Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Category: AUTHORS

  • Christians are made, not born

    Christians are made, not born

    January 10, 2021 – Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

    by Fr. Manoling Thomas, CSsR

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011021.cfm)

    The Christmas Season began with the 1st “epiphany”, the announcement by the angel to the shepherds about the birth of the Saviour [Lk. 2:8-20]. He is the Messiah and the Lord whom Israel had been waiting for. This we celebrated on Christmas Day. The 2nd “epiphany” we celebrated was last Sunday, when the Magi who travelled from the East found the “king of the Jews” through the guidance of “the star” [Mt. 2: 1-12]. This was the revelation by God to the Gentiles, represented by the Magi.

    And today, the feast of the Baptism of the Lord is the 3rd and last of the three “epiphanies” or “revelations” within the Christmas Season. Today, at Jesus’ baptism, God the Father revealed Jesus to us as the Messiah, the one anointed “with the Holy Spirit and with power” [Acts 10:38]. Jesus was sent by the Father to baptize us “with the Holy Spirit” [Mk. 1:8].

    At his baptism, Jesus made a deliberate decision to reach out to humankind. The 1st Reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah is applied to Jesus to emphasize this point. According to the Prophet Isaiah, this “servant of God” being empowered by the Spirit of God, will faithfully implement God’s plan. Because of the very close relationship between God and this “servant”, he becomes the “bridge” between God and the people. He becomes the “light” to God’s people and inspires hope in them.

    The four Gospels show us how Jesus exactly fulfilled all these! Empowered by the Holy Spirit after his baptism, Jesus went about to do his mission here on earth. Jesus brought the people and God closer to each other. By his teaching and deeds, Jesus became the source of inspiration, courage, and hope especially among the poor and those abandoned and ignored by society!

    At baptism Jesus was empowered by the Holy Spirit, to enable him to accomplish his specific mission on earth. The same thing happened at our own baptism. The power of the Holy Spirit is there to help us fulfill our specific mission on this world!

    At Jesus’ baptism, the Father confirmed that Jesus is God’s beloved Son, in whom God is well pleased! The same confirmation has been made by God on the day of our baptism! This is how important and significant our baptism is!

    But our baptism, we did not make of us “an instant and a finished product Christian”! St. Jerome, the one who translated the Bible into Latin, once said: “Christians are made, not born.” From the day of our baptism, we have to continue to grow, to develop, and to mature as a Christian! This growth and development in us, must be seen in the way we live, act, and think; and in our attitudes in life! This ongoing process of growth and development is the process of our Christian maturity! “Christians are made, not born.”

    On the day of his baptism, Jesus made a free and deliberate decision to be God’s “faithful servant” who was to implement God’s plan for humankind and the rest of creation! Becoming and growing as a Christian then is a free decision each one of us must make!

    Most of us, if not all, were baptized when we were still infants. We were not in the position to make that free choice, so our own parents and godparents, made that decision on our behalf. They were supposed to tell us, and to explain to us about the meaning and significance of that decision! As we grow older and mature, at a certain point in our life, we have to freely decide whether we will accept or reject that decision made for us! That is one of the reasons, why during the Easter Vigil Mass and at the Masses on Easter Sunday; we are invited to renew our baptismal vows and promises. This gives us the opportunity to freely choose whether we want to continue on being the “beloved adopted sons and daughters of God” and disciples of Jesus Christ!

    Although this gift is freely offered by God to all, yet it is never forced on anyone! Jesus never forces anyone to continue their discipleship! Our free choice and decision will be respected and honored by God and by Jesus Christ!

    As you continue to mature as a Christian, is your mission here on earth becoming clearer? Do you experience the power of the Holy Spirit helping you accomplish your mission? Are you continuing to grow and mature as a disciple of Jesus? If your baptism is that significant and important, do you know the date of your baptism as you well know your own birthday?

  • God’s Beloved: I am & we are

    God’s Beloved: I am & we are

    January 10, 2021 – Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/011021.cfm)

    Who are you? How do people define yourself? How do you define yourself?

    Henri Nouwen, a known pastoral theologian and spiritual teacher once said: “We are not what we do. We are not what we have. We are not what others think of us. Coming home is claiming the truth that… I am the beloved Child of the Creator.”

    True indeed, we do tend to define our life by what we do, what we have & what others say about us. In defining ourselves, we do tend to claim & know ourselves & others by our talents, abilities, successes as well as our failures & mistakes. We do tend to see ourselves & others by our backgrounds, possessions, privileges, properties, friends, influences, power, as well as limitations, poverty, and misfortunes. We do tend to characterize ourselves & others by the praises, awards, titles, honor, as well as by the insults, gossips, & comments people say about us. We do tend to name our identity, dignity, reputations, & life-purpose by what we do & not do, what we have & we have not, and what other say & not say about us.

    Though much effort & time we have spent in life to identify ourselves & others by our actions, possessions & feedbacks, we do know deep inside that these standards are limited & limiting. These self-classifications are degrading (ka-menos) to our very person & not who we really are. Eventually we have to claim that we are more than and better than what we do, what we have, & what people say about us. Eventually we need to believe & come home to the reality that we (you & I) are God’s beloved. We need to claim & name ourselves as essentially God’s beloved Child.   

    The chance of claiming & naming ourselves as God’s beloved Child is perhaps the most profound realization & blessing we can give to God & ourselves in life. Even Jesus Himself also have to experience and went through the process of claiming & naming Himself as God’s beloved Child.

    Before launching to His mission of evangelization in sharing to the world the Gospel of Salvation, Jesus must have first gone through a lot of soul-searching as to what is His very identity, dignity, reputation & purpose. Human like us, Jesus also grappled with the basic human question: “Who am I?” and reflected with our tendency to define ourselves by our actions, possessions & feedback.

    And on His baptism by the river Jordan, Jesus came to realize & experience who He really is – God’s beloved Child. Jesus needs to hear the words of confirmation from the Father, himself saying, “You are my beloved on whom my favor rests”. Such words emphasize His very spiritual identity before God and the vision of God’s kingdom.  Here, He is reminded in a very deep way of who he really is, of his very being before God and people – that among anything else, He is God’s beloved Son. This is the very affirmation and confirmation of His being before God.  That beyond what he can do, what he can have, & what people would say about him, Jesus has to listen & honor, and claim & name for Himself that He is God’s beloved son, whom God is well pleased.

    Claiming & naming His being God’s beloved child did not only empower Jesus to now & always proclaim God’s grace of salvation to all in our world, but also serve as the content, process & spirit of His mission. As He claimed & named His very identity before God, Jesus also preached, taught & guided us the Good News that beyond what we do, what we have, & what others say about us in life, we are also essentially God’s beloved children – and that is how valuable & significant we are before God.  And same way with Jesus, we only realize & come to term with this reality by our soul-searching, claiming & naming, affirming & confirming, and until be at home & at rest with our True identity as God’s beloved Children. And only then, we can find more meaning & purpose in life when we regard ourselves & others as ultimately God’s children.

    Today on the Feast Day of the Lord’s baptism, we are reminded of who we are & how significant we really are before God & others, as God’s beloved Children. And we are also reminded on the very day of our baptism when we ourselves are consecrated, affirmed & confirmed to be always God’s beloved Child.

    This year 2021 is also a very important year for the Philippine Church. It marks not only 500 years of Magellan’s discovery of the Philippine Islands in March 16, 1521 but moreso of the first baptism happened in our land and the 500 years – five decades of Filipino Catholic faith. Although for more than three decades we have been colonized by Spanish rules, upon our independence, we did not abandon our Catholic faith but rather remain faithful to our Filipino faith that provides us the cultural values and principles that made us Filipinos as one nation and heritage, and as the only Christian nation in Asia with 86 % Catholic among more than 100 million Filipino people all over the world. In other words, as Filipino nation & society, since then & until now, we identify, define & claim ourselves as baptized Christians, beloved Children of God.

    Perhaps as we begin this New Year amidst pandemic times, the best Message you may hear today is to proclaim to yourself & other that :

    I am God’s beloved – a valued, valuing, & valuable person whom God’s favor rest & God loves now & forever.

    And as Filipino Christians, we proclaim to ourselves & others that:

    We are God’s beloved – a valued, valuing, & valuable people whom God’s favor rest & God loves now & forever. For that is who we are, who you are, & who I am. Amen.

  • Christ: a Life-changing Child

    Christ: a Life-changing Child

    January 3, 2020 – Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010321.cfm)

    The birth of a child within a family is life-changing. Upon child’s birth, life is transformed and became anew not only for the couple as parents but also includes the life of whole family, neighborhood & community. Not only a new life is added & included into the family life, but also each & every members of the family have to take on a new responsibility as grandparents, parents, uncles & aunties, siblings & relatives for the baby. The birth of the child will surely bring about not only great joy but also promises great change within the family for it entails great responsibility.

    Same way as we struggle & mature with life-challenges like illnesses, crises, disasters, pandemic and other life-transitions, the normal birth of a child into our life is indeed life-changing, life-transforming. And it challenges us to live life not again & anymore same as before, but to live life anew in a new normal way with new direction, perspective, responsibility, lifestyle & meaning in life.

    On this first Sunday of the New Year, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. Known also to us as Three Kings Sunday, we worship & praise the saving act of God in making known Himself to Us All through His Son, Jesus Christ as well as our consent & faith of welcoming, accepting & witnessing God into our lives now. Epiphany is God’s revelation – both made known to us and acknowledged & believed by us. His son Jesus is God’s greatest gift of grace given to us. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise long-awaited by the forefathers of our faith but now we have found in us & with us. By giving us His son Jesus & by our reception of His son Jesus into our lives now, we become & take on the honor of being & becoming ourselves God’s children and now recipient & benefactors of God’s grace of salvation.

    In our gospel today, we are reminded of the events that happened when the three kings found the poor child Jesus lying on the manger in Bethlehem. Guided by the stars, with great joy they have finally found the place where the child Jesus is, & then through the child, they adore & pay homage to God. Their encounter of the child Jesus on a manger with His family in Bethlehem brought about great joy & praise since they have finally found what they have searched & long-waited for. With their offered gifts, they honor and thank God’s saving work in the child Jesus.  Through the child Jesus, the world is now Blessed & forever will be.

    Along with this, we should also credit that after the journey & experiences that the three kings & the Jewish people had to go through to search & find God’s blessing to the world, “warned in a dream, they departed for their country by another way.” Meaning, as they found, acknowledged & accepted God’s grace into their lives, they go back home not on their normal usual way but by another new way of life.

    In other words, with their encounter with the child Jesus, unconsciously through their dreams & not only out of fear for Herod, they have to change their ways, & transform their lives for the child. They will not anymore follow the usual normal path in life again, but now they change their ways, paths, plan, thinking, responsibility & will in life. Same way with the birthing of a child with a family, their meeting with the child Jesus has brought a lot of changes into their lives – Great change in their responsibility, meaning, & outlook in life. Their lives now are not anymore same as before, but their lives now are anew & better than before in a new normal, new identity, attitude, meaning & lifestyle.

    It is then, not only about paying homage & adoration to God who blessed us with His child Jesus but moreso about changing & transforming our lives for the life-changing Christ child Jesus.

    In the same way, as we encounter God, as we recognize God who makes Himself known to us, our lives will never remain the same again. As we welcome & accept God’s gift the child Jesus as Our Lord of our life, we also take on the responsibility to change our lives in accordance with His orientation, ways, meaning, attitude & lifestyle. Same way with the three kings, the family who welcomes a new baby in the family & us now during these pandemic times, we are challenged also to recognize, receive, and allow the child Jesus to be part of our lives now. This would mean that we have to change our normal lives & attune our New normal lives with the life-changing Child Jesus Christ, and be part of His mission of making known & share the fullness of God’s promise of blessing & salvation to all.

    Today, we thank God for His grace of His child Jesus, and we ask Him that we may always be steadfast in our faith & responsibility to parent & share His child Jesus to all, on this new year of our lives. Amen.

  • EXCITED KA NA NAMAN BANG UMASA MULI?

    EXCITED KA NA NAMAN BANG UMASA MULI?

    This Advent Reflection invites us to dwell deeper on the importance of our presence and of God’s presence in our life and in the life of others. The excitement to hope again calls us to hold on to hope, to be hopeful and to be the hope for others.

    Below is a link of the reflection.

  • PRAYER OF BLESSING FOR FATHERS

    PRAYER OF BLESSING FOR FATHERS

    By Jom Baring, CSsR

    Advertisements

    OUR MOST LOVING FATHER IN HEAVEN,

    WE THANK YOU FOR THE GIFT OF OUR EARTHLY FATHERS,

    GRANDFATHERS AND THOSE WHO BECAME FATHERS TO US IN MANY WAYS.

    WE ASK YOU TO BLESS + THE FATHERS IN EVERY HOME

    AND IN EVERY COMMUNITY.

    THROUGH YOUR WISDOM,

    GRANT TO THEM THE GIFT OF UNDERSTANDING

    THAT THEY TOO MAY BECOME COMPASSIONATE TO THEIR CHILDREN.

    THROUGH YOUR LOVE,

    GRANT TO THEM THE GIFT OF A GENTLE HEART

    AND LET THEM ALWAYS BECOME CONFIDENT

    THAT THEY ARE LOVED BY YOU

    AND BY THOSE PEOPLE AROUND THEM.

    THROUGH YOUR MIGHT OH LORD,

    GRANT TO THEM THE STRENGTH THEY NEED

    AS THEY WORK AND SUPPORT THEIR FAMILIES.

    AFFIRM THEM TOO OF THEIR VALUE

    AND THAT THEY MAY BE CHERISHED BY THEIR LOVED ONES.

    THROUGH YOUR CARE,

    GRANT ALSO THE GIFT OF HEALING

    TO THOSE FATHERS WHO ARE ILL, WHO ARE IN PAIN,

    TROUBLED AND DEPRESSED

    BECAUSE OF THE HARDSHIPS THEY FACE.

    AND FOR THOSE FATHERS

    WHO ARE NOW GONE FROM THIS EARTH,

    RECEIVE THEM ALL IN HEAVEN

    THAT THEY TOO MAY EXPERIENCE THE JOY OF YOUR PRESENCE

    WHERE THEY ARE SECURED

    IN LOVE AND ETERNAL HAPPINESS.

    GRANT THIS THROUGH CHRIST OUR LORD. AMEN.