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Category: Feasts

  • The Cathedra: A Symbol of Service and Self-Giving

    The Cathedra: A Symbol of Service and Self-Giving

    February 22, 2025 – Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Apostle

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022225.cfm)

    Today we celebrate the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter. Yes, what is being revered is the “chair” or the cathedra of our first Pope. This feast reminds us of the importance of our unity with the Bishop of Rome, now under the leadership of His Holiness, Pope Francis.

     

    As Catholics, let us pray for our Pope, to always remember him in our prayer. When he was elected as Pope, the first thing he asked to the people was to pray for him. Let us continue that for he indeed needs our constant prayer so that Christ may always give him the strength and that the Holy Spirit may guide him and bless him with wisdom.

     

    These past few days, Pope Francis has been in difficult times due to his illness. Countless Catholics are praying, and we join this multitude of people, praying for the healing and recovery of Pope Francis. Yet, even in this struggle, the Pope remains a beacon of hope for us. He constantly reminds and shows us that “faith is not about fear but love; that leadership is not about power but service.”[1]

     

    Being true to the mission given to Peter, Pope Francis continues what has been entrusted to the “cathedra of the Pope,” that it is of service and self-giving.

     

    As members of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, let us also support the Pope’s initiatives and his pronouncements in building closer relationships with all our brothers and sisters across the globe that is in showing mercy and compassion. This is very evident in the ministry of Pope Francis and how he expressed his closeness with all the suffering.

    Moreover, for us individually, the story of Simon’s confession to Jesus posts a call and a reminder to us. Let us closely look a bit into the attitude of Simon Peter and his relationship with Jesus.

     

    Simon was quite hesitant, doubtful and sometimes inconsistent. In the scriptures we find him having doubts as he was invited by Jesus to walk on water. He was also called by Jesus to get behind him because he refused to believe that Jesus should undergo suffering. He ran and hid himself when Jesus was arrested and even denied him three times when he was questioned by the people.

     

    However, what was redeeming for Simon was his “openness” to the invitations of God to him. This explains to us why he immediately followed the Lord when his brother Andrew brought him to Jesus. This openness of Simon allowed him to intimately recognize and know Jesus in the most profound way. That is why, when Jesus asked his disciples about their perception of him, it was Simon who was so bold in professing that Jesus is the “Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

     

    Simon did not depend on others perception of Jesus who might have thought that Jesus was merely a teacher or some sort of magician. Simon had a personal encounter with Jesus and recognized the Lord.

    Though Simon was an imperfect disciple but God revealed himself to him because Simon was open to God. And thus, Jesus called him to follow and to serve him in the best way he could serve God. This attitude of Simon earned him to be named by Jesus as Kephas or the Rock, a responsibility given to him by the Lord to lead the Church.

     

    This is the message for us now. God knows that each of us is not perfect, yet, our God calls each of us to accept certain tasks in our community. We don’t have to be perfect to be a youth minister, an animator or coordinator, or lector, server, or religious or priest etc. Remember, God never called perfect people. God choose the wounded, the broken, the weak, the fearful and doubtful, the imperfect ones to become His friends and fellow workers.

     Like Peter, God sustains us, he strengthens us and transforms us into mature, faithful and joyful persons if we are also open to God’s call and invitations. We may learn how to open ourselves to God and to be more accepting of his invitations to each of us. Jesus assures us that when we put our trust and faith in him, he will never leave us and will always be with us. That is his promise. Hinaut pa.

    [1] Niere, Harvey Malmis, (https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15hJv2J3VT/).

  • Our Defining Moment

    Our Defining Moment

    February 2, 2025 – Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020225.cfm)

    Usually every Sunday some families gather together in the church not only to celebrate Eucharist but also to attend and witness the baptism of children to become new members of their respective family, parish and of the church. Yes, during Sundays, countless children are also being baptized in the church while being witnessed by their parents and family with relatives and friends. For us priest, Sunday children’s baptism is just part of our duty and extra job besides the hectic Sunday masses schedules. For others, it might be a usual Sunday occurrence, but for the child’s respective parents, godparent and families, the baptism of their child can be, is and should be the defining moments of their own lives as well as of the child.

    Yes, defining moments for all involved with the child. Because during baptism, the child does not only take on the identity and dignity of being Christian, the young parents of the child have suddenly grown up as well from just being two people in love to being parent to the child with a lot of responsibility for the future of the child. Along the parents, the child’s godparents, maninoy and maninay, extended families, relatives and friends also take on the responsibility and mission to help and support in the growth in the Christian faith and life of the child.

    It is indeed, defining moments for everybody, for as the child is being consecrated, the parents, godparents, families and the Christian community and the Church are commissioned to be responsible caretakers and formators-parent of the Christian life and faith-growth of the child.

    Mary and Joseph as well as Simeon and Anna must have experienced and felt the same during the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, same as young parents and families during child baptism. Here they are, presenting and consecrating the child Jesus in the temple as required by their Jewish religious tradition, conscious of the tasks, responsibility as well as the still-unknown and yet-to-be-revealed promise the child Jesus may offer to our lives.

    Joseph and Mary not only became the parent of the child Jesus, but through their testimony, Simeon and Anna also became the caretaker, formator & godparents of God’s light and glory for all. Same way as Joseph and Mary consecrated the child Jesus, Simeon and Anna became not anymore passive-expectators but now active-witnesses of God’s light and glory being revealed before them.

    The Presentation of the Lord in the temple is indeed defining moments for Mary and Joseph as well as Simeon and Anna for they take on the responsibility before God for the child Jesus. In the same manner, the baptism of a child is the defining moments for the young parents, godparents, families and the whole church for we all take responsibility for the formation and growth of the faith and life of the child.

    Simply put, as the saying goes: “When a child is born…. The mother is born” as also the parent, the family & church are also born. In other words, no mother, parent, family, or church, if there is no child.

    Our celebration today of the Presentation of the Lord is more than just about having our candles blessed. It is actually more so about ourselves as Christian especially during our celebration of Sacrament of Baptism. When we were baptized as a child, like the child Jesus, we were presented and consecrated (made holy) to God by our Christian family and the church to be God’s children. And whenever we attend and witness child baptism, we make holy ourselves to be responsible parents and formators-witnesses for the faith-growth of the child.

    Today’s celebration and our celebration of children’s baptism are all a reminder that each and every one of us, baptized Christians are lighted candles, taking on the light of Christ, the Christian dignity and responsibility for the fulfillment of God’s promise of salvation in our lives forever in our children now and for the future Christian generation.

    Taking on the dignity and mission to be parents and witnesses of God’s salvation as revealed to us always through Jesus and our today’s Christian children, are and remain to be our defining moments as Christians. God is already doing his part for our salvation by revealing us his glory through his Son.

    Now we have to do our part by making and remaining true to our defining moments of becoming blessed lighted candles – taking part to be active parents and witnesses for the growth of the Christian life and faith of our baptized children.

    Now consider, when was the last time you become a witness to a Child’s baptism? When was the last time you light a candle publicly and privately? Be reminded Jesus said: “You are the light of the world”. May we, as today God’s lighted and blessed candle, be always responsible parents and witnesses of God’s light to our world now and forever. Amen.

  • Filled with Grace and Power

    Filled with Grace and Power

    December 26, 2024 – Thursday, Feast of St Stephen, First Martyr

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122624.cfm)

    Christmas is a joyful season. The music, decorations, the variety of food and the many gatherings during this season give the festive and joyous atmosphere. Yet, the liturgy today, just a day after the birth of Jesus reminds us how faith and commitment to the Word-made-flesh will make us a contradiction to many.

    Indeed, yesterday we celebrated the joyful birthday of a child and today we celebrate the cruel death of an innocent man. In some ways, the birth of Jesus led to the death of Stephen, one of the first deacons of the church and the first Martyr. Stephen was put to death because of his faith in Jesus, declaring him to be the glorious Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.

    St. Luke describes Stephen dying with two prayers on his lips. First, a prayer of surrender, “Lord, Jesus, receive my spirit.” Second, a prayer of petition for his executioners, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

    When Jesus was dying on the cross, he had two similar prayers on his lips as well, a prayer of surrender, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” and a prayer of petition for his executioners, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.” We can see that Jesus prays to the Father while Stephen prays to the risen Lord.

    Mary’s child is now the risen Lord and can be prayed to as we would pray to God. In the church, we often pray to the Father through Jesus, but we are also invited to pray directly to Jesus. Stephen died as Jesus died because he was “filled with the Holy Spirit.”

    We have been given the gift of the same Holy Spirit, and it is the Spirit who empowers us both to live like Jesus and to die like Jesus. On this feast of Saint Stephen, we pray for a fresh outpouring of that Spirit into our lives in this Season of Christmas that we may also be filled with grace and power like him. Hinaut pa.

  • A Delightful Surprise

    A Delightful Surprise

    December 12, 2024 – Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121224.cfm)

    A surprise that is made especially to someone we love, has the very intention to bring joy. This makes our heart filled with affection and love. And this kind of surprise is what the Season of Advent is also characterized.

    Indeed, God comes to visit us is a big surprise. Imagine, God who is almighty and all-powerful comes and humbles Himself in order to reveal God’s Divine presence to humanity, in human form.

    This is what our Gospel tells to us today. Elizabeth was surprised by the visit of her cousin Mary. More than that, Elizabeth and the baby in her womb were more surprised of what Mary carried in her womb. They were surprised because God visited them. This prompted baby John to leap with joy because God has come through Mary.

    The feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe is also a manifestation on how God has visited us in our history. This visit of God through Mary to San Juan Diego is an expression of God’s loving concern for his oppressed people particularly in Latin America. God’s visit then, is a revelation that God is on the side of the poor and the oppressed, of the weak and powerless, the vulnerable and the insignificant.

    Both on this Season of Advent and feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we are invited to allow God to surprise us. God calls us to be open and welcoming of His presence and of his surprise like Elizabeth and San Juan Diego.

    Thus, never lose the sense of being surprised. This means that we are challenged to put down our judgments and biases, indifferences and suspicions, our anxieties and fears.  

    God surprises us all the more when we begin to embrace our own failures and sins, and when we begin to accept that we are vulnerable and weak. And when God comes to surprise us, may it lead us to leap with joy. In hope, that experience will also move us to also surprise others with our own kindness and generosity.

    Certainly, God calls us to be sensitive enough to his presence in us particularly when life gets dark and difficult, when we are in the middle of fear and stress because in those vulnerable moments, God is closer to us. And this is hope for a delightful surprise. This is what the Season of Advent is all about. Hinaut pa.

  • FULL OF GRACE

    FULL OF GRACE

    December 9, 2024 – Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120924.cfm)

    According to (Artificial Intelligence) AI Overview, we, human persons, generally speaking, can easily notice and recognize the negatives in our surrounding and people around us rather than the positive. There is a so called “psychological phenomenon” among us called “negativity bias.”

    As psychology teaches us, this concept called negativity bias causes amplified emotional responses to the negative and painful events compared to positive and joyful events even despite having equal magnitude.[1] No wonder, we can easily react when there is something wrong, ugly or painful that we see or experience. We also feel more troubled and distressed when we have negative and painful experiences. We tend to linger on those and find ourselves difficult to move forward.

    However, having such orientation could greatly affect the way we look at things, look at life and look at ourselves. Our relationships even in the way we make decisions in life can be hampered because of such negativity. Yet, there is also a need for us to develop a sense of positivity and finding balance in our life. To be able to recognize what is good, wonderful and beautiful will add more courage and hope in our life.

    On this Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, we are reminded and challenged to see and recognize the good, wonderful and beautiful that God made for Mary and for all of us. Indeed, this is what we have heard in the Gospel. “Hail, full of grace!” these were the words of Angel Gabriel to the young lady, Mary of Nazareth.

    That being full of grace of Mary offers us now a different perspective in the way we look at our life and the world. This is in contrast to what happened in the Book of Genesis in which man and woman sinned against God.

    The fear, shame and guilt that they felt move them back to hide from God. They who first enjoyed the presence of God in paradise where the very first ones to have received the fullness of grace, that was ORIGINAL GRACE in itself. Yet, their desire to “become like god” broke that wonderful grace of intimacy with God.

    That led the man and woman to blame each other without claiming their responsibility. This is where we find the ORIGINAL SIN, a concept from St. Augustine. In this concept, human beings are born with that hereditary sin as a consequence of the sin of the first man and woman. It is understood that we have the natural inclination to do bad things, to sin against God and to hurt one another. Nevertheless, to focus only on this negativity of the past will also cloud our faith and relationship with fear, guilt and shame.

    Yet, let us not forget that before ORIGINAL SIN entered, there was first the ORIGINAL GRACE of God for humanity. This original grace, despite what happened after that, has been preserved in the life of Mary, the favored one of God. God chose her because Mary is most willing to embrace and accept the very presence of God in her heart, in her whole life. This made Mary, indeed, to be full of grace.

    In fact, St. Paul in his Letter to the Ephesians also reminds us that we are blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavens… to be holy and without blemish before him.” This is the grace that has been given to the whole humanity, “for in him (Christ) we were also chosen, destine in accord with the purpose of the One.”

    As we celebrate this feast, we remind ourselves of this ORIGINAL GRACE, of our first inclination to do good things, of our origin in being filled with the grace of God like Mary.

    And so, what we are called to be and to do today, is to allow also the Lord to fill us with His grace. Like Mary, our Mother, may we be more open to God’s invitations for us, to be more willing to participate in bringing and filling grace in our hearts, homes and communities. Hinaut pa.

    [1]See and read more at  https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/negativity-bias