Peace! Kalilintad! Shalom!

Category: Season of Easter

  • God intervenes to bring us comfort and confidence

    God intervenes to bring us comfort and confidence

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    May 22, 2020 – Friday of the 6th Week of Easter

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/052220.cfm)

    One day I received a sick call from a hospital asking for an anointing of the sick for a dying man in his 90s. Honestly, I personally do not like going to sick calls to the dying because of the emotional baggage that I may carry when I leave the room. Aside from the scary machines and tubes applied to the patient, it is surely heart-breaking to see a dying person holding on to his/her last remaining breathes. The sorrow and the grief of the family members who gather around the suffering patient would also creep into my heart and mind. However, I have to appear “okay” in order to do the rites properly and accompany the dying and the family in prayer.

    Yet, with this particular old man who was holding on to his last breathes, there was something different in him that caught my attention. Behind his transparent respirator, he was smiling as soon as I introduced myself to him. He was actually smiling during the whole rite while looking at me. He was fully conscious but cannot move. He was definitely in pain at that moment. He too must have been so loved by his family gathered around him. They were keeping to themselves, as much as possible their cries, as I did the rite and told him to go in peace.

    After the rite, he removed gently his respirator to tell me something (this happened before Covid-19 brought disaster in our community). He told me with a smile (saying in the local language), “Father, thank you. I will go now.” The family members could not hide anymore their tears as they too heard those words. It was truly heart-breaking that I have to keep myself from breaking down in tears to assure him of my presence. But, I also felt the confidence behind those words. This old man was confident that he was not alone. His loved ones were with him and the Lord was with him too. He was not afraid anymore despite the deep sorrow and pain at that very moment. He knew that after this, everything will turn into joy.

    True enough, as I left the room and bid my goodbye, fifteen minutes after, the parish office received a call to inform me that the old man has rested in peace.

    This is a testimony that completely trusts in God’s presence and promise of joy. It is a particular situation and a concrete human experience of struggle and confusion, of fear and anxiety, of pain and sorrow. Moreover, such human experience paved the way for the Lord to intervene and bring comfort and confidence.

    The readings today convey this message to us. In the Acts of the Apostles, Paul was mistreated by those who refused to believe in Jesus. He was harassed and was accused wrongly to put him in prison and to death. With this kind of situation, Paul must have been so confused and afraid for his life. He must have started to question the Lord for sending him into this kind of trouble in his ministry.

    Consequently, such difficult situation of Paul became the entry point of Jesus to assure him and to give him comfort and confidence. Jesus appeared in a vision to Paul. The Lord told Paul, “Do not be afraid, continue speaking and do not be silent. I am with you. No one will harm you.”

    In the same way, Jesus also gave this assurance to his disciples. This conversation with Jesus happened just before the Lord was betrayed and arrested in Chapter 18 in this Gospel of John. Jesus prepared his disciples for the horrible and unimaginable events to happen in the coming days.  Thus, the words of Jesus, “You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy,” are the Lord’s assurance to us. 

    We might be struggling at this very moment. There might be some of us who experienced being humiliated, harassed, oppressed or abused. Or perhaps who are ill at the moment, or in trouble at work, perhaps lost a job or failed in business because of the economic crisis brought by Covid-19. There might be some of us too who are now having problems in their relationship or who are in great sorrow for losing a loved one during this pandemic.

    With all of these difficult and painful human experiences, God also comes to us through this sacrament, through the scriptures, through the love and support of our family and friends and through the gift of the Holy Spirit abiding in us, that God intervenes to bring comfort and confidence in us. 

    As Paul and the disciples were comforted by Jesus, the Lord also is telling us now, “Do not be afraid, go on and continue because I am with you. Believe that this sorrow you have now will pass away and will turn into joy.”

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    Moreover, this calls us today to truly believe that God is the God of our life. Then, in that faith, we shall see the many good things we enjoy in this life despite the many difficulties and hardships we encounter. When we also truly believe that God is the resurrection and the life that we also begin to become true Christians who see light in the midst of darkness, who find joy in the midst of sorrow, who capture a smile in the midst of pain, who embrace hope in the midst of impossibility, who find healing in the midst of so much sickness and who find life in death.

    And again, this is what I found in the life of that old man. Though I had a short encounter with him but that gave me a profound realization of God’s presence. Through the person of that old man, God also intervened in my life to bring comfort and confidence in me.

    Hopefully, each of us too will allow God to intervene in our life today. We may allow God to be present there in our struggles and sorrow, in our pain and anxiety. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

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  • Grace and Freedom in letting go

    Grace and Freedom in letting go

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    May 21, 2020 – Thursday of the 6th Week of Easter

    Click here for the readings (http://cms.usccb.org/bible/readings/052120-day.cfm)

    When a thing or a person becomes important, essential and vital in our life, we also find it hard to let go of it when time calls us to. Moreover, there are also cases when a thing or a person, or an experience, though not so important and vital in our daily existence, that it becomes inseparable from us. Thus, when it becomes so attached to us emotionally/psychologically, we find it then, so difficult to let go.

    When I was already about 6 years old, I would still carry my baby bottle with me and drink any liquid – milk, coffee, water or soda out of that. Once, I brought it with me at school during my Kindergarten and then my older sister found it out. The next day as I searched for my baby bottle in its usual place, I could not find it. The baby bottle was gone. My sister threw it away. So cruel! 🙂

    I was so mad and cried really hard for throwing that away. Perhaps, I thought the world was about to end at that time of losing my “dear baby bottle.” Yet, the day after that and the next day and the following days seemed to be just okay without that baby bottle.

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    Now, I realized, I must have been so attached to that baby bottle that letting go of it was surely difficult. In one way or another, others may find it challenging also those that have become so attached to them. These are not just limited with material things but also our dreams and aspirations in life, relationships and even our memories.

    Thus, when we talk about letting go, we certainly find it  difficult especially with those that we love so much or so attached to our emotions. Our basic tendency is to keep those closer to us because we do not like them to leave from us. That is why, when we are confronted with the reality of loss, then, we experience pain. It breaks our heart. We become anxious and fearful because life may not be the same.

    As a response, we may refuse to let go and in the process become controlling, suffocating and manipulating particularly towards those people we do not want to let go. Moreover, we could become paranoid and obsessed because we continue to linger and attach ourselves with a painful memory, or to a material thing or in a desire.

    What really is the concern here?

    Going into the process of letting go and the letting go itself is what makes our life wonderful. It is in letting go that we actually find more life and express life, to find love and express love. This manifests grace and freedom in us.

    This is what Jesus was asking from his disciples. The disciples who thought that they have lost Jesus when he was crucified rejoiced at his resurrection. However, when Jesus told them that soon, he will no longer be with but will go back to his father, the disciples also became anxious and fearful. They wanted to keep Jesus closer to them. The disciples believed that they were more confident if Jesus was nearby. They were not willing to let him go.

    However, this is not what God wants. Jesus had to go so that he will be able to join and be one with his Father in heaven. It will only be in this way that Jesus will be able to bring us closer to the Father. By returning to the Father, Jesus will open a way for us to the heart of the Father. By this also, Jesus will become ever closer to each one of us, closer than what we can imagine because Jesus will be in our hearts and minds.

    Hence, the words of Jesus to his disciples, “A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me,” means that Jesus becomes ever present in each of us.

    In this process of letting go of the Lord, then, the disciples also allowed God to work in them. This was how the early Church found grace and freedom in letting go.

    Today, we are also asked to let go whatever is hindering us to encounter the Lord. We may ask ourselves, “What is it that I continue to linger? What is that attachment that I find difficult to let go for me to grow?”

    In identifying these, let us also ask the grace to courageously let go of those that hinder us so that we may find the grace for more life, more love and freedom. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

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  • On Idols and Obsessions

    On Idols and Obsessions

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    May 20, 2020 : Wednesday – 6th week of Easter

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/052020.cfm)

    The Community Quarantine and Lockdowns caused the closing of malls, shops, small and big businesses. We are all asked to “stay at home” as a preventive and protective measure against the Corona Virus. At the beginning of this “stay at home,” more and more people also found ways to entertain themselves while staying at home. One of the most popular entertainments that one could easily observe now is how people where drawn towards their screens to watch South Korean Drama Series.

    Somehow, the audiences “idolized” South Korean actors and actresses because of their good looks, good acting qualities and the good chemistry that a particular couple show in a movie. With these qualities of South Korean actors and actresses, they captured their audiences internationally. They are truly entertaining that netizens began to post on Facebook mimicking how South Koreans speak, dressing and wearing make-up just like famous South Korean actors and actresses do, posting memes and short clips of the series they have watched. This craze is all over Facebook.

    From https://ramenswag.com/crash-landing-on-you-quotes/5/
    From https://images.app.goo.gl/rSdD1KCATcpoV5Ca9

    This form of idolizing an actor or actress or a culture is a kind of admiration. However, there is another form of having idols that can be pretty serious. This is what St. Paul identified in our first reading today. 

    Paul was in Athens and saw the many idols the Athenians had. The Greeks were known to have many gods and goddesses. Yet, Paul also realized how deeply religious the people were because of that expression. But what touched Paul the most was the shrine dedicated to the “Unknown god.” With this, Paul being a witness and apostle of the Risen Jesus had the responsibility to introduce the Athenians to the one True God.

    Paul preached to them about Jesus, the Son of God, who became like us, and who lived among us. For it is through Jesus that we are saved by dying on the cross and by rising from the dead. However, this is the very reason as well why many of the Athenians did not believe him, only few of them.

    Many could not accept that kind of God who died for us and was being resurrected. This was something beyond their imagination and beyond any human explanation. But what hindered them also to believe was their own absorption of their many idols, of their many gods. This was something, they could not give up.

    This form of “idolizing” was not a mere admiration but rather, obsession.

    Though this happened long time ago, yet, at present this reality is still happening. Idolatry is still creeping in our culture today. We are still somehow captivated by some idols in one way or another that make God a lesser priority, making our Christian life and faith less significant. We may ask, in what way then?

    When a thing or a person is being loved, wanted, desired and even treasured and enjoyed “more” than God to the point that we have become obsessed, then this could be the “idol” that we worship. That could be your boyfriend or girlfriend or even your good looks. It could be the approval of other people, your attractiveness that tend to seek recognition from others. It could also be your successful career or business or work. Or could be your own passion in sports or any hobbies.

    Nonetheless, reflecting on these, they are actually not evil or bad in themselves. These things are good but they become bad when they do not serve the purpose – which is to be closer to God, by knowing him better, by being grateful to him and by being generous to others. 

    In one way or another, these forms of idolatry are also forms of addictions in us. It means that we may tend to be selfish, prioritizing only our own satisfaction – as a result, we will become insecure and not free at all because we are imprisoned by our own obsessions.

    This is not what God wants us to be. God wants us to be free by knowing and loving him more and more. And so, let us remember what Jesus told us in the Gospel. “The spirit of truth will lead us; the spirit will guide us to discover God and know him better.” 

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    What do those words mean to us now? Jesus wants us to pray, to converse with God truly and that is not just to tell God what we “want” but also to ask God what God “wants” for us; not my own “selfish desires”, but to ask what is “God’s desire for me.”

    Today, I would like to ask you to include in your prayers, to ask God to help us identify our actions, attitudes or things that preoccupy us. This may hopefully lead us to recognize our “idols” that hinder us to know God better, to be closer to Him and that continually prevent us to be generous to others.

    Let us ask, then, the guidance and prayers of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, who is a model for all of us. Hinaut pa. 

    Jom Baring, CSsR

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  • When the Lord opens our heart

    When the Lord opens our heart

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    May 17, 2020 – Monday of the 6th Week of Easter

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051820.cfm)

    “Lydia” is a very popular name among women. Lydia with its Greek origin, actually means “kind.” And among the many Lydias I met, there was one particular Lydia that I could not forget.

    I met “Nanay Lydia,” as what she was commonly called by many, in one of my mission areas when I was still a seminarian. Nanay Lydia was a simple old woman, widowed but surrounded by her children and grandchildren who loved he very much. Despite her poverty, she was the first one to offer her humble home to accommodate us, missionaries.

    It was in her home that I experienced, that joy and contentment in life is very possible even with less material things but filled with love. She was very much cherished by her children and grandchildren. She was highly respected by their neighbors. And as I stayed in her humble house for few days, I received so much kindness from her.

    “Kindness expressed in her grateful response to people around her was her way of life.”

    This attitude from Nanay Lydia is found in her knowledge of the Lord. Her knowledge of the Lord was not out of theological studies but through her experiences of pain and joy, sorrow and comfort, and of death and life. And according to her, she brought all these experiences always into her prayers. This was how she would see things clearly, feel and be comforted of God’s presence in her life. Through her prayers, she listened to God, who also opened her heart.

    This woman reminds me of another Lydia, whom the Acts of the Apostles speaks today. Lydia was one of the women who listened to Paul’s preaching. She was particularly described as a God-fearing woman. However, what was more interesting was her attitude to Paul’s preaching. She listened.

    She welcomed what Paul was saying and by doing that, the Lord opened her heart. It was not her who opened her heart to the Lord. That small inclination from her “in listening” allowed the Lord to come into her heart and opened her heart.

    And when the Lord opened her heart, she began to see clearly how God worked in her life through the preaching of Paul. As a response, she asked for baptism, meaning, she wanted to commit her life to the Lord who opened her heart. Her commitment now was transformed into a generous and grateful action. She welcomed the Apostles, Paul and his companions into her home.

    This is how the Gospel of John is being unfolded to us today also. The Spirit of Truth that Lydia received made her a witness of God’s kindness. Because of the kindness that she experienced from Jesus, reflected in her name, Lydia, she too was inspired to become a witness of that kindness. Her generous and hospitable action to Paul and his companions was a grateful response to God’s kindness.

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    This is the invitation for us today. We are also called to allow the Lord to open our hearts. It is when we listen to God speaking to us through our Sacraments in the Church, through the Bible, through our experiences and daily affairs with the world, that we allow God to challenge us to see God’s surprises in our life.

    Hopefully, as we allow God to open our heart, then, we too will be moved to become a witness of God’s kindness, or goodness or faithfulness to others. Thus, let that be expressed in our actions and words as we struggle today to live in this prolonged community quarantine. This kind of witnessing is very much needed today. This very difficult situation may inspire us then, to become true witnesses of the Resurrected Christ. Hinaut pa.

    Jom Baring, CSsR

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  • Life amidst and after COVID-19

    Life amidst and after COVID-19

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    May 17, 2020 – Sixth Sunday of Easter

    Click here for the readings (http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/051720.cfm

    Life under quarantine is without a doubt, difficult. For almost a quarter of the year 2020 now, we find our world on lockdown amid pandemic realities. Definitely these are trying and uncertain times for all of us, humanity as the world we live in is now sick and under serious threat. We find ourselves now limited and deprived – reduced to mere essentials. As we adapt to the challenges of our today’s changing world, we cannot help but be somehow resigned to the possibility that “our life ahead will never be the same again”. And as we also discern with the “new” normal with its required distancing, limited mobility and isolation that would greatly affect our social relations and dealings, we also grapple with basic question: “Is and will there be Life amidst and after COVID-19 2020?”

    Recently a Youtube video-clip called “The Great Realisation” by Probably Tomfoolery about Life in 2020 Pandemic world have circulated around and caught the attention of the social media. Here in a poetic bedtime story manner, and at the hindsight, the father tells the story and describes to his son the causes and effects of COVID-19 virus to humanity. While it projects and promises a much better humane and personal relationships among peoples in our tomorrow’s world,  particularly the following conversion in the video is worth pondering…

    Son: But why did it take a virus to bring the people back together?

    Dad: Sometimes you got to get sick, my boy, before you start feeling better.

    Sometimes you got to get sick, my boy, before you start feeling better.

    Such a profound wisdom. Definitely in changing world during these trying times, our life will never be the same again, …. but our life will be much better and anew than before. And part and parcel of this change for the better life is the virus and sickness that we have to go through and overcome in preparation for our better life-ahead.

    As St. Peter suggests, “better suffer doing good than doing evil”, the bitter herb/taste of medicine, painful injections, the life-threatening surgery, the chemotherapy treatment, dialysis or regiment of blood transfusion – the whole sickness we go through is part of the whole healing process towards our well-being, and better lifestyle.    This is paradox of our life: Our present trials, sufferings, difficulties and uncertainties in life do prepare and brings out the best and  better version in us. In other words, “Sometimes we got to get sick to start to get better.”

    In preparing them for the suffering ahead, Jesus in our gospel challenges his disciples to keep His commandment, which is to love one another as He has loved them. Here Jesus did not only warn his disciples of the coming difficulties His persecution, suffering and death will cause them, but also prepares them the implications and responsibilities of His coming resurrection. And for Jesus, His commandment of “Loving one another” is the key essential attitude and necessary behavior for His disciples, and us now to surpass the difficulties and challenges of His cross and resurrection into our constantly changing  lives.  

    Our love and loving, however, must be “as I have loved you”, which is thus to be done in the same way and as patterned in Jesus’ way of loving us. Unlike our way of loving, Jesus’ way of love also somehow involves patience, distancing and separation, which is usually painful for us. Though His love is personal, intimate and constant, His love is not exclusively for you but to all,  not clingy – too attached “Touch me not” and even provides space and time as we experience it in His seeming absence, separation and distance, as well as in His unpredictable timing. While His love offers us the mystery of  Joy, Light and Glory in life, His love also requires the painful and suffering mystery of our sorrows in loving others. 

    Jesus’ commandment of “Loving one another as He has loved us” would also mean the paradox of resurrection through our cross – meaning “the way to our salvation is the way of the cross”.  Resurrection to new life happens then through the sorrowful mystery of our cross in loving others. In the same manner, reflected here is the life-paradox of sickness before getting better, of pain and suffering towards healing, of rising to the occasion despite difficulties and uncertainties in life. 

    Now as to our musings: “Is there Life during Covid-19? Will there be Life after Covid-19?”

    For those who have faith and trust in Jesus and in God, and who is keeping the Lord’s commandment of “loving others as He has loved us”, along with our faith-life struggle with His cross and resurrection in life, getting better and rising to the occasion of our best and better version of our world despite difficulties and uncertainties, there is and will be life during and after COVID19 2020. However, our life will never be the same again, for without a doubt, our Life then is and will be anew and better than  before. 

    May our love  for one another now, promising though painful it can be, cooperate with the Lord’s healing ways of creating and building our better world in  our life ahead. Amen. 

    (By: Fr. Aphelie Mario Masangcay CSsR, a Filipino Redemptorist  Missionary stationed in Gwangju South Korea, though now still stranded in Cebu until further notice for available flights.)

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