Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Category: Homilies

  • As ONE

    As ONE

    June 4, 2023 – Solemnity of the Holy Trinity

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060423.cfm)

    A group of mountain climbers found themselves stranded near the highest peak. As the air grew thin and the weather got colder, they started to feel cold and weak. One of them made a fire, that brought them to gather and contribute whatever they have, to sustain the fire. As they began to enjoy its heat & warmth, they pulled out and shared not only all the food that they have, but also their stories and dreams in life with one another. In effect, whatever they shared before the campfire sustain and inspire them anew to move on with their journey after rest. However, one of them decided to be on his own, took a stick with a fire, and isolated himself from the group. Eventually, being away from the group, his fire extinguished, that made him sleepy, cold and weak again.

    With the team, we get strength and inspiration. Away from the team, we get tired, weak, and dispirited in our life-journey. We are in this together. We heal as One.

    As Christians, we praise God in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. We give glory to God Father, Son, & the Holy Spirit. We proclaim our creed of faith: “I believe in God, the Father…in Jesus Christ… in the Holy Spirit.” At its very core, unlike any other religions, our Christian faith is Trinitarian, i.e. we uniquely believe in God, the Father-Son-Holy Spirit. As we honor today the Holy Trinity, perhaps now we consider what it means for us to believe in the Trinitarian God.

    First, the word covenant simply would mean, “coming together”. As God is making covenant with us, God wants to “come together for us/with us/in us”. In God the Father, we come to believe a “God-for us” who chooses us to be His own people. In God the Son, we come to believe Emmanuel Jesus, a “God-with us” who makes known to us God’s love for us, and how to love God in return. In God the Holy Spirit, we come to believe a “God-in us”, who inspires, directs, and sustains us in life of faith. To believe in the Holy Trinity then is to “come together” – to be in COVENANT with God, much as God is in covenant with us. As God is for us/with us/in us, we must also be people for God, with God, and in God.

    Second, in the Lord’s ascension, we are reminded that the risen Lord is not-finished yet. As today’s gospel reminds us, His mission of salvation for us is still a work-in progress, and is now a product of the concerted-effort, team work of the communion of the Holy Trinity. Our salvation is the dynamic actions OF our God, the Father who chooses us to be His own, THROUGH God the Son who is loving us always, and WITH the God the Holy Spirit who inspires, directs, and sustains us in life. “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life” (Jn 3:16)

    To believe in the Holy Trinity is thus to be in COMMUNION with God. As God acts and works as one for our salvation, so also we must be in sync, in tune with God’s concerted saving actions for our salvation. Thus, we not only give glory to them but also we are in sync with the works OF the Father, THROUGH the Son, WITH the Holy Spirit for our salvation. Jesus gifted us with such communion with God as our pathways to our redemption.

    Third, as the Lord mandated us to proclaim our faith to all nations, He particularly challenges us to make disciples in the name of the Holy Trinity. Making disciples while proclaiming our faith to all nations would mean helping ourselves and one another to be in constant covenant with God, and in partnership-communion with God’s work of salvation for us. To believe in the Holy Trinity then is to lead our lives and faith as Church, a COMMUNITY of faith. As God is and works as Community, we too must also be and acts as Church, a community of Christian faith, living and witnessing God’s being and acting in our lives.

    The Holy Trinity shows us as Church how to be and act as God’s own People. As much as God be and acts together, to have a Trinitarian faith we too must be and act in Covenant, in Communion and in Community with God and one another. As Church then, we must be faithful people for God, with God, and in God – witnessing our faith in sync with the labor of the Father, through the Son, with the Holy, and living our lives as church community making disciples and proclaiming our faith.

    Remember “the community is the bearer of God’s Salvation”. Salvation thus happens in the context of the church – not of individuals, but of our families & faith-communities – our BECs (Basic Ecclessial communities). We are God’s own chosen People, not chosen individuals. We all are to be in covenant, in communion and in community with Him and His church. With the Holy Trinity & church, we are strong and inspired. Without and apart from the Holy Trinity & church, we are weak and dispirited. Again, we are all in these together. We heal as ONE.

    May we, as God’s own, not be isolated & separated from the Holy Trinity and God’s church, but instead always be connected and involved with God’s life and labors of salvation for all nations and peoples, most especially during these new normal periods.

    So may it be. Hinaut pa unta. Kabay pa. Amen.

  • GIFTED

    GIFTED

    May 28, 2023 – Pentecost Sunday

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/052823-Day.cfm)

    We do know how it feels to receive a gift from someone special. Receiving a simple token of gift and/or few words of call or posts from someone special could really make our day and even help us get through the day. Because we know behind each gift-received is not only the given-gift but also the giver of the gift, and the act of giving itself. Meaning, significant in receiving gift is more than just what we received but also the one who gave it and how it was given. (Gift-Giver-Giving) We really appreciate then even just the simple thought and action of gift-giving from someone special in our life. Such gift-receiving given by someone special could surely offer us inspiration, love and faith in our day to day life.

    For these coming three Sundays we will come to appreciate and value the Gifts of the Risen Lord to us now His disciples. Today, the Gift of the Holy Spirit, next Sunday is the gift of the Most Holy Trinity, and the Sunday after next is the gift of the His Body and Blood. These are His special gifts to us and inheritances for us to live through and persevere with our faith-life journey in our day to day lives as His witnesses to the world. Remember Jesus said: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”. The gift of Holy Trinity as our Way, the gift of the Holy Spirit as our Truth, & the gift of the Body and Blood is our Life.

    In the gospel today, we hear Jesus saying: “Receive the Holy Spirit”. Church tradition has it that fifty days after His resurrection (ten day after His ascension), on the day of Pentecost, the disciples received the promised gift of Holy Spirit to the church, and inspired them to speak in different languages to proclaim the Good News of God’s salvation. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, people from different cultures then and until now are able to speak, hear and understand each other’s faith in their own native tongues. Because of such experience, today marks the birthday of the Church – the day of birth, the day when the church becomes alive. The gift of the Holy Spirit is thus very essential in the life of the Church. Like a soul to a body, the church is dead without the movements of the spirit, as well as the spirit cannot inspire our faith-life without the church. We, the church needs the Holy Spirit to live as well as the Holy Spirit needs our Church to offer us salvation, meaning and direction in life.

    As we celebrate today Pentecost Sunday, the day when Lord has given us His gift of Holy Spirit & the birthday of our Church, we might ponder as well on the meaning of the Lord’s offer and gift of Holy Spirit into our lives now. In other words, what does it mean for us today to receive & live with His Holy Spirit?

    Receiving the Holy Spirit, first of all, is to be IN the Spirit of Jesus, for through the Holy Spirit we acquire the Lord’s inspiration and we are now In the God’s mind. In the Holy Spirit, we are also motivated by the Lord – mindful and inspired (i.e. In-spirit) to believe and follow Him in our lives today. Blessed are we then for through the Holy Spirit, we are one in His Spirit. Sa DIWA, tayo ay nasa kanya at Siya ay nasa atin. Sa diwa, kita Iya, ug ato Siya.

    Receiving the Holy Spirit is also to be WITH the Spirit of Jesus for through the Holy Spirit we enjoy the Lord’s love and we are now in the God’s heart. With Holy Spirit, we come to know love and to be in love, for He loves us in our lives. Beloved are we then for through the Holy Spirit, we are one in His Heart. Sa PUSO, tayo ay Kanyang kasama at siya ay kasama atin. Sa kasingkasing, kita Iyang kauban, ug ato Siyang kauban.

    Receiving the Holy Spirit is to be FOR the Spirit of Jesus too, for through the Holy Spirit we partake in the Lord’s mission, and we are now in the God’s will and way. For the Holy Spirit, we come to be steadfast and faithful in our missions in life, for He appointed and sent us to be His witnesses in the world. Encouraged are we then for through the Holy Spirit, we are one in His Will. Sa KALOOBAN, tayo ay para kanya at siya ay para atin.  Sa Kinaiya, kita alang Niya ug Siya alang nato.

    Like receiving a gift from special someone, receiving the gift of the HS offers us inspiration, love and faith in our daily lives. Blessed, Beloved and Encouraged are we then to receive the Holy Spirit – as our Advocate in our lives, for through the HS, we are in one Spirit, Heart and Will of the Lord. Kaisa sa Diwa, Puso at Kalooban ng Panginoon. Usa sa diwa, kasingkasing ug kinaiya sa atong Ginoo.

    Our liturgy today reminds us that the Lord has already given and offered, as well as, will continually give and offer us His gift of Holy Spirit. The challenge for us now is to invite & receive the Holy Spirit into our daily lives these days. Same as way as Easter season calls us to invite the risen Lord to “Come and Stay with us”, Pentecost challenges us to Invite and Be a Host to the Holy Spirit in our daily ordinary lives, and allow the Holy Spirit to bless, love and encourage us and in effect, Recreate, Renew and Recharge us always.

    As people of Lord’s resurrection and of the Holy Spirit, we now invoke and invite the Holy Spirit into our lives as we pray:

    Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and Enkindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your spirit and we shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. Amen.

  • LDR – Long-Distance Relationships

    LDR – Long-Distance Relationships

    May 21, 2023 – Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/052123-Ascension.cfm)

    For those who are into (LDR) Long-Distance relationships, especially with migrants who have lived and worked abroad away from our families and loved ones, separation and homesickness have been a constant struggle in their daily lives. Experiences of separation and homesickness are indeed never been easy to deal and content with in our journey through life. Difficult it may be, but we also know that our day to day wrestling with separation and homesickness could also provide us opportunities for growth in meaning and values in life. Because at times, in our separation and homesickness, we may become more in touch and conscious of who are most important people in our own life, and what, why and how are they valuable in one’s life. Separation and homesickness could be a chance for us to discover, claim and commit once again to what is important and essential in our own lives.

    At times in life, like “one cannot see the forest for the trees” we need then to detach, separate and be distant from our attachments in order to see and discover once again for ourselves the values, principles and meanings that are most dear to us now and in effect inspire us to move on forward with life. As Henri Nouwen would say: “What is most close, most intimate, most present often cannot be experienced directly but only with a certain distance.” In other words, separation and homesickness can move us to be more appreciative, responsible and hopeful in life. Thus, “Absence makes the heart grows fonder”. Ang mawalay nakakabusog rin ng puso. Ang mabulag makatambok pud og kasingkasing. This can be the upside of life-separation and homesickness.

    However, the downside of separation and homesickness is “Out of sight, out of mind”. Ang mawalay nakakawala ng landas at nakakasira ng ulo rin. Ang mabulag makasaag ug makabuang pud. If you don’t see, you don’t mind, and you even don’t care. Separation and homesickness can also render us directionless, meaningless and hopeless in life.

    Crucial then in our experience of separation and homesickness is the once-again & always search, giving importance and making a promise to our values, meanings and missions in life.

    Today, we celebrate the 2nd Glorious Mystery, the Ascension of the Lord. Tradition has it that forty days after the risen Lord appearances before his disciples, the Lord has ascended back to Our Father, leaving behind and separated away from us His disciples. This would mean that separation and homesickness share in our life as well as in our faith, as part of our life-story and our salvation history as well. Like the experience of the two disciples in Emmaus where the Lord appeared to them and then disappeared when they recognized Him, Salvation also requires the Lord’s resurrection and departure (His coming and going into our own lives) – that part and parcel of our faith and life story is the paradox of homecoming and separation, of the hellos and goodbyes. And during moments of departure and distance, separation and homesickness – though with a downside of pain, anguish & of losing direction, could also be the upside and opportunity to discover and claim once again what is importance and valuable in our life as well as what is our mission in life now, that is, our life-values and life-missions.

    Our readings remind us that in the Lord’s ascension, the Lord empowered and gave his disciples the task and mission to be His witnesses in the world, saying “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them” with the assurance “I am with you always forever.” This explains why the Lord’s ascension is more than just about the Lord’s departure, separation and disappearances but more so about once again and anew finding, claiming, committing and fulfilling our life-missions.

    We pray then, that like the two disciples of Emmaus, may our usual departure and distance from our loved ones and the usual Lord’s departure and distance from us, move and inspire us to go on discovering and upholding our values, principles, and meanings in life, as well as fondly reclaim and actively fulfill our hopes and missions in life. Amen. 

  • Grow Up In Love

    Grow Up In Love

    May 14, 2023 – Sixth Sunday of Easter

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051423.cfm)

    “They said if you love someone, you set them free. If they come back again, till the end, you are meant to be.”

    Does it ring a bell? Sounds familiar? That is a line from a popular song sung by Barbara Streisand and Barry Manilow called “Some good things never last.” Such line tells us more about love. It is also telling us about growing up in life.

    Because we all know, big part of life is GROWING UP. We ourselves grow up – hopefully. And we help others to grow up as well. And we have surely seen how we and others have grown up all these years. Growing up is about really helping oneself and others to help us and them grow up in maturity.

    And the commandment of Jesus to love one another has a lot of things to do with growing up. Same as helping others grow is love, to love also means to help oneself and others to grow up in life. Loving would entail giving oneself and each other a chance to GROW, i.e. to allow each other to stand in one’s feet, and be responsible for one’s own and other’s growth.

    Loving yourself means not only pampering yourself but letting go of your securities and giving yourself a chance to grow. Loving others would also mean trusting others enough to be on their own so that they can make a stand for their lives. That’s why, in loving others, set fee – let go, let be & let grow.

    This is very true in a Parent – Child relationship. Because and out of their love for their children, a parent must learn how to stand back, (not to abandon or reject them) but in order to help and give the children a chance – an opportunity to stand on their own and be responsible for their own life-growth. Just like, a child cannot stand in his own two feet and walk, if & when the parent does not allow the child to stand up and walk.

    Experiences of standing back, letting go, saying goodbye, setting free have never been an easy part of growing up as well as loving others. Imagine how hard it was for you and your parent when you had your first step, your first day in school, your first jeepney ride on your own, your first camping, your first date, your first boyfriend/girlfriend, your first job, your wedding day, as well as your first child. But we all know that we must be given a chance and to go through those experiences in order for us to grow up and learn how to live life and love life, because we know deep inside that loving is not about falling in love but growing up in love. We love not because we fall in love, but because we grow in love.

    This is what Jesus is trying to teach us in our gospel today. As his paalam, panamilit, last farewell, mi ultimo adios to his apostles, Jesus is trying to tell them that because of his love for them, he should leave them behind, not to forsake them, but to give them a chance to grow in His love – to practice the love he has taught them and to experience for themselves the Father’s love he had preached them. In other words, as he goes back to the Father, Jesus has given them then & us now the opportunity to grow in our faith, and to witness and share that faith to others, just like what happened to the apostles in our first reading. Out of love and in order for us to grow in that love, Jesus – as parent, guide, leader, good shepherd, true vine Himself has to step back, let go, say goodbye, set us free to love God for ourselves and help others love God for themselves.

    It is just like Jesus is saying his farewell panamilit to us now, “Guys, I have already taught you, guided you what to do. I have already done my part. Now is your time to do your part. Just carry out what I have told and taught you: Love God with all your heart and love one another as yourself, same as I have loved you. By the way, don’t worry. I will never abandon you. I will be always with you in the Holy Spirit.”

    Allowing the risen Lord to be part of our daily lives has always been an invitation and challenge of Easter for us. It is both a call and a dare to leave behind to our comfort zones and say goodbye to our usual normal ways, to detach and set ourselves from our attachments, and to engage into an exodus with the Lord towards growth in faith and life – in other words, to grow up in love.

    We pray then that as we grow to become responsible disciples for the Lord, may we also grow up responsibly in our faith and life, and in love for Him and others.

    So. May it be. Amen. 

  • HELLO, LOVE, STAY

    HELLO, LOVE, STAY

    A Reflection by Rizza Mae O. Malalay – Youth Mission Volunteer

    “People said, there are places where we stay longer. There are also places that are mere stopovers. Just like Hong Kong. So you have to make the most out of your time. Because, no one stays here forever” (Sabi nila may mga lugar na pangmatagalan. May mga lugar na dinadaanan lang. Parang Hong Kong. Kaya bawat oras dapat sulitin mo kasi walang nagtatagal dito.) This is the opening line from the trailer of the movie Hello, Love, Goodbye released last 2019.

    Some people in the social media used its audio in their reels/videos, showcasing the placeS they had been and the things they have done. It makes me kind of nostalgic which leads me in this two lingering questions. First, how will you know whether it is forever or only a stopover? Second, how can you get the most out of your time?

    I was recently part of the Davao Redemptorist Mission Team in their Icon Mission in Maco, Davao de Oro. The Our Mother of Perpetual Help Church in Maco is a Diocesan Shrine. Though it is the Diocesan Shrine, yet, not all chapels know and understand the icon’s background and its elements. They also do not practice novena in their chapels.

    In one of our activities, we introduced the house blessings and the enthronement of the Icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in their altars. And during those times, there was this Nanay who lived not too far away just an hour and a half of hiking. People in that area would say that it is too far.

    Anyway, Nanay invited us to their home for the house blessing and the enthronement of the icon, which our team gladly accepted. We went there with Nanay’s niece and her granddaughters. When we arrived, Nanay Landa and her husband Tatay Ernesto were delighted. Nanay asked Tatay to catch us some chickens for us to eat and for us to bring. They lived in a small hut in the middle of the coconut trees, no water supply nor electricity. Nanay shared that a lot of bikers would visit them for two things, first, because of the the trail and second, the beautiful overlooking  view of the Davao Gulf, the Municipality of Maco and the City of Tagum.

    During our lunch, stories and laughter were shared. We took a nap as well and rested for a while. We spent about 4 hours there and when we bid our goodbyes. Nanay cannot contain how grateful she was that even though their home was far, we took the time and effort to visit them. She was on the verge of tears when I waved goodbye.

    In another mission area I also experienced riding “skylab motorcycle,” a two-wheeled motor with planks on both sides which can carry four persons. Riding on the skylab motor was never easy at first, not to mention that you need a balance on the other side. I got nervous since the road was bumpy. I also found it hard to choose which side to sit. If I will go the right, I was scared that snakes might jump from nowhere or insects from the leaves of the trees will crawl on me or I can collect twigs for firewoods or worst a branch from a tree might stab me accidentally 😅. On the left side is simply a cliff. So, I chose the former. We were praying and laughing at the same time but what really caught my attention was the toddler who was with us. Her father was the driver, and she was sitting on the tank of the skylab motor. While we were praying and laughing, the toddler was just chilling there and looked at us as if questioning us why we were so noisy. It was so fun that we rode skylab for the 2nd and 3rd times. After those experiences, riding the skylab motor became so easy for me then.

    Those encounters brought me to these realizations:      

    • To Jesus Through Mary. This is one of our modules. That their love for Mary brings them closer to Jesus. I was also moved when one time while doing the house blessing and enthronement of the Icon, a woman who was pregnant bursted in tears while we were reading the prayer and while holding the icon in her hands. I may not know what she was going through but I know that God touched her on that day through Mary. May my love for Mary inspire me to be self-giving, a love that will inspire me not only to remain in the state of loving but also in serving.
    • To Trust and Have Faith in God. It was just like riding the skylab. God is my driver and my balance is my principles in life. If the road becomes bumpy and I’m scared and not secured at all, and the only way for me to save myself is to jump, then I will definitely get into an accident. I am reminded now to be like the toddler, who knows her father well and to trust him above all. I am challenged to know Christ more in order for me to trust and have faith in Him more that whatever comes my way, I will always be and feel safe in His presence.

    Going back to my first question, I am reminded now with one of the lines shared with us by Ate Portia in one of her sessions, “We may be in this world but we are not of this world“. Change is constant and living in this world is not forever, no matter how much I love the place, I am just a passerby. Time will come I will become a memory, so I need to make most of my time in this world, and how can I possibly do it? Just by simply living in a purposeful and meaningful life. Doing what gives me a purpose and doing what gives life its meaning.

    I pray that the love of God will stay with me forever and that I will be able to radiate this love and joy in me with others.