy way to heaven because they knew the law. They think they had the monopoly of holiness. They think they were above everybody else and their feet did not stink. Were they grossly mistaken.

We are all children of the same God. Being a member of God’s religion is not a guarantee for salvation. Popes or panhandlers, bishops or beggars, priests or paupers, we are all equal before God. No one can be sure of the reward or the punishment God has in store for those he created.

There is no reason to be alone, especially on New Year’s Eve. There is no reason to be lonely. In Christ, we became brothers and sisters, connected and related to each other. By our baptism in the water and the Spirit, we are one family.

9 January 2011

Defrost the chicken

2010-12-13T11:04:00.000-05:00

I read somewhere that scientists at NASA built a special gun to simulate dangerous, high-velocity collisions with airborne fowl. The gun launched dead chickens at aircraft windshields, providing data that helped reduce the accident rate. British observers were impressed and bought the gun to test the windshields on their new high-speed trains.

Their first test was a disaster: The chicken shattered the windshield, blasted through the controls, ripped the engineer’s backrest in half, and embedded itself in the wall of the cabin. The Brits were horrified after several tests and were in doubt. They immediately cabled, "Houston, we have a problem." They asked NASA whether this was the same special gun they used or they had the wrong one. The response from NASA was a three-word, one-line memo: “Defrost the chicken.”

John was probably in doubt when he sent his disciples to Jesus with the question, “Are you the One who is to come, or should we look for another?” He was not sure whether it was the right question, but it was a question nonetheless. Ralph Waldo Emerson said that when we have arrived at the question, the answer is already near.

Some of us can identify with John the Baptist. We have already experienced moments of doubt and questions in our own lives. We have felt them with the dark clouds of unemployment and financial instability. We have noted them in an unwanted family problem. We have met them in an unexpected health diagnosis. We had probably asked, “Are you my God who loves me? Are you my God who cares for me?” And some we know who passed through those darkest moments had asked, “Is there a God?”

There is a God. Without God, nothing could be possible. With God, nothing is impossible. Be strong, fear not as the prophet Isaiah promises. The desert will bloom. The blind will see. The deaf will hear. The lame will walk. And the mute will sing.

Be patient, James the apostle adds. Do not complain about one another. Take as an example of hardship and patience the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. He must be joking! The prophets are not remembered for their patience. They call down fire from heaven. They are fire and brimstone speakers. Now, for those of us who are having problems with patience, perhaps James is telling us that we were meant to be prophets after all. And he is not kidding!

We are called to be spokespersons for God. We need to speak more about the mission and the work of Christ, which is already being done in every family, in every Church and in every community. And they never make the 6 o’clock news. Look how you care and look after each other. Look how you sacrifice for your children.

Just looking around and seeing the person seated next to us is already a reason to give thanks for Christmas and feel deeply its meaning. Just relating and communicating with persons we love is already a grace. Just being here, alive and considerably well, is already a blessing.

We do these all the time. There is a lot of goodness in the world, but we have taken them most for granted. Love is given and love is received. There was no categorical answer to the question of John because Jesus made it known that the Kingdom of Jesus is here and His Gospel is the Good News we have to share.

If we really believe that Jesus is the One, then the kingdom of God is here and now. If we really believe that Jesus is the One who is to come, then God’s kingdom is being revealed to us every hour and every day. And if we really believe that there is no need to look for another Messiah, then we have a need to glorify God’s kingdom in our own families, in our own lives and in our own hearts.

Once we all do that, there is no need to defrost the chicken. Because Houston, in all reality and honesty, there is really no problem.

12 December 2010

Consuelo

2010-12-02T11:11:00.004-05:00

Hindi ko naman talaga siya Lola dahil pihikan ang Kastilang dugo na nananalytay sa aking mga ugat. Hindi naman siya talagang Lola dahil wala siyang anak at malayong ako ay mapagkamalan niyang apo. At hindi siya lola dahil sa puso niya ang isang ina, tiyahin marahil at kapatid.

Siya si Lola Consuelo. Nakilala ko sa isang pagamutan sa Maynila. Matagal na siyang nakatira roon. Hindi lang araw at buwan, kundi taon. Kilala na siya marahil ng lahat: tagalinis na may walis at madreng may belong matulis, bantay na may baril at bantay na wala, mangagamot na may sadya at nars na nawawala. At kilala rin siya ng mga paring sa munting kapilya ng pagamutan araw araw ay nagmimisa.

Sa bawat araw at sa paglipas ng mga taong di na niya marahil binilang, ang kadalasang maririnig sa mga labi ni Lola ay ang pagtulong, pagmalasakit at pag-aruga sa mga taong inialay ang kanilang buhay sa Panginoong Diyos: ang kanyang mga madre at ang kanyang mga pari. Inaari niyang sila ay kanya dahil sa bawat madre at sa bawat paring nakilala, turing na anak ang nakikita.

Iginuhit ng tadhana sa kanyang mga palad na siya ay di magkaroon ng anak na galing sa kanyang mga sariling ugat at dugo. At idinibuho rin ng Panginoon na siya ay magkaroon ng iba't ibang anak na galing sa kanyang adhikain at damdamin. Kasama na rito ang mga mangagamot at nars, tagabilang ng pera at pahinante sa opisina, tagalinis ng bahay at tagaluto sa kusina. Lahat sila kilala si Lola.

Malaking pagpasensiya ang binigay niya sa mga taong nawalan man ng pera ay umasa pa rin sa kanya. Malaking pagtanggap ang iniukol niya sa mga taong kulang man sa panalangin ay hindi nawalan ng pag-asa. At napakalaking tulong ang binigay niya sa mga taong di man nawalan ng pera at pag-asa'y umasa pa rin sa Kanya.

Pag-asa. Di nga ba ito ang dahilan kung bakit sa kadiliman ng gabi ay inaaninag natin ang pusikit na liwanag? Pag-asa. Di nga ba ito ang dahilan kung bakit kahit duguan man ang ating mga palad sa patalim pa rin tayo kumakapit? Pag-asa. Di nga ba ito ang dahilan kung bakit libo-libogn taon man ang lumipas panindigan nating Diyos ang tanging ligtas ay di kailanman kukupas?

Kakambal ng pag-asa ang pananampalataya.

Pananampalataya ang dahilan kumbakit hanggang ngayon mahal natin ang isa't isa. Pananampalataya ang dahilan kumbakit mula pa noon alam nating mahal tayo ng Diyos na Kaisaisa. At pananampalataya ang dahilan kumbakit sa mga panahong bukas ay darating nararapat nating ipagpatuloy ang pagmamahal sa bawat isa.

Umiyak si Lola nang malamang paalis na ako papuntang Amerika. Wala na ako roon nang mawalan siya ng hininga. Ang tanging nakita ko lamang ang larawan ng hantungan niya.

Ngunit sa puso at panulat ko ay manatili siyang alaala. Isa siyang alaala ng pag-aruga at pagtitiwala, pagtulong at pagkawanggawa, pagbibigay at pag-unawa. Sa isip, sa diwa at sa gunita, isa siyang konsolasyon.

Si Lola Consuelo.

3 December 2010

Advent Hope

2010-11-28T13:07:00.000-05:00

The Church calendar gives us four weeks of preparation, called the season of Advent, before the celebration of Christmas. These weeks signify the years that the Jews waited for the Messiah, long anticipated by prophetic writings. These weeks serve to purify the demands of our everyday humdrum lives. These weeks point out the hope of tomorrow and the promise of the future.

Advent is a season of hope. With the trials that some of us are facing at this time, with the challenges that some of us are experiencing at this moment, and with the difficulties that some of us are battling here and now, there is hope.

Tomorrow will be better, according to the prophet Isaiah. Two conditions in Old Testament theology bracket the future that will be well and secure: when we seek God’s kingdom as our first priority and when we accept God as the highest authority.

If we fail to abide by these conditions, the darkness and anxiety of waiting is compounded and aggravated. Our society has kingdoms and gods in their lives other than Jesus, the Living God. Our society has authorities they believe in other than Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life.

The journey to Bethlehem begins when we stop denying the darkness that filters our lives. The path to the manger begins once we begin filling up the emptiness in us. The journey to God begins once we give up the things we hold dear, once we give out to persons we find insignificant, and once we give in to the God of all importance.

The reason for all these preparations during Advent points to no other than Jesus Himself.

Christmas can be a stressful experience for some of us when we lose Christ along the way. Jesus is the reason for the season. When there is no more reason for the season, the season is a reason no more. There is no need to substitute greeting politically correct people with Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas.

Christmas can be a meaningless experience for many of us when truth is veiled and masked by material and commercial demands. As a little girl climbed onto Santa's lap, Santa asked the usual, "And what would you like for Christmas?" The child stared at him open mouthed and horrified for a minute, then gasped: "Didn't you get my E-mail?"

The truth remains unchanged that Santa Claus and his elves, Rudolph and all the reindeers do not occasion the giving of presents. Jesus is the gift and He is the Father's present. What God the Father did, we intend to follow.

Finally, Christmas can be pointless to a few when they find it to be just an obligatory passage of time. They would not have felt this way had they listened to the Gospel. They would not have found Christmas to be meaningless, pointless and stressful had they prepared themselves spiritually well.

To be awake, to be alert, and to be engaging are actions we have to take as we wait for Jesus. If we only let the Christ child be born in us, our world will never be the same. If we ever let the light of the manger shine through our hearts, our lives will radically change. And, if we ever let the life of God enter the brokenness of our darkened world, death becomes insignificant and senseless.

Jesus is coming. He will not leave us disappointed. He is our ultimate hope.

28 November 2010

Si Auntie Glor: sermon sa saiyang pagkagadan

2010-11-16T20:15:00.002-05:00

An sarong ina tatao kun ano an tunay na kahulugan kan pagkamoot. Magpoon sa panahon na kita punan nin buhay sagkod sa kita mismo an maging tagapagtao nin buhay, an ina yaon sa pagtabang, pagmakulog asin pagpasensiya.

Kadaklan satuya tinabangan ni Auntie Glor. Kadaklan satuya mayo ngonyan sa kinaban kun dai si Auntie Glor. Kadaklan satuya bakong arog ngonyan an buhay kundi dahil kay Auntie Glor.

Bako lang siya ina nin onseng aki, kundi naging pangaduwang ina man siya kan saiyang mga subrino asin subrina, lalo na kaming mga aki ni Nene, an apod niya kay Mama. Bako lang siya naging tugang ni Mameng, Ben, Tony asin ni Mama, kundi siya man naging tugang kan mga kataraid niya. Asin dahil sa pagiging tugang asin ina, siya natawan nin biyaya sa saiyang mga nagkapirang apo asin apo sa tuhod.

Dakul kitang maaraman sa buhay ni Auntie Glor. Yaon an pagsimbag sa responsibilidad bilang aki. Sa saiyang daghan naitao an dagdag na gibo kan magadan si Lola Julia asin kan si Lolo Enzo uminabot sa mga panahong maluya na. Bilang mga aki, igwa kita nin dakulang responsibilidad sa satuyang mga magurang. Bako lamang na sinda kamotan asin galangan, kundi sinda man balosan nin pag ataman sa saindang kaluyahan.

Yaon an pagdamay asin padagos na pag-ataman lalo na kun may namomotan na nagtitios asin naghehelang. Namatean nyato iyan kan ma-stroke si Uncle Inggo, kan magkahelang si Manoy Monching, kan si Ron dagdag na nagtao kan saiyang kidney. Nagiging mas makusog an pagiribahan bilang magturugang bako lamang kun nagtatarabangan kundi nagpapasensiyahan, bako lamang kun nagdadaramayan kundi nagpapatinawad tawadan. Siring sa namamatean nin Kagurangnan, mas lalong nagiging maogma an puso kan lambang magurang kun maaraman asin mamatean na buronyog asin sararo an saiyang pamilya.

Yaon man an pagtubod asin pagsarig sa Diyos, na kagtao nin buhay, kan saiyang mahiling sa atubangan niya an pagkagadan kan saiyang aki na si Rey asin si Jude. Mas madaling akoon nin sarong aki an kagadanan nin magurang. Mas dificil na akoon nin sarong magurang an kagadanan nin saiyang aki.

Pasalamatan niyato an Kagurangnan dahil saiya. Ipamibi niyato siya sa satuyang Ina, Nuestra Senora de Penafrancia. Sa saiyang mirakulosong imahen kita padagos na nag aarang na tawan nin kapahingaloan sagkod pa man an satuyang namomotan.

Kita gabos natawan nin biyaya, aram man nyato o bako, ta minsan sa buhay nyato igwa kitang namidbid asin namotan na Gloria Roque Albeus.

14 November 2010

Sad you see

2010-11-08T11:08:00.000-05:00

Once there was a skeptic who said to a priest, “Father, if you really believe what you preach, then I challenge you. Drink this poison here and if you don’t die, I’ll believe.” The priest replied, “I have a better plan. Because I really believe in what I preach. Drink the poison and I will raise you up!”

Sadducees find no happiness in life and living. That is why they are called sad you see. They believe that death is certain, absolute and final to every human being. We are in agreement with them that there is certainty in death. Aeschylus in Agamemnon said that there is nothing certain in a man's life except this: that he must lose it. Death is also the great equalizer. Somebody wrote that you can be a king or a street sweeper, but everybody dances with the Grim Reaper.

However, we do not believe that death is final. As followers of Jesus, we profess that death is not the end. It is simply the beginning. Where he goes, we hope to follow.

In trying to trick Jesus, the Sadducees asked a stupid question about a woman married to seven husbands, all of them brothers. Parenthetically, I pity this woman that they cited as an example. I see her entering the Pearly Gates only to be welcomed by seven former husbands. I bet you that she would definitely go back and check the sign on the gate just to make sure that it really did say “Heaven.”

Jesus gave a serious answer to their childish question. He has the authority to speak about the subject because He has been there and He lives there. He did not give a description of what life in heaven is like. Heaven is beyond our human comprehension because it transcends our understanding of space and time.

Simply put, heaven is where God is. And if heaven is God’s home, it is where our hearts should be because heaven is our only home.

Jesus then said something about what heaven is not. There are no marriages in heaven, other than the marriage of the Creator with the created. There is no more death and dying in heaven, for there is never ending life. And there are no more tears in heaven, for there will be everlasting happiness.

If heaven is great, why is it that most of us are afraid of death? It is quite understandable. Death is a horrible feeling to the one who died and to those who are left behind. Both suffer significant transition. Both are affected by permanent separation. If we are like the Sadducees who believe that death is the end, then death will always be feared and detested. If we are like the Sadducees who believe that death blots our existence away, then death will always be an enemy and a rival to life.

Jesus has been through death. If we believe in Jesus, we should never be afraid to die. We will never get to heaven unless we die. There is life after death. Jesus said that he will be waiting for us as He sits at the right hand of the Father. Jesus said that He sent the Holy Spirit upon us so that we will be guided to heaven.

And Jesus would never lie to us.

We will never have enough time, imagination, intelligence and answers to questions about death, suffering, dying, life after death, heaven and hell. However, our faith begins where our questions end. Our belief in God begins where our explanations fail. Our faith in Jesus begins where our doubts end.

The Sadducees, who denied the resurrection, asked Jesus about what happens after death. The answer to their question was before their eyes. Jesus need not speak. Jesus need not explain. Jesus need not respond or reply.

Right before their very eyes was Heaven in Person. Right before them was the Life and the Resurrection, Jesus our Lord! And right before us in the humdrum of our lives, in the celebration of the sacraments, in all our fears and anxieties, in all our problems and questions, is the answer: the Son of Living God.

The poet Seneca said that the day, which we fear as our last, is but the birthday of eternity. Love and live every moment, then. Hope that Jesus will allow us to join Him and his company of saints. And most of all, Pray that when we face our good Lord one day, we are ready. From death, He will raise us up.

7 November 2010

Luwalhati

2010-11-05T19:44:00.001-04:00

Ang tawag namin sa kanya ay Auntie Glor, ngunit sa aming magkakapatid isa rin siyang Mama Glor. Nakakatandang kapatid ng Nanay ko. Kasama, kagabay at kapanalig namin siya simula pa sa pagkabata. Isa siyang huwarang kapatid nabatid ko sa Nanay. Ang tawagin siyang mapagbigay, maunawain at matulungin ay kulang pang sabihin kung tunay na mabatid ang kanyang minahal na tungkulin.

Hindi ko makakalimutan ang panahong una akong nabigyan ng tanda sa aking napupusuang gawain. May panibagong supling ang Nanay at hindi makadalo sa seremonyang kasuotan ko na sa bawat Misang dadaluhin ay magiging bago. Malungkot sa akin ang araw na iyon dahil alam kong walang makakasaksi sa tutuparin ko.

Hanggang makita ko siya pagkatapos ng Misa. Napaluha pa nang makita niya akong nakasuot ng sutana. Marahil dahil sa awa, at hindi nasaksihan ng aking mga magulang. Marahil sa tuwa, dahil pinapakinggan ko ang tinig at tawag ng Maykapal. At marahil din sa di mabilang na pagmamahal.

Nasaksihan kong muli ang kanyang pagiging pangalawang Nanay sa mga panahong nawalan kami ng Tatay. Binuksan niya ang kanyang tirahan sa aming magkakapatid upang makapagtapos lamang sa pag-aaral. Walang binibilang kung magkano at kailan. Bagkus ay pinupunuan pa ng sobra pa sa magkano at labis pa sa kailangan.

Maihahalintulad rin sa mga natutuhan ko sa Nanay ang mga natutuhan ko sa kanya. Nariyan ang pag-unawa sa mga taong may kailangan, ang pagkalinga sa anak na lumilihis ng daan at ang pagtiwala sa Diyos na siyang Daan at kalingang Kailangan.

At maihahalintulad rin sa pagmamahal ng Diyos ang pagmamahal ng bawat nanay. Walang paborito, ang lahat ay pantay. Paborito lamang ang inuukulan ng matindi at masidhing pansin ang anak na kung minsan sa landas ng buhay ay nawawala, ang anak na kung minsan ang buhay na landas ay hindi natatagpuan.

Auntie Glor, malaking bahagi ka ng buhay at mga tagumpay namin. At dahil sa iyo, sa Diyos kami ay muling nagbibigay luwalhati.

Tulad ng pangalan mo. Gloria.

Luwalhati.

5 November 2010

Zacchaeus

2010-11-01T18:11:00.002-04:00

Once there was a bishop who tried to motivate his priests when giving homilies by telling them a story. He began by saying, “My dear brothers, "The best years of my life were spent in the arms of a woman that wasn't my wife!" The priests were shocked! And then the bishop followed up by saying, "And that woman was my mother!"

About a week later, one of the priests decided to use that joke in his sermon. As he approached the pulpit, he tried to rehearse the joke in his head. Getting to the microphone he proclaimed loudly, "The greatest years of my life were spent in the arms of another woman that was not my wife!"

His congregation sat shocked. After standing there for almost 10 seconds finding himself lost in recalling the second half of the joke, he finally blurted out "...and I can't remember who she was!"

Being lost is a terrible feeling. Jesus had many stories about searching and finding the lost. In fact, that is one of the reasons why He became one of us. We were lost and he searched for us. Some of us are still lost and He never gets tired of searching for us.

Who are the lost ones today? The person who does not know where he or she is supposed to be may be lost. Not asking for directions, support or help from others may cause us to lose ourselves even further. In the truest sense of the word, we are definitely lost when we find ourselves in the wrong place.

Zacchaeus tree at Jericho

Zacchaeus was a lost man. He had money in his pockets, but he was lost in his life. He was a tax collector by profession, but was considered an outcast by his people with contempt and derision. Perhaps he heard about the man from Nazareth who was eating with sinners and named a tax collector like him as his disciple. In all probability, Zacchaeus was curious and quite interested about our good Lord.

It took great courage for him to find his way among the crowd. He knew he was exposing himself to ridicule and insult, disdain and even physical harm. Being small of stature, he elbowed and jostled with people, but he could not get a glimpse of Jesus. It did not stop him. He was determined. Nothing would get in the way of a person with determination. Tommy Lasorda says that the difference between the possible and the impossible lies in a man’s determination.

So, he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree. We have to pause here because some of us could relate with this short, tax collector. We had been on that tree before. Some of us had been misjudged by our so-called friends. They said things we never did. They insinuated words we never said. They put words in our mouth we did not even think of saying. We were also like Zacchaeus, misjudged, misinterpreted, misread and misrepresented.

Those misjudgment and backbiting did not just come from our friends. Some of them came from members of our own families. How many siblings do we know who do not speak to each other for so many years just because of a misunderstanding or a miscommunication? How many families have been broken because of word wars among in-laws? What is the difference between in-laws and outlaws? Outlaws are wanted.

Or probably we were the ones down there, looking up at Zacchaeus. We had judged people unfairly. We had spread the gossip and the rumor. We caused people to think less of them because we were constantly nagging them about their faults, their weaknesses, their sins. We had wronged people, because we thought we were right.

Jesus was also down there with the crowds. And when he looked up, he saw the goodness that will come out of Zacchaeus. The call to redemption was there at that instant. The challenge to holiness was there when Jesus called him by his name. The claim to goodness was there when He said, “Come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.”

That moment was a turning point in the life of Zacchaeus. Before the crowd who looked down on him because of who and what he was, he announced that he would give half of what he had to the poor. He would also offer restitution to those he had defrauded. Whatever his indecision and choices were before Jesus called him was dramatically altered and given direction.

Our lives would change if we respond to Jesus calling us by name. Our lives would change if we respond to his challenge in seeking the lost. Our lives would change if we respond to his call.

It is a call to act justly. It is a call to love tenderly. It is a call to walk humbly and find our way to God.

Zacchaeus was lost and Jesus found him on his way to Jericho. That turning point was the beginning of the greatest years of his life.

31 October 2010

I problem

2010-10-27T15:54:00.000-04:00

Little Kevin and his family were having Sunday dinner at his Grandmother's house. Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served. When Little Kevin received his plate, he started eating right away. "Kevin! Please wait until we say our prayer," said his mother. "I don't have to," The boy replied. "Of course, you do," his mother insisted. "We always say a prayer before eating at our house." "That's our house," Kevin explained. "But this is Grandma's house and she knows how to cook!"

Two persons went to the Temple to pray, according to Jesus. One was a Pharisee. The other was a tax collector. Both lacked something that was essential to what they really wanted.

Love was lacking in the heart of the Pharisee. He was too proud of himself for he thought he was doing what was obliged. He was just like little Jack Horner reciting to God what he did. Little Jack Horner sat in the corner eating a Christmas pie. He put in his thumb and pulled out a plum, and said, What a good boy am I!

It is natural that sometimes we have to be affirmed for our actions. That at times we seek approval and appreciation for whatever we had done. That we need that pat in the back sometimes for a good word we said or a nice thing we did.

The marketing agents of our generation used this need for self-seeking recognition and possession with the names they used for our technological toys. The apple, which somehow caused the break up of Adam and Eve, has the same brand name with the company that is also breaking up our family connections. The letter “I” has become the status symbol of these present times. The invention of the Internet became the introduction of idiotic individualism. And so we have iPods, iTunes and iPhones.

No wonder we all need an I check up, not with the optician, optometrist or ophthalmologist. Like the Pharisee, we need to check the I in ourselves, the Egos of our beings.

If ever the Pharisee was not greedy, dishonest or adulterous, if ever the Pharisee fasted twice a week, if ever the Pharisee tithed on his whole income, were these reasons not enough to convince Jesus that he was doing good? Nope. Jesus pointed out that the Pharisee missed on praying for what was really necessary. He prayed with his heart full of himself that there was no room for God to speak.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote that it is not because the truth is too difficult to see that we make mistakes. We make mistakes because the easiest and most comfortable course for us is to seek insight where it accords with our emotions - especially selfish ones.

There is another person in the parable. It was the tax collector. Jesus praised him for his actions. The tax collector did not compare himself with the person next to him. He did not boast about he did or did not do. He did not pass judgment on those around him.

But something is still missing in the tax collector. It is not enough that we just bow our heads and beat our breasts and say, “I am sorry.” We need to do more than that. Remember the sin of the Pharisee? He did only what was required. We have to do what is necessary.

Love was lacking in the heart of the tax collector, the sinner. Love is lacking in the heart of every sinner. It is true that he would not even raise his eyes to heaven because of his sins. But it is also true that he was not able to look out and see the Pharisee beside him. Both the tax collector and the Pharisee have something we all need: a need to love and be loved, a need to be affirmed that we can also love and be loved in return.

Love cannot be by itself, because it is not meant for one. Love cannot be individualistic, but should be selfless. Love cannot be contained in oneself because it should be open and welcoming.

Neither the Pharisee nor the tax collector is the hero in this story. Jesus is. He told us what we need to do. He praised the tax collector not for the sins he committed, but for his lack of pride. The sinner in each one of us should realize who we are before God. Before God no one can boast of any claim. Before God no one can gloat of any achievement. Before God no one can be proud of any accomplishment.

We have a God of the sinners. We have a God of love. Allow the good Lord then to purify the imperfections of our lives, because most often there is a little of the Pharisee and the tax collector in us and in this parable we call life.

24 October 2010

Increase our Faith

2010-10-04T12:53:00.000-04:00

If you ever felt helpless and deserted, abandoned and rejected, alone and excluded, you might have experienced what Habakkuk felt and you probably can relate with what he prayed, “How long, O Lord! I cry for help but you do not listen? Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look at misery?”

St. John of the Cross described these moments in a person’s life as the “dark night of the soul.” I know of a saintly woman in our generation who wrote that she felt this terrible sense of loss, this untold darkness, this loneliness, this continual longing for God, which gives her that pain deep down in her heart. That woman was Mother Teresa.

Need we forget that during these difficult moments, we need to pray like the disciples did, “Increase our faith.” What is faith? Just like the essential things in life, like love and hope, faith is better described than defined, better felt than known, better expressed than understood.

Faith gives us the assurance that things will be better. Faith makes us realize not only that help is on the way but help has always been on our way. And faith gives us the power to do the impossible and the ability to understand the unbelievable

We express our faith in so many different ways. The following are letters written by children to their priests. One says, “Dear Father, my father should be a priest like you. Every day he gives us a sermon on something.” Another asks, “Dear Father, are there any devils left on earth? I think there may be one in my class.” Also, “Father, I would like to go to heaven because I know my sister won’t be there.”

It is difficult to find faith with people who live lives of pleasure and comfort. It is hard to find faith when things are going our way in the way we want them to be. And faith can sometimes be elusive when we are not suffering and when we are not tempted.

Why do some people lose faith? I could think of three reasons for now. First, people lose faith because they relied on their senses alone. What they saw, heard, smelled, tasted and touched are just microcosmic particles of God’s sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. Since we are human beings, we will always be limited by our senses. All that we have seen teaches us to trust God for all we have not seen. Never lose God just because you found some imperfection in His creation. If this world is perfect, there is no more use for heaven. Our world is continually marching to God.

Secondly, people lose faith because they forgot how to kneel down and surrender themselves before their Creator. Snakes and serpents cannot kneel, but camels do that is why camels were there in Bethlehem that Christmas morning. The person who kneels before God can stand before any problem and before anyone. Somebody once wrote that if God asks us to bend, bend and do not complain. He is making us more flexible, and for this, we should be thankful. Sometimes we question God, but it takes awhile for him to answer. If we want immediate answers to our questions, I am afraid that He will just say, "If you're so anxious for answers, come up here."

And lastly, people lose faith because they forgot that they have company in life. When human beings lose faith in God, they lose faith in human beings. And when we lose faith in human beings, we lose faith in all our doings.

After the Second World War, somebody found an inscription on a wall outside Cologne, Germany. It was written by a Jewish refugee. The writing on the wall says, “I believe in the sun, even when it's not shining. I believe in love even when I'm alone. And I believe in God even when He's silent."

Increase our faith. That is our prayer today. When we fail beyond what we expected ourselves to be, when all we hear and see are the imperfections in our world, and when we have fallen and found nobody to hold, we need to increase our faith.

3 October 2010

Search

2010-09-13T14:29:00.001-04:00

"Oh, boy! I'm glad you're here," the little boy said to his grandmother on his mother's side. "Why?" she asked. "Because now Daddy will do the trick he's been promising us." "What trick?" "Well, he told Mommy that if you came to visit, he would climb the walls."

The Pharisees thought that the sinless should not mingle with the sinners. They thought that they have the monopoly of religion and that they could manipulate Jesus. And so, they asked our good Lord why he welcomes sinners and eats with them.

He told them three parables that portray the lost: the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. In telling these stories, however, Jesus centers on its essential meaning, which is the generous and encompassing nature of God through the good shepherd, the persistent housekeeper and the prodigal Father.

We may think like the Pharisees and believe that we are the only children of God, Jesus tells us that God searches for us because we are lost in that mistaken belief. He is the Truth. We may think like the Pharisees and consider ourselves better and righteous than other people, Jesus tells us that God is seeking us because we are all lost. He is the Way. And we may think like the Pharisees and presume that we have Jesus on our side against the others, Jesus tells us that God is longing for us because we may be lost but we are not forgotten. He is the Life.

This is a good time for us to ask ourselves how we have been of help in seeking the lost, in searching for those who had been away, in forgiving those who had been wrong.

The answers to these questions may sometimes include our loved ones. Parents may say that their children do not go to Church anymore. Or that their spouse drinks too much, that their son is addicted to pornography, that their daughter is on a miserable relationship. Some of us may say that we have friends who had been unemployed and are feeling hopeless, or that we have friends who had been depressed and are feeling worthless.

How do we respond to the lost? How do we respond to the vacant recesses of our hearts? How do we respond to the empty spaces of our lives?

Faith and hope are the Christian virtues we need to remember. Our prayers and our belief that God will never abandon us are the Christian practices we need to consider. And our love, our prodigality, our understanding are the Christian examples we need to hold forever.

Unlike the sheep who strayed and the coin that was lost, there is a human element in the son who wronged his father. Forgiveness, letting go and forgetting could be one of the hardest things we could ever do.

When we do not forgive, we shrink our world by the number of persons we may have the opportunity to be Christ like. When we do not want to let go of the things that hurt us, we limit ourselves to the humanity of our nature.

There is a story about the Confederate General Robert E. Lee who went to visit a friend after the Civil War. Out in front of the mansion were the sad remains of a grand old magnolia tree whose limbs had been blown away by the artillery of the Union Army. Despite the passage of years, the lady of the house was still bitter and she wept angry tears as she showed Lee the scarred and blackened tree trunk. Then she paused, waiting expectantly for him to denounce those hated Yankees. The general was silent for awhile and then, looking at the tree, he said, “Cut it down, dear lady, and forget it!”

We need to pause, like that lady, and search our hearts. Why have we been bitter? Nothing good will come out of our lives if our hearts are still imprisoned by the darkness of our past. Nothing good will happen to us if we continually poison our souls by our unwillingness to forgive. Jesus said, “The measure you measure with will be measured back to you.” And, nothing better will ever take place unless we move on beyond our mistakes and failures.

We also need to be reminded, like what the General did, that we need to stop. Stop blaming people. Stop blaming yourself. Stop blaming God. “Forgive them, Father, for they do not know what they are doing,” Jesus shouted in pain before he died. We are those who do not know what we are doing. We have asked for forgiveness, but sometimes we are not forgiving. We are lost sometimes, and somehow we do not want to be found.

God is continually searching for us in our hearts. God is continually hoping that we can love each other the way He loves us, that we can forgive each other the way He forgives us, that we can embrace and accept one another the way He embraces and accepts each one of us.

Perhaps you know what I am talking about. Perhaps your hearts can see what I am seeing. Perhaps you know what I mean. But if in case you do not know what I am saying, if in case you see it differently, if in case you do not know what I mean, just consider that this world will be different if we join in the search. Be a good shepherd. Be a persistent housekeeper. Be a prodigal father. Search for those who are different, but may actually be like us. Search for the law-observing, righteous Pharisees in our world. Search for the lost and the sinners in our midst.

That in our search we may fill the empty spaces of our lives. That in our search we may occupy the vacant recesses of our hearts. That with God in our search, we may find ourselves.

12 September 2010

Init

2010-09-11T12:42:00.000-04:00

Aba, huwag naman po kayong ganyan, naisip ko. Masama ang binabalak ninyo. Ang magsunog ng Korean. Paano na lamang ang magiging katapusan niyan? O maaaring dahil sa gagawin at sisimulan ninyo, marahil may mga karugtong pa at mawawala ang katapusan ng anumang karahasan.

Paano na lamang ang mga dramang Koreano, ang Hwe Du Bap at Kimchi? Paano na lamang si Sandara Park, si Rain at si Kim Chiu? At paano na lamang ang bulgogi at ang mga malasang mga barbeque?

Hanggang malaman kong hindi naman pala Korean, kundi Koran. Koran ang susunugin, hindi Korean. Mali mali pala itong computer na dala ko. Kung sabagay Made in China, hindi Made in Korea.

Ngunit mali pa rin, Korean man o Koran. Tao man o mahal na aklat. Lipi man o pananampalataya. Mali at hindi tama ang pagsunog.

Apoy ang barkada ng mga taong mahilig sa mainit, o sa makulay na salita, impyerno. Sa impyerno, na kung saan walang Diyos, nandoon ang napakatinding apoy. Matindi pa sa lumalagablab at lumalabang Koreano. Matindi pa sa alab ng panlabang Koran.

Walang halo-halo, malamig na tubig, electric fan at airconditioner doon. Apoy at umaatikabong apoy lamang. Parang napakainit na oven na ginagawang tutong ang bawat piraso ng katawan, parang kainitan ng summer na hubarin mo man ang lahat at umasa sa saplot na lamang ay mainit pa rin at parang kanin na naisubo na at sabaw na nailunok na at di na kayang iluwa.

Hindi sinabi ng Panginoon na makakapunta sa langit ang magsunog ng aklat. Hindi sinabi ng Panginoon na bibigyan niya ng gantimpala ang sinumang gumawa ng apoy at sunugin ang anumang bagay. At hindi sinabi ng Panginoon na kamuhian natin ang isa’t isa.

Sinabi niya na dapat tayong magmahalan. Hindi lang major, major na magmahalan. Kundi over. Sinabi niya na di lang tayo dapat magloving-loving, kundi loving kahit may hating-hating. At sinabi niya na ang mga kasama niya sa langit ang mga taong gumagawa ng kabutihan lamang, hindi ang kasamaan.

Mabuti at hindi natuloy ang pagsunog, nalaman ko na lamang. Marahil nahimasmasan. Marahil may pinakinggan. Marahil binuhusan ng tubig. O marahil nakainom ng kaunting pampalamig.

Mahirap nga naman ang init. Hubad ka na at wala ng talop, mainit pa rin. Mabuti pa ang lamig. Sa suot na sangkaterbang sweater at jacket, nagkakaroon ng ginhawa at aliw.

Apoy? Gamitin sa tamang paraan. Sunog? Huwag naman. Bagyo man at lindol tanggap natin. Huwag lang masunugan, sabi ng karamihan. Impyerno? Mas lalong huwag roon.

Init doon.

11 September 2010

Choices and Decisions

2010-09-05T10:32:00.000-04:00

One day, a little girl is sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly notices that her mother has several strands of white hair sticking out in contrast to her brunette head. She looks at her mother and inquisitively asks, "Why are some of your hairs white, mom?" Her mother replied, "Well, every time that you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white." The little girl thought about this for a while, and then said, "Momma, how come all of grandma's hairs are white?"

Each one of us is a result of some of the decisions our parents and our friends made in their lives. We have choices and we have decisions. Dumbledore says to Harry Potter that the choices we make define us far more than our abilities. Choices are stepping-stones to the decisions we make. They clarify and purify the vagueness and uncertainty of our actions. They refine and lighten the muddy and heavy loads of our souls. They filter and cleanse the mist and cloudiness of our lives.

Our good Lord presents three choices we need to face. These are choices that face the reality of discomfort, displeasure and disappointment. We have a choice whether to take up our crosses or not, whether to renounce and sacrifice our possessions and attachments or not, and whether to follow Jesus or not.

What does it take to bear our crosses in life? A lot, that sometimes we complain and argue with God about it. A lot, that sometimes we blame God for it. A lot, that sometimes we feel like giving up. And yet, during those times and moments we are reminded again what Jesus said, “Whoever does not carry his own cross cannot be my disciple.”

We have different crosses to bear. The secret in lightening its heavy burden lies in each one of us. Jesus was not alone in carrying His cross on the way to Calvary. Simon of Cyrene helped him. God knows we cannot carry our crosses all the way with our own strength. We need his help and his grace. God knows about the burden, the guilt and the load that our crosses create. We need his strength and his will. If we are crushed right now under the burden of a heavy load, know and believe that our Simon will come to help us. God reveals himself in people, places and events way beyond our knowledge and recognition. He always has a back up plan because we are not expendables.

What does it take to sacrifice our attachments and possessions? A lot, that sometimes we cry in our own loneliness. A lot, that sometimes we feel so detached from one another. A lot, that sometimes we feel like breaking down. And yet, during those times and moments we are reminded again what Jesus said, “Whoever does not deny himself cannot be my disciple.”

We are attached to many things and possessed by many persons. The secret in detachment lies in each one of us. Jesus felt so alone in the Garden of Gethsemane that he longed for the company of his disciples, “Can you not watch with me for even an hour?” God knows our aloneness and loneliness. That is why he offers Himself to be our companion on the journey.

No human relationship is as intimate and loving than our relationship with Jesus. No possession and attachment is as rewarding and fulfilling than our attachment to God. And no love can be as forgiving, caring and unending than the love of God.

Finally, what does it take to follow Jesus? A lot, that sometimes our troubles look bigger than our faith, our problems look bigger than our hope, that our concerns and disappointments look bigger than our love for one another. Even when we have these moments, we still have a choice. We can choose to give up, give in or give out. We have the choice to doubt, to despair or to drop out.

But we can also choose to protect, persevere and press on. We have the choice to stand up, look up, reach up and lift up.

All human relationships fail in time. So are the addictions, possessions and attachments we have. What will be left at the end of time are those who believed and persevered in what is right. What is left are those whom we did not probably consider as right. What is left are those who made it right.

If we have ever asked ourselves the following questions that if God is good, why do bad things happen to innocent and good people, that if God is good, why does suffering exist at all and death happens, that if God is good why do we still feel pain and boredom, loneliness and dissatisfaction, failure and disappointment, then we have some answers to our questions in what Jesus is reminding us today.

Only our relationship with Jesus can make it right. We will have difficulties along the way, but that is right. We will be hated because of Him, but that is still right. And to follow him as his disciple is the thing we must do, because that is right.

It is a choice we have to take. It is a decision we have to make.

5 September 2010

Through the Ringer

2010-08-21T20:46:00.000-04:00

Some, if not most of us, had been through the ringer. A little boy went to the grocery store and asked the clerk for a box of detergent soap. The clerk asked the boy why he needed detergent. “I want to wash my dog,” he said. “Well, son, this detergent is pretty strong for washing a little dog.” The boy replied, “That’s what I want. He’s mighty dirty.” About a week later he returned. The store clerk, recognizing him, asked him about his dog. “Oh, he’s dead,” said the boy. “Oh, I’m sorry,” replied the clerk. “I guess the detergent was too strong.” “I don’t think the detergent hurt him,” said the boy. “I think it was the rinse cycle that got him.”

St. Paul encourages us in his letter that the trials and sufferings in this life are actually God’s blessings and grace. They are signs that God loves us. “Whom the Lord loves, he disciplines,” he wrote. So, do not lose heart when reproved by him. God treats you as sons. For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline?

Doing good and following the will of God can be an experience of paradox, challenge and inspiration. Some of us might find it difficult not just to do well, but simply to do good and be good. There are some wide gates in our lives that would always look inviting and the temptation to rush through it can sometimes be very overwhelming. Be careful, Jesus seems to be saying. Easy come, easy go.

Jesus cautions us to enter through the narrow gate. We choose the narrow gate whenever we love that person who does not even love us in return. We choose the narrow gate whenever we forgive that person who hurt us so badly. We choose the narrow gate whenever we stand up for what is morally right and just.

It is the better way, as our hearts would also tell us. Our good Lord is not saying that we refrain from choosing things that are fun and cool. That would be defeating the purpose of creating the world and its beauty. Eat, Pray and Love, as the movie title suggests. Rather he is teaching us that we find him only when we enter through the unappealing, uninteresting and boring narrow gate. Love, Pray and then Eat because in that narrow gate is heaven where there is an everlasting feast.

How do we enter through the narrow gate? Since the gate is narrow, the answer to this question relies on who we are and what we are carrying. We will not be able to enter through the narrow gate if we are full of ourselves and our egos are horizontally challenged, the politically correct term for the ugly F word, F-A-T.

We need to shape up in order that we will be shipped up. Shaping up means going on a diet and exercising, or in a spiritually correct term fasting and feasting. We need to fast from bitterness and feast on compassion, fast from thoughts of illness and feast on God’s healing power, fast from discontent and feast on gratitude, fast from complaining and feast on appreciation, fast from discouragement and feast on hope. We need to fast from anger and feast on patience.

A young mother was sick in bed when her nine-year old daughter walked in from school. Thinking her mother was asleep; she quietly unfolded the blanket at the foot of the bed and gently tucked it around her mom. The mother stirred, then whispered, “It wasn’t too long ago that I was tucking you in. And now you’re covering me.” The little girl, bending over her mother, replied, “We take turns.”

This is why we need each other. What is the point of heaven if we do not see people we love after the narrow gate? God has a narrow gate so people won't push and shove to get in," says Allen, 10 years old and Brittany, 7 years old says, "You have to wait your turn to get in."

We had been through the ringer. The detergent was too strong and the rinse cycle got us. Getting through the gate may be a tight squeeze. But if we squeeze each other tight, we might make it. Or rather, we will make it.

22 August 2010

The Good Samaritan

2010-07-11T12:57:00.000-04:00

A young mother was having one of the worst days of her life. Her husband lost his job. The water heater exploded. She had a stack of bills she could not pay. Her hair was a mess, and she felt fat and ugly. She was almost at the breaking point as she lifted her little one-year-old into his highchair, leaned her head against the tray and began to cry. Without a murmur, the little one took the pacifier out of his own mouth … and gently placed it in hers!

For sure, both the priest and the Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan had reasons not to help the man by the roadside. I can think of only one. Both the priest and the Levite did not want to be involved.

Getting involved can be a messy business. The trouble we let ourselves in if we decide to answer a cry for help is beyond our knowledge. More often, it is easier for us to close our eyes and pretend that we do not know the problem unfolding before our eyes.

Of course, we have our good and countless reasons for not stopping by. Some of us may have already said those same alibis and excuses, “God will understand because I have done other good things before” or “Others will be of help, not just us for now.”

Both the priest and the Levite had one question in their mind upon seeing the badly beaten man, “What will happen to me if I stop?” Non-involvement creates walls, fences and divisions. Every wall erected creates prisoners on both sides. Every fence built makes neighbors distant. Every division made takes people apart.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn said that the mildest and at the same time most widespread form of betrayal was not to do anything bad directly, but just not to notice the doomed person next to one, not to help him, to turn away one’s face, to shrink back. Dante Alighieri had the same thoughts to paraphrase what he wrote that the lowest places in hell are reserved for those people who in terms of crises and opportunities for being good Samaritans persist in their own indifference.

The Samaritan came. And his question was different, “What will happen to the wounded man if I do not stop?” Before him was an enemy and yet the Samaritan, long ignored and ostracized by the Jews for being impure, got involved. Before him was somebody who perhaps did not even trust him and yet the Samaritan followed his heart. Before him was somebody who was a victim and the Samaritan helped.

The good Samaritan is a complete expression of what St. Augustine once prayed to God that, “By loving the unlovable, You made me lovable.” The most pure love and the truest love do not make sense.

Unfolding before us are two frequent images of our human society: a victim needing help and a helper who is also a victim.

Some of us may have been the victims before. Some of us may have been left wounded by the roadside of life and we called for help. No priest or Levite came to our rescue. Maybe not even a good Samaritan. And we felt ignored, rejected and abandoned.

And maybe some of our friends, acquaintances, enemies, and fellow human beings right now are still on the roadside. Their wounds may not be visible physically, but their spirits have been wounded deeply. They may not have been divested of their possessions, but they may have been robbed of their lives. And they are crying for help.

We do not need to go far. Moses said to the people that we need not go up in the sky or go across the sea in order to follow the command of God. It is something very near to us, already in our mouths and in our hearts. We have only to carry it out.

The parable of the good Samaritan exposes the essence of Christianity. Christianity is love not just in thought, but especially in action. Christianity should not just be talked about in churches, but should also be expressed in places especially where victims abound. .

A little boy was once asked what he thought of Christians and he said, “Christians are mild, weak, quiet, people who never fight or talk back." Then he added, "Daddy is a Christian but Mother isn't."

We are reminded in today’s Gospel that when somebody is in need, we should never walk by like what the priest did, that relationship matters more than rules, unlike what the Levite thought, and that when somebody offers to help, we should not stay in the ditch.

What must we do to inherit everlasting life? Be a good Samaritan. Or as Jesus wisely said, “Go and do likewise.”

11 July 2010

Hay naku!

2010-07-07T13:48:00.000-04:00

Ang kahapon. Masarap gunitain, mahirap balikan. Ang kahapon. Makahulugang alalahanin, mahapding talikuran. Ang kahapon. Madamdaming isipin, masaklap tanggapin.

Kasama ang ilang katagang ito sa text ko sa kanya.

Haaay naku! Huminahon ka, saad niya. Huwag na nating balikan ang kahapon. Masaya na ako ngayon, at tingin ko ay masaya ka na rin.

Wala naman tayong maituturing na kahapon, biglang sagot ko. Masasabi bang angkin natin ang kahapon kung tayo man ay nagkagustuhan noon? Masasabi bang taglay natin ang kahapon kung pagmamahal ko man ay sinuklian ng katiting na ngiti mo? Masasabi bang hawak natin ang kahapon kung kahit kalingkingan man lamang ng daliri mo'y di ko nahalikan, kung kahit hibla man lamang ng buhok mo’y di ko nahawakan at kung kahit labi mo’y di ko nahagkan?

Naitaga man sa bato ang mga salita ko’y sa tubig lamang isinulat ng mga daliri mo. Napagtanto ko at naunawaan. Magkaiba ang ating pananaw sa tawag ng panahon. Hindi maaaring supilin ang himutok ng damdamin kahit pa pumiglas ang sigaw ng kahapon.

Haaay naku! Totoo nga naman na ang ngayon nga ang katuparan ng kahapon. Haaay naku! Totoo nga naman na ang ngayon ang simula ng nagdaan. Haaay naku! Totoo nga naman na ang ngayon ang pangakong sinubaybayan ng ating magkaibang panahon.

Kaya nga magmula noon hanggang ngayon ang tinig at titig mo ay nakaukit na sa aking damdamin. Magmula noon hanggang ngayon ikaw at ikaw pa rin ang tinatawag ng aking mga panalangin. At magmula noon hanggang ngayon ang mithiin ko’y magkawangis mga puso natin.

Ang lahat ng ito ay dahil sa minahal kita ng aking kahapon. Ang lahat ng ito ay dahil mahal pa rin kita ng aking ngayon. At lahat na ito ay magkakatotoo dahil mamahalin kita sa aking bukas.

Kasama rin ito sa mga katagang binitiwan ng Panginoong Hesus. Walang panapanahon sa kanyang pag-alala, pag-aruga at pagkalinga. Mahal niya tayo kahapon, ngayon at bukas. Mahal niya tayo magpakailanman.

Sinabi Niya, “Ito ang aking pangako. Mamahalin kita hindi lamang sa panaghoy ng kahapon. Ito ang aking saloobin. Mamahalin kita hindi lamang sa pangamba ng ngayon. At ito ang aking susundin. Mamahalin kita hindi lamang sa panawagan ng bukas.”

Haaay naku! Ang kahapon nga naman. Parang bukas na aklat na iniwanan ng bukas. Haaay naku! Ang kahapon nga naman. Parang binuksan ng karanasang bakas ang bukas. Haaay naku! Ang kahapon nga naman.

7 July 2010

Freedom

2010-07-04T11:59:00.002-04:00

The 4th of March 2010 is a date significant for me, because that was the day I became an American citizen. I am a Filipino by blood and heritage. I grew up South of Philly, which is South of the Philippines. My adoptive country is the United States of America.

What does it mean to be an American? I have tried to answer that question myself prior to my swearing in. I found part of the answer in our National Anthem. We are the land of the free and the home of the brave. We are defined foremost by our freedom and our bravery. We have freedom of religion, of speech, of the press and the right of petition. We have the freedom to hope, the freedom to dream, the freedom to pursue our dreams. We have freedom and are free in so many ways!

How much we have has been the hunger and thirst of a few. What we enjoy has been the envy of some. And who we are has been the dream of so many.

A father was talking with his rather rebellious son one day and said, "Every person who lives in the United States is a privileged person." The boy answered, "I disagree." And the father replied, "That’s the privilege."

Freedom has its privileges and limitations. Freedom is not just what is right, but also what is left to be respected. And freedom is not just accidental to our being Americans, but is also essential to our being Christians.

Pope John Paul II said, “Every generation of Americans needs to know that freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.”

With freedom comes commitment and conscience. With freedom comes obligation and accountability. With freedom comes a deeper duty and a greater responsibility.

Every 4th of July celebration should be a time for us to examine ourselves and the blessings we enjoy. Is the world a better place because we are citizens of this country? Is our community a better place because we are part of it? Is our church better because we are members of it?

You may have heard about the story of a famous French political philosopher named Alexis de Tocqueville. He visited our nation to uncover the secret of our greatness. He traveled from town to town, talking with people, asking questions, examining every facet of our society.

Returning to France, he wrote these amazing words, "I sought for America’s greatness. I found it not in her fields and forests. I found it not in her mines and factories. I found it not in her Congress and great tribunals. It was only when I entered her churches and heard her pulpits thundering against sin and preaching righteousness that I discovered the secret of her greatness." Then he added, "America is great because America is good. If America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."

God is not just in the moral fiber of our history, but can even be found in the financial threads of our economy. Every currency we have in our pockets and every paper denomination we have in our wallets has the word “God” in it, so that we should never forget whom we should trust.

Finally, what does it really mean to be an American? Part of the answer lies in an article I found not too long ago that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American. It was a dentist from Australia who wrote the following to let everyone know what an American is, so they know when they found one.

It read: “An American may be Apache, Seminole, Cree, or one of the many other nations known as Native Americans. An American may also be English, or French, or Italian, Irish, German, Spanish, Polish, Russian or Greek. Or perhaps he or she may be Mexican, Filipino, African, Indian, Chinese, Arab or Pakistani.

An American is a Christian, or Jewish, Buddhist or Muslim or believe in the legends of their own culture. An American is also free to believe in no religion. An American is from the most prosperous land in the history of the world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God-given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.

An American is generous. Americans have helped out just about every other nation in the world in their time of need. Americans welcome the best—the best products, the best books, the best music, the best food, the best athletes. But, they also welcomed the least.

The national symbol of America, The Statue of Liberty, welcomes ‘your tired and your poor, the wretched refuse of your teeming shores, the homeless, tempest tossed.’ These in fact are the people who built America. So you can try to kill an American if you must. Hitler did. So did Stalin and Mao Tse Tung and every bloodthirsty tyrant in the history of the modern world.

But in doing so you would just be killing yourself because Americans are not a particular people from a particular place. They are the embodiment of the human spirit of freedom. Everyone who holds to that Spirit, everywhere is, to that extent, an American."

Four months to the day after I was sworn in, let me say that I am not just proud of being an American, but I am also thankful that I am a citizen of the United States. I trust that you are grateful as well.

4 July 2010

Forgiven

2010-06-12T22:52:00.001-04:00

There was this story about a lady who was getting married and was very apprehensive about it. Some of her friends in the church sent her a telegram, simply quoting 1 John 4:18 ("There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love"). But, someone omitted the 1 before John. So it just read: John 4:18 ("For you have had 5 husbands and the one you have now is not your husband...").

We do not know whether the woman in this Sunday’s Gospel had problems with her marriage or her relationships. But this we know. She was so wounded, broken and guilty that all her defenses were down. She was so much in need of forgiveness and acceptance that she was empty of pride.

It is hard for us to admit our own guilt, our woundedness, our sin. It is difficult for us to embrace our brokenness, our weaknesses, and our pains. We do not want to appear weak or let others know that we are shallow and ineffective.

Sometimes we think that if we admit that we are broken, then we have to accept that we cannot help ourselves. Sometimes we think that if we confess that we are guilty, then we have to come clean that we did something wrong. Sometimes we think that if we acknowledge that we are wounded, then we have to find our way to being cured and being treated.

Jesus asked Simon, the Pharisee who invited him, “Do you see this woman?” Simon looked at her and saw a sinner. Jesus looked at her and saw something else. He saw her guilt, her sorrow, her humility, her faith and her love. Jesus saw a repentant sinner anointing his feet with her oil of respect and her tears of shame.

There is a saying that goes, “We seldom see things the way they are, rather we see things the way we are.” How we see others determines our response to their needs. How we look at them determines our response to their wants.

When Jesus saw the woman, He also looked at Simon. He saw hope in the woman. She was repentant but grateful. Her need for forgiveness brought her to her senses. He also saw potential in Simon. He was both judgmental but trainable. His need for answers brought him to a new understanding.

To forgive is not a feeling or a thought, but a choice we have to make. To forgive is to will good to those who do not deserve it, as God does to us. If we can just be honest with ourselves, we do not deserve to be forgiven. But God wills our good even if we are not deserving.

If God grants forgiveness even before we accept it, then we are to do the same to those who wronged us. That is the only requirement for the prayer He taught us: “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Saying “I love you” may not be enough. Saying “I forgive you” may be the beginning of a new and another “I love you.”

Forgiveness and love go together. God loves us, that is why He is so forgiving. Love is shown so well in moments of forgiveness. Had forgiveness not been granted, love would not have been shared. Had love not been expressed, forgiveness would not have been given.

Not to forgive can be a great burden. Not to forgive can do more harm to the unforgiving than to the one who did the harm. Not to forgive can do more injury and damage to the one who could not forgive than to the one who did the damage and injury.

If Jesus were to ask us today, “Do you see this man? Do you see this woman?” what are we going to tell him? We might think like Simon did, that this woman or man next to us is weak, beneath us, inadequate, incompetent, a sinner. Or we might look at this man or this woman next to us as another son or daughter of God, precious in His eyes, valuable in His presence, struggling to be holy and close to God, and constantly in need of forgiveness.

After all, there is a sinful woman and a Simon in each of us. To be forgiving is not just a necessity but an obligation. And to be forgiven is not just a consequence but a promise.

12 June 2010

Mom

2010-05-11T15:17:00.000-04:00

It is my assumption that we learned a lot of things from our parents, especially our mothers whom we honor today. The world would be in a great mess if we defied any of our mother’s instructions and the things they taught us. They taught us humor: "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me." They taught us about genetics: “You’re just like your father." They taught us how to meet a challenge: Answer me when I talk to you and don’t talk back to me!” They taught us about justice: "One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you. Then you'll see what it's like." And of course, they taught us about religion: "You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

A mother usually gives three presents to her child. The first present is the heritage of our faith. We all share the same story. Our mothers drummed into our consciousness that we need to have faith in our lives, that we need to believe in a loving God, that we need to rely on a God who will comfort us in moments of trouble and hardship.

I learned a lot of things from my mother. When I was about 6 years old, it baffled me that she would stay hours after Mass saying her prayers. Now, I realized that without those prayers I would not be here today. Perhaps, her prayers were the seed. My vocation to the priesthood became the plant.

Your stories are no different. Though some of us were dragged to Church, forced to go to religion classes, reminded to always say our prayers, we are grateful as we retrospect. Thank you, Mom, for the heritage of faith.

The second present is the gift of love. There is an old cartoon strip about a man talking on the phone. We hear only his side of the conversation, which goes like this: “Hello, mother, I’ve had a terrible day. Gladys is being awful as usual. You know how she can be. Yes, mother, I remember you warned me. I remember you told me she was a vile creature who would make my life miserable. And you begged me not to marry her. You were perfectly right, mother. You want to talk to her? Okay, hang on.” With that, he looks up from the telephone and calls to his wife in the next room, “Gladys, your mother’s on the phone.”

There is a longing deep inside of us to be known as we are, with all our blemishes and insecurities, and then to be loved, with all our brokenness and sensitivities. Jesus speaks those words in the Gospel of John, “You are my friend!” though He knows us from the inside out.

The way the good Lord sees us could be the same way a mother looks at us. We are reflections of God’s love. Our hearts and our souls are intertwined with God’s yearning for us to be true and to love, though sometimes we fall and falter.

A mother’s love, just like God’s, stretches beyond the ordinary and usual and moves beyond the typical and normal. It was a mother who wrote the following: “If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place, but have not love, I am a housekeeper--not a homemaker. If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements, but have not love, my children learn cleanliness-- not godliness. Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh. Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window. Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk. Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys. Love is present through the trials. Love reprimands, reproves, and is responsive. Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, runs with the child, and then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood. Love is the key that opens salvation's message to a child's heart. Before I became a mother, I took glory in my house of perfection. Now I glory in God's perfection of my child. As a mother, there is much I must teach my child, but the greatest of all is love.”

The third present that our mothers gave us is the value of life. Nursing us through months of pregnancy and bringing us up through years of dependency, we learned from them what life is about.

Life is not just about existing. It is also about being and becoming. Jesus, who has given His life for our sakes, is the life. He calls us his friends, because he is asking us what He himself did: not to hold back and repress, but to offer and share our struggles and our pains, our minds and our gifts, our hearts and our souls.

Without the sharing of our true selves, there is no joy or friendship, no growing up or into a family. If we keep our minds and our gifts hidden and kept, there can be no friendship. Unless we help each other, we will never find joy because it is only when we share what we are, what we have and what we are struggling with that we grow more into a family.

There are still a lot of things we could learn from our mothers. But, the lasting thing that all of us could understand and comprehend is that when faith, love and life are shared, there is believing, living and loving in being a mother.

These are the gifts we got and are getting from our mothers. It is also the gift of motherhood.

9 May 2010

Zarzuela

2010-05-04T15:49:00.000-04:00

Matagal nang panahon ang nakalipas noong itanghal namin ang zarzuela sa aming lalawigan. Ikalabing daang taon ng pagkatatag ng Sorsogon at sinariwa namin ang isinulat ng isang taga roon. Ang pamagat: Pag-ibig sa Tinubuang Lupa at ako ang gumanap ng papel na Alfredo. Asawa niya si Conchita. Katulong nila si Teban at kalaban namin ang mga Kastila.

Dalawa ang nilikha kong kanta. Ang isa ay para kay Alfredo. Paalam at Pagmamahal naman ang pangalawa, awit na kaduweto niya si Conchita. Inihahabilin niya ang kanyang asawa dahil sasama siya sa himagsikan. Matagal rin ang panahong hindi sila magkikita. Kaya sumabay sa pagtulo ng luha ang bawat salitang binitiwan at ang bawat tunog ng kanta. Nakakatuwang isipin na maaari palang pagsabayin ang lahat ng iyon.

Ngunit mas maraming natuwa sa awit ni Teban. Huwag ninyong tuksuhin si Teban, wika niya. Dahil marami daw siyang alam. Dala ang walis bilang panangga at nakalilis ang pantalon bilang paghahanda, bumabatingaw ang boses niyang binigyang timbre ng pinaghirapang pawis at pinahirang dugo.

Halos isang dosena kaming mga kasali. Matagal din kaming nag-ensayo at naipalabas pa namin sa karatig na lalawigan. Tatlo ang naging direktor na kung sa atin-atin lamang, talagang nakapagtatakang isipin. Hindi naman kami mga batikan. At mas lalo namang hindi kami mga tulisan na dapat bantayan tulad ng zarzuelang ginagalawan.

Sa bawat umpisa ng pagtatanghal, may panalangin kaming isinasambit na lalong nagbubuklod ng aming samahan. At sa bawat eksena, may mga katauhan kaming isinasabit na nakakapagbigay buhay sa aming panalangin.

Napagtanto ko ngayon na maihahalintulad ang buhay sa isang zarzuela. Iba’t ibang tao sa iba’t ibang papel sa iba’t ibang tagpo ng iba’t ibang karanasan. Iba’t ibang galaw sa iba’t ibang kulay ng iba’t ibang dahilan sa iba’t ibang mundo. Iba’t ibang bilang sa iba’t ibang paraan sa iba’t ibang dibuho ng iba’t ibang daigdig.

Iisa lang ang nagbubuklod: ang katauhang umukit at humubog. Siya rin ang nagsulat at gumawa ng kuwento at ang musikero na naglapat ng tono. Masasabi ba nating Diyos lamang ang itinutukoy ko?

Marami pang Alfredo, Conchita at Teban sa mga panahong ito. Marami pang mga Kastila at himagsikan sa buhay na ito. Iba na siguro ang mga pangalan. Ngunit parepareho ang mga ginagalawan, isinasambit at isinasabit.

Ang buhay nga naman. Isang Zarzuela.

4 May 2010

The Language of Love

2010-05-02T08:41:00.000-04:00

I am sure most of us find it interesting when children speak their mind about love. Concerning why love happens between two particular people, Jan, 9, says, “No one is sure why it happens, but I heard it has something to do with how you smell. That's why perfume and deodorant are so popular.” What is the proper age to get married? Judy, 8, says, “Eighty-four! Because at that age, you don't have to work anymore, and you can spend all your time loving each other in your bedroom.” What do most people think when they say I love you? Michelle, 9, says, “The person is thinking: Yeah, I really do love him. But I hope he showers at least once a day.” And how to make love endure? Tom, 7, says, “Spend most of your time loving instead of going to work. Roger, 8, says, “Don't forget your wife's name. That will mess up the love.”

Like these children, love is still a mystery to most of us. In his book Man’s Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl wrote, “A thought transfixed me: For the first time in my life I saw the truth as it set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth—that love is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: the salvation of man is through love and in love.”

Love is the language of God. When God created the earth and sent His Son, it was because of love. When His Son decided to save the world, it was because of love. And when the Holy Spirit dwelt upon us in every action we make, it is because of love.

Jesus became the Word of God because to know Jesus is to know love. God wants us to love one another as he has loved us. How has he loved us? Always and ever. No matter what, when, who, where, why. No matter how. God loves us to death and that makes me shudder in thought. Because if we have to love as Jesus wants us, we need to love one another until death.

All of us who have been in love and had been loved know what that kind of love means. No lover is immune to tears and suffering. Every lover knows the value of pain and loneliness. For without the readiness to suffer, without the inclination to cry, without the offer to sacrifice, there can never be love.

Loving one another can never be easy, but love is the way to God. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin may have said it best, "It is impossible to love Christ without loving others, and it is impossible to love others without moving nearer to Christ.”

It is part of our human nature that not everybody can like us. It is also part of our being human that we cannot like everybody. Maybe we find some of them obnoxious and rude. Maybe we just do not like them. Or, perhaps we see them as reflections of ourselves and we do not like what we see.

There will always be an excuse to not liking people. But there is no excuse in not loving. How can we not love if every breath we take is an expression of love? How can we not love if every life we bring to this world has been a part of love? How can we not love if the very life we have now and the life promised to us are consequences of love?

It would be great if love were just ours for the choosing. It would be neat if love were just ours for the picking. It would be so convenient if love were just left to our own regard and consideration.

But real and true love is not like that. It will not be love at all if we are choosy, picky and finicky. Love does not just welcome a few, but accepts all. Love does not just choose a few, but embraces all. Love does not just prefer a few, but affirms, respects and forgives all. As Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, “There’s the rub.”

There is a deeper reason to love one another. That reason is in the word forever, which means heaven for us who believe. We have to love because love is forever. And, if love is not forever, what is forever for? As the song says, “When I fall in love, it will be forever.”

In the movie Butterflies Are Free, the superficial, scatterbrained nymphet played so well by Goldie Hawn is portrayed in the act of running away from her blind lover. She explains her flight, “…because you are blind. You’re crippled!” In the most profound moment of the movie, the young man replies, “No, I am not crippled. I am sightless but not crippled. You are crippled, because you can’t commit yourself to anyone. You can’t belong!”

Jesus wants us to love one another because He wants us to belong, to become and to be with Him forever. Real love changes people because it means commitment to love forever. A love that is forever sheds its temporary masks of insecurity and accepts the real you. A love that is forever has no games to play or roles to do. A love that is forever is ready to share, to sacrifice and to offer.

In heaven where love is forever, words we know would mean nothing. And before the God of everything, the language He would speak is the language of love.

2 May 2010

Sagot sa Tanong

2010-04-06T15:27:00.001-04:00

Tuwing ako’y magkuwento tungkol sa aking paglaki, isang malaking katanungan ang nababanaag ko sa mga kabataan ngayon. Kasunod niyan ang kamanghaan. Hindi sila mag-aakalang nabuhay tayo sa mga panahong karaniwan lang ang mga laruan, walang ka-ek-ekan ang pagsasamahan at siopao at Coke lang ang lunas kung minsan sa tampuhan.

Kapag may lagnat ako noon, alam ko na ang nasa tabi ko: Tru-orange at Skyflakes. Para bang kakambal sila ng Medicol. Kung may sugat naman, Merthiolate ang lunas. Kasunod niyan ang Band-aid. At kapag magaling na at may peklat, Cebo de macho ang katapat. Akala ko nga noon, walang bakla sa Cebu. Lahat mga macho.

Sa loob ng limang taon, lima rin kaming magkakapatid. Para bang sa isang buntong hininga ng Nanay, isang panibagong kapatid ang nailuluwal. At sa mismong araw ng pagluwal, walang mangagamot na tutulong, ang manghihilot lang ang naroon. Anisado at sigarilyo lang ang bayad.

Maliban sa isang malakas na uha, alam kong may panibago na naman akong kalaro. Sa tabi ng Nanay ang isang hilaw na itlog na nabahinan ng asin. Pampalakas. Lampin ang magiging kaulayaw. Tikitiki ang magiging kagabay. Bakunang katakot takot sa unang taon ang magiging kalaban.

Masarap sariwain ang ganuong mga panahon. Bagyo, ulan at baha ang magiging mga dahilan upang walang pasok sa paaralan. Recess ang magiging mithiin para gamitin ang salaping katiting. At kung may Merry Making naman kapag kapaskuhan, isang platong pansit at CocaCola ang magiging baon. Kasabay nito ang karton ng Katol na binalot ng palamuti bilang pang-Exchange gift.

Ang sarap magpatintero lalo na kung kabilugan ng buwan, ang maglarong tumbang preso, habulan at taguan. Walang mga cellphone noon. Dalawang latang pinagdugtong ng lubid ang nagsisilbing telepono. Paos na paos ka na pakatapos ng usapan. At wala ring Guitar Hero. Ang alam ko lang tugtugin ay mga bote ng lapad ng Tanduay na nakabitin.

Ngunit napakasaya namin noon. Nakatingin lamang ang mga magulang hindi para makialam. At kapag nadapa’t nasugatan man, nahulog sa kahoy at napilayan, nabungi ang ngipin sa katakawan, ang sasabihin ng kalaro mo’y “Buti nga sa iyo!” Iyan pag may tampuhan kayo. Pag wala naman, ang tanong sa iyo ay, “Masakit ba?” At kasunod noon ay magbubulong sa iyo ng “Kelan ba tayo maglalarong muli?”

Ganito rin siguro ang dinaanan ng Panginoong Hesus sa bayan ng Nazaret. Marahil may mga kalaro din siya. Marahil nasugatan din siya. Marahil nagkapeklat din siya. Ewan ko nga lang kung mayroon din silang Merry Making noon. Kung sabagay, paano nga ba sila magbibigayan ng regalo kung kalaro na nila ang totoong regalo?

At ganito rin siguro ang kanyang mga alaala sa mga sandaling lupa ay lilisanin na niya. Marahil mayroon din siyang mga katanungan na mahirap sagutin. Marahil mayroon din siyang kamanghaan sa mga panahong dapat nawala ang anumang ka-ek-ekan. At marahil sa mga alaalang naging gunita na lamang, nasaksihan niya ang kagandahan ng kabutihan.

Sa mga pawis niya na naging dugo, natanglawan niya ang kasakiman ng kasamaan, ang lupit ng kadiliman, ang hinagpis ng kabutihan. At naging isang malaking katanungan ang lahat, “Bakit?”

Bakit may bahid ng putik ang kalinisan ng halamanan? Bakit may kahihiyan sa tagubiling binitiwan? Bakit may mga taong masama sa daigdig ng biyaya? Bakit parang walang gantimpala sa buhay na payapa? Bakit may kamatayan sa buhay na bigay? Bakit kinakailangang mamatay upang muling mabuhay?

Isang gabing balot ng dilim, bumangon siya at pinuntahan ang kanyang mga kaibigang si Pedro, Santiago at Juan. Samahan ninyo ako at pagbigyan, wika niya. Huwag kayong matulog. Dapat ninyong magisnan. Wala ng kamatayan. Wala ng putik. Wala ng kasakiman. Humayo tayo.

At Siya ang naging sagot sa lahat ng katanungan.

Ang Panginoong Hesus.

4 April 2010

Alleluia

2010-04-05T12:31:00.000-04:00

During this Lent, we have seen our A & P Catholics. A & P stands for Ashes and Palms. As we enter into the season of Easter, we might meet some of our ACME Catholics. ACME stands for Always Christmas Maybe Easter.

Easter is an indication of the strength and destiny of our faith. The light of Easter begins what the gloom of Good Friday started. The glow of Easter begins when the darkness of Holy Saturday ends.

Faith communicates what is beyond death. We see the freedom and liberty of our hearts pulsating and throbbing from the imprisonment and confinement of the grave. We sense the triumph of goodness in the garden owned by Joseph of Arimathea over and above the sin of disobedience in the garden lent to Eve and Adam. We feel the victory of life over death. And this we all believe.

It is in this Christian wealth and treasury of faith, that some of us have known from birth through adulthood, that we welcome new members of our Church at this Easter Vigil. It is in this human instrument of grace we call our Roman Catholic Church that we receive them into full communion.

They know about our awesome God, who never gets tired in reminding her Church to be holy. They know about the Catholic religion that traces its origin back to Jesus and now that they are part of us, they know that we have a different way of calling things.

The only part of a prayer that everyone knows is Amen. Your receipt for attending Mass and also your reading material when my homily gets boring is called the Bulletin. Incense is the other word for Holy Smoke!

They have also learned about things we do in Church. There is the processional. It is the ceremonial formation at the beginning of the Mass consisting of the altar servers, the deacon, the celebrant and late parishioners looking for seats. And there is also the recessional, which is again another ceremonial procession at the conclusion of the Mass. This time, though, it is led by parishioners trying to beat the crowd to the parking lot.

Easter is also a confirmation of the power of hope. Our lives can sometimes be too complicated to understand. It would take noise to appreciate silence, sadness to know happiness and the symbol of the Cross to get to Eternal Paradise.

Fortunately, there is always hope for us. God continually carries us through our different burdens and challenges in life. We may have fallen. We may have been away from God and the Church. We may have been critical, judgmental and skeptical about our lives and that of others.

But there is one thing we can never deny. It is the fact that God loves us immensely. That Jesus loves you and me. No matter when, what and why. And this He has shown again in the power of His resurrection.

God gave us His very best. The world He created was not enough. The prophets he sent were not enough. The beauty of creation was not enough. And the God who is more than enough sent the best He ever had in the person of Jesus, his dearly and only Beloved Son.

What best have we offered to God? The best that we have given is not just a return for what he shared. The best that we have given may not be what we have left for ourselves. The best that we can give, the best that we can offer, the best that we can entrust to the God who died and lived, is simply the gift of life.

Living life and loving life are realities of what we are all called to be: a life of holiness, a life with God, a life of living love.

Easter is a witness to the dignity of love. God planned that we should all go back to Him. Home is where our heart is. Heaven is our only place.

When we decide for ourselves what we think is good for us, when we think for ourselves what we choose is better for us, and when we choose for ourselves what we decide is best for us, Easter has no place for in our lives.

Rising from Good Friday’s mountain of sacrifice through Holy Saturday’s tomb of loneliness, we become an Easter people. There is Easter because there is God. Without God, there cannot or could there ever be one. There is Easter because of Jesus. Without Jesus, there would not or would there ever be one. There is Easter because Jesus is God. And with God, we hope not to do what we should not do, but to be, to live and to love as one.

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

4 April 2010

Forgive

2010-03-16T12:05:00.001-04:00

There was a priest who once parked his car in a no-parking zone in Philadelphia because he was short of time and could not find a space with a meter. So he put a note under the windshield wiper that read: "I have circled the block 10 times. If I do not park here, I will miss my appointment. FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES." When he returned, he found a ticket from a police officer along with this note. "I've circled this block for 10 years. If I do not give you a ticket, I will lose my job. LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION."

Most of us, if not all of us, can relate with the prodigal son. We are all human beings and human doings. We commit mistakes. All of us are sinners. We have weaknesses in our hearts, perhaps skeletons in our closets or maybe indiscretions in our past.

So, whenever we hear about this parable, we feel relieved because we are reminded of a merciful and forgiving God, in the person of the prodigal Father.

What did the younger son do? By demanding his inheritance, he insulted his Father. He was actually telling him that he could not wait for his Daddy to die. Not only was he self-absorbed by what he wanted, he was also very irresponsible to what he needed.

What his Father earned the hard way, he lost quite easily. And because the son did not really work for his money, he easily lost it all. Easy come, easy go. The pigs, which his faith and his heritage found intolerable, became part of his struggle to survive. And so, he came back to his senses. The Father’s Way is much better than his.

To make the long story short, his Father forgave him. He threw a feast for his return. They became reconnected once again.

This leaves us with the older son. In Rembrandt’s famous painting of this parable, the older son was looking intently at his younger brother. If only his thoughts were turned into words, he would have said, “How could you?” Partly he blamed his father because he welcomed this sinful brother of his. And who knows? Perhaps he might be blaming himself because he could have done the same thing that his younger brother did and still be forgiven.

How many of us are like this elder brother? There are some among us who feel cheated when these sinners, our brothers and sisters, seemed to have won the best of both worlds and had now returned. There are among us who easily judge them so harshly, thinking we are better than the drug addicts, murderers, hypocrites, sexual abusers, muggers and thieves.

If we are like the older brother, our sin is more grievous and deadly than that committed by the prodigal son. Because if we are like the older brother, we are like the Pharisees that Jesus once condemned and for whom this parable is actually intended.

Forgive the sin, save the sinner. That is what the Prodigal Father did. Forgive the sin, save the sinner, that is what the elder son should have done the soonest. Forgive the sin, save the sinner. That is what is being asked of us.

It is really not so far-fetched. We do it all the time. We overlook our own failures and we go on with life. We ask forgiveness for our sins and we do it again. We seek God’s mercy and love and we know that if we really look deep into our hearts, the prodigal God the Father through the prodigal loving Jesus is urging us to forgive and beckoning us to be forgiven.

A heart that does not forgive is not a heart blessed and happy for life. A heart full of grudges and misgivings is a heart empty of God. And a heart empty of God is a heart filled with despair, sarcasm and sadness.

If like the younger brother we still have not asked for forgiveness, please know that our Father is waiting. He loves you and you can always go home to him. However, if like the older brother we still have not forgiven those who have wronged us, please also know that our Father is right for us. He wants you to know that all he has is yours. And so, when somebody was dead and has come back to life, when somebody was lost and is now found, we have to celebrate.

For us to do that, we have to forgive.

14 March 2010

Stop, Look, Listen

2010-03-04T13:38:00.002-05:00

A man was crawling through a hot desert on his hands and knees, desperate for a drink of water. He came upon a person selling neckties. “Would you like to buy a nice necktie?” asked the salesman. “All I want is a drink of water,” croaked the man. The salesman had no water, so the poor fellow crawled on across the sand.

Eventually he came upon a beautiful restaurant. “It must be a mirage,” he thought, but as he drew nearer he saw it was real. With his last ounce of energy, he struggled up to the entrance and asked the doorman. “Please, sir, may I have a drink of water!” The doorman replied, “Sorry. You can only be admitted if you have a necktie.”

Life, like this desert where the man crawled in search for water, could go on and on that our priorities get scrambled. Sometimes, we get disappointed with the passage of time. Sometimes, we lose our senses. Sometimes, we lose our way.

This gospel is one of those times when Jesus had to assure his disciples that they are called to a different way of life. For three years, they ministered with him. They followed him. They believed in him. Jesus knew the disappointment they felt. And he had to build up their confidence on the value and meaning of sacrifice and the Cross that lay ahead.

The challenge that Jerusalem beckoned is a hurdle they needed to cross. And to remind them about what is beyond Jerusalem, our loving Savior took his closest disciples up a mountain.

God’s glory was revealed there. God called the carpenter of Nazareth his favored Son. God asked them to listen to Him.

This reminds me of a song I learned from childhood about a small jeep. The three verbs that stood out from that song were: Stop, Look and Listen.

Lent is a time in the church year where we are encouraged to stop, to put on the brakes and see the big picture. Lent is a past participle of the verb “lend,” reminding us that we have borrowed lives. The lives we live were just lent to us.

It is when we stop that we look up and see the God who loves us. It is when we stop that we look around and see the people God gave us to love. It is when we look inside us and see what love can do.

In the hustle and bustle of life, sometimes we loose track of where we are going. We have things to do, people to see, children to care, places to be. Sometimes we all fall into the demands of our work that we take for granted the grace that surrounds us, the people God has given to us.

I would assume that we take the time to talk to our loving God, that we do pray regularly, that we communicate with God through our prayers. During those moments, however, how many of us actually listen? How many of us stop what we are doing, reading, talking, mumbling and simply listen? Listening allows God to intrude into our lives and challenge us to live better lives. Listening creates moments of silence when we can hear God speaking to us and putting words into our hearts.

Kierkegaard’s prescription for the ills of the modern world was first and foremost our need to create silence. One of the prescriptions we could do for the ills of our own world is to simply listen.

This might be our proper time to stop, look and listen to God’s beloved Son. He is Jesus. He listened to His Father. So should we. We need to listen more to the Son.

28 February 2010

Yu Ay Lab

2010-02-02T11:29:00.000-05:00

Hawak ko pa ang binigay mo. Halimuyak nitong kapirasong taglay matagal nang nawala at sa gunita na lang nahimlay. Patpat na ang ribbon at halos lupaypay na ang papel na kung saan nakasaad ang pangalan mo. Alaalang matagal nang inangkin, iniwasan, itinabi at isinaalang-alang.

Natatandaan ko pa ang hapong iyon. Pauwi na ako. Tapos na ang pagtitipon. Matagal na naman bago kita makita. Sa kalungkutang nadama ay nakadikit ang pag-asang magiging bahagi ka sa mga gabing pangalan mo ang sasambitin, sa mga panaginip na mukha mo lang ang hahanapin at sa mga araw na kasama ka sa mga bakas ng bukas natin.

Ayokong maging gunita ka lamang ng aking kahapon. Hindi maaaring maging gunita ang umukit na sa nataranta kong damdamin. Hindi maaaring maging kapirasong alaala ka na lamang ng naghihikahos kong kaisipan. At hindi maaaring maging kasa-kasama lamang kita sa mga panahong ako lamang ang nakakaalam ng katapusan, sa kaligayahang ako lamang ang nakakabatid ng hangganan.

Hanggang malaman kong nasa likuran kita pala. Dala ang pangako nating magpapalitan ng mga alaala. Dala ang susi na nagpapahiwatig na ako pala’y mahalaga. Dala ang palatandaan na parehas ang tingin natin sa bawat isa.

Walang katagang lumabas sa bibig kong ang tanging bukambibig lamang ay pangalan mo. Kung maaari nga lang na pigilan ang takbo ng orasan at sa habambuhay ganda mo ay masaksihan. Kung maaari nga lang na ipinid ko ang aking mga mata at sa bawat sulok ng buhay ko ikaw ang maging alaala. Kung maaari nga lang na masaksihan mo ang pagmamahal na sa puso ko’y nakabantay.

Ay lab yu. Wala ka na nang sambitin ko ito. Ay lab yu. Wala ka na nang sa kadiliman ng gabi ito ang naging sigaw ko. Ay lab yu. Wala ka na nang sa paglipas ng panahon ito ang naging panaghoy ko.

Sana naging mga luha na lamang ako ng mata mo nang sa pagtulo nito’y mahalikan ko ang mga labi mo. Ngunit hindi ko nanaisin na maging mga luha ka sa mata ko, dahil mawawala ka sa tuwing umiyak ako.

Maraming tulad ko ang dumaan na sa ganitong mga pag-alinlangan, pag-atubili, pagsisisi at panghihinayang. At maraming mga tulad ko ang daraan pa sa ganitong mga paghihinagpis, pag-aalala, at pagsasaalang-alang.

Ay lab yu. Madaling sabihin, mahirap gawin. Ay lab yu. Madalang sabihin sa hirap ng gawain. Ay lab yu. Palagiang sinasabi ng mas nakahihigit sa atin.

Ito ang palagiang sinasabi ng Panginoon sa atin. Sinasabing hindi natin naririnig dahil mayroon tayong pinapakinggang iba. Sinasabing ayaw natin marahil marinig dahil kinakailangang gawin natin ang sinasabi niya. Sinasabing dapat nating marinig dahil katotohanan ang nasasaloob niya.

Hindi Siya mawawala, madilim man ang gabi o lumipas man ang panahon. Hindi Siya mawawala, may halik man ang ating mga labi o may luha man ang ating mga mata. Hindi siya mawawala, dumaan man tayo sa iba’t ibang pag-alinlangan, pag-atubili, pagsisi at panghihinayang.

Ay lab yu. Katagang binitawan ng Diyos sa bawat taong gawa niya. Ay lab yu. Katagang nararapat bitawan at gawin ng bawat tao sa Diyos na gumawa sa kaniya. Ay lab yu. Mga salitang parating naririnig at dapat mapakinggan mahalimuyak man ang hangin o lupaypay ang alaala, madilim man ang gabi o maliwanag ang pag-asa.

Yu ay lab.

2 February 2010

Awesome

2010-01-31T18:40:00.000-05:00

Rainbow to guide our way back to the U.S.

near Tel Aviv Airport, Israel, December 2009

photo courtesy of Dennis and Pam Murawski

A county truck once pulled to a stop on a quiet street. A worker armed with pick and shovel climbed out and set to work. Laboriously he dug a large hole between the curb and the sidewalk. Then a second man exited the truck, filled in the hole, and tamped down the earth. And that was their pattern all the way down the street, the one carefully digging holes to just the right depth, the other filling them in and tamping them down to just the right height.

“What in the world are you doing?” asked a woman who had been watching them. “We’re part of an urban beautification project,” was their reply. “Beautification!” sniffed the woman. “I fail to see what’s so beautiful about a row of filled-in holes.” “Well, you see,” said the worker, “the man who plants the trees is out sick today.”

Our God is an awesome God and He wants our lives to be awesome and big too. That is why we were made in His own image and likeness. But making it big in our lives is not an easy thing to do. So many difficulties clutter along the way, so many distractions darkening our path, so many temptations clouding our journey, so many senseless things than digging holes and filling them up again.

God knows us inside and out and He came to give us the way, the truth and the life. He leads us through life when we find it heavy and demanding. He wants us to get rid of our fears, things we are afraid to challenge and confront.

The people in the synagogue were first delighted when they heard Jesus. They knew him from childhood. He was one of them. But fear took over and shut down their contentment. Fear choked the challenge for them to live a better and bigger life. Fear led them to drive Jesus to the very edge of a cliff. They realized that Jesus was no longer one of them. He was too much for them.

Had they grasped the real idea why Jesus came and spoke before them, things could have been different. Love demands and dares. Love challenges and confronts. Love is more concerned about the other person than oneself.

And so Jesus warned them about the choices they made. And they did not like it. Far from being popular, because that is one of the temptations Jesus had in the wilderness, our loving Lord wants us to choose wisely and to stand up for what we believe.

The choices that we make in our homes, schools, workplaces, churches and in our lives should be indicative of our being Catholic. All the right and moral choices have very unpleasant consequences. We, as Catholics, have already been divided in many issues regarding sex, marriage and family. The bottom line remains: Just do the right thing.

Somehow we have to be challenged that the degradation of our families began with the fragmentation of our values. Somehow we have to be reminded that it takes more than a village to raise a child. Somehow we have to be reminded that as parents and grandparents, it is our God-given responsibility to teach our children and grandchildren about what is true, what is good and what is right. And as God’s children, we have to be reminded that we need to listen, to follow and to do the commands of God.

When a prophet, like Jesus, calls into question our lifestyle and our morality, some of us might find it very uncomfortable. If what the prophet said was right, then we have to change. And to change means to subject ourselves to pain.

The word of God should challenge us personally. If we know that what we are doing is not right, then why do we have to continue doing it? If we know that we had been living a sinful life, then why do we have to persist in the squalor of sin? If we know that we had disobeyed the commandments of God, then why do we wallow in our misery?

Sometimes the most honest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which bridge to burn. It is undoubtedly true that there are sins which we need to point out, that our faith should not be watered down by the delusional condensation of relativism, that our journey to heaven needs to pass through the rocky roads of challenge and sacrifice.

Truth hurts. We learned from our childhood that it was a child who exclaimed that the emperor had no clothes. We learned from Jesus that hypocrisy has no place in His kingdom. And we know that faith without works is dead.

Would we react like those in the gospel story if Jesus were to challenge us about the way we live? Would we also be mad at Jesus because he wants us to change our ways? Would we also be angry with our God if he confronts us in our sinfulness because he wants us not to be digging up holes and filling them up again but in order to live a life of grace?

31 January 2010

We, the poor, the imprisoned, the blind and the oppressed

2010-01-25T16:50:00.002-05:00

An elderly couple was driving across the country. While the woman was behind the wheel, the couple was pulled over by the highway patrol. "Ma'am, did you know you were speeding?" the officer said. The woman, hard of hearing, turned to her husband and asked, "What did he say?" "He said you were speeding!" the old man yelled. The cop then asked, "May I see your license?" The woman turned to her husband again, "What did he say?" The old man yelled back, "He wants to see your license!"

The woman then gave the officer her license. "I see you are from New Jersey," the officer said. "I spent some time there once and went on a blind date with the ugliest woman I've ever seen." The woman turned to her husband again and asked, "What did he say?" The old man replied, "He said he knows you!"

Like the people in the synagogue at that time, we have heard for so many times what Jesus proclaimed in the Gospel today. All eyes were looking intently at him. They were interested in what Jesus had to say.

Jesus said that the Good News is fulfilled in their hearing. He singled out four entities that had been marginalized and neglected: the poor, the imprisoned, the blind and the oppressed. They may not be as marginalized and neglected now. But if we also listen intently, the fulfillment of the Good News depends on our response to those who are poor, imprisoned, blinded and oppressed in our times.

Who are the poor in our midst? The poor we meet today include not only those who are in the lower fringes of society but also those without inner satisfaction. The poor we meet today include not only those who lack material necessities but also those without inner peace. The poor we meet today include not only those who fail to satisfy their basic needs but also those without inner joy.

How do we let the poor know that God is calling them? By telling them about Jesus. The priest Ezra explained the Word. Jesus is the Explanation. We will never find inner peace, joy and satisfaction in this temporal world if we are looking for peace, joy and happiness in the wrong places.

If we are one of those whose faces are glum and saddened by family problems, broken marriages and unrealized expectations, remember the Good News that was proclaimed. Jesus was referring to us, the poor and the imprisoned.

Who are the imprisoned in our times? The imprisoned are not only those in prison cells but also those held captive by their own addictions and insecurities. The imprisoned are not only those encaged brought by the judicial system but also those held chained by their own fears and anxieties. The imprisoned are not only those who are confined in space as punishment for their deeds but also those who are tied to their selfishness and arrogance.

How do we let the imprisoned know that God is challenging them? By showing them Jesus. The priest Ezra interpreted the Word. Jesus is the Interpretation. We will never be freed from our insecurities, fears and selfishness unless we open our eyes to the reality before us.

If we are one of those who find life so heavy that we blame others for our own misdeeds, if we are one of those who find life so dark that we blame our past forsaking our future, if we are one of those who find life so dreary that we blame God for what we have lost and lived our lives with regrets, remember the Good News that was proclaimed. Jesus was referring to us, the imprisoned and the blind.

Who are the blind in our lives? The blind are not only those who lack physical sight but also those who fail to see their own human potentials. The blind are not only those who cannot see but also those who do not want to see and accept reality. The blind are not only those who find no vision but also those who are lacking in ambition.

How do we let the blind know that God is pointing at them? By guiding them to Jesus. The priest Ezra proclaimed the Word. Jesus is the Proclamation. We will never see the goodness of others unless we acknowledge the generosity of God. We will never acknowledge the kindness of God unless we humble ourselves before Him. And, we will never see our own goodness until we share in the goodness of others.

If we are one of those who often blame people for our mistakes, if we are one of those who wish evil things to happen to people we envy and are jealous of, if we are one of those who are prejudiced and judgmental about race, language and religion, remember the Good News that was proclaimed. Jesus was referring to us, the blind and the oppressed.

Who are the oppressed among us? The oppressed are not only those held down by injustice but also those who are abused by their own past. The oppressed are not only those brought down by society but also those dragged along by false hopes and promises. The oppressed are not only those who had fallen by the wayside but also those who are not willing, not wanting to hear, listen and be the Good News.

Jesus came for us, the poor, the blind, the imprisoned and the oppressed. We heard this Gospel before. How did we respond to it? And to paraphrase what the husband said to the wife who was hard of hearing, “Jesus said He knows you do.”

24 January 2010

Who am I?

2010-01-11T15:11:00.000-05:00

An elderly woman walked into the local country church. The friendly usher greeted her at the door and helped her up the flight of steps. “Where would you like to sit?” he asked politely. “The front row please.” she answered. “You really don’t want to do that”, the usher said, “The pastor is really boring.”

“Do you happen to know who I am?” the woman inquired. “No.” he said. “I’m the pastor’s mother,” she replied indignantly. “Do you know who I am?” he asked. “No.” she said. “Good”, he answered.

Baptism gave us a name. It gave us our own identity. We gain a better perspective on things if we have a deeper understanding of our Christian identity and calling. Any thought that we have, any word that we say, anything that we do are reflections of our being children of God, brothers and sisters of our heavenly Father.

Every decision is not just a compromise to decide what to do. Every deed is not just a determination to choose how to act. Every act is not just a judgment to do things right. Whenever we choose, whenever we decide, whenever we act, we determine what we are and we define who we are.

If we really know who we really are, then our problems in life would be lessened. It is when we are not grounded in reality, that our difficulties in life surface. It is when we are distracted by fantasies that problems in identity arise. It is when we fail to remember our Christian identity that problems in spirituality and morality begin.

Sometimes, it becomes difficult to open our eyes and confront what is before us. John the Baptist probably must have one of those moments. He had his own followers. He had his own territory. He had his own soapbox moments. But when Jesus came, he knew that his work was over. He faded into the shadows. He gave to Jesus what was rightfully his.

How was he able to do that? He knew himself and his mission in life. He understood from the beginning that it was not about himself. It was about being an instrument of God. It was about being an agent for change. It was about presenting the gift of God to a people gifted by God.

Some of us might be experiencing right now the same moments that John embraced, moments when we are afraid to let go of things we felt safe and secure, moments when we are asked to change for the better, moments when we are asked to move on. Those are not easy moments.

Every child faces those moments of letting go—the time when he or she was left alone to face the world, the time when their parents became more dependent on them, the time when they lost the parent who nurtured them.

Every parent faces those moments of letting go—the time when their teenager first learned how to drive, the time when they moved out and had their own family, the time when their children had to decide for them and took the role of being a parent.

Unless we surrender to those transitions and changes, then we will all discover what we have been really about. Unless we embrace those changes, then we will all find out who we really are.

God is continually calling us to change. This is what baptism does. It configures us to God, who is so radical, that sometimes he turns our lives upside down, uproots us from our complacencies and gives us the opportunity to do what we have to do.

No matter how old or young we are, we need to trust a loving God, who has called us by virtue of our baptism to a deeper responsibility. By virtue of our baptism and because of Jesus, we are all God’s Beloved.

For as long as we are needed, for as long as we carry out his will, for as long as we have to be somebody for someone, we continue the realization of our baptismal identity, the fulfillment of our baptismal mission.

10 January 2010

Barko

2010-01-04T15:52:00.001-05:00

Hindi para sa akin ang mga luhang tumulo nang pumanaog ako sa barkong Eurodam, kundi para sa mga naiwang daan-daang mangagawa na sa buong araw at linggo ay nakatuon sa kanilang sangkaterbang gawain at tungkulin.

Iba’t ibang kwento ang narinig ko—kwento ng pangungulila, kuwento ng paghihikahos, kwento ng panibagong buhay, kwento ng pag-asang bukas sa bukas na pag-asa. Sa likod ng bawat ngiti, namasdan ko ang dalamhati. Sa likod ng bawat palamuti, napansin ko ang nakasilip na peklat. At sa likod ng bawat ligaya, nakita ko ang luksa.

Ngunit iba ang Pilipino.

Dahil sa impyerno lang yata walang Pinoy, magpahilaga man o timog, kanluran man o silangan, makikita mo ang nakangiting Pilipino. Masaya, palatawa, mapagbiro. Pili na, pino pa. Iyan ang maipagmamalaki natin. Pinili tayo upang mas lalong maging pino.

Pinili tayong magpalaganap ng Banal na Salita, ng Mabuting Balita, ng Pananampalataya. Pinili tayo at binigyan tayong kakaibang lakas upang maging banal, maging mabuti at maging tapat. Ito maari ang dahilan kumbakit kaya natin ang anumang bagyo, unos, lindol, sunog at sakuna. Ito maari ang dahilan kumbakit kaya nating pasanin ang anumang suliranin, sakit, lupit, pighati, hinagpis at luha.

Maihahalintulad ang simbahan sa isang barko. Iba’t ibang kwento. Iba’t ibang tao. Iba’t ibang dahilan. Iba’t ibang buhay.

Ang Simbahan ay hindi gawa ng tao matapos na siya ay mailigtas. Ito ay gawa ng Diyos upang ang tao ay iligtas. Hindi tayo maaaring iligtas na mag-isa. Kinakailangang makasama tayo sa Barko ng kaligtasan, ang Simbahan. Tulad din ng barkong ginawa ni Pareng Nowe, ito ay makakalusong sa anumang baha at makakaahon sa anumang alon.

Tatlo ang nararapat na gawin ng anumang barko. Una, kinakailangan nitong lumutang. Hindi ito matatawag na barko kung hindi ito nakalutang. Pangalawa, kinakailangang mithiin nito na huwag bumangga sa kaparehong barko. Kapag nagkataon, pareho silang lulubog, pareho silang talo. At pangatlo, kinakailangang makarating sa paroroonan ang barko. Ganap itong barko kung nakaalis ito sa pantalan at nakarating sa kanyang takdang kahihinatnan.

Tulad din ng tao. Na kinakailangang nakalutang sa anumang sakit, sakuna at suliranin. Tulad din ng tao. Na kinakailangang mithiin na huwag banggain ang kaparehong tao. At tulad din ng tao. Na kinakailangang makarating sa angkop na paroroonan—ang Panginoong Maykapal.

Mahirap magpaalam lalo na kung hindi mo narinig ang mga bagay na dapat mong napakinggan, ngunit batid ng puso mo na matagal mo na dapat itong nalaman. Mayroon ngang pagluluksa, dusa at luha, mayroon namang tuwa, ngiti at ligaya.

Naiiba nga tayong mga Pilipino. Pinili tayo at mas lalong pinipino pa. Lulan sa barkong naiiba. Ang barko ng kaligtasan. Ang barko ng pag-asa. Ang barko ng buhay.

4 January 2010