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  • CHAT with God

    CHAT with God

    October 26, 2025 – 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102625.cfm)

    A story once told about two robbers were caught stealing. While trying to evade the chasing police and dogs, one of them said to the other: “Pray”. But the other snapped back in reply: “I don’t know how to pray”. Then, the first one persisted on: “Just pray any prayers you know, anyway, your God will listen”. The second wondered: “Any prayer will do?” The first pushed: “Ya, any prayer will do”. So the second prayed the only prayer he knows, this way: “Bless us, O Lord, for these thy gifts, which we are about to receive from your goodness through Christ’s our Lord. Amen”.

    Here, they are. Chased by the dogs and police. About to be apprehended and punished for stealing. And the only prayer, one could think of is the formula-Prayer before Meal. Well, nice words, but surely not the right & appropriate prayer for that very moment.

    Prayer is our Chat with God – our exchange of words with God. Praying then is more than just mumbling words from subscribed formula or – prayer-format, because it is the opportunity for us to be who we are before God’s presence and to express our hearts’ desires to our Father. Better then for us, in praying before God – to say what we mean, and mean what we say, than just reciting formulas which we don’t really mean and thus does not say who we really are and what we really mean before God. Meaning, pray your heart’s desire before the Lord in you own words.

    Somehow this is what Jesus is teaching us today about prayer. For the past Sundays, we have reflecting on our experience of prayer in our faith life. So far, we come to appreciate that prayer is our PISTIS – our expression of deep trust to our Lord, our loving response to bless others since we have been blessed & our LAMBING – our loving requests to our Father.

    And today, through the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, Jesus teaches us that in prayer, God listens to us. God hears our cries and satisfies our heart’s desires. What is required of us in praying, however, is our real selves humbly longing for Him – saying what we mean and meaning what we say to Him. Unlike the Pharisee, we should pray not for what we have done and what we have been doing, but pray instead in humility for what we need before God and for what God can do for us. Prayer is not our exhortations and exaltation of ourselves – of what we have done for God, but rather our humble supplication before God’s presence, crying for help – for what He can do to us better & further in life.

    We also hear in our gospel today, the simple humble prayer of the tax collector: “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner”. This is the simple prayer-words that God as well as Jesus approves, for these words profoundly express who we humbly are before God, and what we mean, say, and desire from Him.

    “Lord, Have Mercy on me a sinner”. Perhaps the simplest yet most effective prayer words in our Christian life are these words: “Lord, Have Mercy on us” “Ginoo, kaluy-i kami”, “Panginoon, Maawa ka sa amin”. (In Korean) Junim, Jabirul Bepusoso.” These words, (traditionally also known as “Jesus prayer”) are not only prayed by the tax-collector in our gospel today, but also in the Scripture, as cried out in prayer by the ten lepers, the blind Lazarus, and others. These people were all healed, forgiven, and redeemed for they have prayed to Jesus: “Lord, Have Mercy.”

    To pray then the Jesus prayer: “Lord, have mercy on me” means and says a lot. It reveals our very identity of who-I-am or who-we-are before God.

    First, it is a Cry for God’s Help, that is, it is our way of saying: “I need God’s help”. To cry for help today is considered as weakness and dependence. To pray then for God’s mercy is to rely not on our own but to depend on God’s strength and power. Second, it is a declaration of faith, i.e. our way of saying: “I believe in God’s will and I trust in God’s way”.

    In our world of distrust and unbelief, and toppled with individualism, to pray for God’s mercy is to believe and trust in an-other greater authority/power than ourselves. And lastly, to pray, “Lord, have mercy” is our humble obedience to God, i.e. it is our way of saying: “Lord, I rest my case. I now listen to you. It’s now, not mine, but Your will be done. Bahala na. Hinaut pa unta. Kabay pa. Siya Nawa.” This means that finally, after all has been said and done, prayer leads us into total respect, trust and reverence to divine will & providence as well as peaceful silence before God’s presence.

    Remember then that God rejects the prayer of self-righteous persons, but listens to the prayer of sinners who are aware of their inner poverty. God hears the prayer of the humble who are aware of how poor they are before God for “the Lord hears the cry of the poor.”

    Perhaps we ask ourselves now, when was the last time we utter those words: “Lord, Have Mercy on Us” Panginoon, Maawa ka sa Amin; Ginoo, Kaluy-I kami; “Junim, chabirul bepusoso”? Did we say what we mean? Did we mean what we say? Are we saying those words, as a cry for His Help in our lives, as declaration of our faith and trust in Him, and as our humble obedience to His plans and will for our lives?….. OR we said those words, like any prescribed formula-prayer inappropriately and without meaning it? Before God then, to pray the simple words of Jesus prayer, said with meaning and humility – is but enough and appropriate at all times.

    Whatsoever then happened, is happening and will happen at every moments of our lives, we own up our humble poverty before Him, and pray with full consent and intent the Jesus prayer: – “Lord, have mercy on Us sinners.”

    Siya nawa. Hinaut pa unta. Kabay pa. Amen.

  • THE WONDER AND POWER OF PRAYING WITH OTHERS

    THE WONDER AND POWER OF PRAYING WITH OTHERS

    October 19, 2025 – 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101925.cfm)

    Being with young people in the ministry, allowed me to witness and observe their difficulties as they try to live the faith. My generation, the millennial and even those who are younger than me, usually express the difficulty of consistency in praying.

    Despite the busy environment of the cities, the many distractions brought about by our gadgets, the internet and the need to socialize with others, young people also desire to have deeper grounding. This means that there is a deep desire among the young to connect with God – to be one with Him.

    Yet, the circumstances and particular situations that they are in would sometimes prevent them to be consistent in relating with God through prayer. There are also the personal struggles young people face, or problems in their relationships with their family and friends and demands from work or their studies.

    Thus, prayer is believed to be time-consuming and demanding. At times, it can be tiring. To pray can even be lonely especially when we feel alone and feel that nobody understands us.

    This Rosary Month, every night, our young people in the chaplaincy are visiting homes. And to the families who were visited, surely, you can attest to this. Sometimes they were many, sometimes few. Sometimes they were on time, sometimes late.

    Though I observe from a distance, what touched me deeply is the very presence of our young people. These students must have surely felt tired and exhausted from their academic demands. Yet, they would still make time. Sometimes after the family rosary, they would look broken and annoyed after being scolded and nagged by some elders during the Family Rosary.

    Yet, despite all these, they remained. Constantly reminding and inviting others to join in praying the rosary. Keeping the faith despite many odds.

    We may not realize, yet, prayer indeed moves us. Prayer helps us endure hardships and demands. Prayer gives us strength not to dwell on our weakness but to rely on the grace of God to work in us and with us.

    I find this a moving experience. Again, this reminds me that prayer changes people not just those who are praying but also those who are affected by the prayer in one way or another. What I find more interesting also is by witnessing how powerful prayer can be when we too are with others.

    This reminds me of the readings we have today. In the first reading, Moses raised up his hand in prayer to God. Moses prayed for Israel because an enemy waged war against them. The Book of Exodus recalls how Moses in the long run grew tired. Whenever he let his hands rest, the enemy, Amalek had the advantage of the battle.

    Yet, what is more interesting was the presence of Aaron and Hur. Seeing Moses growing tired in praying, the two helped him by supporting both hands of Moses. Through their support, Moses’ hands remained steady till sunset.

    This tells us that we find more strength in praying with others. When we too are with others even though we feel tired and lonely, the very presence of our dear friends and loved ones could uplift us and inspire us.

    The presence of Aaron and Hur reminded Moses that he was not alone in asking favor from God. Moses became persistent and consistent in praying because Aaron and Hur also joined with him.

    This story may sound primitive but there is wisdom behind here. We find it there the power of praying with our friends. Surely, praying can be tiring as Moses experienced it. It is also time-consuming. It can be emotionally exhausting especially when we are internally and externally troubled. Yet, praying with our friends is different. The company and the assurance that we are not alone, gives us hope.

    Jesus, in the Gospel, reminds us also of the need to pray always and never to give up. The parable of the persistent widow captures that message of Jesus. Moreover, Jesus also emphasized that character of God who pays attention to us and to our prayers. The dishonest judge who gave in to that persistent widow just highlighted the compassionate Father that we have. Indeed, God is most willing to listen to our prayers and grant the deepest desires of our hearts.

    Indeed, the parable is an invitation for all of us to realize the need to pray always without becoming weary or exhausted. But how do we not grow weary? Well, this is where we find the importance and significance of our friends, of our community.

    As this was addressed by Jesus to all the disciples, it is to be understood that prayer becomes our strength, source of comfort and growth in faith. Prayer also becomes our way of life as a community of disciples of Jesus. St. Paul reminds us of this in his 2nd Letter to Timothy, “be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient” – since to pray is also a means of proclaiming the Word of God.

    Now, these are the invitations for us today as well as your take-aways

    First, Pray with our friends. Do not be shy or hesitate to ask your friends to pray with you. Even if you are in a public place, pray with your friends. Even if that is through a simple meal that you share at Jollibee or Minute Burger or at a carenderia in ComCent, pray with your friends. Pray with your friends not just during bad and difficult times but also during celebrations and in times of gratitude.

    Second, Pray with the Holy Scriptures. As we pray with our friends, maximize also the gift of the Holy Bible because praying with the Holy Scriptures allows us to discover God’s wisdom and invitations. Maximize it because as St. Paul reminds us, “All Scripture is inspired by God.”

    Third, Pray to confront, to encourage and to embrace. Praying with others is not just about mumbling words or repeating memorized prayers. To pray also becomes our way of confronting ourselves of our sins and failures, to encourage one another through our presence and to embrace each one with love and affection despite our limitations and differences.

    In this way, we allow our faith to grow together as friends and as a community of believers. Hinaut pa.

  • LAMBING

    LAMBING

    October 19, 2025 – 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

    (Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101925.cfm)

    There was once a funny story about a bully who was so envious about his poor neighbor’s faith and prayer life. Every time he met his elderly devoted neighbor, he would always test and insult her faith. Sometimes, he would discourage her, saying: “your prayers and devotion do not lead you anywhere but more frustrations”. The old neighbor would just smile and kept silent.

    One day, the bully overheard his neighbor while praying this way, “Lord Jesus, you taught us to ask for our daily bread. You know my food supply is just enough for this day. My hard-up son has not yet sent me something for tomorrow. I do believe you know what is best for me. If it is your will, Lord, grant me what I need as you have always provided for me. May your will be done. Amen.”

    After hearing this, the bully went to the grocery and bought some food supply. Then, next day, he went to his neighbor’s house, drop a bagful of grocery outside the door, hides somewhere near and waited for his neighbor’s reaction. When the neighbor found the bag outside, she was happy and all praise to God for the graces right before her.

    Suddenly, the man interfered and said, “Aha, got you. That bag of food is not from your God but from Me. See, your God doesn’t care for you”. The old lady neighbor just loudly prayed, “Lord, many thanks for these food You have given me today and….. for letting my good neighbor pay for it”.😁

    Praying to God has always been part of our life. And in our efforts to pray, there will always a discontent within us with the way we pray – that somehow there is something kulang, inadequate or missing in the way we pray, and we don’t know what and how. Yes, there is always a desire and longing for the best way of praying. Like His disciples, deep inside, we cry: “Lord, teach us how to pray”.

    Our readings today are all about prayer, and teaching us how to pray. In our first reading, we hear that Israel won the war against Amalekite as long as and because of Moses persistently raising up his hands to heaven to pray, with other’s help. St. Paul in the second reading appeals for constancy and never losing patience in proclaiming and sharing our faith to others.

    Jesus in our gospel today points out that the same kind of persistence of the widow to the judge moves God to respond to our pressing needs and concerns. Meaning, prayer is our humble and trusting but persistent & constant expressions of our appeals, requests – of our heart’s desire to God before His presence. In other words, our readings today are teaching us that prayer is basically our loving requests to God, our Father – LAMBING or “Pamaraig” to our Tatay.

    Here, we are also reminded that God always listens to our prayers. God as our parent chooses & wants to listen to our heart’s desire. He knows and understands our needs and concerns while he also wants us to come near Him and express our loving persistent requests (our lambing – “pamaraig) to Him.

    Also, God always answers our prayers in His own time and ways. Yes, sometimes we feel frustrated with God for not answering our prayers. But the same way we experience our own loving parents, God seems silent or passive with our prayers but actually He is discerning and planning what is best for us, better than what we expected & prayed for. We are only to express our prayers – our loving requests persistently, with patient waiting and trusting that not long for now we receive more and better than what we expected.

    Like what happened with our story above, God has His own ways and time to grant our prayers. God always listens and answers our prayer in His own time and ways. Consider then that for Jesus, what matters is not our desires, longings, needs, hungers and cravings but it is our persistency, patient waiting and trust and confidence in God, our Father. Remember in praying to God, it is not what we pray but how we pray it, not what we ask for but how we ask it from Him that matters. It is the manner of prayer, the pamaraig: the asking, seeking and knocking that is significant, and not the content or outcome what you ask and seek… it is said, “For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

    Be reminded Jesus told us today’s parable to teach us the need “to pray always without becoming weary”. Simply put – in praying, never give up & just trust God’s ways & will to do the best & the rest for us; for whatever God-given gift we received, some good or bad person might be paying for it.

    We pray then that may our usual prayer be from our persistent – “ never give up”, “without weary” expressions of our lambing, heart-desire, not for our desire of our wants and needs of the gifts but rather out of our love for God, the Giver of the gifts now & always.  

    Amen. So be it. Siya Nawa.

  • Blessed to Bless

    Blessed to Bless

    October 12, 2025 – 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101225.cfm)

    There was a man who never thought that he would donate blood in all of his life. Once, however, his child got very ill & hospitalized, and badly needed blood transfusion. Luckily, they were able to get a blood donor for his sick child. Now, as he watched the donated blood dripping through into his child’s veins, he suddenly realized that someone had shared & donated the blood that is keeping and helping his child alive. Straightaway he made up his mind to become a blood donor himself, and he was as good as his word –regularly as needed donating blood as thanksgiving for the gift.

    Last Sundays’ readings were all about `Faith’. Particularly, in last Sunday’s gospel, we heard the apostles’ request to increase their faith. But Jesus reprimanded them by pointing out to them that God has given them enough faith and no need to ask for more because it is already given. In a way, Jesus directed us now and his disciples then that we cannot demand God to grant us the gift of faith because faith is God’s grace. It is God’s free gift given to us voluntarily of His love, and not out of our requests, wants or needs, or even payment for our good deeds.

    Today’s readings are also about FAITH but faith not only as God’s gift but faith as our response in gratitude and thanksgiving to God’s blessing.

    Naaman in our first reading, having cured of his leprosy, in return comes to believe in the true God and commits himself to praise the God of Elisha. St. Paul in our second reading resolves to preach the Good News to others despite persecutions, oppositions, and hardship so “that they, too may obtain the salvation given to us in Christ Jesus and share eternal glory” – meaning, that others may also share what is given us. In our gospel, ten lepers were cured of their leprosy, because of their faith in Jesus. But only one Samaritan came back to thank him and praise God – only one is grateful enough for what God has done to his life.

    All of these would mean that inasmuch as faith is a gift from God, faith is also our commitment to respond in return to God’s generosity and goodness to us. Faith is then our personal decision to commit ourselves in resolving to give something back in gratitude to God’s love and goodness to us. Since we are blessed & have been blessed, now we choose to be a blessing to others. Thus, We are blessed to bless others.

    Like that of the blood donor & the healed Samaritan leper, our faith should compel us to do something in response to God’s love and grace-given us. Having faith may have saved us, healed us, cured us and… it thus also makes us acknowledge God’s grace in us anew, and challenges us to change our ways and be renewed in our relationship with God. Inasmuch as faith without action is useless, God’s blessings to us are also useless without our faith-response. It is not sufficient then to have more than enough faith. But as we receive God’s gifts & miracles of faith in our lives, we need also to express our faith as thanksgiving in return by blessing others with our blessings.

    To share in God’s grace then, it is not only a matter of having faith, but also a matter of how we live out and practice our faith in Christ as our response in gratitude to God’s gift. Rather than being worried about how we can avail of, how we can benefit more from & be entitled of God’s grace, we should be more concern on what return can we make to God in gratitude, and how can we reciprocate or “pay-forward” God’s goodness to us with others.

    But still, many would like most to avail of the generosity & benefit from the help of others, but few are willing to give something back in gratitude. Remember, out of ten lepers who were cured, only one came back to thank. Thus, gratitude is so important. Gratitude makes us want to give something back in grateful response for such great gift. Gratitude makes us help others and celebrate-exchange our gifts-received with others. Significantly influx of donation in cash & in kind for our earthquake-affected brothers & sisters in the North Cebu. And definitely such gestures is not only out of concern for others but in gratitude for our blessing-received that we rightly so want & choose to share with them.

    As followers of Christ, the Holy Eucharist is our expression and celebration of our faith-response in praise and thanksgiving to God for all the blessings he has given us through His Son Jesus, in life so-far. We are supposed to be a Eucharistic people, a people constantly grateful to God. So, don’t be so pre-occupied with the beautiful things God has given us that we forget to thank the Giver of the gifts, and fail to share such gifts with others. What matters most then is not the gifts but the Giver of the gifts, and how gifts are shared and celebrated – that is how it is freely given and gladly received by one another.

    So perhaps every time and next time you attend Mass, ask beforehand not for what gifts you need and want from God, but instead, ask how God has been generous and good to you lately that made you grateful to celebrate & share with others now here in our celebration of the Holy Eucharist & in our donation & relief-ministry for those who are needing at this time.

    And may our prayer now be: For all that has been… Thanks you Lord. For all that will be… Yes, Lord, I choose to bless & be a blessing to others now & always.  Amen.

  • PISTIS

    PISTIS

    October 5, 2025 – 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100525.cfm)

    Somehow easy for us to relate with the disciples in our gospel today who asked the Lord to increase our faith…., because we do experience inadequacy of faith in life. Yes, we do struggle with our faith in life. We do at times find ourselves limited  & limiting with our faith. Like the  disciples then, we find ourselves asking for more faith since we experience how lacking we are of faith in Him.

    Nevertheless our wanting & needing faith would recognize that faith is something given us & something we receive from God. Faith is God’s GIFT to us & such gift of faith gives & sustains us in life, though at times as disciples of Jesus, we do find ourselves struggling, lacking & wanting more faith in life.

    However in response to their & our request for more faith, Jesus gives emphasis to us that there is more to our faith than just being gift we receive from God, for he said: “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” Meaning, however small, lacking, limited & inadequate our God-given faith is, as long as we have faith that is enough for us, since the Lord once said  “My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). Here we are reminded of what really faith is & what it means to be gifted with faith in life.

    Consider that the Greek work for faith is “Pistis”. In Greek mythology, Pistis is the good faith, trust & reliability personified or in person. In Christianity, faith is translated with pistis which simply means trust in our Lord. Meaning, faith is more than just about our believing or consenting on something without any question, but moreso about trusting on someone completely. Pistis then is the kind of faith Jesus expect of us Christian. Whenever He says: “Have Faith. Have faith in Me”, what he meant is Pistis: “Have complete trust in me.” Having enough trust in the Lord then really matters before God, regardless of how much or less, many or few our faith may be. Since, faith is our complete TRUST in the person & power of  Jesus….

    And so, inasmuch as faith is God-given gift to us, our faith is also our RESPONSE of trusting Him in our lives, however small, lacking & limited  our faith be. Thus, in living our lives & in doing our mission of faith with Jesus, like the disciples, we are to come & go as we are ourselves in PISTIS – with full trust & faith in Jesus. We are to go empty-handed, inadequate, in weakness struggling with nothing except Pistis in Jesus. What we have to preach, share & partake with is our personification of our good faith – full trust & reliability on Jesus, in response to the gift of faith. What is to happen on us then depends on God’s providence & care. All we are commanded & obliged to do is to Trust in Him.

    Simply put, in faith with Jesus, we are just to do our part, for God will do the rest & the best in His grace & power. We are just to do what we are commanded & obliged to do since we are His servants, co-partners & coworker of Jesus’ mission in the vineyard of God’s Salvation. And as St. Paul exhorts: “in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus,  (may we) guard this (pistis) rich trust with the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.”

    Lord, take away everything that distance us from you. Grant us everything that bring us closer to you. Detach us from ourselves to give our All to you now & always.

    So May It Be. Amen.