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Category: Homilies

  • Defining our future by living in the present and reconciling with the past

    Defining our future by living in the present and reconciling with the past

    November 10, 2019 – 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

    A reading from the 2nd Book of Maccabees (7:1-2,9-14)

    It happened that seven brothers with their mother were arrested
    and tortured with whips and scourges by the king,
    to force them to eat pork in violation of God’s law. 
    One of the brothers, speaking for the others, said:
    “What do you expect to achieve by questioning us? 
    We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.”

    At the point of death he said:
    “You accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present life,
    but the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever. 
    It is for his laws that we are dying.”

    After him the third suffered their cruel sport.
    He put out his tongue at once when told to do so,
    and bravely held out his hands, as he spoke these noble words:
    “It was from Heaven that I received these;
    for the sake of his laws I disdain them;
    from him I hope to receive them again.”
    Even the king and his attendants marveled at the young man’s courage,
    because he regarded his sufferings as nothing.

    After he had died,
    they tortured and maltreated the fourth brother in the same way.
    When he was near death, he said,
    “It is my choice to die at the hands of men
    with the hope God gives of being raised up by him;
    but for you, there will be no resurrection to life.”

    A reading from the Second Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians (2:16-3:5)

    Brothers and sisters:
    May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father,
    who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement
    and good hope through his grace,
    encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed
    and word.

    Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us,
    so that the word of the Lord may speed forward and be glorified,
    as it did among you,
    and that we may be delivered from perverse and wicked people,
    for not all have faith.
    But the Lord is faithful;
    he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.
    We are confident of you in the Lord that what we instruct you,
    you are doing and will continue to do.
    May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God
    and to the endurance of Christ.

    A reading from the Holy Gospel to Luke (20:27-28)

    Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
    came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,
    “Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
    If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child,
    his brother must take the wife
    and raise up descendants for his brother.
    Now there were seven brothers;
    the first married a woman but died childless.
    Then the second and the third married her,
    and likewise all the seven died childless. 
    Finally the woman also died. 
    Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?
    For all seven had been married to her.”
    Jesus said to them,
    “The children of this age marry and remarry;
    but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age
    and to the resurrection of the dead
    neither marry nor are given in marriage.
    They can no longer die,
    for they are like angels;
    and they are the children of God
    because they are the ones who will rise. 
    That the dead will rise
    even Moses made known in the passage about the bush,
    when he called out ‘Lord, ‘
    the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
    and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
    for to him all are alive.” 

    Homily

    Are you living to die? Or are you dying to live?

    Few weeks ago, I was in a funeral wake of a young professional in his mid-twenties. Because of so much pain and hurts that he was experiencing in his young life, he couldn’t endure them anymore. He felt helpless and hopeless. He felt alone and lonely. All of these directed him to depression until his depression clouded his mind and heart which also led him to kill himself.

    Without judging or condemning him, such situation brought me to ask myself, how am I living my life right now? Am I living to die, letting hopelessness and despair to deprive me to live fully and meaningfully?

    Back in college, I met a leper in Cebu, an 80 plus year old woman, who was abandoned by her family in her teen-age years when leprosy began to manifest in her body. Yet, despite being abandoned and left alone in the hospital for lepers, she remained hopeful in life by resisting to be eaten up by despair, by emotional hurts, by abandonment and by the very suffering she was enduring. Thus, she even adopted an abandoned baby girl whom she named Nancy. She found Nancy in a garbage bin in Cebu. Despite her poverty, she accepted Nancy in her life and let Nancy feel a mother’s love, affection and care. Yet, as Nancy grew up and due to her failing eyesight and old age, she has to let go of Nancy and bring her to a group of Sisters who could provide better the needs of Nancy. Despite the pain of separation and of the loneliness she would endure by losing Nancy beside her, she let her go for the sake of her beloved daughter. In that way, she gave life to Nancy even though she herself struggled to live.

    With this encounter, I also asked myself, am I giving life? Have I tried to die from my selfish desires in order to give life to others?

    Such situations and questions that have come up invited me to dwell deeper also into the readings proclaimed to us this Sunday. Thus, I would like to invite you that we discover together God’s invitation for us today.

    The 2nd Book of Maccabees tells us of the story of the seven brothers and their mother who were persecuted and killed. Despite the persecution, they did not fear of dying and to give witness to what they believed. They remained faithful to the law of God until the end. Were they wasting their life for the sake of faith? No, their very life became an inspiration to the many generations after them. Through their witness, the people found assurance in God’s promise of eternal life.

    By dying they have given life. However, those who tortured them who deprived others to live, were eaten up by malice, greed and evil. The torturers learned and knew how to kill but also they never learned how to live and give life. This was the reason why they too will be deprived of the resurrection because only to those who have lived life and given life will be given new life at the resurrection.

    In the Gospel, the Pharisees and teachers of the law who were so concerned of what they could get from others in this life, asked a malicious question to Jesus, to trick him and embarrass him. Yet, Jesus knew their hearts. They too were filled with malice and selfish desires. This attitude reflected in the very situation they presented to Jesus of a woman marrying the seven brothers when one after another died without having any child.

    Life, then, is not about accumulating things from others, or securing something for oneself. Life and living life is to be able to give life to others. This is what St Paul has told us in his letter to the Thessalonians. God’s love and faithfulness makes us alive. God strengthens us in our weakness. Through this, then, God moves us to share to others what we have received and experienced by living together as brothers and sisters by encouraging and praying for one another and showing good deeds and words to all.

    Let us be confident in this then, for God loves us and he is faithful to us. Despite the bad experiences that we may have now, the ugly and painful environment we may have, or our messy and traumatic past, the persecution and suffering caused by others to you – never lose hope in living your life fully. Be reconciled with your past embrace whatever there is in life and whatever you don’t have too. Discover the wonder and beauty of living now with others and with Jesus. Never stop giving life to others, in sharing your very life to people who are dear to you, because it is in this way that we become more hopeful to a life with Jesus. Living our life fully today and giving life to others is already a foretaste of what is to come after. Kabay pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • David, the handsome boy who was free

    David, the handsome boy who was free

    This is what the Lord said to Samuel as David was chosen,

    “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him (referring to Eliab, the eldest son of Jesse); for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16: 7.

    Having an environment that focuses on physical appearance over the heart, and that gives more emphasis on how we look, on how many likes and followers we get on Facebook, Instagram and twitter, can be deceiving and we can be pretentious.

    Philippines had been branded as the Social Media Capital of the World. There are about 76 millions of Filipinos spending as much as 4 hours a day on social media sites. This kind of environment surely affect and influence how we relate with one another and how we perceive other people. And its danger is when we limit ourselves from what we only see on pictures and videos that were filled with filters, edits and even fake news.

    As God chose David, God makes himself clear that He sees our heart and God sees the heart of the young David, who was God’s beloved.

    Indeed, David was a boy who was free. He too was in fact handsome but the Lord sees him beyond the physical. God sees the innocent heart of David untainted by selfish desires. He was never dictated or influenced by any selfish desires to please others and to seek praise from others. David just enjoyed his childhood.


    As Pope Francis affirms, “The glory of the youth is in the heart, more than in physical strength or the impression given to others.”

  • Making God as the priority and center of our relationships

    Making God as the priority and center of our relationships

    NOVEMBER 6, 2019 – WEDNESDAY 31ST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME 

    A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans (13:8-10)

    Brothers and sisters:
    Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;
    for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
    The commandments, You shall not commit adultery;
    you shall not kill;
    you shall not steal;
    you shall not covet,
    and whatever other commandment there may be,
    are summed up in this saying, namely,
    You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
    Love does no evil to the neighbor;
    hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.

    A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (14:25-33)

    Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
    and he turned and addressed them,
    “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, 
    wife and children, brothers and sisters,
    and even his own life,
    he cannot be my disciple.
    Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
    cannot be my disciple.
    Which of you wishing to construct a tower
    does not first sit down and calculate the cost
    to see if there is enough for its completion? 
    Otherwise, after laying the foundation
    and finding himself unable to finish the work
    the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
    ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’ 
    Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
    and decide whether with ten thousand troops
    he can successfully oppose another king
    advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? 
    But if not, while he is still far away,
    he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. 
    In the same way,
    everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
    cannot be my disciple.”

    Homily

    Hating one’s family member, a parent or a sibling, seems so harsh for us today. However, Jesus, in our Gospel today, actually means something deeper.

    When our relationship with Jesus becomes more serious and deeper, Jesus also occupies more space in our life. It only means that Jesus has become the center of our relationship. Having this kind of relationship with Jesus, in which each of us is called, is also invited to make our relationship with God as the motivating factor of our other relationships.

    This means that God asks us to make Him as our priority over our other priorities. And what is more beautiful here is God’s invitation for us to make our relationship with Him as the “life and soul” of our human relationships. It is from our relationship with God that, hopefully, we will become responsible and generous persons especially as we relate with others as a parent, sibling, a child, a friend or as a professional or whatever work you have or status.

    This is what St Paul affirmed in his letter to the Romans,

    “owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another.”

    Having that confidence in God that we are loved, assures us of our other relationships. Being loved then, enables us to love others. Thus, it is also very important to have that confidence with God because our human relationships may fail us sometimes, and our human love may show selfishness and cause us pain and hurts.

    Consequently, Jesus invites us to carry the crosses present in the many relationships that we have. It would be very good that we acknowledge and embrace our crosses. It is when we are able to acknowledge and embrace our crosses that we will also be able to befriend our crosses. Befriending our crosses helps us to carry them with gladness and peace because if we are not able to befriend them, then, we will be carrying them with bitterness and anger.

    These crosses could be our own emotional limitations, physical disabilities and health issues, family problems and conflicts, and other concerns that may drain and bring us down in our relationships. Yet, in carrying our crosses, whatever that may be, the Lord assures us that we will never be alone. We will not be carrying our crosses alone. The Lord promises us today that He too will be with us and will be carrying too our crosses.

    This is the beauty of Christian discipleship because it gives us the confidence of being with God. God, after all, is ever faithful to us. Hence, when we are able to make God as our main priority and the center of our relationships, God transforms us and our relationships according to His wisdom. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • Seeking healing and freedom from past hurts and pains that control and limit us

    Seeking healing and freedom from past hurts and pains that control and limit us

    November 3, 2019 – 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time 

    A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (19:1-10)

    At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. 
    Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
    who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
    was seeking to see who Jesus was;
    but he could not see him because of the crowd,
    for he was short in stature. 
    So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
    who was about to pass that way.
    When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
    “Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
    for today I must stay at your house.” 
    And he came down quickly and received him with joy. 
    When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
    “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” 
    But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
    “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
    and if I have extorted anything from anyone
    I shall repay it four times over.”
    And Jesus said to him,
    “Today salvation has come to this house
    because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. 
    For the Son of Man has come to seek
    and to save what was lost.”

    Homily

    Have you been a victim of bullying and of rejection?

    To be bullied or to be rejected could create a deep emotional wound in us. Because of being helpless, we could not protect ourselves from people who hurt us emotionally such as bullying and rejection at school, in our neighborhood or even at home. As a result, we do not only begin to hate those people who were bullying and rejecting us, but we also hate ourselves  for being who we are. We hate ourselves because of the imperfection that people find in us.

    Thus, we also begin to think that if only we are not like this, then, people might accept us and love us. This consciousness begins to develop in us until we become a person whom we are not, just for the reason of being accepted, recognized, respected and loved by people around us.

    Take for example of the story of Zacchaeus. This man was surely a victim of terrible bullying and rejection. St Luke described Zacchaeus as short in stature and a wealthy tax collector. His fellows Jews hated him for being a tax collector and someone who was affiliated with the Romans. Remember, at that time, Israel was under the a foreign invader, the Roman Empire who imposed tax on them.

    However, we could also ask, how Zacchaeus, a Jew, ended to the side of the Romans, working for them as a tax collector. We could actually imagine the life of Zacchaeus. Thus, being short in height, Zacchaeus as a young boy must have been a subject of bullying. Even until now, among our friends we actually make fun of people who are short or those people who do not belong to the standard of the majority like those who are too tall or too dark, etc.

    Because of the physical limitation of Zacchaeus, people looked down on him. It must have been so terrible for Zacchaeus to be bullied publicly and to be hurt emotionally. Zacchaeus must have felt the pain of rejection and disrespect towards him as a person. However, he was helpless against those playmates and other people who had bullied him.

    That emotional pain in him must have created a deep emptiness also within him. Thus, being bullied and rejected, Zacchaeus was in search of respect, of acceptance and of affirmation. But then, he could not gain those by just being who he was because people disrespected him for being who he was. Zacchaeus needed a way of getting his revenge. He won’t be able to get what he wanted if he would remain helpless and meek. He needed power and wealth to make those people who have bullied and rejected him to bow down to him.

    Zacchaeus grabbed the opportunity the Roman Empire could offer him. The Romans were feared, though hated by the Jews, but were forced to show their respect. People had to bow down to the powerful Romans. Thus, Zacchaeus made himself available in the service of the Romans. This was how Zacchaeus got his revenge against his fellow Jews. He became the chief tax collector and becoming one also meant becoming powerful and wealthy. 

    Now, Zacchaeus was above those who have bullied him. Zacchaeus could now play the bully himself. As a chief tax collector, he could get his revenge by raising the tax against those people whom he also despised. Because of this, people would now please him, affirm him, and show their respect to him because he had power over them.

    Perhaps, Zacchaeus would love to see the faces of those who have abused him emotionally to beg for mercy. He could now demand what he needed and force the people to accept him and pay respect to him.

    However, Zacchaeus was never peaceful. He was always restless. At the beginning, this was not what he wanted but because of those pain of rejection and emotional wound, he turned out to be corrupt and a monster in the eyes of the people.

    In the depths of his heart, what he wanted was complete acceptance from people which he never experienced. But then, he heard about this man Jesus. Jesus was a miracle worker, a famous preacher who healed the sick, raise the dead and forgave sinners. St. Luke described to us how Zacchaeus became curious about Jesus. This curiosity actually showed the desire of a human heart to see and encounter God. Yet, we are also confronted by the fact that it is the Lord first who tenderly seeks for us.

     However, because of the limitations Zacchaeus had, not just his physical limitation of being a short man but also because of his hardened heart, his emotional wounds, his corrupt practices and insecurities, these prevented to him see the Lord. But, these limitations of Zacchaeus did not discourage him to seek further the Lord. What Zacchaeus did was to ran ahead and climbed a tree that he may see Jesus. And truly, Zacchaeus saw the Lord. And Jesus saw him and called him.

    For the very first time in the life of Zacchaeus, he felt accepted and welcomed, the way he was, thus, he felt being loved. Jesus addressed him with respect and with dignity without condition, without pretensions, and without questions. This encounter with Jesus, changed Zacchaeus completely.

    This attitude reminds us of every human heart’s desire to encounter the Lord. We are made for God. God is imprinted in our hearts as we are created in God’s image and likeness. Let us be conscious on that. Let us be aware that we desire God.

    Yet, in our desire for God, there will be things that will prevent us to see and encounter God. This is what we find in the story of Zacchaeus. 

    What are those that prevent us to truly encounter God? 

    Perhaps, our fear and shame of admitting that we have sinned prevent us in truly meeting the Lord. Fear causes us low self-esteem and to hide because we are afraid of being judged by others, and by the people around us. Shame also prevents us to hold God’s love in our hearts and his forgiveness because we feel that we are not worthy. Our emotional hurts from the past could also hold us back especially when they hardened our hearts to be welcoming of others like that of Zacchaeus.

    Our arrogance can also prevent us in meeting the Lord. Our indifference stops us from true conversion. Let us ask then, ourselves,

     what are those things, addictions, or attitudes that may hinder us from truly seeking God?

    The story of Zacchaeus reminds us that we have actually the capacity to overcome anything that holds us back to see God. We are called to ran ahead and overcome those attitudes that prevent us from seeing Jesus. Let us look for a tree where we can climb over our sins and fear. Look for a friend whom you can share you own problems and struggles, come to the sacraments with a heart that truly desires the Lord, only then, that we are able to overcome those that prevent us from being near the Lord.

    We too are reminded in the story that though our heart desires for God,

    but God desires more to see us, to be with us.

    Thus, the Lord is constantly looking and searching for us. Jesus was in fact searching for Zacchaeus, searching for a sinner, indeed, we are all the Zacchaeus in the Gospel that Jesus has been searching for. Jesus desires to be with us and that we will be reconciled to him and will be healed from our past hurts and pains. Let us allow then the Lord to search us, to find us and to heal us.

    Hopefully, our encounter with Jesus will bring us also into that joy of forgiveness and assurance of love from God that we are forgiven, accepted and respected. This may hopefully lead us too to repair the damage that we have caused and to make amendments for our sins like Zacchaeus who promised Jesus to give to the poor half of his possessions and repay four times over those he extorted. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

  • Nothing outside ourselves can separate us from God

    Nothing outside ourselves can separate us from God

    October 31, 2019 – Thursday 30th Week in Ordinary Time

    (In this reflection, a young professional shares his experiences and affirms the power of the Holy Rosary that changed his life.)

    A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans (8:31b-39)

    Brothers and sisters:
    If God is for us, who can be against us?
    He did not spare his own Son
    but handed him over for us all,
    how will he not also give us everything else along with him?
    Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones?
    It is God who acquits us.
    Who will condemn?
    It is Christ Jesus who died, rather, was raised,
    who also is at the right hand of God,
    who indeed intercedes for us.
    What will separate us from the love of Christ?
    Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
    or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?
    As it is written:

    For your sake we are being slain all the day;
    we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered.

    No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly
    through him who loved us.
    For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
    nor angels, nor principalities,
    nor present things, nor future things,
    nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
    nor any other creature will be able to separate us
    from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

    A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (13:31-35)

    Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said,
    “Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.”
    He replied, “Go and tell that fox,
    ‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,
    and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.
    Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,
    for it is impossible that a prophet should die
    outside of Jerusalem.’

    “Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
    you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
    how many times I yearned to gather your children together
    as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
    but you were unwilling!
    Behold, your house will be abandoned.
    But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,
    Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

    Homily

    “If God is for us, who can be against us?… What will separate us from the love of God?”

    In fact, nothing outside ourselves can separate us from God. St. Paul affirms this to us today. Not the difficulties in our life, not those people who have hurt us, not those abuses, not those emotional hurts, not our sickness, not calamities and not even death. The love of God is so great that we are bound to him. God’s love is not something that is merely on the head but shown to us in most concrete ways in our life.

    This tells us how persistent God’s love is because he reveals himself in every moment of our life. That is why, Jesus’ love for you and for me is not merely a memory of a distant past, but his love is so alive and active. God is loving us now. Hopefully, we too will be able to realize and feel that even in the midst of so much mess we may have in our life at this very moment. God is wanting us to live and be alive in his presence. 

    Truly, nothing outside ourselves can separate us from God, but God does not control us. Because God does not impose himself on us, we remain free in our response to Him. If there is one things that can separate us, it is ourselves. When we decide to separate from God and hide ourselves from him, then, we are certainly distancing from his love. When this is done consciously, then, we surely separate ourselves from the very presence of God

    This is what we have heard from the Gospel today. Jesus was told to go away and leave because Herod planned to kill him. Many people in Jerusalem especially those in authority rejected him. Jesus was unwelcomed. This was a conscious rejection of God.

    Yet, even though Jesus was rejected, still Jesus persistently called them back. This tells us that even God is so persistent in inviting us. 

    Today, we also culminate the Rosary Crusade that our Redemptorist Youth Ministry since October 1. Every night we have been in one house to another to visit families in our communities in the parish. Thus, I would like you to listen to our youth sharer on how the Lord invites him to come closer through the Holy Rosary that we have been doing in the past month. Let us welcome Engr. Jun Paul Mamac Inocellas.

    In culminating this year Rosary Crusade by the Redemptorist Youth Ministry, let me share to you how the Rosary helps me in my life now as a young professional. 

    Way back in the year 2012 when the Rosary Crusade started, I was part of the Parish Youth Coordinating Council and a working student as well. I was a second-year college at that moment taking up my second course, the Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. I was struggling being a student and as an active youth member of the Parish. 

    I was emotionally and spiritually weak at that moment, gani dali ra ko madani sa mga temptation atong panahuna. At that time first semester and first term, I got my second failing grade and told myself “undang nalang kaya ko ug eskwela? Lisud naman kaayo ug maka luya!”. When I was about to tell my mother about my grades, na-unhan ko niya ug istorya “Dong! Ana imong papa gikapoy na daw siya ug pangitag kwarta” upat pami gi paeswkela ato nila. Nag padayon si mama, “Mao na Dong paning kamot jud sa pag eskwela samtang kaya sa imong papa bahalag lisud,” knowing that papa didn’t finished his elementaryi was moved at what Mama told me. 

    First Semester was about to end and it was October already syempre month of the rosary na. October 1, 2012 the Rosary Crusade started with a Holy Eucharist before we transferred it to the first Chapel. Before the rosary started, the prayer leader asked, “kinsa tong naay petition diha kay atong include sa rosary.” I wondered and asked, “is that possible?” I did not know that, kani laging October ra mo ampo ug rosary sauna unya painit ra ang apas. 

    So, I told the prayer leader about my petitions. First, was for more strength and healthy body to my parents. Second, I asked for the perseverance and endurance in my studies. After that, every time I felt sadness, emptiness, and got worried, I would pray the rosary and felt at peace and comfortable. 

    Since then, as I prayed the holy rosary more often, many things changed in my life. All my needs have been answered by God. And I appreciated the many things God gave to me. I am always protected, even when I do not specifically ask for it. The enemy flees the moment I call Mama Mary’s name. My outlook in life has changed and now I truly believed that anything is possible in Him. 

    I finished my degree in 7 years with five failing grades, passed the licensure exam and currently working on a real estate developer as a Civil Engineer. Thanks to Mama Mary for her intercession and praise God who has given me strength to conquer all failures in my life.

    I encourage you now to start your own journey. The Holy Rosary has changed my life, I hope it changes yours too. To end my Rosary Crusade story let me leave this to you as St. Josemaría Escrivá “The holy Rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you’ll be amazed at the results.” 

    What Jun Paul shared to us is a manifestation how God could be so subtle in bringing us back. God is subtle and gentle yet so persistent. God’s love for us is indeed so great and tremendous that he would do everything to bring us closer to him.

    Difficult situations are turned into graces. Failures are turned into opportunities. Friendships are turned into doors of conversion. Prayers are turned into blessings.

    Whatever difficulty we are experiencing at this moment, never lose hope with yourself or with God because God never loses his hope in us. Let God call you back, and let Mary, Our Mother of Perpetual Help to bring you closer to Jesus. Hinaut pa. 

    Jom Baring, CSsR